Comparing the comparers

Last year more than 5 million people switched their energy suppliers. Majority of these were done through energy comparison websites. Not every comparison site is the same. Some comparison websites work with few energy companies, whereas others have large switchable tariff database. The quotation you get depends on the energy comparison website you choose.

Unfortunately, there is insufficient information as to which is the best energy comparison website. Quite understandably, people follow the websites inflated by their marketing campaigns.

You might get the best gas and electricity deal if you go to all the comparison websites and obtain quotations from all  of them. However, it is a daunting task to enter detail to each energy comparison website. Hence we carried out impartial market research to find out the best energy comparison website

An army of energy comparison websites eagerly waiting to offer you their service. But only 12 are accredited by the Ofgem confidence code (Energy regulatory body in the UK).We studied these 12 websites

To be fair, we fed the same details to all the comparison websites. Dual fuel tariffs, GAs only, Electricity only, green tariffs, Fixed tariffs, and variable tariffs were compared separately.

The best energy comparison website- Cheapest deal vs. complete package

It is no doubt that you go to an energy comparison website to find the best gas and electricity deal. Just because someone finds you the cheapest deal can you call them the best? Particular energy comparison website may find you a surprisingly cheap deal but from the most unreliable energy supplier  without any alternative options or with only a few of them. This website will appear extremely good on the paper but no real  use for the customer.

So we had to be extremely cautious when giving our final verdict on each energy comparison website. Of course, we consider price as our main parameter, but in addition, we consider the number of alternative options, the versatility of the website, and customer reviews.

Which comparison website offers the Cheapest deals

The average UK household consumes 3100 kWh of electricity and 12000 kWh of gas per year. We used these values when we took our quotations. All quotations were taken to the same postcode, so the effect of possible price variations in different areas was omitted. switch gas and electric offers the cheapest deal of £863 per year, and the most expensive deal was from the energy shop which was £913

What is the most versatile energy comparison website?

All most all the energy comparison websites hold standard options  to do a basic search. But few websites stand out when it comes to versatility. energyhelpline, Uswitch, and The energy shop offered the most number of options to the customers. Out of all the energy comparison sites, these are the only websites that enable you to search for green energy tariffs selectively Beside, there were filters available for paperless bills, exit fees, Fixed and variable tariffs. With Quotezone and Uswich you could specifically filter companies offering  warm home discount.

Which website offers the most comprehensive  range of options, and who has the largest switchable tariff database.

Offering one cheap tariff, which is few quids less than the other websites, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best energy switching option for you. . A comparison site with a large switchable database will be able to offer you a variety of options for you to select . So if you are not happy with the energy companies offering you the cheapest deals you can select a gas and electricity company that you are comfortable with and still pay very close to the cheapest.

In our market research Energylinx, Energy helpline ,and Money supermarket offered the largest number of alternative tariffs where they had more than 50 tariffs for customers to select. Switch gas and electric is the worst performer, and they offered only 4 switchable tariffs, and all four came from the same supplier.

Apart from that energy helpline claims they have the largest switchable tariff database with them.

How long does it take to do a comparison – Which web site is the fastest

Performing an energy comparison and obtaining a quotation is super easy. You can complete an energy comparison under 10 minutes with any of these comparison sites and there is no absolute winner when it comes to speed.

What information do you need to make an energy  comparison?

Almost all the comparison websites ask for a similar type of information to carry out an energy comparison. None of the websites let you make a comparison if you don’t provide the postcode and the name of the current energy supplier. If you don’t know your current gas and electricity supplier read how to find my current energy provider.

All the other details are not mandatory, but the more information you have in your hand the more accurate your quotation will be. These include the amount of gas and electricity you use per year (in kWh or amount you spend) current tariff you are on, How you pay for your energy and whether you have a prepayment meter or economy seven-meter. All this information can be found in your recent energy bill. So if you have an energy bill with you, you can get an accurate quotation within minutes.

If you don’t have all these details, you can still compare and switch your supplier. Energy comparison sites will estimate your energy usage and will give you a quotation. This may not be the most accurate but almost certainly better than stuck with an expensive provider.

How to get the most out of energy comparison and switch

Whichever the energy comparison website you use, Youe energy quotations accuracy depends on the information you provide. . So getting ready with the most accurate and up-to-date details about your energy usage is the first and most important thing.

Secondly, you should have a proper understanding of the tariffs available to you.If you are not sure about the most suitable tariff to you, read our “ how to select the suitable energy tariff”

carefully decide on the payment method. Most economical deals available to customers who select direct debit payments Type of billing method will also affect your gas and electricity bills. If you decide to go paperless, it will further reduce your energy bill. Last but not least is the selection of good energy comparison site. The best energy comparison site will be the one that offers the best deals, a reasonable number of alternative options, and with good customer reviews

For more details read How to switch energy provider and find a better deal

How do comparison websites make money?

