EDF Energy Sainsbury’s Energy (September 2026)
Overview
There is no single best choice: compare price, service, app and green-energy evidence separately.
About EDF Energy and Sainsbury's Energy
Who is EDF Energy?
EDF Energy is the UK retail branch of the French state-owned energy company, Électricité de France. It was formed in 2002 and is one of the UK's largest domestic energy suppliers. The supplier generates its own zero-carbon electricity, mainly through its UK nuclear power stations, and offers a range of standard and specialist tariffs.
Who are Sainsbury's Energy?
Sainsbury's Energy is a partnership between the Sainsbury's supermarket chain and E.ON Next. E.ON Next holds the energy licence, supplies the gas and electricity, and handles customer service, making it backed by one of the UK's largest domestic suppliers. The main feature of Sainsbury's Energy is its link to the Nectar reward scheme, allowing customers to collect points on their energy use and shopping.
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Tariffs and pricing
The cheapest overall deals from both suppliers are effectively identical under our current assumptions. EDF Energy’s Standard (Variable) and Sainsbury’s Energy’s Sainsbury's Standard Variable each cost £1,611 a year. Because these are variable tariffs with no fixed term, households can switch away at any time without paying an exit fee.
For households looking to lock in their unit rates, Sainsbury's Energy provides the cheaper fixed option. Its Sainsburys Fix and Reward Fixed 24m v51 tariff costs £1,640 a year for a 24-month term and carries a £200 exit fee. In contrast, EDF Energy’s cheapest fixed deal, the Simply Fixed 2Yr Sep28v4, costs £1,691 a year over the same 24-month period. This makes the EDF Energy option £52 a year more expensive, though it also applies a £200 exit fee.
Tariff Options
EDF Energy
EDF Energy offers a mix of standard variable and fixed-term tariffs with contract lengths from 12 to 24 months. It also has specialist options for customers with electric vehicles, solar panels, and home batteries.
Sainsbury's Energy
Sainsbury's Energy offers standard variable and fixed-term tariffs with contract lengths from 12 to 24 months. Its tariffs focus on integrating with the Nectar rewards scheme to give customers bonus points.
Customer reviews
EDF Energy holds a higher Trustpilot rating of 4.8 out of 5, drawn from a substantial 251,360 reviews. Sainsbury's Energy follows with a 4.3 out of 5 rating across 3,139 reviews. Both suppliers maintain a high proportion of top-tier feedback, with 83% of EDF Energy reviews and 80% of Sainsbury's Energy reviews awarding five stars.
Feedback for EDF Energy frequently highlights polite and knowledgeable staff who resolve problems quickly, though some users report difficulties navigating the automated phone systems. Sainsbury's Energy customers similarly note positive service experiences, citing rapid communication and helpful representatives, alongside occasional mentions of unexpected billing issues.
Results differ in the annual Which? survey, where Sainsbury's Energy achieves a higher overall score of 71 compared to EDF Energy's 58. Sainsbury's Energy also leads across key sub-metrics, scoring 4 out of 5 for both customer service and ease of contacting. In contrast, EDF Energy receives 2 out of 5 in those same categories.
App quality and features
EDF Energy provides established smartphone applications on both major platforms. The iOS app scores 4.6 out of 5 from 187,000 ratings, while the Google Play version achieves 4.4 out of 5 across more than 51,000 ratings. Recent updates to the EDF Energy software have focused on integrating smart charging features and simplifying tariff discovery.
A sample of recent iOS reviews for EDF Energy indicates a mix of user experiences; some note notable improvements to stability, whereas others report occasional issues when making payments. App store ratings for Sainsbury's Energy are not currently available in our dataset.
Service and support
EDF Energy receives a Citizens Advice score of 2.9 out of 5, placing it 11th in the current rankings. The supplier records an average call centre wait time of 2 minutes 46 seconds and responds to 85.6% of emails within two days. It accepts Direct Debit, cash, cheque, and prepayment methods, operating its phone lines on weekdays only.
Citizens Advice performance data is not currently available for Sainsbury's Energy. As a result, it is not possible to directly compare the two suppliers regarding call wait times or email responsiveness.
Complaints and performance
Both EDF Energy and Sainsbury’s Energy have shared their complaints data for the second quarter of 2026. Sainsbury’s Energy received 906 complaints for every 100,000 customers, which is slightly lower than the 965 complaints received by EDF Energy.
