The Short Answer
Get the Octopus quote, then get at least one independent MCS installer to quote the same house before you sign. It costs you nothing, and it's the only way to know whether Octopus's typical price of £4,064 after the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is a good price for your home.
Octopus is a genuinely good way to get a heat pump if your home is straightforward: a 2 to 4 bed house replacing a gas boiler, with ordinary plumbing and nothing listed or unusual about it. The process is clear, and you only pay the balance once the system's running. Where it falls down is choice and awkward homes. You get a Cosy, a Daikin or a Grant and nothing else, it won't take on homes that need re-piping, and installs are 4 to 16 weeks after approvals depending on your region.
What Octopus Actually Sells
Octopus makes its own heat pump, the Cosy, in three sizes. It's designed in the UK, uses R290 (propane) refrigerant, and comes as a full package: the outdoor unit, a hot water cylinder, controls, up to four Cosy Pods that read temperature and humidity around the house, and control through the Octopus app. Octopus only installs hardware it supplies itself: a Cosy, or a Daikin or Grant heat pump where a Cosy isn't the right fit.
Here's what the three Cosy models do, from Octopus's own spec table:
| Model | Heat output (-5C outside, 50C flow) | SCOP at 50C | SCOP at 65C | Sound power (55C) | Octopus says it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosy 6 | 5.6 kW | 3.4 | 2.8 | 58 dB(A) | 1 to 4 beds, heat loss under 5.6 kW |
| Cosy 9 | 8.7 kW | 3.6 | 3.0 | 56 dB(A) | 3 to 5 beds, heat loss up to 8.7 kW |
| Cosy 12 | 11.2 kW | 3.9 | 3.3 | 61 dB(A) | Larger or older homes, heat loss up to 11.2 kW |
All three reach a 70C flow temperature, which is why Octopus can say a Cosy will generally heat anything a gas boiler heats today. That's true, but don't treat high flow temperatures as free. Look at the SCOP column: running the same Cosy 9 at 65C instead of 50C drops it from 3.6 to 3.0, and that's about 20% more electricity for the same heat. A good design gets your flow temperature as low as the radiators allow, and sometimes that means swapping two or three radiators rather than cranking the heat pump up. More on that in our radiators guide.
You don't have to be an Octopus energy customer to buy one. You do have to be on an Octopus supply tariff to use Smart Heating, the feature that shifts your heating into the cheapest hours automatically, because it needs your meter and tariff data.
What It Costs, and What's Not in the Price
Octopus's headline is a typical price of £4,064 after the £7,500 grant: the median post-survey quote across all its heat pump quotes. It compares that with a national figure of £5,408, which is exactly the government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme median for April to June 2026 (£12,908) less the grant. Its own footnotes don't agree on which months either figure covers (two of them, on the same page, give different dates), so treat the comparison as a rough one. A median is a fair way to state a price (better than a "from" price), but it's still a median. Half of homes pay more.
The standard quote includes the heat pump, a compatible cylinder, the plumbing, pipework and electrics, installation by Octopus's engineers, the whole BUS application (including a free EPC if you need one), asbestos testing in the install areas, and the warranty. The things Octopus lists as costing extra are where a quote grows:
| Extra | What Octopus says |
|---|---|
| New radiators | Usually £250 each. It assumes your existing radiators will do until the survey says otherwise |
| Scaffolding | Needed in about 30% of homes, typically £800 to £1,000 |
| Planning permission | Roughly 40% of its customers need it. The council fee is typically £250 to £347, and Octopus can't submit the application for you |
| Asbestos removal | Testing is free, removal isn't |
| Fuse or network upgrades | If your network operator says your supply needs upgrading first |
| Groundworks, structural surveys, loft cylinders | Charged if your home needs them |
Two of those deserve a second look. Four new radiators and scaffolding would add £1,800 to £2,000 to a £4,064 quote, which pushes it straight past the national median Octopus compares itself with. And the planning figure is striking: Octopus says roughly 40% of its customers need formal planning permission, yet it leaves the application to you. An independent installer who handles planning as part of the job is worth something in that situation.
