​Be prepared for a real electric shock. If you’ve got an EV which you charge at home and haven’t swapped to a special energy tariff, you’re likely to be wasting around £500 per year.

This is because the energy suppliers are very keen to have electric car owners signing up. Not only will your consumption shoot up because of the charging, but you are likely to plug in at night when demand is low. This makes you a perfect customer, and as a result there are plenty of keen deals.

Sifting through the offers can be a bit of a minefield, so we’ve been crunching the numbers for you to compare some of the best tariffs for electric car users right now. 

We’ve had to make certain assumptions though. For the purposes of this feature, we have based the figures on a typical example using a postcode in what energy companies classify as the 'Eastern' region - but the figures will vary based on your circumstances, car and even the charger. So always get a personal quote to see which works out best for you.  

Energy tariffs - the figures

Just for clarity, we need to throw some numbers at you so you can see how we worked out our figures. Skip this next paragraph if you trust us and just want to get to the results. 

According to Ofgem, the average power consumption for a three-bed house on a dual fuel supply (so using gas for heating) is 2,700kWh per year. If this customer bought a family-size electric car such as a Nissan Leaf or VW ID.3 with a real- efficiency rate of 3.8 miles per kWh, covering 8,500 miles every year and charging exclusively at home it would add an extra 2,236kWh to the total.

At the standard Ofgem price cap rate of 22.4p per kWh, the electricity to keep the car running would add £501.86 a year or £41.74 per month to the energy bill. That’s still usefully cheaper than running a petrol car but shifting to a special tariff could see that fall to just £13 per month. 

To keep things simple for our spreadsheet we assumed that all the car charging would be done at night in the off-peak period, which is easily possible for the average driver: five hours on a wall box supplying 7.1kW would be enough for 135 miles of driving on our sample car – more than enough to cover most daily journeys.

We also simplified things by saying all the other domestic power usage would be at the peak rate. If you can shift some of your other electricity consumption to overnight by using timers, the overall savings will easily exceed £500 per year. For example, a dishwasher cycle falls in cost from around 40p to 13p. 

Why you need a certain car or charger to get the best EV energy deals

Energy companies really like to have flexibility around supply. When it is the middle of the night, the weather is mild and the wind is blowing there will be lots of surplus power sloshing around in the grid and they will be very happy if they can zap it into your electric car’s battery. When we’ve all arrived back from work and switched on the oven, TV and electric heater the companies would really rather not have to fire up another power station in order to charge electric cars too.

But there is an even more sophisticated solution which sees the supplier talk to your car or wallbox and start the charge when there is the lowest demand on the grid. You just tell the app how much power you need in the battery and when you want to drive away and the technology sorts it all out with no other input from you needed. 

Doing this results in even cheaper rates – Octopus for example is 1.5p/kWh cheaper off peak for its Intelligent Go tariff versus its standard Go rate. But there is a catch – currently these intelligent or smart tariffs only work with certain cars and chargers. The list is growing all the time but currently it is around 280 models from Audi, BMW, Cupra, Ford, Jaguar/Land Rover (not OVO) MINI, Porsche, Renault (not on Octopus), SEAT, Skoda, Tesla, VW or Volvo (not Octopus). The two chargers are Ohme and Indra. Octopus has also recently added the MyEnergi Zappi and Wallbox too.​

If you have one of these you’ll get the best deals, but it’s not worth changing your existing car or charger to get them as the difference in cost between the best ‘intelligent’ tariff and the cheapest standard off peak is around £100 per year. It’s worth bearing in mind if you are choosing a new car or charger though. 

Octopus has recently announced a new V2G tariff which it says offers free charging at home. We haven't included this yet as it requires a very expensive charger and is limited to a narrow selection of cars. When the situation improves we will update the rankings.

