Octopus Off Peak Times
Octopus off peak times depend on which tariff you are using.
Some Octopus tariffs have fixed cheap periods every day. Others change price every half hour or use one rate for the entire day.
Here are the main Octopus off-peak hours in 2026:
| Octopus tariff | Off-peak or cheaper times |
|---|---|
| Intelligent Octopus Go | 23:30 to 05:30 every night, plus qualifying Octopus smart-charging slots |
| Octopus Go | 00:30 to 05:30 every night |
| Cosy Octopus | 04:00 to 07:00, 13:00 to 16:00 and 22:00 to 00:00 |
| Agile Octopus | No fixed off-peak hours. Prices change every 30 minutes |
| Octopus Tracker | No off-peak hours. One electricity price applies for each day |
| Flexible or standard fixed tariff | Normally one unit rate throughout the day |
| Economy 7 with a smart meter | A seven-hour period based on your meter and tariff, commonly 00:30 to 07:30 UTC |
Check your own tariff confirmation because Octopus products, rates and terms can change.
If you are researching Octopus tariffs before switching supplier, you can join using my referral link:
Join Octopus and receive £50 account credit
The new customer and I currently receive £50 account credit after a qualifying switch and the first successful Direct Debit payment.
What are the Octopus off peak times?
The main fixed Octopus off-peak periods are:
- Intelligent Octopus Go: 23:30 to 05:30
- Octopus Go: 00:30 to 05:30
- Cosy Octopus: 04:00 to 07:00, 13:00 to 16:00 and 22:00 to 00:00
Agile Octopus does not have one fixed off-peak period. Its prices change every half hour.
Octopus Tracker does not have off-peak hours either. The electricity price changes daily, but the same Tracker rate applies throughout that day.
The right tariff depends on whether you have an EV, heat pump, battery or another large electrical load that can be moved into cheaper periods.
Intelligent Octopus Go off peak times
The standard Intelligent Octopus Go off-peak period is 23:30 to 05:30 every night.
During this six-hour core period, the cheaper rate applies to electricity used by your whole home, not only your electric car.
That means you can also use the cheaper period for:
- Charging a home battery
- Running a dishwasher
- Running a washing machine
- Heating hot water
- Charging other devices
- Some overnight heat-pump use
Intelligent Octopus Go can also schedule EV charging outside the standard 23:30 to 05:30 window.
When Octopus schedules a qualifying charge outside the core period, your whole home receives the cheaper rate during that scheduled slot as well.
How many cheap charging hours do you get?
Intelligent Octopus Go currently provides up to six hours of smart charging within the applicable daily charging allowance.
Those hours may fall:
- Entirely within 23:30 to 05:30
- Partly inside and partly outside the core period
- Entirely outside the core period where Octopus chooses to schedule them
The guaranteed whole-home period remains 23:30 to 05:30.
Do not assume that plugging the car in creates unlimited additional cheap electricity. The smart-charging allowance and Octopus schedule determine which extra periods qualify.
Does the whole house get the Intelligent Octopus Go cheap rate?
Yes.
The whole home receives the off-peak rate:
- Every night from 23:30 to 05:30
- During additional qualifying smart-charging slots scheduled by Octopus
The second point is useful for homes with batteries, heat pumps or other large loads.
However, the additional cheap period only applies while the qualifying Octopus smart schedule is active.
What happens if I manually charge the car?
Charging manually outside the core off-peak window does not automatically create a cheap period.
A manual bump charge or uncontrolled charge outside 23:30 to 05:30 may be billed at the normal daytime rate.
Use the Octopus smart schedule and check the planned charging slots in the app.
Does Intelligent Octopus Go run at weekends?
Yes.
The core 23:30 to 05:30 off-peak period applies every night, including:
- Friday night into Saturday
- Saturday night into Sunday
- Bank holidays
Octopus may also schedule additional qualifying charging slots at weekends.
You can read more here:
Octopus Go off peak times
The standard Octopus Go off-peak period is 00:30 to 05:30 every night.
That gives five hours of cheaper electricity for the whole home.
Unlike Intelligent Octopus Go, Octopus Go does not depend on Octopus controlling a compatible car or charger.
It can therefore suit EV drivers who:
- Do not have a compatible vehicle
- Do not have a compatible charger
- Want a simple fixed charging window
- Prefer to control charging themselves
- Do not need extra smart-charging slots
The trade-off is that the fixed cheap window is one hour shorter than the standard Intelligent Octopus Go period.
