Gas and Electricity Prices Compared

We've taken a look at the gas and electric prices in the UK and compared energy suppliers to discover how much they charge and where you can get a better energy deal.

Most energy customers in the UK can get a better energy deal by comparing gas and electricity prices to find a cheaper energy tariff.

Switching to the cheapest energy supplier is usually the best option for most households, however the cheapest deals do tend to come with some compromises.

Most of the best deals are from the smaller energy suppliers, no I don't' mean Bulb Energy or Octopus Energy, I'm talking about the smaller suppliers who do have a track record and have been supplying energy for years.

Most of these smaller suppliers you will never have heard about which is one of the reasons many households miss out of the cheaper deals.

The best prices are to be had from tariffs that are direct debit only and are managed online. If you want a paper bill sent to you and you want to pay by cash or cheque then expect to pay about a fifth more than the comparable monthly direct debit tariff.

Who is the cheapest energy supplier?

We've been tracking home energy prices for years here at Safe Energy Switch and then publish the results monthly to show who supplies gas and electricity at the lowest price for that month for the average household.

The average gas and electric bill for a typical 3 bed household is calculated using Ofgem figures of 12,000 kWh of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity used annually. We use the older 3,100 kWh figure for electricity that Ofgem used to use so it is easier for you to compare prices historically.

Most of 2020 has seen the One Green Flex tariff from Outfox the Market top the chart with the cheapest overall energy prices. It's also worth taking a look at relative newcomer Green.energy and their range of green energy tariffs which at the time of writing offer similar pricing to Outfox but a much greener outlook on their energy supply.

Which is the best comparison site for energy?

For domestic energy we have listed the best energy comparison websites based on which site gives you the lowest quote for the average domestic customer.

For UK business energy comparisons there is no single comparison site that will compare the whole of the market. There are however options depending on the size of your business that will get you a better energy rate. For a micro business you are treated similarly to a domestic customer so comparisons are generally easier to do.

Gas and electric price comparisons

Let's do a comparison based on the current energy prices (September 2020) for a typical UK household to give you an idea of potentially how much you could save by switching energy provider.

I'd recommend that you do a comparison and try this yourself using your annual energy usage figures from your latest energy bill or statement. It's free to do and takes a couple of minutes to find out of there is a better energy deal that you could be on.

So looking at a typical household using 12,000 kWh of gas per year and 3,100 kWh of electricity we can see that the cheapest deal from the Big 6 is from British Gas with their Energy Plus Home Cover Sep 2021v3 tariff costing £75.86 a month. This tariff does include home cover and the prices are fixed until September 2021 and has no exit fees.

For a Big 6 energy company such as British Gas this is quite a good deal. However if we compare this tariff with the closest comparable fixed rate deal we find that Avro Energy tariff 'Simple and SuperConnect' comes out at £70.36 a month saving you around £66 a year.

Digging further if you were planning to not switch again for 12 months then you could pay even less by switching to the Woods tariff from Green and pay £69.56 a month. Or lower still if you didn't mind switching to a variable rate tariff where prices can go up or down to reduce your monthly cost further to £66.60 a month on the One Green Flex 2.0 from Outfox the Market.

Paper billing and paying on receipt of a bill

So what about if you like to receive a paper bill in the post and pay quarterly when you receive the bill. You don't want to manage your account online or pay by direct debit. How do your gas and electricity costs compare?

Continuing the exact same comparison but looking for energy tariffs that allow you the traditional method of paying when you get a bill through the post.

Ofgem estimates that customers pay on average £100 more a year for their gas and electric by energy companies if they pay by cash or cheque.

The equivalent tariff from British Gas that allows you to pay when you get a bill is their HomeEnergy Secure Jan 2022 tariff costing £97.47 a month. So for the privilege of being able to pay quarterly when you get your bill through the post you pay £97.47 rather than £75.86 for the same tariff but paying by direct debit. So expect to pay £21.61 more a month (£259.32 a year) for the privilege of paying by cash or cheque.

Unfortunately it is the older generation who are more likely to be hit by these massive excess charges just because they are unable to or afraid of managing their energy online.

Do a quick check to compare energy providers to discover how much you could save.