OVO Charge Anytime occupies an unusual position in the UK EV tariff market. Rather than asking you to switch your whole home energy supply to access a cheaper overnight rate, it works as an add-on to your existing OVO account. For drivers who are happy with OVO’s home tariff and do not want to go through the process of switching supplier, that is genuinely convenient.
But convenience comes at a cost. The effective charging rate of around 14p/kWh is the highest in our comparison, and for most regular EV drivers the maths will favour switching to a whole-home tariff instead.
How Charge Anytime works
Charge Anytime uses the Kaluza smart dispatch platform, developed by OVO, to schedule your EV charging at the cheapest and greenest available times. You set a departure time in the OVO app and the system handles when your car charges within the available window.
Because it is an EV-only product, the cheap rate applies only to your car charging. Your household electricity remains on your separate OVO home tariff, billed as normal.
The three Charge Anytime options
OVO offers Charge Anytime in three configurations:
Standard Plan (£27.50/month): Designed for drivers covering around 8,000 miles per year from home charging. The monthly fee covers approximately 700 miles per month of home charging allowance.
Premium Plan (£37.50/month): Aimed at higher-mileage drivers, covering around 12,000 miles per year (approximately 1,000 miles per month) from home charging.
Pay-as-you-go: No monthly subscription. You pay approximately 14p/kWh for smart-dispatched EV charging, without a bundled mileage allowance.
Both monthly plans include a £120 annual credit for public charging, which can be used at public charge points across the UK and Europe. The PAYG option does not include this credit.
The rate reality
The effective charging rate of around 14p/kWh is significantly higher than the mainstream alternatives. Intelligent Octopus Go charges 8p/kWh with smart dispatch, while EDF GoElectric Overnight offers 6.99p/kWh on a fixed window. E.ON Next Drive Smart matches Octopus at 8p/kWh.
On a 60kWh battery charged from empty, the difference between 14p and 8p is £3.60 per charge. A driver charging 200 times per year would pay £720 more annually on Charge Anytime than on Intelligent Octopus Go, before accounting for any benefit from retaining their existing OVO home tariff.
Who Charge Anytime actually suits
Charge Anytime makes sense if:
- You are on a competitive OVO home tariff with a low day rate you would lose by switching supplier
- You drive fewer than 6,000 miles per year from home charging, making the absolute cost difference smaller
- You regularly use public charge points and want the £120 annual credit included in the monthly plans
- You specifically do not want to change supplier and are comfortable paying a higher rate for that convenience
Charge Anytime is not the best choice if:
- You drive 8,000 miles or more per year from home charging
- You are not already an OVO customer
- Your priority is the lowest possible charging cost
Use our EV tariffs comparison to model whether switching supplier would save you money before committing to Charge Anytime.
BestChargers.co.uk is an independent website and is not affiliated with or endorsed by OVO Energy. Recommendations are based on our own research and editorial judgement.
How OVO Energy compares
See how this tariff stacks up against the best alternatives.
| Tariff | Off-peak | Peak | Window | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charge Anytime OVO Energy | ~14p/kWh | 25.96p/kWh | Smart dispatch (EV charging only) | Switch |
| Intelligent Octopus Go Octopus Energy | 8p/kWh | 33.72p/kWh | Smart dispatch (11pm–5am) | View |
| Drive Smart E.ON Next | 8p/kWh | 26.35p/kWh | Smart dispatch (midnight–6am) | View |
| Electric Driver British Gas | 9p/kWh | 31p/kWh | 00:00–05:00 daily | View |
Rates correct as of April 2026. Always check with providers before switching.
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