For the full picture on prices, including what independent installers typically charge, see our heat pump costs guide.
The grant
Octopus deducts the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant from your quote and handles the application, which is how the scheme works with any installer taking part in it (you can't apply for BUS yourself). The grant is £7,500 for an air source heat pump in England and Wales. Until March 2027 there's an extra £1,500, making £9,000, if your home is heated by oil or LPG and has no mains gas connection. Our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide covers the eligibility rules and the deadlines.
Paying for it
You pay a £200 deposit to book the survey, which is fully refundable until you sign the installation agreement. The balance is due once the system is installed and finished, which is a fair arrangement. If you'd rather spread it, Octopus offers finance through Novuna over 5 to 10 years, subject to status. After installation, Octopus's FAQ says service plans start from £9 a month; its Cosy Care page prices its plan at £12 a month, so check which applies to you.
How the Process Works
- Online quote. Put in your postcode and some details, and Octopus estimates prices for low, medium and high temperature options. It will also tell you if it can't install in your area yet.
- Survey. Pay the £200 deposit and a surveyor visits to work out your home's heat loss, check your pipes and radiators, and decide where the unit and cylinder go. You then get a system design, a final quote with the grant deducted, and expected running costs.
- Approvals. Any planning permission, network operator approval, scaffolding and radiator or pipework upgrades get sorted before an install date is set.
- Waiting. Octopus says it's usually 4 to 16 weeks from approvals to install, depending on your region.
- Install. Most take a few days. Hot water is usually back by the end of day one, and Octopus lends you space heaters while the heating's off. You need to be in on the first and last day.
- Handover. You get your certificates and a walkthrough, and the final payment is due.
That 4 to 16 week window is after approvals, so from first quote to working heating it can easily be several months. If your boiler has already failed and it's November, that matters more than the price.
The Cosy Octopus Tariff
The Cosy Octopus tariff is where a lot of the running cost saving comes from. It has three cheap windows a day, 04:00 to 07:00, 13:00 to 16:00 and 22:00 to midnight, which are 51% below your region's day rate, and a peak from 16:00 to 19:00 that's 50% above it. A heat pump that does most of its work in those windows ends up well under the standard price cap rate. We model it at around 20p/kWh blended, but Octopus prices it regionally and doesn't publish one national figure, so check your postcode on its site. Octopus raised Cosy's rates on 21 October 2026. On our example home, EDF's Heat Pump Tracker now comes out slightly cheaper unless you schedule most of your heating (our heat pump tariff comparison has the numbers).
You can put any heat pump on Cosy Octopus, not just a Cosy, and it doesn't have to have been installed by Octopus. You do need a smart meter Octopus can connect to. That's worth knowing, because it means the tariff is not a reason to buy the hardware. If an independent installer quotes you a Vaillant or a Mitsubishi, you can still switch to Cosy Octopus afterwards. What you'd miss is Octopus's Smart Heating, which works with the Cosy and needs you to be on an Octopus tariff.
Octopus says Cosy customers on Cosy Octopus saved an average of £230 last year compared with an 85% efficient gas boiler on its standard variable tariff, and that its Cosy fleet runs at a seasonal efficiency of around 3.6. Those are real fleet figures, which is more than most companies offer. The saving does shift between Octopus's own pages, though: we saw £205 and £230 on the same day. To see what a heat pump would save in your own house, try our heat pump savings calculator.
Where Octopus Falls Short
None of these are deal-breakers for a typical house, but they're the things the sales pages don't dwell on.
- Three brands, no more. Cosy, Daikin or Grant. Octopus says it only installs hardware it supplies itself. If you want a Vaillant aroTHERM, a Mitsubishi Ecodan or a Samsung, you need someone else.
