What types of Octopus tariffs are there?
Octopus tariffs fall into three groups: standard plans, tracker style plans that follow the wholesale market, and smart tariffs built around an electric car, a heat pump, solar panels or storage heaters. Which group fits depends on how you use energy and whether you have a smart meter.
This guide uses the descriptions on Octopus’s own tariffs pages, read on 9 November 2026. Octopus changes its range and prices often, so check its pages for current rates before you choose. We have left prices out on purpose, because they move and depend on where you live and how much you use.
If you have never looked at your tariff, you are probably on the default one. Your supplier is quietly betting you will not bother. Octopus tariffs are worth a look, but only if you compare them with the alternatives.
Fixed or flexible: the standard Octopus tariffs
These are the simplest Octopus tariffs, and neither needs smart technology. Octopus describes them like this:
- Fixed Octopus: the price will not change for 12 or 18 months, whatever the market does. Octopus says exit fees might apply if you leave early.
- Flexible Octopus: a variable tariff, where prices rise or fall every three months in line with wholesale energy costs. Octopus says it has no exit fees.
A fixed deal suits you if you want a steady budget and expect prices to rise. A flexible deal suits you if you think prices might fall or you may want to move on. Neither is a promise of savings, because the price you pay depends on the rates at the time and your usage.
Our best energy tariff guide explains how to compare fixed and variable deals across suppliers.
Tracker and Agile: Octopus tariffs that follow the market
Some Octopus tariffs move with the wholesale market, so your bill can change a lot. Octopus says it updates Tracker prices every day, based on an independently published wholesale market price. Agile Octopus goes further: Octopus says its rates change every 30 minutes, and it sets the next day’s half hourly prices once a day, between 4pm and 8pm.
Octopus says Tracker gives you immediate savings when wholesale prices drop, rather than the lag you get on a standard tariff. The other side of that is the one to understand before you sign. Your price moves with the market every day, and Octopus sets a daily cap well above Ofgem’s price cap: on the Tracker page we read on 9 November 2026, that cap is 100p per kWh for electricity and 30p per kWh for gas. Octopus itself says that if you cannot afford prices to go that high during peaks, a protected tariff such as Flexible Octopus is the better choice. Octopus also notes that Tracker prices are usually lower in warmer months and tend to rise in colder ones.
Agile is aimed at people who can shift large amounts of their energy use to cheaper times. Octopus points to electric car owners, homes with storage heaters, and homes with solar panels and a battery. Octopus says prices can sometimes drop below zero, and that its Plunge Pricing means you can be paid for the electricity you use in those periods. That is a feature, not a guarantee, and it also means some periods will cost more.
Our guide to dynamic energy tariffs looks at whether they are worth the effort.
Which Octopus tariffs need a smart meter?
The smart tariffs need one. Octopus says you will need a smart meter for any of its smart tariff options, and some also need compatible kit, such as a car, charger or heat pump. These are the ones it lists for different set ups:
- Intelligent Octopus Go: an EV tariff with smart charging and six hours of cheap home energy a night. It needs a compatible electric car or charger.
- Octopus Go: five hours of cheaper electricity a night, for an EV or charger that is not compatible with the Intelligent version.
- Cosy Octopus: a heat pump tariff with three cheaper periods a day.
- Octopus Flux: aimed at homes with solar panels and a home battery, with the option to sell extra energy.
- Snug Octopus: for storage heaters, with cheaper power for six hours a night and an afternoon boost. It needs a compatible second generation smart meter.
Octopus also runs Outgoing Octopus for people who export power. Its own pages offer a flat export rate and an Agile Outgoing rate that follows day ahead wholesale prices, so you can pick a simple rate or a variable one. Octopus says Outgoing can only be paired with certain import tariffs, and that you need a smart meter able to send half hourly export readings, so check both before you plan around it.
If you are weighing up cheaper overnight rates, our time of use tariff guide shows who they suit, and our British Gas tariffs guide gives a side by side view of another big supplier.
What should you check before choosing Octopus tariffs?
Check four things before you switch: your usage, your equipment, the contract terms and the rate at the time you apply. A cheap rate for five hours a night only helps if you can use most of your power in those hours.
Before you switch
- Do you have a smart meter, or can you get one?
- Do you own an EV, a heat pump, solar panels or storage heaters?
- Can you move your usage to cheaper times?
- Is there an exit fee if you leave early?
- On a tracker or agile tariff, how high can the rate go, and could you afford that?
- What are the unit rate and standing charge for your area today?
Octopus tariffs are also not the only option. Rates, exit fees and smart meter rules differ from supplier to supplier, so compare a few before you decide. Our Octopus Energy page has more on the supplier itself.
Frequently asked questions about Octopus tariffs
- Are Octopus tariffs fixed or variable?
- Both exist. Octopus says Fixed Octopus holds the price for 12 or 18 months, while Flexible Octopus is variable and changes every three months. Tracker prices update daily and Agile rates change every 30 minutes.
- Do I need a smart meter for Octopus tariffs?
- Octopus says you need a smart meter for any of its smart tariffs. The standard Fixed and Flexible plans do not need smart technology.
- Is there an exit fee on Octopus tariffs?
- Octopus says Flexible has no exit fees, and that exit fees might apply to Fixed. Check the terms on the tariff you are offered.
- How high can a Tracker rate go?
- Octopus caps Tracker at a daily maximum, which on its Tracker page read on 9 November 2026 was 100p per kWh for electricity and 30p per kWh for gas. Octopus points out that is well above Ofgem’s price cap, and suggests a protected tariff if you could not afford peaks at that level.
- Which Octopus tariff is best for an electric car?
- Octopus lists Intelligent Octopus Go for compatible cars and chargers, and Octopus Go for others. Which works out cheaper depends on your car, your charging and the rates at the time.
Sources
- Octopus Energy, tariffs. Source of the Fixed and Flexible terms, the exit fee position, the smart meter requirement and the descriptions of Intelligent Octopus Go, Octopus Go, Cosy, Flux and Snug.
- Octopus Energy, Octopus Tracker. Source of the daily price update, the immediate savings point, the 100p and 30p daily caps, the comparison with Ofgem’s price cap and the protected tariff advice.
- Octopus Energy, Agile Octopus. Source of the half hourly rates set between 4pm and 8pm, the negative pricing and Plunge Pricing, and who the tariff suits.
- Octopus Energy, Outgoing Octopus. Source of the flat and Agile Outgoing export rates, the import tariff pairing rule and the half hourly export meter requirement.
Checked 9 November 2026.