Does the whole house get the Octopus Go night rate?
Yes.
Electricity used anywhere in the home between 00:30 and 05:30 is billed at the off-peak rate.
This can include:
- EV charging
- Battery charging
- Washing machines
- Dishwashers
- Hot-water heating
- Heat pumps
- General household consumption
Are Octopus Go times different at weekends?
No.
The 00:30 to 05:30 period applies every night, including weekends and bank holidays.
Does the Octopus Go time change with the clocks?
Octopus says the Go off-peak period remains 00:30 to 05:30 despite daylight-saving clock changes.
The Octopus app or online account is a more reliable guide than an in-home display, which may not always show time-of-use pricing correctly.
You can read more here:
Cosy Octopus off peak times
Cosy Octopus is aimed at homes with a heat pump or electric boiler.
Instead of one overnight block, it offers three cheaper periods every day:
- 04:00 to 07:00
- 13:00 to 16:00
- 22:00 to 00:00
That provides eight cheaper hours in total.
Cosy also has a more expensive peak period:
- 16:00 to 19:00
The remaining hours use the tariff’s standard day rate.
Cosy Octopus daily timetable
| Time | Cosy rate period |
| 00:00 to 04:00 | Standard rate |
| 04:00 to 07:00 | Cheap Cosy period |
| 07:00 to 13:00 | Standard rate |
| 13:00 to 16:00 | Cheap Cosy period |
| 16:00 to 19:00 | Peak rate |
| 19:00 to 22:00 | Standard rate |
| 22:00 to 00:00 | Cheap Cosy period |
The three cheaper windows are the same every day, including weekends.
Is all electricity cheaper during the Cosy periods?
Yes.
The Cosy rate applies to the whole home during each cheap period.
It is not restricted to electricity measured by the heat pump.
You could also use the cheaper windows for:
- Heating hot water
- Charging a battery
- Running appliances
- Preheating the home
- Other general electricity use
Should I switch my heat pump off outside the cheap periods?
Not necessarily.
A heat pump usually performs best when it runs steadily at a relatively low flow temperature.
Trying to force all heating into eight cheap hours could:
- Allow the house to become uncomfortable
- Require higher flow temperatures
- Reduce heat-pump efficiency
- Cause the system to work harder during recovery
- Increase electricity use during cold weather
Cosy may work well where the house can gently preheat and coast through the 16:00 to 19:00 peak.
It may work less well in a home that loses heat quickly or needs continuous heating.
Octopus suggests modestly increasing the target temperature during the cheaper periods to store some heat in the building. Whether that works comfortably will depend on the property and system.
You can read more here:
Looking for a heat pump installer?
A cheap electricity period is useful, but heat-pump design and installation will have a much larger effect on long-term performance.
My Trusted Heat Pump Installers website includes a hand-picked mix of national and independent companies:
Browse Trusted Heat Pump Installers
Octopus Energy is included as one national option.
The dedicated Octopus page explains its installation approach, the current customer referral offer and the main questions to ask before accepting a quote:
Octopus Energy heat pump referral and installer details
A qualifying Octopus heat pump referral currently gives the customer and referrer a £100 digital gift card each after installation.
Agile Octopus off peak times
Agile Octopus has no fixed off-peak times.
Electricity prices change every half hour and the following day’s rates are normally published in advance.
The price reflects wholesale electricity costs and other charges, so the cheapest hours move from day to day.
Cheap periods often appear:
- Overnight
- Around midday during strong solar generation
- During periods of high wind generation
- At times of low national demand
- When renewable generation would otherwise exceed demand
But none of these periods is guaranteed.
What time is Agile usually cheapest?
Historically, Agile is often cheaper outside the 16:00 to 19:00 evening peak.
The 16:00 to 19:00 period includes higher network-related costs and is frequently among the most expensive parts of the day.
That does not mean every night is cheap or every evening is expensive.
Wholesale conditions can create:
- Cheap daytime prices
- Expensive overnight prices
- Negative prices
- Extended expensive periods
- Very different prices from one day to the next
Always check the actual half-hourly rates.
Does Agile have a night rate?
Not in the traditional sense.
Agile can have cheap overnight prices, but there is no guaranteed night-time rate or fixed nightly window.
Someone wanting predictable off-peak hours may prefer Intelligent Octopus Go, Octopus Go or another fixed time-of-use tariff.