- Bigger homes run out of Cosy. The Cosy 12 tops out at 11.2 kW. A large, older or poorly insulated house with a higher heat loss than that moves you onto a Daikin or Grant, or out of Octopus's range altogether.
- No re-piping. Octopus won't install where the plumbing needs fully replacing or re-piping, and refers those homes to its Trusted Partners.
- Planning is on you. For the roughly 40% of customers who need permission, Octopus provides the technical data but you submit the application.
- Waits vary by region. 4 to 16 weeks after approvals is a wide range, and Octopus says it depends where you live.
- Some of its own pages disagree. Most of Octopus's FAQ answers promise an eight year warranty on a Cosy or Grant, while another answer on the same page says the heat pump and cylinder come with five years. Get the warranty terms in writing on your installation agreement. The FAQ's noise test also tells you to check for 42 dB at a neighbour's window. That's the old limit in England and Wales (42 dB still applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland). In England and Wales, permitted development now uses 37.0 dB, measured 1m from a neighbour's door or window (see our heat pump noise guide).
- Hush Mode and Smart Heating don't work together yet. You pick one or the other.
Octopus vs an Independent MCS Installer
| Octopus | Independent MCS installer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,064 typical after the grant (median quote), extras on top | Varies a lot by installer and area, which is why you compare quotes |
| Brands | Cosy, Daikin or Grant only | Whichever brands that installer fits: ask |
| BUS grant | Deducted, application handled | Deducted, application handled (any installer taking part in BUS) |
| Awkward homes | No full re-piping, Cosy tops out at 11.2 kW | Depends on the installer: ask whether they re-pipe and how large a heat loss they design for |
| Planning permission | You submit it | Ask whether they will |
| Lead time | 4 to 16 weeks after approvals | Varies by installer: ask for a date |
| Payment | £200 refundable deposit, balance on completion | Varies. Deposits should be protected, so ask how |
| Warranty | 8 years on Cosy or Grant, 5 on Daikin, 8 on workmanship | Depends on the brand and the installer's tier |
| Smart control | Octopus app, Smart Heating with an Octopus tariff | Manufacturer's app. You can still use Cosy Octopus |
Octopus is probably the right call if
- You're replacing a gas boiler in a 2 to 4 bed house with normal plumbing
- You don't mind which brand you get
- You're not in a conservation area and your unit can go somewhere that doesn't need planning
- You're happy to have your electricity with Octopus and let Smart Heating run things
- You're not in a hurry
Get independent quotes first if
- Your home is large, old or draughty, and the heat loss might be over 11 kW
- Your pipework is old, undersized or likely to need replacing
- You're in a conservation area, a listed building, or the only sensible spot for the unit is close to a neighbour
- You want a particular brand (see our best heat pumps guide for how they compare)
- Your boiler has failed and you can't wait months
How to Compare an Octopus Quote Fairly
Octopus's online estimate is quick and free, so get it. Then have at least one independent MCS installer survey the same house. When the quotes come in, don't just compare the bottom line. Check each one against the same things:
- Heat loss figure. Both surveys should arrive at a similar number. If they're far apart, ask why.
- Design flow temperature. Lower is cheaper to run. A quote designed at 45C with two new radiators can beat a cheaper quote designed at 60C with none.
- Heat pump size. Bigger isn't better: a unit far bigger than the heat loss can cycle on and off rather than run steadily.
- Cylinder size. It should match your household, not a default.
- What's excluded. Radiators, scaffolding, planning and electrical upgrades are the usual gaps.
- Warranty in writing. On the heat pump, the cylinder, other parts and the workmanship, separately.
Our guide to comparing heat pump quotes goes through this line by line, including the red flags that mean you should walk away.
If Octopus comes out cheapest like for like, go with Octopus. It's a good installer and a fair price for the right house. But you won't know that from one quote, and two surveys of the same home can differ by a lot.
Get free quotes from independent MCS installers near you to put next to your Octopus estimate. It takes a couple of minutes and there's no obligation.
