Good Energy vs Octopus Smart Export Guarantee tariffs

Good Energy and Octopus Energy sit at opposite ends of the Smart Export Guarantee market in structure, if not always in headline rate. Good Energy's standard Solar Savings export tariff pays 12p per kWh, and its Solar Savings Exclusive tariff pays 25p per kWh for customers who install both solar panels and a battery with Good Energy, for the first 12 months¹. Octopus Energy's plain Smart Export Guarantee tariff pays 4.1p per kWh, while its Outgoing Octopus tariff pays 12p per kWh and its Intelligent Octopus Flux Export tariff averaged 27p per kWh in the year to the SEG's fifth annual report².

The difference that matters most to a household is not the top rate but the condition attached to it. Good Energy's 25p rate is tied to buying the installation from Good Energy; Octopus's highest-paying export tariff is tied to letting Octopus control battery exports, and its SEG tariffs are open to any Octopus customer who exports electricity, whether or not they bought solar equipment from the company¹.

Both are export-only arrangements layered on top of an import supply contract, and both need half-hourly metering. What follows sets out the rates, who each suits, the smart meter requirement, how rates move, and what each supplier's credentials are.

What the two suppliers offer on export

Good Energy runs two export products. Solar Savings is the standard tariff, open to households with solar-only systems or systems installed by another provider, and it pays 12p per kWh¹. Solar Savings Exclusive pays 25p per kWh, but only for customers who had solar panels and a battery installed by Good Energy Solar, and only for the first 12 months¹. Independent guidance describes Good Energy's solar export rates as among the more generous⁶.

Octopus Energy's export range is wider and its conditions differ in kind. Its plain Smart Export Guarantee tariff pays 4.1p per kWh and is available to anyone⁴. Outgoing Octopus pays 12p per kWh with no fixed end date³. Intelligent Octopus Flux Export averaged 27p per kWh, the second highest rate available in the SEG's fifth year, and was available to customers on the Intelligent Flux import tariff who had solar PV and battery storage but also allowed Octopus to control their battery exports². Octopus Flux pays for export at peak times, and Intelligent Octopus Flux is a two-rate tariff with matching import and export prices and automated battery management that charges when power is cheapest and exports between 4pm and 7pm⁴.

The structural difference is what each supplier wants in return. Good Energy's best rate is bought with an installation contract. Octopus's best rate is bought with control of the battery. A household with panels but no battery, and no intention of buying one, is choosing between 12p from Good Energy and 4.1p or 12p from Octopus, depending on which Octopus product it takes¹.

Export rates: 12p on Solar Savings, up to 25p with solar and battery

The spread between the two suppliers is best read as a set of tiers rather than a single comparison.

The context for these numbers is the floor of the market. In the SEG's fifth year the lowest tied and untied tariffs were 5p per kWh (Octopus) and 1p per kWh (E Energy) respectively². Against that, 12p is well above the bottom and 25p or 27p is at the top. Historical comparison shows how far rates have moved: in the SEG's third year the highest rate available was Octopus's Tesla Outgoing July 2022 v1 tariff at 25.48p per kWh⁸, and in 2020 an example put annual earnings at £82.50 for exporting 1,500kWh on Eon's Fix & Export Exclusive tariff or Octopus Energy's Outgoing Fixed tariff⁹.

22p depending on time of day. Both are recorded here as stated, and the disagreement is unresolved.

Who each tariff suits: solar only, solar plus battery, or export only

Independent guidance maps household types onto tariff types fairly cleanly. A household with solar panels only is probably best off looking for the best SEG rate export tariff¹⁰. A household with solar panels and a battery has more options: a dedicated solar and battery tariff, or a good SEG tariff matched with a dynamic import tariff or an Economy 7 tariff¹⁰. A household with a battery but no solar generation is best off with either a dynamic tariff or Economy 7¹⁰.

Applied to these two suppliers, that produces a clear split. A solar-only household comparing Good Energy and Octopus is comparing 12p against 4.1p or 12p, and the Good Energy standard tariff is the stronger of the two on rate alone¹. A solar and battery household that bought its system from Good Energy can reach 25p for 12 months¹. A solar and battery household willing to hand battery control to Octopus can reach an average of 27p². A household that wants a dedicated solar and battery import tariff alongside export has more to weigh, because the import side and the export side are separate decisions.

For households assembling a package, independent guidance suggests looking for a good SEG tariff for exported electricity and then either a dynamic tariff or a heat pump tariff for import, from the same company¹⁰. That points to suppliers offering both sides of the arrangement, which both Good Energy and Octopus do.

Smart meter requirement and how the switch works

Export tariffs need half-hourly data. Signing up to a tariff that pays for exporting solar electricity requires a meter that can give half-hourly readings, generally a smart meter⁵. The same requirement runs through flexible tariffs generally: a smart meter is needed to get all the benefits from new flexible energy tariffs¹¹, to access the full benefits of flexible schemes and smart tariffs¹², and smart time-of-use tariffs need a meter that communicates with the supplier every half hour¹⁴. A smart meter is essential for tracking energy use with time-of-use tariffs and monitoring any exported energy¹⁵.

The SEG itself obliges suppliers to offer tariffs for exported electricity, so an export tariff is not discretionary on the supplier's side¹⁶. On the switching process, some suppliers simplify the switch from one tariff to another, offer clear guidance, handle most of the process and may help with smart meter installation, and Octopus is named among them¹⁷. Octopus's SEG tariffs are available to all Octopus customers who export electricity¹⁸.