Energy comparison websites have commercial agreements with energy companies. Whenever they switch a customer to an energy provider they earn a commission. This does not cause any additional cost to the customers as it is already included in the company marketing cost

Do comparison websites show all the available tariffs?

The answer is YES and NO. Confused? Let me explain. When you request a quotation, an energy comparison website will show us all the energy tariffs they can switch you into. But there are other tariffs these energy companies can’t switch you. These tariffs are not shown straight away. In order to find these tariffs, you have to click into the whole of the market view. This option available in all Ofgem accredited energy switch websites we reviewed. if you want to switch to one of these tariffs, you have to contact the energy supplier directly

How much Can you save with energy comparison and switch?

If you are switching gas and electricity for the first time or in the standard variable tariff of your energy provider, you can save up to £450 per year. However, if you are someone who is frequently switching energy providers and staying in the best tariffs, it is difficult to achieve these figures.Your saving may be close to £100 or less.

How frequently can you compare and switch energy providers?

Theoretically, you can switch gas and electricity every 28 days. But most cost-effective will be yearly or 6 monthly switches.

What is auto switching – is it really worth it

Auto-switching websites sites compare all the energy tariffs available in their database and switch you when they find a better deal. This process will automatically continue until you cancel the service. If you are someone who wants to avoid the Hassle of regular comparison, auto-switching is for you. For more details, read our independent reviews on energy auto-switching websites Switchcraft, Billbuddy, weflip, Cheap energy club

Energyhelpline Review

“Ensure energy switch swift simple and absolutely hassle-free”

Energy helpline is one of the best comparison websites dedicated to energy. Since it was founded in 2002 ,It has helped millions of customers to switch energy providers to find better deals. It is Ofgem accredited, which means you receive an unbiased, fairly calculated energy quotation.

Energy helpline is very versatile to work with. It consists of very useful filters where you can specifically  search for prepayment tariffs, green tariffs, dual fuel or single fuel tariffs, and fixed and variable tariffs.

Energy helpline is super easy to work with and you can compare and switch gas and electricity in under 10 minutes. According to their website, they have the largest switchable tariff database, so you are likely to get the best energy deal from them. Once you complete the comparison and select your new supplier energy helpline will handle the rest of the switching process on behalf of you. So no hassle for you.

From 1st NOV 2019 to 30th APR 2020  10% of customers have saved at least £497 with energyhelpline. It has excellent customer reviews in Trustpilot. 4.6 /5 stars out of 3144 reviews. 94% of customers said great or excellent, Whereas only 3% said  poor or bad.

Cheapest dual fuel energy tariff available with energyhelpline is just £894 per year. They give you a large number of alternative options if you are not happy to go ahead with the cheapest energy provider. Prepayment tariffs are available from 1040 per year and the best green energy tariff come from E.O.N energy which is 900.37

Energylinx Review

Energylinx is an Ofgem accredited independent comparison website dedicated to energy. It was founded in 2002 and owned by GoCo Group. Their vision is to keep the energy market transparent; and accountable and ensure that the energy comparison and changing energy provider are easy and secure.

According to the information available on the website they have commercial relationships with most energy providers in the UK than any other comparison website. So you are guaranteed to get an excellent deal.

Switching with Energylinx is easy, and they will complete the switching process once you compare and select the new supplier.The cheapest dual fuel tariff offered with Energylinx is £900 per annum. One disadvantage is that you can not specifically filter for green tariffs .

Enegylinx is trusted by many leading consumer organizations like Which for their energy comparison services. In Trustpilot, Energylinx has excellent reviews. With 4.6/5 stars out of 410 reviews. 96% of customers rated them as great or excellent, whereas only 6% said bad or poor. During 60 days from 8 September 2020 to 6 November 2020 20% of Energylinx customers have saved at least £142.16 from energy switch.

Money supermarket Review

Money supermarket is founded in 1993 and owned by money supermarket.com group, which also owns travelsupermarket.com and moneysavingexperts.com. It is a diversified comparison website that is Ofgem accredited for energy comparison.

You can get an energy quotation within a few minutes, and they will complete the switching process once you select your supplier. 51% of customers who applied via money supermarket saved at least £286 in June 2020. According to our research, the cheapest dual fuel tariff offered by Moneysupermarket is £900. It is not the most versatile energy comparison website, and there were only a few filters for you to do specific searches .

Money supermarket has 4.5/5 stars in Trustpilot out of 1678 reviews. However, most of these reviews are not related to energy. According to energy reviews verified by Reevoo they have 9.1/10 out of 23638 reviews.

Uswitch Review

Uswitch is a comparison website founded back in 2000. It allows you to compare a range of services, including energy, broadband and mobile contracts. It is one of the earliest signatories to the Ofgem confident code .

Between 1st of  January and 30th of Jun 2020 people who have switched through Uswitch have saved an average of £387. Uswitch is a versatile comparison website , You can separately filter for green tariffs, paper billing availability, warm home discount support, fixed and variable tariffs, presence off exit fees and availability of other offers rewards and points.

