Octopus Agile — The Half-Hourly Tariff Reviewed
Agile is a half-hourly electricity tariff that changes price 48 times a day, indexed to the wholesale market. For households that can move load — washing, dishwasher, EV charging — it routinely undercuts the price cap. For everyone else, it can sting on still winter evenings.
In one sentence
Half-hourly variable rate. Best for flexible households with a smart meter. Risky if you can't shift usage.
What Octopus Agile actually is
Octopus Agile is a single-rate electricity-only tariff whose unit price updates every 30 minutes. The next day's 48 prices are published at around 4pm the day before, so you always know what you'll pay before you use it.
Prices are tied to the day-ahead wholesale market plus a fixed margin and policy costs. When wind generation is high or demand is low, prices regularly drop to 5p–10p per kWh. When the grid is tight (typically 4pm–7pm on cold weekday evenings), prices can spike to 30p–100p per kWh.
There is a daily price cap of 100p/kWh as a safety net. You need a SMETS2 smart meter sending half-hourly readings; without one you can't sign up.
Pros
- Genuinely cheap if you can move load off the 4pm–7pm peak — typical savers report 20–35% off the cap.
- Plunge pricing events (sometimes negative — Octopus pays you to use power) happen on windy weekends.
- Full price visibility 14+ hours in advance.
- No exit fees, switch back to a fixed or standard tariff any time.
- Excellent app and API — third-party tools like Hugo, Octopus Watch and home automations work out of the box.
Cons
- Peak rates of 50p–100p/kWh during cold, still evenings will hurt if you can't move usage.
- Bills swing month to month — bad for tight budgeting.
- Requires a working SMETS2 smart meter; signal problems mean exporting back to standard.
- Gas is separate — Agile is electricity only, so you still need a gas tariff if you have gas.
- Standing charge is the same as Octopus's standard tariff — savings only come from unit rates.
Who Octopus Agile suits
- EV drivers who can plug in overnight or on weekend afternoons.
- Households with a home battery that can charge during cheap windows.
- People working from home who can run washing/dishwasher between 11am–4pm.
- Heat pump owners with a hot-water tank that can be heated on a schedule.
- Tech-comfortable users happy to read a price chart in an app each evening.
Who should avoid it
- Standard 9-to-5 households whose biggest loads run at 6pm-9pm.
- Anyone without a smart meter or unwilling to wait for one to be installed.
- Households with no schedulable appliances and no flexibility on cooking time.
- People who don't want to check tomorrow's prices most evenings.
Current rates
Live rates pulled from the Octopus Energy public API for Octopus Agile (AGILE-24-10-01). Standing charges and unit rates shown include VAT. Agile shows a 24h average; half-hourly prices vary throughout the day.
| Region | Unit rate | Standing charge |
|---|---|---|
| London | 22.11p/kWh | 39.53p/day |
| South East | 23.24p/kWh | 62.23p/day |
| North West | 23.24p/kWh | 49.98p/day |
| Scotland | 26.61p/kWh | 59.93p/day |
| Wales (South) | 24.36p/kWh | 62.06p/day |
Worked example: 2,900 kWh electricity per year
A medium-usage household (2,900 kWh/year of electricity) on the Ofgem price cap at ~27p/kWh pays ~£783 in unit charges. The same household on Agile with no behaviour change averages ~24p/kWh — £696, saving roughly £87.
Move the dishwasher, washing machine and EV charging into the 11pm–5am window and the same household averages closer to ~17p/kWh — £493, a £290 saving versus the cap.
But during a one-week cold snap with low wind, peak hour rates can hit 80p/kWh. Cook dinner on the hob every night that week and you'll add £20–£30 versus a fixed tariff. The savings are real, but they're conditional on behaviour.
How to switch to Octopus Agile
- Confirm you have a SMETS2 smart meter that's sending half-hourly readings to your current supplier. Octopus needs this before they'll switch you on.
- Sign up at octopus.energy/agile — no exit fees from most current tariffs.
- The switch typically takes 14–21 days. You'll get an email when the half-hourly export is enabled.
- Install the Octopus app and a price-watching tool (Octopus Watch, Hugo, or Home Assistant) so you can see tomorrow's prices.
- Don't go all-in on day one — try it for a billing cycle, compare to your old bill, then commit.
Independent review. Power Guardian UK is not affiliated with Octopus Energy. Rates shown are indicative for Octopus Energy's Octopus Agile tariff at the time of review — check the supplier's website for current pricing before signing up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Octopus tariffs
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