Comparison

Octopus Watch vs Simple Solar

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Octopus Watch

This app helps Octopus Energy customers in the UK manage their smart tariffs and save on electricity bills. It provides real-time rate information, upcoming prices, and personalized alerts for optimal energy usage.

Highlights
  • View current and upcoming electricity rates
  • Get cheapest times for appliances/EV charging
  • Home screen widget for prices
  • Alerts for next-day Agile rates
  • Historic day-by-day usage
  • Export cleaned data to CSV
  • 48h Agile rate predictions (subscription)
Features
Read full description

Octopus Watch is the easiest tool to manage the (smart) tariffs provided by Octopus Energy in the UK. Octopus Watch is a paymium app for iOS offering both a standard version as a one-time purchase, and an optional subscription with additional features. Ready to supercharge your savings? Save significantly on your electricity bill, regardless of whether you're on Agile, Go, Cosy, Flux, Tracker, or any fixed tariffs (basic or eco 7). Thinking of joining Agile? Log into the app with just your postcode and check out local rates. If you want to see your consumption history, you'll need an Octopus Energy account and an active smart meter. The app fully supports Intelligent Go. For the latest status on tariff support check out the wiki: https://wiki.smarthound.uk/octopus-watch/tariffs/ . With the standard version of Octopus Watch, you'll have all the tools at your fingertips to effectively manage your tariff: • View your current rates in an instant (including for gas trackers). • View your current electricity rates directly on your Apply Watch! • See all your upcoming rates in an easy chart and table. • Instantly get the cheapest times to run appliances or charge your EV, and save big! • Use the beautiful widget for current and upcoming prices on your home screen. • Receive alerts when the next day's Agile rates are available. • See your historic day-by-day usage. • Use the new micro metrics to quickly see trends in your usage. • See when your meter fails and how much data is missing. • Understand how weather influences your usage. • One tap comparison to see how your tariff compares to Agile, Go, and SVT. • Check your earnings from export (only available with an export meter). • Various options to change the app defaults to best suit your needs! • Export cleaned data to CSV for easy use in other apps such as Microsoft® Excel®. Want even more? A single subscription gets you access to these amazing features: • Up to 48h Agile rate predictions – plan your usage effectively and save even more! • If you have an export meter, also receive Agile export rate predictions. • Access 7-day weather forecasts across Great Britain for even better planning. • Instant notifications when next day's Agile prices fall below your chosen threshold. • Identify optimal half-hour blocks throughout the day to charge your EV or run appliances. • Carbon integration - see your environmental impact both now and in the past. • View your electricity generation regionally or nationally, and adjusted to your usage. • Choose the best slot based on either price or lowest carbon emissions on the grid. • One tap comparison to see how your tariff compares to most smart tariffs. • Advanced micro metrics over 14 or 28 days, including subscription-only metrics. • Day details – see your exact usage along with numerous statistics on a day-by-day basis. • Day details – see exactly which data is missing when your meter stops reporting. • Micro-optimise your usage with half-hour details within the app. • Generate straightforward electricity reports for any period in the last year. • Generate detailed gas reports, including heat pump efficiency information, for the last year. Thanks to Family Sharing you can install the app on all devices within the same family. Install it on your iPhone for an easy pocket reference, run it from your iPad to see the beautiful rate graph and double column table, or see the current rate with a flick of your wrist on your Apple Watch with dozens of complications to choose from. The choice is yours! Octopus Watch also supports subscription sharing, so one subscription gives you access to all the extras on all the iPhones and iPads in your household.

About

Simple Solar

Features
Read full description

Simple Solar is the fastest, simplest way to control your SunSynk inverter. Make changes in seconds, not minutes — no clutter, no confusing menus, just clear control. Edit battery schedules instantly with a powerful visual editor, or use quick toggles to override charging, discharging, and grid export on the fly. Monitor your solar generation, battery status, and home energy consumption in real time from one clean, reliable dashboard. Core Features: • Edit battery schedules in seconds with an intuitive visual editor • Instant on/off toggles for battery charge, discharge, and export • Real-time energy flow visualisation • Daily, weekly, and monthly energy statistics • Support for multiple plants and parallel inverters Simple Solar Pro unlocks advanced automation: • Smart Tariff Integration – Automatically charge during cheap Octopus Intelligent Go slots • Custom Schedules – Fine-grained time-based rules for grid and battery control • Push Notifications – Alerts for low battery, high load, and system events • Monthly Reports – Detailed energy summaries exportable as PDF • Ad-free experience • Smart Tariff Automation – Supports Octopus Intelligent Go, Cosy, Flux and Go, plus E.ON Next, EDF GoElectric, British Gas, ScottishPower, Good Energy and fully custom tariffs. Automatically charge your battery during the cheapest slots, including extra cheap “bump” slots your provider signals through the day, and sell stored energy back during peak export periods or before your guaranteed cheap period starts. • Solar-Aware Charging – Only tops up from the grid by as much as your predicted solar won’t cover, helping you avoid over-buying energy. • Custom Schedules – Fine-grained time-of-use rules for grid and battery control. • Push Notifications – Alerts for low battery, high load and system events. • Monthly Reports – Detailed energy summaries exportable as PDF. • Ad-free experience. Terms of Use: https://minutiamobile.com/marketing/simpleSolar/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://minutiamobile.com/marketing/simpleSolar/privacy.html

Screenshots

Octopus Watch4 screens
Simple Solar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Simple Solar at Free against Octopus Watch's $1.99. On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Simple Solar is free to download; Octopus Watch costs $1.99 up front. Octopus Watch sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Simple Solar sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Octopus Watch versus Simple Solar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOctopus WatchSimple Solar
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews64.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.1 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKim BautersMinutia Mobile

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Octopus Watch

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Month Subscription$1.991 Month
  • 1 Year Subscription$11.991 Year
4 purchases

Simple Solar

Subscriptions2
  • Automation7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$59.001 Year
One-time2
  • Remove Ads$2.99
  • Remove Ad's$2.99

Questions

Is Octopus Watch free?
Octopus Watch costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Simple Solar free?
Simple Solar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Octopus Watch or Simple Solar have ads?
Neither Octopus Watch nor Simple Solar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Octopus Watch or Simple Solar?
Octopus Watch ships an update every 3 weeks, and Simple Solar every 3 weeks. Most recently, Octopus Watch was updated on November 3, 2026 and Simple Solar on October 30, 2026.

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