Cheap Energy Club Comparison Websites (Review)
Every year, millions of households take the opportunity to switch energy suppliers.
Introduction
The Cheap Energy Club is best for finding the absolute cheapest deal across the whole market, while standard comparison sites suit those who want to switch quickly with a familiar brand.
Every year, millions of households take the opportunity to switch energy suppliers. The UK energy market has reopened after a turbulent few years, and competitive fixed tariffs are back. This means you once again have a real reason to compare prices and move to a better deal.
When you decide to look for a new tariff, you have a few ways to do it. You can use a traditional comparison website, sign up for a paid auto-switching service, or use MoneySavingExpert's Cheap Energy Club. You will likely see adverts for big names like Compare the Market, Go.Compare, and Uswitch on television. These sites are popular and easy to use, but they operate differently from tools designed purely for consumer advice.
The Cheap Energy Club is managed by Martin Lewis's MoneySavingExpert. It acts as a tool to help you find the latest energy deals based on your exact usage. The main difference between this tool and a standard comparison site comes down to how they make money and what deals they show you by default. In this guide, we look at how these options compare and what you should check before you switch.
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The current energy market and price cap
To understand why comparing tariffs is worthwhile right now, it helps to look at the current state of the market. On 1 July 2026, the Ofgem price cap rose by roughly 13%. Under older usage metrics, this would mean a typical dual-fuel household paying by Direct Debit spends about £1,862 a year. However, Ofgem recently lowered its definition of typical domestic consumption to 2,500 kWh for electricity and 9,500 kWh for gas. Because of this change, the headline average cost is now quoted as roughly £1,663 a year.
The price cap limits the unit rates and standing charges you pay, not your total bill. Currently, the average electricity rate is capped at around 26.11p per kWh with a 57.19p daily standing charge. Gas is capped at around 7.33p per kWh with a 29.04p daily standing charge. If you use more energy than the typical household, your bills will be higher than the headline figure.
Despite the cap rising, suppliers are offering fixed-rate deals that undercut it. Comparison sites show that households could save up to £382 by moving from a standard variable tariff to a competitive fix. Locking in a rate now can protect you from future price jumps.
Looking ahead, energy analysts at Cornwall Insight predict the next price cap in October 2026 will be around £1,700. This is slightly higher than the current cap because wholesale gas prices remain volatile due to unrest in the Middle East. The UK government has announced that VAT on domestic electricity bills will be cut from 5% to 0% from 1 October 2026 for the rest of the financial year. With prices expected to rise slightly in autumn, comparing your options now makes sense.
What does the MSE Cheap Energy Club offer?
Martin Lewis is a trusted household name for consumer advice, and MoneySavingExpert created the Cheap Energy Club to encourage more people to switch. It is a free tool that asks for your current energy usage and supplier, then tells you how much money you could save by moving. The service currently offers two main ways to use it: a DIY comparison and Pick Me a Tariff.
DIY Comparison
This is the most basic level. You enter your details, and the tool shows you a list of deals from across the whole UK market. You can scroll through the options, look at the unit rates and standing charges, and decide which tariff you want to switch to manually.
Pick Me a Tariff
If a long list of tariffs feels overwhelming, this option filters the market for you. You give the tool a set of priorities, such as price, customer service ratings, green energy, fixed rates, well-known suppliers, or no exit fees. The tool currently returns three best-matching deals based on your priorities. You then review the options and decide whether to switch.
Pick Me a Tariff Every Year
Cheap Energy Club’s current service does not automatically move you to a new tariff in future. You choose whether to take a recommended deal and complete any switch yourself.
How traditional energy comparison sites work
Traditional comparison websites like Uswitch, Compare the Market, and Go.Compare are commercial businesses. They provide a free service to consumers, which means they have to make their money elsewhere. They do this by charging energy suppliers a commission fee every time a customer switches through their website.
When you use one of these sites, you type in your postcode, current supplier, and energy usage. The site then generates a list of tariffs that could save you money. You can click on a deal to see the breakdown of unit rates, standing charges, and any exit fees.
Because these sites rely on commission, their default setting is usually to show you only the tariffs you can switch to directly through their platform. If a supplier does not pay them a fee, that supplier's tariff is normally hidden from the main results page. To see every deal on the market, you usually have to find a small filter button labelled something like 'show all tariffs' or 'whole of market' and turn it on.
These sites often run special promotions to get you to use them. They might offer a free toy, cinema tickets, or a meal discount if you buy a product through them. While these perks are nice, you should always check if the energy deal itself is genuinely the cheapest option available to you.
