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Octopus vs OVO (2024 Comparison)

Last Updated: 10th October 2024

Octopus Energy and OVO are the two fastest-growing energy suppliers in the UK. If you are looking to switch suppliers, you will likely come across both companies as reasonable choices to move to. Octopus vs OVO, which supplier is the better option for you?

In this guide, we’ll compare the two across a range of categories, such as tariff options, monthly prices, customer reviews and customer service.

Hopefully, by the end of this, you will have a better idea of which supplier is the best one for you.

Our top rated supplier Octopus Energy is currently offering £50 credit to any new customer that uses our referral link. Click below to see why we rate them so highly and get your £50.

Read our review

Who are OVO Energy?

OVO has been trading since 2009 and has over five million domestic customers across the UK. They focus on providing greener energy to customers. They also take part in other green initiatives, like planting over 1 million trees per year.

They are proud to be the first energy supplier in the UK to remove coal and nuclear from their fuel mix.

Over the last five years, they have won several awards, including the USwitch Supplier of the Year award in 2017 and 2019.

Who are Octopus Energy?

Octopus has been supplying energy since 2015 and, in that short time, has built up a customer base of over 6.5 million customers in the UK.

Similar to OVO, Octopus have put their focus on providing greener energy. 100% of their electricity supply comes from renewable sources such as the sun, sea and air. They also have a strong focus on technology and innovation, with a range of different smart tariffs.

Octopus has won numerous awards since starting out, including the 2023 Which? Energy supplier award and this year’s uSwitch supplier of the year award.

OVO vs Octopus: What’s the difference in tariff options?

First, we’ll compare each supplier’s tariff options. Both Octopus and OVO offer similar tariff options, but there are quite a few differences between them, as you can see below.

OVO

OVO offers four tariffs, three fixed-term options and one standard variable tariff. The different tariffs on offer are as follows:

1 or 2-Year Fixed

  • Fixed unit rate plan for 12 or 24 months.£50 exit fee per fuel if you choose to leave early.

1 Year Fixed + Greener Energy

  • Fixed unit rates for 12 months100% renewable electricity10% green gas and 90% carbon offset gas£20 contribution to support new renewable generators£50 exit fee per fuel

Simpler Energy

  • Standard variable tariff.
  • Flexible plan where prices can go up and down over time
  • No exit fees

Octopus

Octopus has one less tariff available for the majority of customers. They do have a range of smart tariffs, which we have not included here, as their suitability depends on your situation.

You can see more details on Octopus’ tariffs below:

Flexible Octopus

– This is a variable rate tariff
– Offers 100% renewable electricity
– No exit fees

Octopus 12M Fixed

– This is a 12 month contract with prices fixed for that time.
– Offers 100% renewable electricity
– No exit fees

Tracker Tariff

– Unit rates change on a daily basis
– 100% renewable electricity
– No exit fees
– Only available with a smart meter
– Not available on initial sign-up – see below for more details
– Unit rate is capped at 100p/kWh for electricity and 30p/kWh for gas (including VAT)
Conclusion: Both OVO and Octopus offer a range of tariffs to suit different customer needs. Octopus offer 100% renewable electricity as standard, whereas OVO do not. OVO do offer more options though, with 1 or 2-year fixes available to new customers. We’ll have to call this one a draw.

OVO Energy vs Octopus: What’s the difference in price?

The most important factor for many people when choosing any energy supplier is price. For this section, we requested a quote from each supplier using the exact same details to see how they compare.

These are the details we used:

  • Dual fuel supply
  • Standard Meter
  • Payment by Direct Debit
  • 2,900 kWh of electricity and 12,000 kWh of gas (Medium usage – 3 bedroom house occupied by a family of 4)
  • Postcode in the East Midlands

Let’s see if Octopus Energy is cheaper than OVO or vice versa.

Tariff NameTariff DescriptionMonthly Cost
1-Year FixedA fixed-rate contract for 12 months. £50 exit fee per fuel.£139
Simpler EnergyVariable tariff. Prices can either go up or down with no minimum term. No exit fees.£145
2-Year FixedRates are locked in for 24 months. £95 exit fee per fuel.£145
1 Year Fixed + Greener EnergyFixed-rate for 1 year. £75 exit fee per fuel. Green addons.£145
Source. Non-direct debit or PAYG prices are not available online.

