What should you pay for energy? Start with the cap.
Tell me where you live and how you use energy, and I'll work out what each tariff I hold would cost your home over the next 12 months, against what you'd pay on Ofgem's price cap. Rates, standing charges and exit fees side by side, cheapest first, and I'll say so when staying put is the better deal.
- Each tariff costed for your home, day by day, for 12 months
- Unit rates and standing charges as plain as the total
- How far the cap would have to rise for each fix to pay off
- Free, and your postcode stays out of the address
The price cap now
That's Ofgem's figure for an average home across Great Britain. The cap itself limits each unit rate and standing charge, not the bill: on average 26.32p per kWh of electricity and 54.83p a day, and 7.97p per kWh of gas and 29.68p a day, VAT included. Use more and you pay more; where you live and how you pay change the rates too.
Should I fix?
A fixed tariff holds its unit rates and standing charges for its term. The cap, standard variable tariffs and trackers move with the market. So a fix is a bet: it wins if the cap rises past a point and loses if it doesn't.
I don't use anyone's forecast. Instead, every fix in your results says how far the cap would have to rise from the next change for it to come out cheaper, and a slider shows how the order moves if the cap goes up or down. Suppliers price fixes on where they think the cap is heading, so at today's prices staying on the cap is often cheaper.
How I rank, and how I make money
Cheapest first, on the estimate for your home, with ties in supplier then tariff name order. Commission never changes who's listed or the order. A link marked Ad may earn me commission if you switch through it; every other link goes straight to the supplier and earns nothing.
Suppliers that pay me now: none of them.
The estimate is for the next 12 months from today: each day's standing charge and use at that day's prices, with VAT as it applies that day and no cashback, mine included. Every result shows its unit rates, standing charges and exit fees as plainly as its total, with its tariff information label a click away.
What I compare
I compare the tariffs Octopus Energy, EnergyCoop, London Power, E.ON Next, Sainsbury's Energy, EDF and Good Energy publish openly. British Gas, OVO Energy, ScottishPower, So Energy, Utilita and other suppliers don't publish theirs in a form I can use, so they aren't here. The price cap is the most any supplier can charge on a standard variable tariff.
Prices by region
- Eastern EnglandElectricity 26.61p per kWh, 51.84p a day
- East MidlandsElectricity 25.36p per kWh, 51.45p a day
- LondonElectricity 26.60p per kWh, 42.92p a day
- Merseyside and North WalesElectricity 27.86p per kWh, 67.66p a day
- West MidlandsElectricity 25.60p per kWh, 57.23p a day
- North East EnglandElectricity 25.46p per kWh, 61.58p a day
- North West EnglandElectricity 26.49p per kWh, 45.68p a day
- Southern EnglandElectricity 26.47p per kWh, 47.81p a day
- South East EnglandElectricity 26.88p per kWh, 52.32p a day
- South WalesElectricity 26.55p per kWh, 55.41p a day
- South West EnglandElectricity 26.58p per kWh, 55.58p a day
- YorkshireElectricity 25.60p per kWh, 61.67p a day
- South ScotlandElectricity 26.11p per kWh, 61.41p a day
- North ScotlandElectricity 26.35p per kWh, 55.14p a day
Price cap rates for Direct Debit, VAT included. Every region and way of paying.
Questions
What is the energy price cap?
Ofgem, the energy regulator, sets the most a supplier can charge for each kWh of gas and electricity, and for each day's standing charge, on a standard variable tariff. It sets it every three months, for each region and way of paying. It isn't a cap on your bill: use more and you pay more.
Why do prices differ by region?
Great Britain has 14 electricity distribution regions, and running each one's network costs a different amount. Every supplier prices by the same 14 regions, for gas as well as electricity, and so does the cap.
What is a standing charge?
A fixed amount for each day your home is connected, whatever you use. It pays towards the networks, the meter and running your account.
Should I fix my energy prices?
A fix holds your unit rates and standing charges for its term, so it pays off if the cap rises and costs you if it falls. Suppliers price fixes on where they think the cap is heading, so a fix often costs more than the cap at today's prices. Each fix in my results says how far the cap would have to rise for it to come out cheaper.
How do you work out what I'd pay?
For each day of the next 12 months I add the standing charge and that day's share of your use at the unit rate, then the VAT that applies that day. Gas use follows the seasons and electricity is spread evenly. Price changes a supplier or Ofgem has announced apply from their date, and a fix that ends rolls onto its supplier's standard tariff. Cashback never counts.
Do you compare every supplier?
No. I compare the suppliers that publish their prices openly, and every result list says which those are and which big suppliers are missing. The price cap is the most any supplier can charge on a standard variable tariff, so it's a fair yardstick for the rest.
Does this cover Northern Ireland?
No. Northern Ireland has its own energy market outside Ofgem's cap. The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland compares its suppliers' prices.