Octopus Agile
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Quick summary: Octopus Agile from Octopus Energy offers 5p/kWh off-peak during Variable (30-min slots, cheapest overnight) and 40p/kWh at peak times. Requires a compatible smart charger.
Octopus Agile is for the EV owner who wants to play the energy market. Instead of fixed off-peak hours, Agile prices change every 30 minutes based on wholesale electricity costs. Prices are published a day ahead, so you (or your smart charger) can see exactly when electricity will be cheapest and schedule charging accordingly. During overnight lulls, rates regularly drop to 5p/kWh or below — and occasionally go negative, meaning you're literally paid to use electricity.
Best for: Tech-savvy EV owners with a smart charger who want the absolute lowest possible charging costs and are willing to accept price variability.
How It Works
Every day at 4pm, Octopus publishes the next day's half-hourly electricity prices. These are based on wholesale market rates, so they fluctuate with supply and demand. Overnight prices (typically 11pm–6am) are almost always the cheapest, often between 2p and 8p/kWh. Daytime prices during peak demand (4pm–7pm) can spike to 35p/kWh or higher. Prices are capped at 100p/kWh to prevent extreme spikes.
A smart charger like the Ohme Home Pro reads these prices automatically and schedules your charging into the cheapest slots. You set your target charge level and departure time, and the charger does the rest. Without a smart charger, you'd need to manually check prices each day and set your charging timer — which is tedious but possible.
Who It Suits
Agile is ideal for EV owners who already have a smart charger and want to squeeze every penny out of their electricity costs. If you pair Agile with an Ohme Home Pro, the charger automatically selects the cheapest half-hour slots each night — often cheaper than Intelligent Go's fixed 7p rate. However, the variability means your daytime electricity costs could be higher than a fixed tariff, so it's best for households that can shift most electricity usage to off-peak hours.
Cost Breakdown
| Scenario | Typical cost per full charge | Annual cost (10k miles) |
|---|---|---|
| Agile overnight (~5p/kWh average) | ~£3.00 | ~£143 |
| Intelligent Go (7p/kWh) | ~£4.20 | ~£200 |
| Standard variable (~24.5p/kWh) | ~£14.70 | ~£700 |
The potential savings are significant — Agile can beat even Intelligent Go on pure charging costs. However, remember that Agile's peak-rate electricity also applies to your household usage, so overall savings depend on your total consumption pattern.
Compatible Chargers
Agile is practically unusable without a smart charger. Manually checking 48 half-hourly prices each day and setting charging timers is not realistic for most people. The Ohme Home Pro is the best match — it reads Agile prices automatically and optimises charging around them. The myenergi Zappi GLO also supports Agile via the myenergi app. For Tesla owners without a smart charger, Intelligent Go is a far better choice than trying to manually optimise Agile.
If you're pairing Agile with solar panels, see our best EV charger for solar panels guide. For per-mile cost data across all UK tariffs, see the UK EV Charging Cost Index.
Rate Breakdown
Tariff Details
Pros
- ✓Potentially the cheapest EV charging rates in the UK
- ✓Negative pricing events mean you can be paid to charge
- ✓Day-ahead pricing gives full transparency
- ✓Price cap protection at 100p/kWh
- ✓No exit fees — switch anytime
Cons
- ✕Requires a smart charger to be practical
- ✕Peak daytime rates can be very high (35p+ /kWh)
- ✕Higher household electricity costs if you use a lot during the day
- ✕More complex than fixed off-peak tariffs
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