UK Energy Suppliers: Which is the best?
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The UK hosts an impressive number of energy suppliers, boasting 37 energy companies even during the ongoing UK energy crisis. Choosing between fixed or variable tariffs, single or dual fuel, renewable or non-renewable sources – it can all be a little overwhelming. If you’re looking for a little guidance, we have you covered.
Last update: November 2022
This article will list most of the UK’s live energy suppliers, as well as the suppliers that have recently gone bust. We’ll show you the best electricity and gas deals for you. Whether you’re looking for green energy, business tariffs, or just a cheap energy deal, we have you covered.
How many energy suppliers are in the UK?
At the moment, there are around 37 active energy suppliers currently trading in the UK. This means that, during the ongoing energy crisis, at least 62 energy suppliers have ceased trading.
Here you can find a list of all active suppliers listed below:
| 🏷 Supplier Logo |
🌐 Supplier Name |
⭐️ Trustpilot Rating |
✍️ Description |
 |
British Gas | 3.4/5 with 115,911 customer reviews | The UK’s biggest energy company, British Gas was the state energy supplier until the industry was privatised in 1990. |
 |
EDF | 4.2/5 with 40,835 customer reviews | Majority-owned by the French government, EDF mostly uses nuclear power as its source, although it also has some renewables. |
 |
E.ON & E.ON Next | 3.5/5 with 39,424 customer reviews | German company, E.On (formerly Powergen), is a good all-rounder that currently supplies energy to over 5 million UK homes.
E.On Next is their new subsidiary that focuses on delivering clean, renewable energy to customers. |
 |
Scottish Power | 3.3/5 with 44,192 customer reviews | Scottish Power provides energy to roughly 1 in 10 UK homes and generates its own clean wind energy. |
 |
OVO Energy | 4.2/5 with 70,624 customer reviews | Upon acquiring SSE in 2020, OVO became one of the biggest suppliers in the UK. |
 |
Octopus Energy | 4.8/5 with 118,250 customer reviews | Octopus Energy exploded onto the scene in 2015 and has since won multiple “supplier of the year” awards. The company provides 100% renewable energy, carbon offset gas and excellent customer service. |
 |
Utility Warehouse | 4.2/5 with 27,098 customer reviews | Utility Warehouse offers energy deals, as well as phone, TV and broadband packages. |
 |
Shell Energy | 4.1/5 with 63,705 customer reviews | Shell may be known as an oil giant, but they have offered surprisingly renewable (and affordable) energy since 2019. |
 |
Utilita | 4.4/5 with 61,466 customer reviews | Another company dedicated to providing affordable tariffs for customers with Pay As You Go meters. |
 |
So Energy | 4.1/5 with 10,589 customer reviews | In 5 short years, So Energy has made a huge impression on customers, with impeccable customer service and affordable renewable tariffs. |
 |
Outfox The Market | 4.4/5 with 33,249 customer reviews | As the name suggests, Outfox the market constantly reviews wholesale energy prices and adjusts their prices accordingly to offer the best value for money. |
 |
Ecotricity | 3.9/5 with 4,252 customer reviews | Ecotricity is arguably the UK’s greenest supplier and its only vegan energy supplier. It provides 100% renewable electricity and biomethane while also supporting anti-fracking campaigns. |
 |
COOP Energy | 4.6/5 with 4,977 customer reviews | COOP Energy is among the UK’s most environmentally conscious energy suppliers. |
 |
ESB Energy | 4.3/5 with 4,270 customer reviews | Ireland’s state energy supplier has made its way to the UK, offering affordable renewable energy. |
 |
Good Energy | 4.6/5 with 6,875 customer reviews | The UK’s first renewable supplier, Good Energy has been delivering clean energy to UK households since 1999. |
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Click Energy | 1.7/5 with 20 customer reviews | “Northern Ireland’s top energy supplier”, Click Energy combines affordable green energy. |
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E Energy | 3.7/5 with 824 customer reviews | The prepayment meter specialist, E Energy, offers hassle-free customer service and competitive prices. |
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M & S Energy | 4.9/5 with 3,855 customer reviews | The beloved supermarket chain has paired with Octopus Energy to deliver renewable energy. |
 |
Green Energy UK | 3.6/5 with 8,918 customer reviews | Green Energy UK offers 100% renewable electricity as well as renewable biomethane gas. While it isn’t the cheapest supplier, it makes up for this with outstanding green credentials! |
Which energy suppliers have gone bust?
