OVO Energy’s Charge Anytime is a fundamentally different product from every other tariff in our comparison. Rather than a whole-home time-of-use tariff with cheaper overnight rates, it is an EV-only smart charging add-on that sits alongside your OVO home tariff.
The key appeal is that you don’t have to change your home energy tariff at all. But the trade-off is an effective charging rate that is significantly more expensive than the whole-home alternatives on the market.
How Charge Anytime works
Charge Anytime comes as monthly plans from £26.50 per month (Standard, 700 miles a month) to £76.50 (Premium Plus, 2,000 miles a month), or pay as you go at 13.33p/kWh. The cheaper rate applies only to electricity used for EV smart charging. Your home electricity continues on your OVO tariff at the normal rate; OVO’s standard variable tariff follows the price cap, which averages 26.32p/kWh from 1 October 2026.
OVO uses smart dispatch technology powered by Kaluza to schedule your charging automatically. The system works with compatible smart chargers and EVs to charge your car when electricity is cheapest and greenest, day or night. You set a ready-by time and Charge Anytime handles the rest.
The effective cost per kWh on the monthly plans works out at roughly 13p to 15p/kWh at typical usage levels, though this varies with how much you charge each month. OVO lowered its Charge Anytime prices from 1 October 2026, when VAT on household electricity fell to 0% (until 31 March 2027).
Why the effective rate looks high
Compared to the rest of the UK EV tariff market, Charge Anytime’s effective rate is significantly more expensive:
| Tariff | Off-peak rate | Type |
|---|---|---|
| OVO Charge Anytime | ~13.33p/kWh | EV-only add-on |
| British Gas EV Power | 9.5p/kWh | Whole-home |
| Octopus Go | 9.5p/kWh | Whole-home |
| E.ON Next Drive Smart | 8.1p/kWh | Whole-home |
| Intelligent Octopus Go | 7.6p/kWh | Whole-home |
| Good Energy EV Charge | 7.62p/kWh | Whole-home |
| So Energy So EV | 7.14p/kWh | Whole-home |
| EDF GoElectric | 6.66p/kWh | Whole-home |
At 13.33p/kWh for a 60kWh battery, a full charge from empty costs approximately £8. On Intelligent Octopus Go’s 7.6p rate, the same charge costs £4.56. Over 15,000 miles per year, Charge Anytime costs roughly £245 more annually in charging costs than Intelligent Octopus Go.
When does Charge Anytime make sense?
The subscription model and EV-only pricing can work in specific situations:
You’re on a favourable OVO home tariff you don’t want to lose. If you have a competitive OVO tariff for your home supply that you’d lose by switching entirely, Charge Anytime avoids that disruption.
You charge infrequently. Lower-mileage drivers who charge a small number of times per month may find pay as you go adds up to an acceptable total. At very low mileage, the savings from switching supplier may not offset the friction of changing.
Your vehicle requires smart dispatch. If you specifically want smart scheduling rather than a manual timer, and your car or charger isn’t supported by Octopus or E.ON Next, OVO’s growing compatibility list may include your setup.
OVO’s environmental positioning
OVO has made environmental commitments central to their brand. Plan Zero offsets carbon for members, plants trees, and invests in green infrastructure. Charge Anytime electricity is scheduled to prioritise times when the grid runs on more renewable power.
For environmentally motivated EV drivers who want verified renewable sourcing, Good Energy and Ecotricity both have more rigorous sourcing commitments and longer track records in green energy.
Charger and vehicle compatibility
OVO Charge Anytime is compatible with a growing range of smart chargers including Ohme Home Pro and Indra Smart Pro, as well as an expanding list of electric vehicles with built-in scheduling via the Kaluza platform. Check the OVO website for the current compatibility list before applying.
The honest comparison
For most UK EV drivers charging at home regularly, Charge Anytime is not the cheapest option. A whole-home switch to Intelligent Octopus Go, E.ON Next Drive Smart, or EDF GoElectric will typically produce greater annual savings.
The plan structure makes Charge Anytime genuinely difficult to compare directly on rates alone, but at most typical mileage levels the effective cost per kWh lands well above the best whole-home alternatives.
Our verdict on OVO Charge Anytime
Charge Anytime is a convenient but not cost-efficient product. It removes the friction of changing your home tariff and fits within the OVO ecosystem. But the effective charging rate makes it substantially more expensive than the whole-home alternatives from Octopus, E.ON Next, EDF and others.
If you’re an OVO customer happy with your home tariff and want to add smart EV charging without switching, Charge Anytime is a workable option. For everyone else, a specialist whole-home EV tariff will save significantly more money each year.
How OVO Energy compares
See how this tariff stacks up against the best alternatives.
| Tariff | Off-peak | Peak | Window | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charge Anytime OVO Energy | 13.33p/kWh | 26.32p/kWh | Smart charging any time (EV only) | Switch |
| Intelligent Octopus Go Octopus Energy | 7.6p/kWh | 36.70p/kWh | 23:30–05:30 plus smart slots | View |
| Next Drive Smart E.ON Next | 8.1p/kWh | 30.82p/kWh | 00:00–06:00 plus smart slots | View |
| So EV So Energy | 7.14p/kWh | Quote only | 00:00–05:00 daily | View |
Rates correct as of October 2026. Always check current rates with the supplier directly before you switch.
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