Remember the gas

Many homes in the UK will still be running gas for heating and hot water, and it will usually make sense to combine your supplies into a 'dual fuel' tariff to get the best deal. For simplicity we haven't looked at the gas prices in this round up, but if you do require gas then you may find that it tips the balance towards one supplier. For example, Ecotricity's gas is currently cheaper than Octopus so it may make it cheaper as an overall package.

Based on our sums and prices in mid-April 2024, these are currently the best home tariffs on offer to electric car owners – but please read the details to see if there is one which might suit your unique circumstances better. 

9. Scottish EV Saver - Good for heavy users

Scottishpower.co.uk

Cost/year: £1,201

Peak: 31.3p

Off peak: 7.8p

Standing charge: 49.9p

Off peak hours: 5

You have to dig deep into Scottish Power’s website to find any detailed information about the EV tariff, which made me think it might have something to hide. It turns out to be something of a mixed bag. 

The EV Saver has a competitive off-peak rate of 7.8p/kWh and it offers it for a full five hours – enough for 138 miles of range in my sample car. Only the ‘intelligent’ OVO Charge Anytime and Octopus tariffs can beat it for time and price. 

Unfortunately the EV Saver’s daytime peak rate is right at the bottom of my chart, at 33.1p/kWh. The standing charge is a pricey 49.99p too - the second most expensive here.

This means our annual total comes out at a very average £1,201. There’s a £75 exit fee if you want to swap suppliers too. 

8. Ecotricity EV Tariff

Ecotricity.co.uk

Cost/year: £1,186

Peak: 31.3p

Off peak: 8.1p

Standing charge: 44p

Off peak hours: 5

It’s a welcome return for long-term electric car supporters Ecotricity, which was the first energy company to launch a special tariff but dropped out a few years ago. 

The new package has some highly competitive rates, making it cheaper than the ‘benchmark’ Octopus Go prices for both off peak and the standing charge. But this saving is wiped out by the second highest peak rate of any of the tariffs in this list. 

Like the others here you get five hours of cheap charging, but you’ll need to reset all your timers when the clocks change though and the low-cost electricity is from 12am-5am in winter and 1am-6am when the clocks change for summer. 

The Ecotricity tariff is also fixed for 12 months. While this gives some security, it will also mean you are locked in if prices fall and there’s a £100 exit charge (per fuel - so £200 if you take gas too). There's no requirement to own a certain type of charger or need to prove EV ownership - the package is open to anyone with a smart meter.

7. E.On Next Drive – Good for very heavy users

Eonnext.com

Cost/year: £1,158

Peak: 30.5p

Off peak: 7p

Standing charge: 49.9p

Off peak hours: 7

The main attraction of E.On’s Next Drive is a huge seven hours of the lowest-priced electricity, compared to the five hours offered by the rivals here. It’s a ‘dumb’ tariff so open to any car or charger and the off peak rate stretches from midnight to 7am. Those extra two hours would give 54 more miles of range every day in my example electric car. 

That means this tariff could be the cheapest for drivers who clock up more miles than average and might need to take on more charge overnight. You’d also be able to run other energy sapping appliances for longer too – for example using an immersion to heat the water ready for the morning rush to the shower would be easy as the power is still cheap at 7am.

After a recent price cut the off-peak rate has been cut to 6.9p per kWh, making it the cheapest here. The peak cost has fallen fractionally too, but not by enough to make a difference to our overall costings and the standing charges are towards the bottom of the chart too. 

The prices are fixed for a year and there are no exit fees either - so if you like to charge for longer, E.on could well work out the cheapest.

6. Good Energy - Good for heavy users

Goodenergy.co.uk

Cost/year: £1,132

Peak: 28.8p

Off peak: 7.4p

Standing charge: 51.68p

Off peak hours: 5

Good Energy isn’t a household name, but most electric car drivers will have heard of its subsidiary Zapmap. The previous tariff was far from competitive, so the company has bounced back with a far more punchy offer from July 2024. 