Does the Agile price apply to the whole house?
Yes.
Each published half-hour rate applies to all household electricity imported during that period.
You can read more and view current and historical pricing here:
Does Octopus Tracker have off peak times?
No.
Octopus Tracker changes its electricity price once each day.
The published rate applies for the entire day, so it does not matter whether electricity is used at 02:00, 12:00 or 18:00.
Tracker therefore rewards customers when the daily wholesale-linked rate is low, but it does not reward moving an appliance into a particular hour.
This makes it simpler than Agile, but it removes the opportunity to avoid expensive half-hour periods.
You can read more here:
Does Flexible Octopus have off peak times?
Flexible Octopus normally uses one electricity unit rate throughout the day.
There is no standard cheaper overnight period unless your property has a separate dual-rate meter or tariff arrangement.
The unit rate may change when Octopus updates its variable tariff, but it does not normally change according to the time of day.
A standard fixed single-rate tariff works in a similar way. The price is fixed for the tariff term, but the same unit rate applies throughout each day.
Octopus night rate times
“Octopus night rate” can refer to several different things:
- Intelligent Octopus Go from 23:30 to 05:30
- Octopus Go from 00:30 to 05:30
- An Economy 7 off-peak period
- A fixed dual-rate Octopus tariff
- Cheap overnight Agile prices
These are not interchangeable.
Check the full tariff name before relying on a night-rate time found online.
For example, a customer on Octopus Go has a clearly defined 00:30 to 05:30 window. A customer on Agile has no fixed night rate at all.
Octopus Economy 7 off peak times
Economy 7 provides seven hours of cheaper electricity, normally overnight.
Octopus says a compatible smart-meter Economy 7 arrangement uses a fixed seven-hour off-peak period from 00:30 to 07:30 UTC.
Because the period is defined in Coordinated Universal Time:
- During winter GMT, that is normally 00:30 to 07:30 by the clock
- During British Summer Time, it may appear as 01:30 to 08:30 by the clock
Older meters and regional arrangements can use different switching times.
Some Economy 7 meters also divide the seven hours into more than one period.
Check:
- Your tariff confirmation
- Your electricity bill
- Your meter settings
- Your Octopus account
- Your actual half-hourly consumption
- The information supplied by Octopus
Do not assume every Economy 7 customer has identical hours.
Octopus 12M Fixed night rate times
Octopus has offered fixed tariffs with separate day and night rates.
The exact off-peak times can depend on:
- The precise tariff version
- Your meter type
- Your electricity region
- Whether the tariff uses Economy 7
- The date you joined
- The contract terms supplied to you
Look for the full tariff name on your bill or online account.
Your tariff confirmation should show:
- Day unit rate
- Night unit rate
- Standing charge
- Night-rate hours
- Contract end date
- Exit fees, where applicable
Do not use the Go or Intelligent Go times unless those words appear in your tariff name.
What time does the Octopus night rate start?
For the main fixed time-of-use tariffs:
- Intelligent Octopus Go starts at 23:30
- Octopus Go starts at 00:30
- Cosy’s late cheap period starts at 22:00
- A smart-meter Economy 7 period commonly starts at 00:30 UTC
- Agile does not have a fixed start time
- Tracker does not have a night rate
The correct answer therefore depends on the full name of your tariff.
Are Octopus off peak times different at weekends?
For the main fixed time-of-use tariffs, the times are generally the same every day.
That means:
- Intelligent Octopus Go remains 23:30 to 05:30
- Octopus Go remains 00:30 to 05:30
- Cosy keeps its three daily cheap periods
This includes Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.
Agile remains dynamic at weekends. Its prices continue to change every half hour, although lower demand can sometimes make weekend prices cheaper.
Tracker continues to use one published rate for the whole day.
Economy 7 follows the switching schedule programmed into the meter and does not normally provide a separate weekend timetable.
What are Octopus peak times?
The answer again depends on the tariff.
Intelligent Octopus Go and Octopus Go
There is no separately named peak window.
Electricity outside the off-peak period is simply billed at the normal day rate, except for additional qualifying Intelligent Go smart-charging slots.
Cosy Octopus
The defined peak period is:
- 16:00 to 19:00
This is more expensive than Cosy’s standard day rate.
Agile Octopus
Agile does not guarantee one peak period, but 16:00 to 19:00 is often expensive because national electricity demand and network costs are higher.
