Intelligent Octopus Go
This page explains what the product is in everyday terms. Exact prices, hours, which cars and chargers qualify, and how to sign up are only on octopus.energy — we are not Octopus, and offers change over time.
What is Intelligent Octopus Go?
Intelligent Octopus Go is an Octopus domestic electricity tariff where you do not pay one flat price for every hour of the day. Instead, Octopus publishes cheaper electricity in certain "off-peak" periods (often overnight, when grid demand is lower) and a higher rate the rest of the time. Your annual cost depends not only on how many kWh you use, but what share of those kWh fall inside the cheap window.
The "Intelligent" part is aimed mainly at electric-vehicle owners: where Octopus supports your car or charger, they can schedule chargingso the car fills up during the cheap hours through their systems — rather than you setting a timer every night. That is the practical difference from a simple "remember to plug in after 11pm" approach: the tariff is built to work with Octopus-controlled smart charging for compatible setups. If you do not have an EV, or your vehicle is not supported, this product may not be aimed at you; check their eligibility lists.
You will almost always need a smart meter so Octopus can see half-hourly usage and apply the right rate for each period. Standing charges and peak rates still apply — a cheap off-peak rate does not remove the rest of the bill.
How is it different from Agile?
Octopus Agile prices electricity in half-hourly slots that can change a lot from day to day — good if you like optimising around a live price. Intelligent Octopus Go is usually simpler to think about: fixed-style cheap windows published for the product, plus automation for EV charging. Neither is "automatically cheaper"; it depends on your usage pattern.
Why your bill is hard to guess from one number
If you enter only monthly kWh, a calculator assumes a single effective rate. On Go, the same total kWh could be cheap or expensive depending on how much was used in off-peak hours. Treat our estimates as a baseline, not a promise of Intelligent Go pricing.
What still helps
- Comparing published unit rates and standing charges for your region.
- Using your postcode so regional tariff codes match your area.
- Reading Octopus's own description of windows and eligibility before you switch.
Run a baseline comparison
Our calculator still helps: same postcode, same monthly kWh, same published rates everyone else sees — useful to see Go next to flat tariffs. Just remember the total it shows for Go assumes a single effective rate; your real bill tilts cheap or expensive depending how much of that kWh landed inside the cheap window.