You are offered five hours of off-peak power from midnight until 5am at a competitive 7.4p, and it’s not just restricted to charging your car. That undercuts the Octopus rates and is only beaten by OVO's intelligent tariff, Unfortunately the peak rates are only mid ranking at just under 29p/kWh and any hope of big savings in our spreadsheet is wiped out by the second highest standing charge of any company in this ranking. 

The company has also added an exit fee of £75 if you want to leave them before the end of the tariff, but the reviews say the customer service is highly rated. They also offer customers a free subscription to ZapMap Premium, worth £29.99. 

5. EDF EVolve - Best for peak users

Edfenergy.com

Cost/year: £1,099

Peak: 23.1p

Off peak: 13.1p

Standing charge: 49.9p

Off peak hours: 5

Go through to EDF's 'Electric Cars' menu and you are give a choice of three packages. One is called GoElectric overnight and says it is better for high mileage drivers, then there's a tariff which is reserved for PodPoint charger customers. The third offering is called EVolve and is "for low to medium drivers". We ran the numbers on this and although some of the rates seem high, but these are partially offset by the cheapest peak rate of any provider here, at 23.1p per kWh. The company guarantees this rate will never be higher than the Ofgem price cap. This means for our sample you will pay £623 for your peak power - £35.42 less than the next best from Octopus.

The off-peak rate will always track at 10p less than this top rate - in this case that means 13.1p/kWh, which is valid for five hours every night. That is a nice saving compared to the peak but is by far the most expensive here, costing £135.95 more than the best Octopus rate every year. 

You'll be also stung on the standing charges too, as they are the among the highest in this set at 50p per day. There's a £25 exit fee too. On the plus side the tariff works with any car and it could make sense if you are a heavy used of energy during the peak times - perhaps because you have to charge occasionally during the day or work from home.

We also ran the figures for the older GoElectric overnight tariff to see if it was a better offer. The annual cost for our example was £7.44 less per year, but it didn't change EDF's overall ranking in this chart or offer anything outstanding compared to rivals. 

4. British Gas Electric Driver V7 

Britishgas.co.uk 

Cost/year: £1,089

Peak: 27.5p

Off peak: 7.9p

Standing charge: 46.3p

Off peak hours: 5

After the recent price changes, British Gas has slipped back behind Octopus Go, despite having cheaper off peak rates and the standing charge. This is wiped out in our example by the higher peak rate, which adds up to an extra £84 a year in my example. 

The new Octopus rates introduced on July 1st 2024 also wipe out BG's extra hour of cheap charging advantage, although it's off peak times from 00:00 to 05:00 compared to Octopus’ 00.30 to 05.30 may suit some users more. The company is also currently offering half price electricity every Sunday from 11am to 4pm - that’s not as cheap as the overnight rates but is still a welcome bonus if you have a busy week of driving ahead or have got back from a longer weekend trip.​

Annoyingly the company has added a £100 exit fee too - something which wasn't there on the previous tariff. We’d offer another word of caution too – British Gas gets very lowly scores in customer service charts. If the overall saving is fractional, you may decide its worth a few quid extra to go with a company that answers the phone. 

3. Octopus Go

Octopus.energy

Cost/year: £1,023

Peak: 24.4p

Off peak: 8.5p

Standing charge: 47.85p

Off peak hours: 5

Electric car drivers get quite evangelical about Octopus Go, and that includes me. It’s no exaggeration to say it has saved me personally hundreds of pounds while I’ve been using it. So I'm pleased to see it is back on the podium in our rankings following the latest round of price realignments, mainly due to a cut in the standing charge and peak rates.

The smart tariff provides power at 8.5p/kWh between 00:30 - 05:30 every night and it works with any car, charger and anything else you want to plug in overnight. But it’s really tricky to find mention of it on the Octopus site, and only after going through the process of working out you aren’t eligible for the Intelligent tariff is there any indication that this ‘old’ version of Go is still available. The company has assured me that there are no plans to discontinue it, however. 

