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- Every year, Expert Reviews (that’s us) surveys the British public to find out which energy suppliers are leading the pack – and which are lagging behind
- We asked almost 1,000 of you to rate your suppliers for value, trust, customer service and more
- Our overall winner for the fifth year running is Octopus Energy, with Utility Warehouse named best for value
If you’re concerned about keeping your energy bills under control this winter, you may be considering switching energy supplier. Prices have risen and are expected to increase further in 2027 so you need to act now to make a difference to what you’ll be paying.
The price cap set by the energy regulator Ofgem every three months went up by 4% on 1 October. This sets the maximum rates energy companies can charge households for gas and electricity on their suppliers’ standard variable tariffs. You’re likely to be on one of these tariffs if you’re not on a fixed deal or have never switched tariff where you live.
A typical household on a price capped tariff paying by direct debit is now spending £1,723 a year on their gas and electricity – up from £1,633 the previous quarter. This is an average so the price you actually pay depends on how much energy you use and where you are in the country as price caps vary by region.
The government removed the 5% VAT on electricity from October, which is factored into the latest price cap. This means most of the increase is from higher gas costs.
Your first step when choosing a tariff to switch to may be to compare prices using a comparison site but it’s important to choose a supplier that will give you a great service too. That’s where our energy awards come in. We’ve surveyed almost 1,000 energy customers to find out which are the best providers for value for money, customer service and more. The best are listed below.
You can visit our Expert Reviews Home Energy Awards 2026 page and the reviews of each energy supplier in our survey to find out more.
Best energy supplier: At a glance
- Octopus Energy: Best energy supplier overall | Compare prices
- Utility Warehouse: Best value energy supplier | Compare prices
- Scottish Power: Best for smart meters | Compare prices
Read on for our supplier recommendations along with the cheapest one-year fixed deal each one is offering and how the cost compares to the current price cap to help you choose. We’ve also put together a buying guide with tips on how to decide which provider is right for you.
The best energy suppliers in 2026, from our survey
1. Octopus Energy: The best energy supplier overall
Octopus was launched in 2015 and is now Britain’s largest energy supplier with more than 8 million home customers. All of its electricity is zero carbon from a mixture of renewables and nuclear. The supplier invests heavily in renewable generation as well.
Clearly, the supplier is a winner as far as its customers are concerned. It’s the most recommended brand in our survey, with 35% of customers saying 10 when asked how likely they are to recommend it to others on a scale of 1-10.
It won the title of Best Overall energy supplier, along with four of the other eight gongs in our 2026 Energy Awards. It came second in the other four categories.
For customer service – another category Octopus won – an average of 38% of customers said they were very satisfied with the four aspects of service we asked about. It came second for value for money, with 29% saying they were very satisfied with this, but was only just beaten by winner Utility Warehouse with 30%.
Octopus won our Best Website and Best App awards too, where 41% of customers said its website is very easy to use and 49% said its app is very easy to use.
We also looked at the latest complaints data from the energy regulator Ofgem for the second quarter of 2026. Octopus had the lowest number of complaints per 100,000 customer accounts of the seven suppliers we were able to rate in our survey.
However, it did less well at resolving them – 40% were resolved by the end of the next working day and 79% within eight weeks. These were the lowest percentages of all the suppliers in our survey.
Read our full Octopus Energy review from October 2026
| Octopus Energy – Example tariff (Fixed, 12 months) | |
|---|---|
| Annual cost | £1866 |
| 100% renewable electricity | No |
| Exit fees | £50 per fuel |
| Compared to Oct-Dec 2026 price cap | £156 (9%) more |
NB: Estimated annual gas and electricity cost for a medium user (2,500 kWh of electricity per year and 9,500 kWh of gas) in the East England region paying by monthly direct debit. Regional price cap used for comparison is £1,710. Correct at 13 October 2026.
2. Utility Warehouse: The best value energy supplier
Utility Warehouse is a medium-sized energy supplier with more than 1.4 million customers. It offers broadband, mobile and insurance services as well as energy and says you can save money by bundling these together. However, you should check whether you could get the other services cheaper elsewhere.
According to Utility Warehouse’s latest fuel-mix figures, 65% of its electricity comes from gas, with just 11% from renewable sources.
It won three out of the nine awards in our 2026 Energy Awards, coming second to Octopus Energy overall with a score of 38% versus Octopus’s 40%. It was also the second-most recommended, with 30% of customers saying 10 on a scale of 1-10 for how likely they are to recommend the brand to others.
Utility Warehouse won Best Value for Money, with 30% of respondents very satisfied, as well as Best for Clear Billing, where it narrowly beat Octopus Energy. Here, 30% of customers said they strongly agree that their bills make it simple to see what they’re being charged for and why.
Its other win was in the Best for Customer Trust category, where it again beat Octopus to the top spot. In our survey, 33% of customers said they completely trust the provider to act in their best interests.
For complaints, Utility Warehouse received the highest number of all the providers in our survey at 1,965 per 100,000 customers according to Ofgem data. It was the best at resolving them, though, with 84% dealt with by the end of the next working day and 100% within eight weeks.
