Which Energy Providers have Cheaper Gas and Electric?
One of the most often asked questions is who is the cheapest energy supplier? The answer by the way is it depends. That might seem like a cop out but in the UK the most price competitive energy providers are in a constant battle to be the cheapest.
So rather than just giving you today's cheapest energy supplier (which may not be the cheapest tomorrow) we've delved into the data, analysed the tariffs and come up with a list of energy companies whose prices are cheap over the long term.
How to use the Cheap Energy Supplier Table
The table below shows the list of UK energy providers from the cheapest to the most expensive. The dark green represents the minimum price that company charges. The lighter green represents the difference in cost between the cheapest and most expensive tariffs available from the energy company.
So the dark green represents the providers cheapest tariff and if you add the light green that represents the most expensive tariff they offer.
Therefore the smallest green band is the cheapest and the biggest green bands represent the most expensive suppliers.
List of energy suppliers by cost
| Yorkshire Energy | ||
| Orbit Energy | ||
| Outfox the Market | ||
| Avro Energy | ||
| Tonik | ||
| Green Network Energy | ||
| Together Energy | ||
| Goto Energy | ||
| Gulf | ||
| Igloo Energy | ||
| Scottish Power | ||
| EDF | ||
| ESB Energy | ||
| London Power | ||
| British Gas | ||
| E-on | ||
| Green | ||
| Simplicity Energy | ||
| Nabuh Energy | ||
| People's Energy | ||
| Powershop | ||
| Sainsburys Energy | ||
| So Energy | ||
| SSE | ||
| Bristol Energy | ||
| Go Effortless Energy | ||
| iSupply Energy | ||
| PFP Energy | ||
| Affect Energy | ||
| Angelic Energy | ||
| Beam Energy | ||
| Bulb | ||
| Co-op Energy | ||
| Ebico | ||
| Octopus Energy | ||
| Pure Planet | ||
| Robin Hood Energy | ||
| Southend Energy | ||
| Zebra Power | ||
| Lumo | ||
| M&S Energy | ||
| Green Star Energy | ||
| MoneyPlus Energy | ||
| Shell Energy | ||
| Foxglove Energy | ||
| Green Energy UK | ||
| OVO Energy | ||
| Spark | ||
| Utility Warehouse | ||
| Twenty Energy | ||
| nPower | ||
| nPower Select | ||
| Utilita | ||
| Ecotricity | ||
| Good Energy |
Suppliers not currently listed : Utility Point, Neo Energy, Entice Energy, Hub Energy, Zog Energy, Rebel Energy.
Who is the cheapest energy supplier?
Each energy provider tends to stay in the same price band and this has been the pattern over the last couple of years with the energy market remaining consistent. For the consumer looking for a great energy deal it means that you can as a rule of thumb using our cheap energy supplier table see who you are going to get the cheapest electricity and gas from.
Looking at the cheaper end of the energy market we can see that some of the best deals to be had are from the smaller and more recent entrants to the market. The likes of Yorkshire Energy (2017, previously MME 2015-2016) has consistently cheap tariffs with chairman Peter Connolly stating in 2018 that they want to 'aim to fall within the 10% cheapest for gas and electricity'.
Just like Yorkshire Energy suppliers such as Outfox the Market, Gulf, Igloo and London Energy provide cheap energy prices and have fewer tariffs within a narrow price range.
Get £50 for SwitchingSwitch to Octopus Energy and get £50 credit when you switch. |
Orbit Energy, Avro Energy, Tonik, Green Network Energy, Together Energy and Goto Energy all have a tariff available in the 10 lowest cost energy tariffs. Unlike the previously mentioned utilities these companies also have tariffs that are some of the most expensive on the market.
Just because an energy company has one good value tariff it does not mean the company is an overall cheap energy provider. British Gas and Scottish Power both have relatively low cost deals available but their large range of energy tariffs mean that their prices cover almost the entire spectrum of the UK energy market.
So one customer of Scottish Power could be on a tariff in the top 15 cheapest whilst another Scottish Power could be paying over the odds with one of their tariffs in the top 10 most expensive.
The takeaway from this is that an energy company with a broadly priced range of tariffs is not focussed on providing value to the customer. Their focus is charging each customer what they think they can get away with charging that customer.
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Whether you want to compare gas tariffs, compare electricity to find the cheapest electricity prices or just get the best dual fuel energy deal you need to compare. We recommend using Energy Helpline to compare energy. It's the same comparison site we use to analyse tariff information, the same data used to create our list of the cheapest energy suppliers. |
Which energy suppliers are the most expensive?
The most expensive energy companies are not the Big Six as you'd expect. Remember the Big Six's tariff pricing strategy is to cover as much of the market as possible but they will not compete against the cheap energy providers.
The most expensive tariffs can be found with the companies that target the poorest who need to keep an eye on how much energy they use. Utilita is one such energy provider who give you more options such as topping up their credit like the old fashioned card meters but you use an app instead.
Utilita have some of the most expensive tariffs on the market targeting customers who can least afford it. If you can afford to pay a monthly direct debit you would be several hundred pounds a year better off having a much lower energy bill by switching to a cheap tariff from one of the cheapest suppliers at the top of our list.
Green energy suppliers
Energy firms that target the green consumer are also some of the most expensive. However they don't go out of their way to exploit those that can least afford it but instead look to the socially and environmentally conscious customers.
I don't have actual figures for this but generalising the typical green energy customer is not someone who struggles to pay their bills and can afford to pay more in order to support the true green suppliers that are making an actual difference rather than just a simple green wash.
Good Energy (100% green electricity and 10% Biogas), Ecotricity (100% green electricity and 100% carbon offset gas) and Green Energy (100% green natural gas and 100% green electricity) are all green energy suppliers who do make a difference.
The best green gas and electricity suppliers in the UK are more expensive as they are investing and supporting the growth of green energy infrastructure in Britain rather than just buying REGO certificates and claiming to be green.
These true green energy companies charge more for the gas and electric they supply because it costs more for them to generate the energy. If you can afford to support green energy in the UK these are the ones to support as they are investing in Britain which will help us produce cleaner cheaper energy for everyone.
Best and Worst energy suppliers
I've previously covered which utilities have a good customer service track record so take a look at the best energy supplier reviews to see what customers think of their energy suppliers.
The list of energy suppliers is provided with aggregated customer feedback ratings from the biggest online review sites including Google, Trustpilot and Citizens Advice. The figures have been weighted to take into account the fact that not all energy companies have sufficient feedback.
If good customer service is your priority rather than price then you'll find that those with higher positive feedback can also be some of the most expensive. Octopus and Bulb are both in the top 5 best energy suppliers but are about 20% more expensive than the cheapest energy suppliers.
Igloo Energy is a good balance between price and service being the 10th cheapest supplier and 3rd best on our customer feedback list.
Compare UK energy Suppliers for the best price
Whilst a list of energy suppliers showing which have the lowest price tariffs gives you a good indication of who to switch to you really need to compare. Energy comparison sites like Energy Helpline are the only way to accurately compare energy bills.
New tariffs are added and old energy tariffs are withdrawn every single day so the only way to ensure you are getting the best deal if price is your priority is to compare using your actual kWh gas and electric usage (this info is on your bill). Gas and electric comparison sites update their tariff information daily with prices taken directly from the suppliers.