In our market search, The cheapest dual fuel tariff and green tariff offered from them was £900 per year. They offered 50 alternative options in addition to the cheapest tariff. In Trustpilot, Uswitch has 4.8/5 stars out of 10126 reviews but not all these reviews are related to gas and electricity

Simply switch Review

Simply switch was founded in 2015, and it is the trading name for money expert limited. They are fully accredited by the Ofgem confidence code. simply switch is an independent energy switch service that provides a fair and unbiased service 

With simply switch you can compare and change your energy supplier within a few minutes. they will do all the hard work, including contacting your old energy supplier.

A minimum of 10% of the customers who switched through simply switch in 2019 have saved £350. With simply switch, the cheapest tariff we got was 894 for duel fuel and green tariffs. Apart from the cheapest tariff, they showed 35 alternative tariffs they can switch us into. However, it is not the most versatile website, and we couldn’t specifically search for green tariffs. In Trustpilot simply switch had 4.5/5 stars out of 7192 reviews. 89 % said great or excellent but 9% said bad or poor

My Utility genius Review

My utility genius is one of the best energy comparison websites accredited by the Ofgem confidence code. It was founded in 2002 and ensures easy, reliable, and impartial energy comparison and switching process. According to John Stein, who is the founder of my utility genius, their philosophy is “to shine a light into the dark corner of an industry that seems to have lost its way”

Like any other energy comparison website switching with my utility genius is easy. Within a few minutes, you can get a quotation and select a supplier. They will do the difficult bit for you. According to the website, you can save up £250 by switching with them.

During our market search, the cheapest dual fuel and green tariff they offered was £875, which was the second-best deal out of all the quotations. Apart from that, they offered 44 alternative options to select. Availability of paper billing warm home discount and green tariffs were nicely displayed with quotations. However, there were no filters to specifically search for a tariff with these specifications. My utility genius is not available in Trustpilot for reviews and on their Facebook page there are only 3 reviews.

The energy shop Review

  The energy shop was established in 2003 and they are the founder member of the Ofgem confidence code. In addition to the energy comparison, the energy shop provides pricing data to the energy industry to monitor price movements. According to the website, they have 1.1. million tariffs in their database.

Switching with the energy shop takes only a few minutes. Once you select your supplier you can sit back and relax. Switching with the energy shop, customers have saved an average of £232 during Nov 2020.

In our market search cheapest dual fuel tariff in the energy shop was £913 which was a green tariff well. 25 alternative tariffs were also available in addition to the cheapest tariff. The energy shop is a highly versatile website where you can specifically search for green tariffs, paperless tariffs, tariffs without exit fees etc. In Trustpilot, the energy shop had 4.3/5 stars but there were only 9 reviews

Switch gas and electric Review

Switch gas and electric was founded in 2008 and accredited by the Ofgem confidence code. They ensure impartial comparison and reliable quotations. By switching with them, you can save up to £337 per year.

Switch gas and electric had the cheapest dual fuel tariff out of all the leading energy comparison websites, and it cost only £863. Unfortunately, they had only had 3 other options and all of them were from the same supplier. But you can always get the wide market view which has a wider selection but switch gas, and electric cannot switch you directly to these tariffs. 

Switch gas and electric is not the most versatile website and they didn’t have a reasonable number of filters to do a specific search. Switch gas and electric had 4.2/5 stars in trust pilot but there were only 6 reviews.

Unravalit review

  Unravelit is an Ofgem accredited website founded in 2012. They provide a comprehensive, impartial, and independent service. They regularly update their database so you’ll get the most accurate quotation.

Unravelit has a two-step easy switching process that you can complete in under 10 minutes. According to their website, you can save up to £385 a year if you switch gas and electricity through them.

In our market search £ 900 year was the best dual fuel tariff offered from them. Apart from the cheapest tariff.They offered 24 alternative tariffs they can switch us into.

unraveilit is not the most versatile website they have only a few filters and you can’t specifically search for green tariffs. Unravelit is not available in Trustpilot for review.

Quotezone Review

  Quotezone was established in 2005 It is involved in a wide range of comparisons including, car and home insurances. It is Ofgem accredited for energy comparison so ensure impartial and independent energy comparison.

During our market research, cheapest dual fuel tariff from Quotezone was £885.  They had 28 alternative tariffs to select from. However, their website is not very versatile and there were not many options to filter from. Quotezone had 4.6/5 stars out of 535 reviews in Trustpilot but most of the reviews are not related to energy

Runpath Review

 Runpath is an Ofgem accredited energy comparison website that guarantees a fair and impartial service. Their Cheapest dual fuel tariff was 894 and they offered us 12 alternative tariffs in case if we didn’t like the cheapest provider. Runpath website is not the most versatile and didn’t have adequate filters for specific searches. Runpath is not available in Trustpilot for review.

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