As you can see, OVO’s variable tariff is £6 a month more expensive than their fixes comes without exit fees. However, it could increase if energy prices go up. With OVO, you also have to pay an extra £6 per month (£72 per year) to get their greener tariff.

These were the prices we got from Octopus:

Tariff NameTariff DescriptionMonthly Cost
Tracker TariffSmart tariff where prices change daily. No contract. No exit fees.*£116
OctopusFixed 12m12-month, fixed rate contract. No exit fees.£137
Flexible OctopusFlexible tariff where prices go up and down with the market. No contract.£144
*Using an average rate over previous months for both fuels. Only available to existing customers. Source.

The prices for both their fixed and variable tariffs are very similar. If you have a smart meter, their Tracker Tariff could work out to be significantly cheaper than the other options, however.

Conclusion: Is Octopus cheaper than OVO? Yes, Octopus beats OVO when it comes to price. They are slightly cheaper with their 1-year fixed rate tariff (with renewable electricity included), and their variable tariff (again with renewable electricity) is also cheaper. If you move to their Tracker tariff, however, you could save over £20 per month!

Octopus Energy vs OVO: Who offers the greenest energy?

An important factor for many people is how green the energy they are supplied is and the impact their supplier is having on the planet. Here we look at the two suppliers’ green credentials:

Octopus does a lot when it comes to green energy. From the supply side, they operate £3.4 billion worth of renewable generation (enough to power 2 million homes). They have also committed £5 million to open a research lab for researching a low-carbon energy system and invested £10 million to build a low-carbon R&D centre.

For customers, they offer 100% renewable electricity across all their tariffs as standard. They used to have a tariff that carbon offsets your gas usage, but this is no longer available.

OVO also has a big focus on green initiatives. They aim to be a zero-carbon company by 2035 and have a sustainability plan to reach this goal called Plan Zero. They also plant 1 million trees a year in the UK through schools and communities.

For customers, they don’t offer renewable electricity as standard, but they do offer a ‘Greener’ upgrade to some of their tariffs for an additional cost, as noted above. This means you receive 100% renewable electricity and 10% green gas with the remaining 90% carbon offset, and OVO makes a £20 contribution to support new UK generators.

Conclusion: Both of these suppliers are two of the greenest we have seen. Octopus, however, just wins this round as they are responsible for much more green energy generation and also offer 100% renewable electricity at no extra cost.

Octopus vs OVO: Who has better customer reviews?

Customer reviews are a great way of seeing how an energy supplier is treating its existing customers from their own perspective. Here we have compared OVO and Octopus to see which company performs better on Trustpilot.

Here are their scores as of October 2024:

Octopus scores much more favourably than OVO when it comes to the overall rating from customer reviews.

89% of those customers who left a review for Octopus rated them excellent compared to only 72% for OVO.

Both companies actively ask their customers to leave reviews to capture both the positive and negative.

Octopus has replied to 91% of their negative reviews, whereas OVO have responded to 99%

When customers do have issues in both cases, smart meter installation seems to be an issue for both suppliers and pricing errors appear to be a more common complaint for OVO customers.

Conclusion: Due to receiving a higher overall rating and 89% of their reviewing customers rating them as excellent – Octopus win when it comes to customer reviews.

Who has the better website and app?

Both suppliers have an app for their customers to manage their accounts from their mobile devices. This is a great way for customers to access their accounts at the touch of a button, and it is now likely to be used more than suppliers’ websites.

Both apps are designed to allow customers to update their details, view tariffs, submit meter readings and view their usage. But how do the two suppliers’ apps compare?

OVO’s app is rated 4.7 out of 5 on the app store from over 15,000 reviews, which is no easy feat! They have created a functional, easy-to-use app for their customers that improves the customer experience.

In comparison, Octopus’ app also does very well at 4.8 out of 5 stars from over 130,000 reviews. Lots of positives for this app, too, making it easy to add meter readings and see energy usage.

Both suppliers have websites that function well on desktop and mobile devices, too. They are easy to use and navigate, and we didn’t struggle to find what we needed.

Conclusion: Both suppliers appear to offer impressive web and app experiences, with the majority of users being happy. There is nothing between the two here, so this is another draw.

Who has the better customer service?

For accurate and unbiased customer service data, we look at the Citizens Advice website, as it offers the best independent customer service comparison for all suppliers.