It does well in this test due to the lowest peak rates and competitive standing charges. It looks as though the company's bosses listened to our call for an extra hour of cheap power - from July 2024 it now matches the rivals' five hour off-peak period. This means you'll no longer need to top up expensively if you need more miles for a longer trip.

2. OVO Charge Anytime (certain cars/chargers only)

Ovoenergy.com

Cost/year: £1,020

Peak: 25.3p

Off peak: 7p

Standing charge: 49.9p

Off peak hours: N/A

OVO has lost its place at the top of our chart following a price cut from rival Octopus - and theres is a wrinkle which means its savings might not be as big in the real world.

But first, the positives. Like the Octopus Intelligent tariff, OVO’s Charge Anytime uses clever tech to monitor when the grid has excess supply and charges your car. You choose how much power you need and by when and it starts the charge automatically. This requires you to have a compatible car and/or charger, and OVO no longer offers any specific EV tariffs for anyone without this connectivity.

If you do qualify, OVO will give a rebate on your bill for every kWh of energy which goes into your car using the scheduled charging, making it the equivalent of 7p/kWh; that’s the same as Octopus. However the peak rate is no longer cheaper, at 25p versus 24.3p. 

If you need your car in a hurry, you can override your smart charging schedule with the Charge Now function and you'll be charged at the standard peak rate.

With a standing charge which is around 2p a day more expensive, this adds up to an extra cost of £30.70 per year. OVO’s customer service ranks higher than Octopus’ though, according to Citizens' Advice. Other surveys place Octopus higher though. 

But here’s the rub. OVO only offers the cheaper rate on the electricity which flows through the charger, and not on any other energy used in the home overnight. If you are able to programme appliances so you can run the dishwasher and washing machine overnight then it’s very likely that Octopus’ advantage would soon grow in the average family house. 

1. Intelligent Octopus Go (certain cars/chargers only)

Octopus.energy

Cost/year: £989.75

Peak: 24.4p

Off peak: 7.0p

Standing charge: 47.85p

Off peak hours: 6

Head to the Octopus website and ask for a quote on one of the company’s ‘innovative’ tariffs and you will be pointed towards Intelligent Octopus Go. There you will be asked a series of questions to see if your car or chargers are compatible. If they are, you will be treated to charging at 7.0p per kWh and at least six hours of power at the same rate for the rest of your household usage, from 11.30pm to 5.30am.

Key to it is an app which you set up to say how much charge you want and when you want to leave in the car. Then the Octopus software works out when there is excess supply in the grid and automatically charges your car while you sleep.

Following some recent price realignments it is now easily the cheapest of our rates, knocking OVO off the top spot. It has the cheapest peak and off peak prices, and the standing charge is competitive. 

Having six hours of cheap power could be crucial too, if you can programme appliances – or a second electric car – to charge overnight. While the site suggests it only works with the usual Ohme, Indra and MyEnergi Zappi chargers, the company says it is also now compatible with Wallbox and others are coming soon.

Verdict - which are the best electricity tariffs for electric cars?

First, the cheapest deal for you will depend on all sorts of variables so get a quote using your own figures – but hopefully this will give you an idea of where to start so you don’t spend a day tapping details into websites.

If you have a compatible car, or a charger made by Indra or Ohme, you are going to get the best deals as they allow the supplier to manage the charging depending on the demand on the grid. That’s something to bear in mind if you haven’t yet bought your EV or chosen your charger.

Assuming your set up is compatible with these intelligent tariffs, Octopus looks the cheapest, and it doesn't have OVO's downside of only supplying the cheaper rate power to your car rather than appliances or other devices.

If you are stuck with ‘dumb’ cars and chargers (like me) then Octopus’ standard Go offering looks best, especially now the company has added an extra hour of off-peak time. 

An honourable mention goes to E.On. Although the prices aren’t the sharpest, it offers seven hours at the lower rate which could result in big savings if you regularly need to do longer journeys and need a charge from empty to full overnight.