As mentioned, 62 energy suppliers in the UK have gone bust in the last couple of years. As a result, there is a streamlined process to ensure that your home never loses power in the event that your supplier ceases trading.
That being said, the following list is of notable suppliers that have gone bust recently, either as a result of the UK energy crisis or unrelated difficulties:
| 🌐 Supplier |
📅 Date of closure |
🤝 Acquiring supplier |
| Boost Energy | April 2022 | *Dissolved |
| Xcel Power | February 2022 | Yü Energy Retail Limited |
| Whoop Energy | February 2022 | Yü Energy Retail Limited |
| Together Energy | January 2022 | British Gas |
| Bristol Energy | January 2022 | British Gas |
| Zog Energy | December 2021 | EDF |
| Entice Energy | November 2021 | Scottish Power |
| Orbit Energy | November 2021 | Scottish Power |
| Bulb | November 2021 | Octopus Energy |
| Social Energy | November 2021 | British Gas |
| Neon Energy | November 2021 | British Gas |
| CNG Energy | November 2021 | Pozitive Energy |
| Ampower UK | November 2021 | Yu Energy |
| Zebra Power | November 2021 | British Gas |
| MA Energy | November 2021 | Smartest Energy |
| Omni Energy | November 2021 | Utilita |
| Bluegreen Energy | November 2021 | Shell Energy |
| GOTO Energy | October 2021 | Shell Energy |
| Daligas | October 2021 | Shell Energy |
| Pure Planet | October 2021 | Shell Energy |
| Colorado Energy | October 2021 | Shell Energy |
| Symbio | October 2021 | E.on Next |
| Enstroga Energy | September 2021 | E.on Next |
| Igloo Energy | September 2021 | E.on Next |
| Avro Energy | September 2021 | Octopus Energy |
| Green | September 2021 | Shell Energy |
| E.on Next | September 2021 | EDF |
| Peoples Energy | September 2021 | British Gas |
| Moneyplus Energy | September 2021 | British Gas |
| pfp | September 2021 | British Gas |
| Hub Energy | August 2021 | E.on Next |
| Nabuh Energy | April 2021 | British Gas |
| Green Network Energy | January 2021 | EDF |
| Simplicity Energy | January 2021 | British Gas |
| Lumo Energy | 2020 | Ovo Energy |
| Yorkshire Energy | December 2020 | Scottish Power |
| Tonik Energy | October 2020 | Scottish Power |
| GnERGY | September 2020 | Bulb |
| Ebico | September 2020 | British Gas |
| Avid Energy | July 2020 | Nabuh Energy |
| Better Energy | March 2020 | PFP |
| Breeze Energy | March 2020 | British Gas |
| SSE | January 2020 | British Gas |
| Npower | September 2019 | E.on |
Who are the best energy suppliers in the UK?
Currently, Octopus Energy is heralded as the best UK energy supplier overall after winning 11 awards in 2021 alone. However, truthfully, there is no single energy supplier that is far better than the others.
The right energy supplier for you will depend on your needs, household energy consumption and location. Yet, in the interest of supplying you with actionable information, we’ve broken down suppliers and placed them in the following categories below:
- 💪 Most stable suppliers in the UK.
- 💵 Cheapest suppliers in the UK.
- 🌱 Greenest suppliers in the UK.
- 👶🏻 Best small suppliers in the UK.
Who are the most stable energy suppliers?
In the UK’s energy market, the “Big Six” are the six most powerful and largest energy suppliers in the business. These suppliers are handling the energy needs of millions of UK energy homes and businesses.
Due to their huge presence in the market, it’s unlikely that these energy suppliers will go bust. However, they have taken many of their tariffs off the market and aren’t taking on new customers.
