E.ON Next EV tariff: rates, times and is it worth it?

The two tariffs

Next Drive is a fixed-window tariff. Between 00:00 and 06:00 you pay 9.53p/kWh, for 42 off-peak hours a week, for the whole home. It works with any EV and any charger, so you set the timer yourself, and the price is fixed for one year with no exit fees.

Next Drive Smart V7.6 is 8.095p/kWh, which E.ON markets as 8.1p. The same 00:00 to 06:00 window applies to the whole home. What is different is that E.ON’s Next Home app schedules your car’s charging, and any charging it schedules is billed at 8.095p at any time of day, with the whole home getting that rate while the car charges. E.ON says it can save up to £438 a year, based on 8,000 miles at 3.33 miles per kWh against the 26.322p standard rate. That recomputes: 2,402 kWh times the 18.2p difference is £438. It is a unit-rate saving and ignores standing charges and day rates.

Both are fixed for 12 months, and E.ON says neither has an exit fee.

Rates in October 2026

What E.ON does and does not publish:

• Smart peak rate: 31.682p/kWh, a national figure, billed for boost charging or non-smart charging in peak hours. It is lower than Octopus’s average day rate of 36.70p.
• Drive day rate: not published on the pages we read.
• Standing charge: not published by E.ON on either tariff. Third-party databases list a single figure, but we do not use secondary sources for an amount.

Because the standing charge is missing, we cannot place E.ON in our whole-home cost comparison. A quote will show it. If VAT returns on 1 April 2027 on the same pre-VAT price, 8.095p becomes 8.5p and 9.53p becomes 10.01p (our derivation).

The rate has moved fast

E.ON cut Smart to 6.9p on 20 August 2026 (V7.1) and press-released it as under 7p. By 7 October the V7.6 rate was 8.095p, up 17% in seven weeks. E.ON had earlier marketed the same figure as 8.5p including 5% VAT. Check the price on the day you sign.

What you need

For both tariffs:

• A working smart meter that sends half-hourly readings. E.ON installs one free if you are eligible.
• Existing E.ON Next customers move to Smart in up to five days after meter checks; new customers sit on Next Flex for up to two weeks.

For Smart you also need:

• A supported EV (E.ON’s list includes Tesla Model 3, S, X and Y, BMW, Audi, CUPRA and Ford) or a supported charger: myenergi zappi, Hypervolt or Indra. Connecting through a charger means your car manufacturer does not matter.
• The E.ON Next Home app, with a ready-by time set between 4am and 11am.
• One EV only per home.
• Consistent use of smart charging. E.ON says it has the right to remove you from the tariff if you do not, and may remove you if it cannot receive half-hourly readings.

Some carmakers charge a subscription to allow smart charging through their app. E.ON says it is looking at this and expects charger connections to remove the problem.

How much does it cost to charge?

At 0.301 kWh a mile, 8.095p is 2.44p a mile, about £229 for a 9,400-mile year. Next Drive’s 9.53p is 2.87p a mile, about £270. Both compare with about £745 at the 26.32p price cap.

Six hours at 7.4kW holds about 44 kWh, around 148 miles. With Smart, charging E.ON schedules is billed at 8.095p whenever it happens, and the page we read states no daily limit.

Who it suits

Smart suits drivers with a supported car or charger who want a low rate and no exit fee, and who do not mind E.ON controlling when the car charges. Among tariffs with no exit fee, only UW’s Double Gold (7.5p, which needs three or more UW services) is cheaper, so Smart is a sensible option for renters.

Next Drive suits anyone whose car or charger is unsupported, or who wants to keep control of timing.

It suits less well homes with two EVs, because Smart supports one, and anyone who wants the lowest absolute rate: EDF GoElectric is 6.66p with a £75 exit fee, and Intelligent Octopus Go is 7.6p with a £50 exit fee.

E.ON Next against Octopus and EDF

Intelligent Octopus Go is 0.5p cheaper and publishes its day rate and standing charge, but has a £50 exit fee and a six-hour daily allowance for cheap smart charging. EDF GoElectric is cheaper per kWh with a seven-hour window but a £75 exit fee. E.ON has no exit fee on either tariff. See the full comparison and our energy-supplier chargers guide.