Tracker
Tracker has no daily peak period because the same unit rate applies all day.
Which Octopus tariff has the most off peak hours?
Cosy Octopus has eight fixed cheaper hours each day:
- Three hours from 04:00 to 07:00
- Three hours from 13:00 to 16:00
- Two hours from 22:00 to 00:00
Intelligent Octopus Go has six guaranteed whole-home off-peak hours, with the possibility of qualifying smart-charging slots outside the core window.
Octopus Go has five fixed off-peak hours.
However, the number of cheap hours does not by itself determine the cheapest tariff.
You must also compare:
- Off-peak price
- Day price
- Peak price
- Standing charge
- How much electricity you can move
- Equipment eligibility
- Charging limits
- Your household routine
Which Octopus off peak tariff is best?
As a broad guide:
| Household | Tariff to examine |
| Compatible EV or charger | Intelligent Octopus Go |
| EV without smart integration | Octopus Go |
| Heat pump | Cosy, Agile or another suitable tariff |
| Battery without an EV | Agile, Flux or another time-of-use tariff |
| Highly flexible household | Agile |
| Wants predictable overnight hours | Go or Intelligent Go |
| Economy 7 storage heating | Compare Economy 7 and other dual-rate options |
| Does not want to shift electricity use | Single-rate fixed or Flexible tariff |
The cheapest tariff depends on your whole annual usage, not just the advertised off-peak rate.
You can compare the wider options here:
Which is the best Octopus tariff to be on?
Do I need a smart meter for Octopus off peak tariffs?
Most Octopus smart and time-of-use tariffs require a working smart meter capable of sending half-hourly readings.
That is necessary so Octopus can identify exactly how much electricity was used during each price period.
A smart meter is particularly important for:
- Intelligent Octopus Go
- Octopus Go
- Cosy Octopus
- Agile Octopus
- Octopus Tracker
- Smart export tariffs
Eligibility and meter requirements vary, so check the current terms before switching.
Why does my in-home display show the wrong rate?
Some in-home displays do not handle complex smart-tariff prices reliably.
They may show:
- One average rate
- The standard day rate
- An outdated rate
- Incorrect estimated cost
- No additional Intelligent Go slots
- Incorrect times after a clock change
Use the Octopus app, online account and final bill to verify what you were actually charged.
The smart meter still records the half-hourly consumption even where the display does not show the tariff correctly.
How can I check my exact Octopus off peak times?
Use the following sources:
- Your tariff confirmation email
- The tariff section of your Octopus account
- The Octopus app
- Your latest bill
- Your smart-charging schedule, where relevant
- Octopus customer support
You can also check Octopus’s current and historical tariff listings by postcode.
Always identify the full tariff name and version.
“Octopus fixed”, “Octopus night rate” and “Octopus smart tariff” are not specific enough to determine the hours.
Join Octopus with £50 account credit
If you are comparing Octopus off-peak tariffs before switching supplier, you can use my referral link:
Join Octopus and receive £50 account credit
Octopus currently gives the new customer and referrer £50 account credit after the switch has completed and the first monthly Direct Debit has been successfully taken.
You should still compare the annual tariff cost and eligibility before switching.
A one-off £50 credit is useful, but it will not compensate for choosing a tariff that is unsuitable for your household.
Octopus off peak times summary
The main Octopus off-peak times are:
- Intelligent Octopus Go: 23:30 to 05:30, plus qualifying smart-charging slots
- Octopus Go: 00:30 to 05:30
- Cosy Octopus: 04:00 to 07:00, 13:00 to 16:00 and 22:00 to 00:00
- Agile Octopus: no fixed hours
- Octopus Tracker: no off-peak period
- Economy 7: commonly 00:30 to 07:30 UTC with a compatible smart meter
- Flexible or single-rate fixed tariffs: normally no off-peak period
Check your exact tariff details before scheduling large electrical loads.
Referral disclosure
If you join Octopus Energy through my supplier referral link, you receive the advertised account credit and I receive a referral reward.
If you proceed with an eligible heat pump installation through a link on Trusted Heat Pump Installers, you may receive a separate customer reward and I may receive a referral payment or reward.
You will not pay more for using either route.
The income supports Energy Stats UK, Trusted Heat Pump Installers and my independent tariff data, articles and videos.
Tariff hours, rates, eligibility rules and referral offers can change. Check the current Octopus terms before switching or requesting an installation.
