Energy
How to Compare Energy Suppliers in the UK: Prices, Tariff Types and Service
Work out what each tariff would cost on your own annual use in kWh: every tariff charges a unit rate for each kWh and a standing charge for each day. Then weigh fixed against variable, any exit fee, and how the supplier rates for service.
- Unit rate and standing charge
- Your own annual kWh
- Exit fee and service too
Wisemium reads your tariff, prices and any end date for you to confirm.
Comparing a tariff
- Unit rate
- Pence per kWh
- Standing charge
- Pence per day
- Annual use
- kWh from your bill
Example. Your own details appear once you add them.
Fixed and standard variable tariffs
Fixed
- Prices
- Held for the term
- Exit fee
- Usually, except in the last 49 days
- Suits
- Wanting certainty for a set period
Standard variable
- Prices
- Can change every three months, within the price cap
- Exit fee
- None
- Suits
- Keeping the freedom to move at any time
General information, not advice. The tariff's own terms state its prices and any exit fee.
The full guide
To compare energy suppliers fairly, work out what each tariff would cost on your own annual use in kWh: every tariff charges a unit rate for each kWh and a standing charge for each day. Then weigh fixed against variable, any exit fee, and how the supplier rates for service.
The two prices that make up every tariff
- Unit rate. Pence for each kWh of gas or electricity you use.
- Standing charge. Pence for each day you are supplied, whether or not you use anything.
Multiply the unit rate by your annual use and the standing charge by 365, for each fuel. Your annual use is on your bill or annual statement. A low standing charge with a high unit rate can suit a small home; the reverse can suit a large one.
Fixed or variable
A fixed tariff holds its unit rates and standing charges for the term, and usually charges an exit fee if you leave before the last 49 days. A standard variable tariff has no exit fee, and its prices can change every three months within Ofgem's price cap.
What else to compare
- The exit fee, and when the fixed term ends.
- How you pay: direct debit, on receipt of a bill, or prepayment.
- Whether gas and electricity come together or separately.
- Service: Citizens Advice publishes an independent star rating of energy suppliers, including complaints handling and billing.
When comparing is most useful
In the last 49 days of a fixed tariff, when you can move without an exit fee; when you move home; and any time you are on a standard variable tariff. How to switch energy supplier covers what happens once you choose.
How Wisemium helps
Upload your energy bill to Wisemium and it reads the supplier, tariff, prices and any fixed term end date for you to confirm, then keeps them on record so you can see when it needs attention. When you want to compare, the Wisemium energy switch, run with our partner MyUtilityGenius, shows tariffs for your address. Wisemium does not supply energy, and it does not list energy tariffs itself.
Wisemium reads the bill and keeps the tariff and its end date on record. It does not list energy tariffs itself.
Common questions
What should I compare energy tariffs on?
The unit rate and standing charge for each fuel, worked out on your own annual use in kWh, not the monthly direct debit.
Is a fixed tariff always better?
Not always. A fix gives price certainty for its term but usually has an exit fee; a standard variable tariff has none, and its prices follow the price cap.
Where can I see how suppliers rate for service?
Citizens Advice publishes an independent star rating of energy suppliers.
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