Green Energy Comparison
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is a major generator of zero-carbon electricity in the UK, driven by its nuclear power stations. Its electricity fuel mix is largely nuclear, with some fossil fuel and renewables. The supplier backs its standard tariffs with zero-carbon nuclear electricity as standard, which is supplied to the National Grid rather than directly to the home. It also helps customers upgrade their homes by offering solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicle chargers.
Sainsbury's Energy
Because Sainsbury's Energy customers are supplied by E.ON Next, its environmental impact and fuel mix are based on E.ON Next's supply figures. The supplier does not currently offer a dedicated green energy tariff in its mainstream range. It does give its customers exclusive discounts on home energy upgrades through E.ON Next, which includes money off solar panels, home batteries, and electric vehicle chargers.[1]
Our verdict
| If you care most about | Choose |
|---|---|
| The lowest annual cost on our assumptions | Either |
| Overall customer service | Sainsbury’s Energy |
There is no single best choice: compare price, service, app and green-energy evidence separately.
Use the decision table to match the available evidence to the factors that matter most to your household.
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Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, EDF Energy or Sainsbury’s Energy?
On the stored annual-cost assumptions, EDF Energy is £1,611 and Sainsbury’s Energy is £1,611. The difference is within £5 a year, so it is treated as a tie.
Can EDF Energy and Sainsbury’s Energy complaint rates be compared directly?
Yes. Both figures cover Q2 2026: EDF Energy reports 965 complaints per 100,000 customers and Sainsbury’s Energy reports 906.
Which supplier leads on customer service?
On the comparable customer-service measure used in the decision table, Sainsbury’s Energy leads.
Which supplier has the better app evidence?
The supplied data does not support a like-for-like app winner.
Do tariff eligibility rules matter?
Yes. Specialist, time-of-use, EV, heat-pump and export tariffs can have equipment, meter or account requirements. Check the current supplier terms before applying.
Which supplier has the greener evidence?
The supplied data does not support a like-for-like green-energy winner. This row is based on published fuel-mix percentages.
Which is better overall, EDF Energy or Sainsbury’s Energy?
There is no single overall winner in this repaired draft. Price, service, app and green-energy evidence are kept as separate choices in the decision table.
When was this comparison updated?
The structured source payload is for September 2026.
What changed this month
This month, EDF Energy's iOS app days since last update rose from 6 to 13, EDF Energy's play store days since last update rose from 7 to 14, and EDF Energy's cheapest tariff exit fee fell from £50 to £0. There were 18 other data changes this month — see the full changelog below for details.
Data changes this month (24)
EDF Energy
- Trustpilot reviews243,334 → 251,360
- iOS app ratings count185,000 → 187,000
- iOS app days since last update6 → 13
- iOS sampled reviews avg stars2 → 2.33
- Play Store rating4.4256063 → 4.3837585
- Play Store ratings count50,315 → 51,073
- Play Store days since last update7 → 14
- Play Store positive ratings %86.3 → 85.2
- Play Store negative ratings %9.8 → 10.6
- Play Store neutral ratings %3.9 → 4.2
- Play Store net-positive %76.5 → 74.6
- Cheapest variable tariff£1,754.76 → £1,610.88
- Cheapest fixed tariff£1,824.37 → £1,691.28
- Cheapest tariff£1,754.76 → £1,610.88
- Cheapest tariff exit fee£50 → £0
- Cheapest fixed tariff exit fee£150 → £200
- Tariff count4 → 3
- Variable tariffs available2 → 1
Sainsbury’s Energy
- Trustpilot reviews3,127 → 3,139
- Trustpilot negative reviews replied %35 → 31
- Cheapest variable tariff£1,804.81 → £1,610.88
- Cheapest fixed tariff£1,840.79 → £1,639.64
- Cheapest tariff£1,804.81 → £1,610.88
- Shortest fixed term12 months → 24 months
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Written by
Rob Gibbs
Hi, I'm Rob, and I run Energy-Review.co.uk. I initially started this project in 2018 when I was looking to switch energy suppliers and found there wasn't a website that provided simple, data-backed reviews on all the suppliers available. Since then, I have spent a lot of time (too much, some may say!) looking at all publicly available data about each supplier and writing reviews using this information. These reviews are updated as regularly as possible, and any data is backed up by a source where necessary. I have also started writing guides on various energy-related topics, which hopefully you will find useful. If you find any issues, please use our contact form to let us know.