What are the main differences between them?
While both types of service aim to help you find a cheaper energy bill, they operate with different priorities. The biggest differences come down to market visibility, how results are filtered, and the extra guidance provided.
| Feature | MSE Cheap Energy Club | Standard Comparison Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Default view | Whole of market | Only commission-paying suppliers |
| Customer service filter | Yes, can filter by 'good' ratings | Rarely available |
| Cashback | £25 for dual fuel (on some deals) | Often non-cash perks (e.g. cinema tickets) |
| Editor picks | Shows 'MSE Top Picks' for specific needs | Usually ranks strictly by price |
| Business model | Consumer advice first | Commercial affiliate network |
Whole market search
The most important difference is the Cheap Energy Club's pledge to compare the whole UK market by default. Standard sites want to show you the suppliers that pay them. This means a consumer using a standard site might miss out on the absolute cheapest deal if that supplier does not work with the comparison website. With the Cheap Energy Club, you see everything immediately, giving you a truer picture of the best rates.
Customer service ratings
Price is not the only thing that matters. When you search on the Cheap Energy Club, a box asks if you only want to see suppliers with a 'good' customer service rating. If you select this, it hides companies known for poor billing or long call wait times. Standard comparison websites rarely offer this level of filtering, usually ranking everything purely by the lowest price.
Top picks and tailored advice
Standard sites list deals from cheapest to most expensive. The Cheap Energy Club does this too, but it also has a tab for 'MSE Top Picks'. These are tariffs the team believes offer a good balance of price, service, and terms. They also explain exactly who the tariff is good for, and who should avoid it, making it easier to understand the trade-offs of a particular deal.
Paid auto-switching vs free reminder services
In recent years, auto-switching services like Switchd and Labrador became popular. These services take the hassle out of managing your bills by automatically moving you to a new energy supplier whenever a better deal appears or your current fix ends.
The trade-off is that many true auto-switchers charge a monthly fee. This subscription typically ranges from £1.99 to £4.99 a month. Over a year, you could be paying up to £60 just for the convenience of not having to click a button yourself. Some free auto-switchers do exist, but they only switch you between a limited pool of partner suppliers, meaning you might miss out on the wider market.
The Cheap Energy Club is not a full auto-switcher. It is a reminder service. It monitors the market based on your details and sends you an alert when you can save money by moving. You still have to log in and confirm the switch yourself. However, it is completely free to use and searches the whole market. For most households, taking two minutes to confirm a switch is worth saving the monthly subscription fee charged by paid services.
What to check before you switch
Whether you use a standard comparison site or the Cheap Energy Club, you need to look at more than just the headline monthly cost. The cheapest deals often come with strict conditions. Before you agree to a new tariff, check these practical factors.
Finally, the April 2026 Ofgem Review recommended giving the regulator direct consumer-law enforcement powers. If implemented, this would strengthen protection when companies treat customers unfairly.
Final verdict
MoneySavingExpert's Cheap Energy Club is the better choice for most households because it guarantees whole-market visibility.
If you want to be certain you are getting the absolute best price, the Cheap Energy Club is the clear winner. Because it does not hide tariffs that refuse to pay a commission, you see a true reflection of the market. The ability to filter out suppliers with poor customer service is a major advantage, and the free reminder service gives you the benefits of auto-switching without the monthly fee.
Standard comparison sites are still useful, especially if you already have your details saved with them or you want to claim a specific promotional perk. However, you must remember to manually select the 'whole of market' filter to ensure you are not missing out on cheaper deals hidden from the default view.
Frequently asked questions
Will my energy supply be cut off if I switch using a comparison site?
No. Switching is purely a change in billing and customer service. The actual gas and electricity supplied to your home, and the safety of the network, remain exactly the same. You will not lose power during the changeover.
Is the price cap the absolute maximum I will pay?
No, this is a common misunderstanding. The price cap strictly limits the unit rates you pay for each unit of energy and the daily standing charge. If you use more energy than the typical household, your final bill will be higher than the headline cap figure.
Can prepayment meter customers access the same cheap deals?
Unfortunately, the cheapest fixed tariffs on comparison sites are almost exclusively reserved for customers who pay by Direct Debit. Prepayment customers may have fewer fixed deals to choose from, so it is important to compare the tariffs available for your meter and payment method.
Sources
Is it worth fixing my energy right now?
Yes, it is highly recommended to compare your options. With the price cap rising in July 2026 and expected to rise slightly again in October, fixing allows you to lock in price certainty ahead of winter. Some current fixed deals undercut the cap and have no exit fees.
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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.