The “Big Six” is made up of the following suppliers:
- British Gas – 12 million households
- ScottishPower – 5 million customers
- EDF – 5.2 million customers
- E.ON/E.ON Next – 5.6 million customers
- Octopus Energy – 2.4 million customers
- OVO Energy – 5 million customers
Below you can find examples of what their standard variable tariffs look like when directly compared:
| 🌐 Energy Supplier |
📄 Energy Tariff |
💵 Electricity Annual Cost (£) |
💵 Gas Annual Cost (£) |
💰 Total Annual Cost (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Gas | Standard Variable | £ 1,034.09* | £ 576.61* | £ 1,610.71** |
| E.ON/E.ON Next | Next Flex | £ 754.666* | £ 640.424* | £ 1395.090** |
| Octopus Energy | FlexibleOctopus | £ 649.882* | £ 479.512* | £ 1129.394** |
| EDF | Standard Variable | £ 699.763* | £ 576.603* | £ 1276.367** |
| OVO Energy | Simpler Energy | £ 633.240* | £ 511.157* | £ 1,144.40** |
| ScottishPower | Standard Variable | £ 704.228* | £ 576.567* | £ 1280.795** |
* Prices displayed are national averages
** Based on Ofgem’s TDCV (2,900.00 kWh of ⚡ and 12,000.00 kWh of 🔥 per year).
Rates are inclusive of VAT at 5%.
What are some of the best small energy suppliers?
Smaller energy suppliers are popular for their more personable, customisable experiences. However, be cautious that these suppliers are at greater risk during the energy crisis.
We’ve selected the following notable “smaller” suppliers from the UK market based on annual costs, tariff options, sustainability, and, of course, customer satisfaction.
Below we can see some of the pricing information for one of each supplier’s popular tariff options. However, it’s important to note that the tariffs listed in this table are all variable-rate tariffs. This means that their costs will fluctuate to reflect the ongoing instability of the UK energy market.
| 🌐 Energy Supplier |
📄 Energy Tariff |
💵 Electricity Annual Cost (£) |
💵 Gas Annual Cost (£) |
💰 Total Annual Cost (£) |
| M&S Energy | M&S Everyday Energy | £ 649.88* | £ 489.52* | £ 1,139.40** |
| Outfox the Market | One Green Flex | £ 640.21* | £ 456.97* | £ 1,097.18** |
* Prices displayed are national averages
** Based on Ofgem’s TDCV (2,900.00 kWh of ⚡ and 12,000.00 kWh of 🔥 per year).
Rates are inclusive of VAT at 5%.
What are the cheapest energy suppliers?
Right now, the cheapest electricity supplier is Octopus. Also, the cheapest gas supplier is $UK_NRJ_Cheapest_gas_SVT$.
However, the cheapest energy tariff will depend on your household’s energy consumption levels and location. What may be the cheapest option for someone else may not be the cheapest for you.
Still, we’ve gathered some of the cheapest energy plans based on national averages.
What is the cheapest fixed electricity tariff?
While most of the cheap energy suppliers, unfortunately, went bust in recent months. Right now, Octopus is considered the cheapest supplier for fixed electricity tariffs:
| 🌐 Energy Supplier |
📄 Energy Tariff |
💵 Electricity Annual Cost (£) |
| Click Energy | / | £ 8.90* |
| E.ON.Next | / | £ 19.95* |
| EDF | / | £ 19.95* |
* Prices displayed are national averages
Rates are inclusive of VAT at 5%.
Exit fees may vary.
What is the cheapest fixed gas tariff?
Alternatively, here are the cheapest 12-month fixed-rate tariffs available in the UK for gas:
| 🌐 Energy Supplier |
📄 Energy Tariff |
💵 Electricity Annual Cost (£) |
| EDF | / | £ 21.48* |
| E.ON.Next | / | £ 21.67* |
| Click Energy | / | £ 25.71* |
* Prices displayed are national averages
Rates are inclusive of VAT at 5%.
Exit fees may vary.
Who are the greenest energy suppliers?
Right now, the greenest energy supplier is Green Energy UK. This company offers 100% green electricity and 100% green gas. This means that, unlike most other suppliers, Green Energy doesn’t offset their gas, but sustainably generates it instead.
Still, this supplier is fairly pricey and has relatively poor customer reviews. Therefore, we recommend also taking a look at other green suppliers, like:
- Ecotricity – 100% renewable electricity + carbon-offset gas
- E.on/E.on Next – 100% renewable electricity + 100% carbon-offset gas
- Octopus Energy – 100% renewable electricity + partial carbon-offset gas
- Good Energy – 100% renewable electricity + 90% carbon-offset gas
Below you can find an example of one tariff option from each of the suppliers mentioned above with all of its pricing information included.