A dual fuel switch carries a 14-day cooling-off period during which a household can change its mind and opt out, still paying for energy used¹⁹. The published facts do not set out a separate cooling-off period for export-only arrangements, and no switching timescale is given for Good Energy export tariffs. The documented contract term is the first 12 months of Solar Savings Exclusive¹.

How Good Energy's export rates compare on value

On the standard tier, Good Energy's 12p per kWh matches Octopus's Outgoing tariff at 12p and sits well above Octopus's plain SEG tariff at 4.1p¹. On the premium tier, Good Energy's 25p for 12 months sits just below the 27p average recorded for Intelligent Octopus Flux Export in the SEG's fifth year¹.

The comparison changes once conditions are priced in. Good Energy's 25p requires buying panels and a battery from Good Energy, and the supplier states solar packages start from £6,380 including installation, correct June 2026¹. Octopus's highest rate requires giving Octopus control of battery exports². Neither is a like-for-like rate comparison with the other; each is the top of a different ladder.

The floor of the market matters for judging both. With the lowest untied tariff at 1p per kWh and the lowest tied tariff at 5p per kWh in the SEG's fifth year, both suppliers pay well above the bottom of the range². Independent coverage has described Good Energy's solar export rates as among the more generous⁶, and Octopus as offering some of the highest export tariff rates without requiring customers to buy their solar solutions¹⁸.

For a household weighing independence, the trade is visible. A higher export rate bought with an installation contract ties the household to one company for the hardware; a higher export rate bought with battery control ties the household to one company for the timing of its exports. The standard tariffs at both suppliers leave the household free of both conditions and pay less.

Rate changes and notice: what happens when prices move

Export rates are not fixed in the way import unit rates can be. Good Energy's Solar Savings export rate fell from 15p per kWh to 12p per kWh in July 2026¹. Good Energy's Standard, Deemed and Default, and Traditional Prepayment and Smart Prepayment tariffs all change rates on 1 October 2026¹. In April 2026 Good Energy shifted Solar Savings Exclusive export payments from quarterly to monthly⁴.

On the import side, the mechanics are better documented. A fixed-rate energy tariff keeps the price per unit the same even if the market price of energy changes²⁰. A standard variable rate tariff is tied to Ofgem's energy price cap, so it changes when the cap changes²¹. Octopus's Agile tariff changes the price every half hour in line with the changing wholesale price of electricity²². Octopus Energy fixed-price tariffs allow switching without an exit penalty if energy prices fall below what is being paid²³. Households switching should be aware of any exit fees they may have to pay²⁴.

For the older Feed-in Tariff scheme, generation and export tariffs are adjusted every April by the RPI percentage increase or decrease over the previous calendar year, and for installations with an eligibility date in the latest quarter before 1 April the generation tariff is not adjusted by RPI until the following year²⁵. That is a different scheme from the SEG, but it shows the pattern of annual indexation that some export arrangements follow.

The published facts do not set out a notice period for SEG export rate changes at either supplier. What is documented is that rates do move, and that Good Energy's standard export rate moved down by 3p per kWh in July 2026¹.

Good Energy as a supplier: accreditation, matching and company credentials

Good Energy holds encompassing licences, recorded in Ofgem's licensee contact list²⁶. The supplier reports an 87% half-hourly match between renewable generation and customer demand in 2026, which it describes as ranking it top for time-matching in the UK¹. The Matched Clean Power Index rankings from May 2026 place Good Energy first among suppliers for real-time matching of customer electricity use to renewable generation¹.

Octopus Energy is a Which? Recommended Provider⁴. It ranked 4th in the supplier comparison table for January to March 2026, and offers prepayment²⁷. Independent guidance records that up to 100% of Octopus's renewables in green tariffs came from renewable sources in the year to 31 March 2025²⁸.

Both suppliers operate in a market where the SEG requires suppliers to offer export tariffs¹⁶. The SEG's annual reporting shows how rates have moved across the market: the highest rate in the third year was 25.48p per kWh, and by the fifth year the lowest tied and untied tariffs were 5p per kWh and 1p per kWh respectively².

For a household, the credentials that matter for export are narrower than for import. An export tariff depends on the supplier's ability to meter, pay and keep paying. Good Energy's time-matching record and Octopus's customer-service recognition are the documented markers here¹. The wider question of what an export tariff does for a household's energy independence, and what dependence on a supplier remains, is set out in tariffs and energy independence.

Getting a quote and contacting Good Energy

Good Energy publishes hello@goodenergy.co.uk as its contact address, and the same address appears in guidance on energy refunds and on contacting your supplier²⁶. Octopus Energy publishes hello@octopus.energy, and a separate address, hello@octoenergy.com, appears in the same Ofgem list²⁶.

For a household comparing the two, the practical route is to establish first whether the property has the half-hourly metering an export tariff requires, then which tier of each supplier's range the installation qualifies for⁵. A solar-only household installed by a third party qualifies for Good Energy's standard 12p tariff and for Octopus's SEG or Outgoing tariffs, but not for either supplier's premium tier¹. A household that bought panels and a battery from Good Energy qualifies for 25p for 12 months¹. A household willing to let Octopus control battery exports can reach the Intelligent Flux arrangement².

The published facts do not give a switching timescale for Good Energy export tariffs, and no quote process is documented beyond the contact addresses. Prices for solar and battery installations are installer-quoted; the only published figure is Good Energy's stated solar package starting price of £6,380 including installation, correct June 2026¹. For the wider picture of how export tariffs fit into a household's arrangements, see the Smart Export Guarantee and SEG export rates.