Here, you can see how each supplier compares on key metrics:

OctopusOVO
Average call centre wait time02:2800:43
Emails responded to within two days77.3%96.8%
Fewer complaints received2/51/5
Contact waiting time2/54/5
Customer commitments5/55/5
Opening hours9 am – 5 pm (4 pm Friday)9 am – 5 pm
Source: Citizens Advice
Conclusion: OVO offers longer opening hours, which is ideal for those customers who may not have time to make a call during the working day. They also offer lower call centre waiting times and respond to more emails within two days. OVO wins this one.

Who has fewer complaints?

The number of complaints a supplier receives is a good indication of how often things go wrong. When things do go wrong, it is also important to know how quickly these things are resolved.

Luckily, energy suppliers have to publish this every quarter, so we have included the data for each below:

Octopus EnergyOVO
Complaints per 100k customers1,5982,027
Resolved per 100k customers1,5462,166
Resolved the next working day71%64.4%
Resolved in 8 weeks87%85.2%
Sources: Octopus Energy Q2 2024. OVO Quarterly Complaints Q2 2024
Conclusion: Based on the data available, we have to conclude that Octopus wins here as they receive fewer complaints. Octopus also resolve more complaints by the next working day.

Octopus vs OVO: What are the main differences between the two?

Below, we have quickly summarised everything we have covered in the sections above:

AreaSummaryWinner
Tariff OptionsBoth offer different tariff options. Octopus are more innovative but OVO provides more fixed options.Draw
PriceOctopus are cheaper for their fixed tariff and variable tariffs. Their Tracker tariff is much cheaper. Octopus
Greenest EnergyBoth suppliers are doing their bit to be green. Octopus are doing more though, and importantly offer renewable electricity as standard.Octopus
Customer ReviewsOctopus has a higher overall score, with a much higher percentage giving them 5 star reviews.Octopus
Website/AppBoth suppliers offer well-rated apps and modern, smooth websites.Draw
Customer ServiceOVO perform better across most metrics here, including call centre waiting times.OVO
ComplaintsThis is close; however, Octopus receives less in the first place and deals with more of them within two working days.Octopus

Who is the best?

Read our Octopus Energy review and our OVO Energy review for a detailed analysis of each supplier.

We feel Octopus is the better supplier in general.

They are the cheapest, have better customer reviews and have fewer complaints.

OVO performs well in customer service; however, there is not too much between them overall.

If, after comparing OVO and Octopus, you have decided Octopus Energy are the better energy supplier for you, then switching is very easy.

All you need to do is visit the Octopus website here and get a quote (you will also get £50 for using our link). If you are happy with the price, Octopus will complete the whole process for you, usually within 15 days.

You can read our article here to find out more about the Octopus referral code scheme.

Our top rated supplier Octopus Energy is currently offering £50 credit to any new customer that uses our referral link. Click below to see why we rate them so highly and get your £50.

Read our review

Rob
Rob

Hi, I'm Rob and I run Energy-Review.co.uk. I initially started this project 5 years ago 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 spent have 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.

10 Comments
  1. Useful comparrisons.
    one issue for me is smartmeters, I dont want one but OVO are constantly telling me I have got to change
    what is the view of octopusy and can I be forced to change?

  2. I am thinking of moving to Octapus. On my OVO account I have unwittingly built up quite a large credit – do I have ro claim this back myself or will it be automatically transferred?

  3. octopus sounds good?

  4. Reply Avatar of jennifer mary ferguson
    Jennifer Mary Ferguson September 5, 2024 at 3:13 pm

    Useful info.

  5. Reply Avatar of jennifer mary ferguson
    Jennifer Mary Ferguson September 5, 2024 at 3:12 pm

    Helpful Review.

  6. Just done this now with your referral code.
    OVO vs Octopus was VERY close in my calculations, but the extra £50 did swing it !
    Will see if it comes through in October !

  7. This all sounds very helpful. Please add me to the Newsletter mailing list.

  8. I have huge energy bills (£650 in January) and want to get an ev. The ev use will be very low however as we only do 4k a year.
    We are currently with OVO and considering Octopus. I would mention that from my personal experience OVO never answer the phone and ignore emails. Website info is excellent though.

  9. Interesting comparison between Octopus and OVO! I’ve been considering getting a smart meter and I think this post has helped me make up my mind. The point about Octopus’s mobile app being more user-friendly is a big plus for me. I hate having to log in to multiple accounts just to monitor my energy usage. I’ll definitely be checking out Octopus more closely. Thanks for the post!

  10. Thanks for this information, it’s been really helpful and sets out options ????

Leave a reply

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