Octopus Go vs Intelligent Go: Which EV Tariff Is Better with Solar?

If you have an electric vehicle and solar panels — or you are planning to get one or both — Octopus Go and Intelligent Go are two of the most talked-about tariffs in the UK. Both offer cheap overnight electricity, but they work differently and suit different households. Here is a clear comparison.

The Rates at a Glance

Both tariffs are offered by Octopus Energy and share the same overnight unit rate as of April 2026.

The headline rates are identical — the real difference is in the window length and the smart charging functionality that comes with Intelligent Go.

How Octopus Go Works

Go is the straightforward option. You get a fixed cheap window every night from 00:30 to 05:30 — five hours at 5.5p/kWh. Outside that window, you pay the standard day rate of 24p/kWh.

There is no intelligence involved. Your EV, battery, or other devices charge during the cheap window if you schedule them to do so. You are in control of the timing, and the tariff does not interact with your equipment.

This simplicity is an advantage. Go works with:

• Any EV, regardless of brand or charger type
• Any home battery with a scheduled charge function
• Any smart plug or timer-controlled appliance
• Households that want predictability without apps or integrations

How Intelligent Go Works

Intelligent Go starts with a longer fixed cheap window — 23:30 to 05:30, giving you six hours at 5.5p/kWh. But the key addition is smart charging.

If you have a compatible EV or smart charger, Octopus connects directly to it. Their system monitors the grid and dispatches charging sessions at the cheapest times — which can include additional cheap slots outside the fixed window. These bonus slots are not advertised at a fixed time; they occur opportunistically when grid conditions allow, and Octopus typically guarantees your car will be ready at your departure time.

Compatible EVs and chargers include most current Tesla models (via the Octopus app), Ohme chargers, Hypervolt, and a growing list of others. Octopus publishes a current compatibility list on their website.

How Each Tariff Pairs with Solar

Neither tariff pays you for solar export — for that, you need a separate Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) arrangement, which Octopus offers separately. What these tariffs do is reduce the cost of what you import overnight.

Combined solar + Go/Intelligent Go strategy:

• Daytime: solar covers your home load for free (or exports at SEG rate)
• Night: cheap window fills your battery and/or charges your EV at 5.5p/kWh
• Result: very little electricity bought at the 24p day rate

With a 10 kWh home battery fully charged at 5.5p overnight, you have spent 55p to store electricity that would cost £2.40 at the day rate. That gap — about £1.85 per cycle — is the foundation of battery arbitrage with these tariffs.

Battery Charging: Go vs Intelligent Go

For home battery charging (not EV), both tariffs behave similarly. Your battery management system or inverter app schedules charging to start at 00:30 (for Go) or 23:30 (for Intelligent Go) and finish by 05:30.

The extra hour on Intelligent Go gives you more breathing room if you have a larger battery, or if you want to charge your EV and your home battery in the same overnight window.

EV Charging: Where Intelligent Go Pulls Ahead

For EV owners with a compatible vehicle or charger, Intelligent Go has a clear advantage. Beyond the fixed window, Octopus can dispatch additional cheap-rate charging sessions based on grid conditions — sometimes in the afternoon or early evening.

Over a year, these bonus slots can amount to several hundred additional kWh charged at the cheap rate. For a typical EV doing 8,000–10,000 miles per year (consuming around 2,000–2,500 kWh), the additional slots could save £30–80 compared with standard Go.

Eligibility Requirements

Go is available to any Octopus customer with a smart meter. Intelligent Go is only available if you have a compatible EV or smart EV charger — it is not available to households with a home battery but no EV.

Cost Comparison Example

Assume a household with a 4 kW solar array, 10 kWh battery, and an EV doing 9,000 miles/year (approx. 2,250 kWh).

These are illustrative figures based on current verified rates. Your actual savings will depend on your usage pattern, battery size, and how much of your load solar covers directly.

Who Should Choose Which?

Octopus Go is worth considering if you want a simple, predictable tariff with a cheap overnight window and no dependency on app integrations or charger compatibility. It suits households with a home battery, an older EV, or any setup where smart charging is not available or wanted.

Intelligent Go is worth exploring if you have a compatible EV or smart charger and want to maximise overnight cheap slots for EV charging. The extra hour in the fixed window and the bonus smart charging sessions offer a meaningful advantage for households that drive regularly and want Octopus to handle charging optimisation automatically.

Summary

Both tariffs share the same 5.5p overnight rate. The choice comes down to whether you want simplicity (Go) or smart charging with an extra hour and bonus slots (Intelligent Go). For EV owners with a compatible vehicle, Intelligent Go is the stronger option. For everyone else, Go is a reliable, effective tariff that pairs well with solar and home batteries.

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