Octopus Energy vs British Gas: Which Is Cheaper and Better?

Standard variable tariffs: same price. Ofgem caps the unit rates and standing charges on every supplier's standard variable tariff. From 1 October to 31 December 2026 that's 26.32p per kWh for electricity plus 54.83p a day, and 7.97p per kWh for gas plus 29.68p a day, or £1,723 a year for a typical home. British Gas Standard Variable and Flexible Octopus both charge exactly that. Neither has an exit fee. If you're on British Gas's standard tariff and only compare those two, you'll see no difference.

January changes the maths. Ofgem announces the January to March 2027 cap on 25 November, and forecasts point to about £2,180, roughly 27% higher. A fix priced below that protects you from the rise. When we checked on 28 October, Octopus's 12M Fixed was about £1,948 a year and its 18M Fixed about £1,888, with exit fees of £50 and £75 per fuel. See the January price cap guide for the case for and against fixing now.

British Gas fixes. British Gas is currently selling three kinds of fix. There's a standard Fixed tariff. Fix and Fall fixes your rates to October 2028 but cuts them at an October 2027 review if the cap has fallen, with a £125 per fuel exit fee. Fixed Tracker promises to stay up to £50 below the cap. We couldn't verify a typical-use annual price for these from a reliable source, so get a quote from British Gas with your own usage and set it against Octopus's figure for your postcode. Octopus's prices by region page lists its rates area by area.

Tariffs British Gas doesn't have. Octopus Tracker changes price daily in line with wholesale costs, within a cap of its own, and Agile Octopus sets a new price every half hour, sometimes below zero. They suit households that can watch prices or move usage. British Gas has nothing that follows the wholesale market.

The £50. Joining Octopus through a referral link adds £50 credit to your account once the switch completes, whichever tariff you pick. British Gas has no equivalent for new customers. If you want to compare it with your own bill, the savings calculator works it out from your annual usage.

Which? 2026 energy survey (published January 2026, nearly 12,000 customers): Octopus scored 74% and came 2nd of 17. It's a Which? Recommended Provider for the ninth year running. British Gas scored 59% and came 15th, with two stars out of five in every category, including value for money.

Citizens Advice scores suppliers on complaints, how long you wait to get through, billing and customer commitments. In its April to June 2026 figures Octopus scored 3.67 out of 5 (5th of 16) and British Gas 2.61 (14th). British Gas was weakest on complaints (1.0 against Octopus's 3.5) and billing and metering (2.0 against 3.4).

Trustpilot is closer than you might expect. Octopus has 4.8 from over 900,000 reviews and British Gas 4.4 from over 360,000. British Gas invites customers to review it after contact, which lifts its score, so the surveys above are a fairer guide.

British Gas has also had a rough couple of years for trust. In May 2026 Ofgem closed its investigation into prepayment meters being force-fitted between 2018 and 2023. British Gas agreed to pay £20 million into Ofgem's redress fund and write off up to £70 million of vulnerable customers' debt. Centrica says customer satisfaction is now at a record high, and complaints are falling.

British Gas has caught up a lot here, so this is closer than older comparisons suggest.

Electric cars. Intelligent Octopus Go charges 7p per kWh overnight and can schedule your car to charge at the cheapest times. British Gas EV Power charges 9.5p from midnight to 5am, or an effective 7.125p if you have a Hive charger. On 3,000 kWh of charging a year, the 2.5p gap is worth about £75.

Heat pumps. British Gas Heat Power gives half-price electricity from midnight to 7am and 1pm to 4pm every day. Cosy Octopus has three cheap windows a day, set for heat pumps that warm the house before the evening peak. Which works out cheaper depends on when your heat pump runs, so compare both against your app data.

Solar export. It's level. Octopus Outgoing pays 12p per kWh, and British Gas Export Premium also pays 12p for supply customers with systems up to 15kW. Both need you to buy your electricity from them too. Octopus also has Flux for homes with a battery.

Cheap electricity events. British Gas PeakSave gives half-price electricity on Sundays, either as a one-year fix (9am to 5pm) or as an add-on to any tariff (11am to 4pm). Octopus pays you to use less at peak times through Saving Sessions, and its Octoplus scheme adds weekly perks. If your Sunday washing and cooking already happen at home, PeakSave is a real perk worth counting.

Switching isn't right for everyone. Staying put can make sense if:

• You're partway through a British Gas fix with an exit fee, and its rate is below the January cap. Wait until the last 49 days, when leaving is free.
• You're on Fix and Fall and want the October 2027 review that can cut your rates.
• You rely on PeakSave Sundays and use a lot of electricity in those hours.
• You have a Hive charger and the 7.125p EV rate already matches what Octopus would give you.

HomeCare isn't a reason to stay. Your boiler cover carries on when you switch energy, as our HomeCare guide explains.

1. Check your British Gas account. Note your tariff, whether it's fixed, its end date and any exit fee, plus your annual usage in kWh. There's no exit fee on Standard Variable or in the last 49 days of a fix.
2. Sign up with Octopus using a referral link. It takes about five minutes, and the £50 credit is attached automatically. Pick Flexible if you want no ties, or a fix if you want to lock in before January.
3. Octopus handles the rest. You don't need to call British Gas. The switch completes within five working days under the Energy Switch Guarantee, and your supply never goes off.
4. Give meter readings on switch day. Smart meters usually send them automatically. Your final British Gas bill follows, and any credit must be refunded within 10 working days.
5. Keep what isn't energy. HomeCare and your Hive thermostat carry on. PeakSave and any British Gas energy add-ons end.

The full walkthrough, including the 14-day cooling-off period and what happens if you owe British Gas money, is in our guide to leaving British Gas.