Last updated: 17 September 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Octopus EnergyEvery guide

Octopus Energy guides: every article in one place

I'm an Octopus Energy customer, and I have written more about Octopus than about any other supplier. These Octopus Energy guides are grouped by the question you came with. Should you switch, which smart tariff fits your home, how do you leave, and when does the £50 referral credit land?

This page contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Nothing on this page is financial advice. Tariffs, rates and offers change, so check the live terms on Octopus's own site before you switch.

Switching to Octopus anyway?

Get £50 credit when you join

Join through a customer's referral link and Octopus adds £50 to both accounts once your switch completes and your first monthly Direct Debit has gone through. Octopus says that usually takes around four weeks. Business and charity accounts get £75 each instead.

I checked both figures on Octopus's own referral help page on 17 September 2026.

Get the Octopus referral credit

Start here

Switching to Octopus, and leaving it

Whether Octopus suits your home, what happens once you sign up, and what it costs to walk away later.

Is Octopus worth switching to? Who Octopus tends to suit, who it does not, and the checks to run before you move. The Octopus switch process What happens between sign-up and your first bill, and the usual reasons a switch stalls. Can you leave Octopus anytime? Flexible tariffs carry no exit fee, but new fixes have carried one since March 2026. How to check yours.

The tariffs

Tracker, Agile and the fixed-rate question

Octopus is best known for its smart tariffs. These guides cover how each one prices your energy, and when a fix makes more sense.

The Octopus Tracker tariff A unit rate that moves every day with wholesale prices, plus the upper limits Octopus puts on it. Octopus Agile vs Tracker Half-hourly prices against a daily rate, and the kind of household each one rewards. Should you fix your energy tariff? The case for and against fixing this winter, with named fixes and their exit fees.

The offer

The £50 referral, from link to credit

One page holds the link, the rules and the reasons a referral sometimes fails to track. The other covers the business version.

Octopus Energy referral The referral link, the eligibility rules, and what has to happen before the £50 credit arrives. Octopus business referral The £75 version for business and charity accounts, and how business energy differs from home energy.

Head to head

Octopus against the other suppliers

Three straight comparisons, then a guide to switching bonuses across the whole market.

Octopus vs Ovo Prices, exit fees, smart tariffs and service, side by side, with my verdict. Octopus vs British Gas Joining incentives, smart against traditional tariffs, and the households each one suits. Octopus vs E.ON Next Switching incentives and tariff styles from two of the biggest suppliers. The best energy switching bonus The kinds of switching bonus on offer in the UK, and how to compare them fairly.

Trust

Is Octopus safe, and who regulates it?

The licence, the protections and where a complaint goes when Octopus cannot fix it.

Is Octopus Energy safe? The supply licence, the price cap and the Supplier of Last Resort safety net. Is Octopus regulated by Ofgem? What Ofgem's rules cover for Octopus customers, from billing to switching and complaints.

The bigger picture

Energy bills beyond Octopus

The price cap, the bill itself and the rest of the household budget, whoever supplies your energy.

The Ofgem price cap in 2026 The current cap, how Ofgem sets it and when the next figure lands. The Bank of England base rate Where Bank Rate stands after each decision, and why it does not set your energy bill. The October 2026 price cap What changed on 1 October and what it means for a typical bill. How to read an energy bill Unit rates, standing charges and a worked example at current prices. Switching business energy How business contracts work when no price cap protects you. Cutting household bills The bills worth tackling first, energy included. Saving energy this winter Practical ways to bring heating costs down without sitting in the cold.

Autumn 2026

Where energy prices stand right now

From 1 October 2026, Ofgem's price cap rose by 4% to £1,723 a year for a typical household paying for gas and electricity by Direct Debit. Under the cap, electricity costs up to 26.32p per kWh with a standing charge of 54.83p a day. Gas costs up to 7.97p per kWh, with a standing charge of 29.68p a day.

At the same time, the government took VAT off household electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, while gas still carries 5%. Because of that change, Ofgem says the new prices cannot be compared directly with earlier periods. The cap for January to March 2027 is due on 25 November 2026.

The cap only limits default tariffs, which at Octopus means Flexible Octopus. Tracker, Agile and the fixed deals sit outside it. On fixes, Octopus brought exit fees back in March 2026, after prices spiked during the conflict in the Middle East. On 17 September 2026 its public tariff list showed a £50 exit fee per fuel on Octopus 12M Fixed and £75 per fuel on the 18-month fix. Flexible Octopus still has no exit fee at all.

How I do it

How I cover Octopus

The referral link on these pages is my own customer link, the same kind every Octopus customer gets in their account. So the £50 on offer to you is the same £50 anyone else's link would pay.

Before a guide goes up, I check rates, fees and offer terms against Octopus's own help pages and Ofgem on the day I write. When Octopus changes something, such as bringing exit fees back, I update the guides that mention it. Each guide also carries its own last-updated date, so you can see how fresh it is.

The comparisons name the downsides as well as the perks. Octopus is not the cheapest supplier for every home, and the guides say so where it matters.

Octopus Energy guides FAQs

What is Octopus Energy?

Octopus Energy is a UK gas and electricity supplier, licensed by Ofgem and best known for smart tariffs such as Agile and Tracker. My guide to whether Octopus is worth switching to covers who it suits.

How much is the Octopus referral credit?

For a home, £50 for you and £50 for the customer who referred you. For a business or charity account, it is £75 each. Both figures were checked on Octopus's own site on 17 September 2026.

When does the referral credit arrive?

Once your switch has completed and your first monthly Direct Debit has been taken. Octopus says this usually takes around four weeks, although a slow handover from your old supplier can stretch it.

Can I leave Octopus without paying a fee?

On Flexible Octopus, yes, at any time. However, fixed deals taken out since March 2026 can carry an exit fee, so check your own tariff first. My guide on leaving Octopus shows where to find it.

Is Octopus covered by the energy price cap?

Only its default tariff, Flexible Octopus. By contrast, Tracker, Agile and fixed tariffs are not capped, so a Tracker rate can rise above the cap when wholesale prices spike.

Who regulates Octopus Energy?

Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain. If Octopus cannot resolve a complaint, you can take it to the Energy Ombudsman.

Ready to switch

Join Octopus with the referral credit

The tariffs cost the same either way. Joining through a referral link adds £50 to your account once the switch completes.

See the Octopus referral offer

Rates, fees and offers change, and nothing on this page is financial advice. This page contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.