Read our full Utility Warehouse review from October 2026
| Utility Warehouse – Fixed 99 | |
|---|---|
| Annual cost | £1842 |
| 100% renewable electricity | No |
| Exit fees | £75 per fuel |
| Compared to Oct-Dec 2026 price cap | £132 (8%) more |
NB: Estimated annual gas and electricity cost for a medium user (2,500 kWh of electricity per year and 9,500 kWh of gas) in the East England region paying by monthly direct debit. Regional price cap used for comparison is £1,710. Tariff only available if you add one other service. A cheaper tariff is available if you add two. You also get a £50 bonus on the Utility Warehouse Cashback Card, which is free for three months then £3 a month. Correct at 13 October 2026.
3. Scottish Power: The best supplier for smart meters
Scottish Power was one of the traditional Big Six energy suppliers and is now the sixth largest supplier of electricity and gas to GB homes. It generates renewable electricity from its 38 onshore wind farms and says it produces enough to power the equivalent of 1.2 million homes.
Around a quarter of the electricity it provides to customers is from renewable sources, according to its fuel mix figures, but it offers some green tariffs where it’s 100% renewable.
In our 2026 Energy Awards Scottish Power won Best Provider for Smart Meters. In this category, 35% of customers said they were very satisfied with the performance and reliability of the smart meter equipment or in-home display screen provided by it. This compares with just 19% for the bottom supplier – EDF Energy.
It also came second to Octopus Energy for Best App and just slightly ahead of third-placed British Gas (before figures were rounded), with 33% of customers saying its app is very easy to use.
The supplier came fifth overall, with a score of 28% versus 40% for Octopus, and was the fourth most recommended. It was third in our best customer service category, with an average of 25% of customers saying they were very satisfied with the four aspects of service we asked about.
It received the third highest number of complaints per 100,000 accounts of the suppliers in our survey, according to Ofgem data. It was reasonably good at resolving them, with 60% resolved by the end of the next working day and 82% within eight weeks.
Read our full Scottish Power review from October 2026
| Scottish Power – 1 Year Fixed Price | |
|---|---|
| Annual cost | £1967 |
| 100% renewable electricity | Yes |
| Exit fees | £50 per fuel |
| Compared to Oct-Dec 2026 price cap | £257 (15%) more |
NB: Estimated annual gas and electricity cost for a medium user (2,700 kWh of electricity per year and 11,500 kWh of gas) in the East England region paying by monthly direct debit. Regional price cap used for comparison is £1,730. Correct at 31 October 2025.
How to choose the best energy supplier for you
Should you switch to a fixed deal?
There are currently 12, 14, 18 and 24-month fixed deals on offer, where your energy stays at a fixed price for the duration of the contract. These can save you money as well as give you certainty about what you’ll be paying for the fixed period.
Whether you’ll save money by switching to one from a price-capped standard variable tariff depends on what happens to the price cap in the future. Price cap predictions agree that it’s likely to jump up significantly in January, adding extra pressure to already squeezed household finances.
Three of the largest energy suppliers regularly publish their predictions – British Gas, EDF Energy and E.ON Next. Their latest forecasts (on 15 October 2026) range from £2,130 from E.ON Next to £2,185 from British Gas, suggesting an average increase of a hefty 25% compared to the current price cap.
While it’s difficult to predict further into the future, right now prices are expected to go up again in April before falling in July but not back to the level they’re at now. This means switching to a fixed deal at less or a little more than the current price cap is likely to save you money over the next year. However, the longer you fix for the more of a gamble you’re taking.
Fixed deals usually have exit fees if you leave them before the end of the contract so you’ll need to factor this in if there’s a cheaper deal you want to switch to later on as they will reduce your savings.
There are also other types of discounted deals you can consider, such as tracker tariffs.
How should you compare deals?
When you’re comparing different tariffs, bear in mind that the cost of variable deals can go up or down so it’s harder to know how much they’re likely to cost over a year. Price cap rates also vary by region, so could be higher or lower than the headline averages where you are.
When you’re looking at whether a deal is worth switching to, you’ll need to look at what you’re currently paying and what you’ll pay on the deal where you live for the amount of energy you’re likely to use. You can use price comparison sites to do this.
There are other types of deals worth considering too, such as tracker and discounted tariffs that are variable but guaranteed to be cheaper than the price cap. If you have an electric vehicle, you can also get an EV tariff that gives you cheaper rates at night.
Should you choose a renewable tariff?
If you’re keen to try and do your bit for the planet by taking out a tariff that offers electricity from renewable sources, such as the wind or sun, or “green” or carbon-offset gas, this will be another consideration when you’re looking to switch.
Some suppliers offer 100% renewable electricity only or renewable tariffs, while Octopus Energy supplies zero carbon electricity from a mixture of renewable sources and nuclear.
Where does renewable tariff electricity actually come from?
It’s worth bearing in mind that the energy that actually ends up in your home won’t necessarily be from renewable sources. All electricity generated goes into the National Grid, no matter how it’s generated. Instead, energy providers that say they supply renewable energy back up their claims in a number of different ways.
Some generate their own renewable electricity, invest in generating it or buy it from generators, while others simply buy certificates to show that the amount used by their customers has been generated elsewhere. Check which applies to a supplier you’re considering if this is important to you.
