OVO EV tariff: rates and is it worth it?

How Charge Anytime works

Charge Anytime is an add-on to your OVO home tariff, not a tariff in its own right. You set a ready-by time in the OVO Charge app and OVO’s smart software picks the greenest times before it, at any hour of the day or night. There is no fixed cheap window, and OVO says there are no inflated peak times: it discounts your EV charging from your standard home rate. If you override the schedule, or boost, you pay your normal home rate.

You need an OVO account, a smart meter sending half-hourly readings, and either a compatible car or a compatible smart charger. If you are not with OVO you can check compatibility before switching. Charge Anytime is not available for bidirectional charging, according to Indra’s support page. Our guide to bidirectional chargers explains where V2G stands.

Rates and monthly plans

The pay-as-you-go price is 13.33p per smart-charged kWh. OVO moved it from 7p to 14p on 4 November 2025 and cut it to 13.33p on 1 October 2026 because domestic electricity became zero-rated for VAT. If the zero rate lapses on 31 March 2027 and the pre-VAT price stays the same, expect 14p again. Volvo drivers who smart charge in the Volvo Cars app may keep a separate 6.66p/kWh rate.

The plans cost more than pay as you go for the same home charging. OVO’s own footnote works through a household smart charging 500kWh a month: £799.80 a year on pay as you go against £918 on Premium Plus. OVO values the extra perks at £337, made up of the £240 voucher, £42 of charger cover and a £55 battery check. The charger cover pays for unlimited repairs up to £2,000 a claim, with terms and exclusions, and Premium and Plus plans add a yearly battery health check. A plan makes sense if you will use those perks.

OVO or Intelligent Octopus Go?

Per kWh of car charging, Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) wins easily: 7.6p against 13.33p. But IOG sets one set of rates for the whole house, with a day rate of 34.96p to 38.82p by region against the capped 26.32p, and it needs a compatible car or charger and a smart meter. OVO’s add-on leaves your home rate alone. Which wins depends on how much of your household use you can move into IOG’s 23:30 to 05:30 window. Our own arithmetic, using 9,400 miles, 2,500kWh of house use and OVO’s standard variable rate at the price cap, gives:

So OVO is about £96 a year cheaper than IOG if you move nothing, and IOG is about £122 cheaper if you move 30% of your house use. Our Intelligent Octopus Go explainer shows the regional day rates. IOG has a £50 exit fee and only fixed versions are on sale. The OVO add-on has none, though an OVO fixed home tariff may.

Which chargers and cars work

OVO’s list, updated in October 2026, names these smart-charger brands: Andersen, Hypervolt, Indra, myenergi, NexBlue, Cord and evec. It lists no live beta chargers. Ohme is not on it: OVO staff confirmed on its forum that the integration ended on 15 July 2025. We also found no OVO listing for the Octopus Charge, Sync Energy Wall Charger 2, Rolec EVO, Easee One (Easee says it is not fully supported), Pod Solo 3S, Wallbox Pulsar Max or Zaptec Go 2. On the car side, OVO lists Audi, BMW, Cupra, Kia, Mini, Porsche, Renault, SEAT, Škoda, Tesla, Volkswagen and Volvo, with Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota and Xpeng in beta. You need a compatible car or charger, not both, and OVO recommends the charger route if you have both. With solar panels, you need a solar-compatible charger.

OVO installs the myenergi zappi from £949 and the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro from £1,099. The Andersen A3 and evec VEC01 are also on the list.

Is it worth it?

It suits three households. The first cannot move much house use overnight, because someone is home all day or you work from home. The second has a compatible car and a basic charger. The third wants no contract and a simple rate. It suits others less. If you can run the washing machine, dishwasher and a battery overnight, IOG is cheaper, and our guide to energy supplier chargers covers the hardware side. Rates move fast, so check OVO’s page and your own quote before switching. Our EV tariffs comparison shows every tariff with a published rate.