| 🌐 Energy Supplier |
📄 Energy Tariff |
🏷 Tariff Type |
💵 Electricity Annual Cost (£) |
💵 Gas Annual Cost (£) |
💰 Total Annual Cost (£) |
| Green Energy UK | Sparkling | 24 Month Fixed-Rate | £ 868.027* | £ 924.360* | £ 1792.387** |
| E.on/E.on Next | Next Online | 12 Month Fixed Rate | £ 633.727* | £ 493.150* | £ 1126.877** |
| Ecotricity | Fully Charged Bundle (only for electric vehicle owners) | Variable Rate | £ 965.21* | £ 1,011.47* | £ 1,976.68** |
| Octopus Energy | flexibleOctopus | Variable Rate | £ 649.882* | £ 479.512* | £ 1129.394** |
| Good Energy | SVT Standard | Variable Rate | £ 671.966* | £ 573.906* | £ 1245.872** |
* Prices displayed are national averages
** Based on Ofgem’s TDCV (2,900.00 kWh of ⚡ and 12,000.00 kWh of 🔥 per year).
Rates are inclusive of VAT at 5%.
🌱Be weary of greenwashing!
Suppliers are able to purchase a REGO certificate, which claims to show that the energy being provided is from a renewable source. As a result, some energy companies are able to advertise 100% renewable energy in their tariffs even though they don’t produce any renewable energy themselves.
This is what we refer to as greenwashing; when a company falsely claims to be more environmentally friendly than they are in order to gain more customers.
However, the list we compiled above shows the most genuinely sustainable energy suppliers in the UK. Each of these suppliers offers 100% renewable electricity and either 100% green gas or carbon offset gas.
Business energy: who is the best business electricity supplier?
Most energy suppliers also offer special commercial tariffs for businesses. While the “Big 6” tend to dominate in the world of commercial electricity, there are still a number of smaller energy suppliers in the UK with commercial electricity tariffs.
Octopus Energy, Utility Warehouse Energy and So Energy all have competitively priced tariffs targeted at business users. For example, here are some great business tariffs from Octopus Energy:
| 🌐 Energy Supplier |
📄 Energy Tariff |
💵 Annual Cost (£) |
| $UK_NRJ_OCT_Elec_Business_GF12$ | Business - Fixed 12 | £ 755.553* |
| $UK_NRJ_OCT_Gas_Business_GF12$ | Business - Fixed 12 | £ 712.605* |
| $UK_NRJ_OCT_E7_Business_GF12$ | Economy 7 - Business Fixed 12 months | £ 732.753* |
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FAQ
1️⃣ Who are the best Energy Suppliers in the UK?
It really depends what you’re looking for in a supplier. However, we'd recommend:
- Outfox The Market for affordability
- Octopus for customer service
- Green Energy UK for Green Energy
💰 Who decides what Energy Suppliers in the UK can charge?
Like most private enterprises, Energy Suppliers have a regulatory body. Ofgem ensures that energy companies act ethically and charge reasonably. They place a cap on how much energy companies can charge per year. This is currently set at £2,500 for both fuels.
❓How many UK Energy Suppliers are there?
There are currently around 37 active Energy Suppliers across the UK. If you thought that the “Big 6” were your only option, you may well find a better deal among the smaller providers out there.
🏃Is it easy to change Energy Suppliers?
Unfortunately, it's not easy to change suppliers right now as most suppliers aren't taking on new customers.
🚫 What do I need to do when my supplier goes bust?
You just have to be patient. Ofgem automatically transfers all the customers of the bust supplier to a new more stable supplier. The new supplier will be in touch with you on the plans available at their company.
Updated on 29 Jan, 2024
Alexander Striano
Consumer Energy Expert
Alex joined the papernest team as a SEO Project Manager Assistant for Broadband Plans. He has developed a real expertise on connectivity topics and works on delivering the best possible content to help you navigate your broadband in and outside your home.
Alex joined the papernest team as a SEO Project Manager Assistant for Broadband Plans. He has developed a real expertise on connectivity topics and works on delivering the best possible content to help you navigate your broadband in and outside your home.
saraabuiata
Journalist & Copywriter
Sara ventured over from the tiny island of Cyprus to bring you all things energy and broadband-related. As a lover of all things creative, this team member spends her free time writing, drawing, or (more recently) struggling to play the ukulele.
Sara ventured over from the tiny island of Cyprus to bring you all things energy and broadband-related. As a lover of all things creative, this team member spends her free time writing, drawing, or (more recently) struggling to play the ukulele.
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