British Gas vs EDF (2024 Comparison)

Lasted Updated: 19th January 2024

When looking a switching energy suppliers, British Gas and EDF are two names that you are likely to both recognise and consider switching to.

In this article we will look at the two energy suppliers, comparing them on a range of areas like tariffs, price, customer reviews, complaints performance and website/app usability.

By the end of our comparison, hopefully, you’ll have a better idea of which supplier may be the best of the two for you.

For those who aren’t aware of the two companies, here is a brief summary:

Who is British Gas?

British Gas is the UK’s leading energy and home services provider, known for supplying gas and electricity to millions of households across the country. Established over two centuries ago, it has a rich history rooted in the early days of gas production. Today, British Gas offers a range of services beyond energy supply, including boiler installations, home insurance, and smart home solutions. For many Britons, when they think of an energy supplier, they think of British Gas. You can find out more in our British Gas review here.

Who are EDF?

EDF, based in France, is a leading global energy company specialising in electricity and gas supply. With a strong presence in Europe, the US, and beyond, they serve residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. EDF is renowned for its extensive services, from energy efficiency to renewable energy production. Their notable commitment to nuclear power sees them operating several nuclear plants worldwide. You can find out more in our EDF review here.

EDF vs British Gas: What’s the difference in tariff options?

Firstly, let’s look at what types of tariffs are available if you are looking to switch to either supplier and see how they compare. Both offer fixed tariffs and a variable option but what are the differences? 

EDF

EDF offers 3 tariffs to choose from. One variable tariff and one fixed tariff. Here are the full details:

British Gas

British Gas offers customers three types of tariff. Much like EDF, the tariffs include a fixed-term option and a variable tariff for customers who don’t want to be locked in with a contract. They also have a tariff for Pay As You Go customers available. Below we take a look at these tariffs in more detail:

British Gas vs EDF: What’s the difference in price?

One of the most important factors when looking to change your supplier is how they compare on price. We asked for online quotes from both energy providers, using the following criteria:

• Dual fuel supply
• Standard Meter
• 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
• Payment by Direct Debit

Please be aware that just changing one of these factors is likely to change your quote, so please just consider these prices as an indication.

Here are the monthly costs for each of the British Gas tariffs we looked at earlier in our comparison: 

As you can see, there is currently over £10 a month difference between the British Gas variable and fixed tariffs. This may not sound much, but it does add up to £120+ over the course of a year. For that extra £10 however, you are getting a guaranteed fixed rate on your energy costs for a year plus renewable electricity.

Here is how the monthly cost of the EDF tariffs compared: 

There is an even smaller difference between the monthly costs of EDF’s fixed and variable tariffs, with the 3-year and 1-year fixed tariffs costing virtually the same.

British Gas vs EDF: Who offers the greenest energy?

British Gas and EDF are both regarded as highly green energy companies. In fact, they are two of the best-known renewable electricity and gas suppliers in the U.K.

All of British Gas’ fixed tariffs are matched 100% with renewable electricity meaning that you are one step closer to net zero. They do not offer renewable electricity with their variable tariffs, however.

The Green Future Tariff from British Gas goes even further: 100% of your CO₂ footprint from your gas use is balanced by carbon-cutting projects around the world (90%), and renewable biogas made from food and farm waste (10%). You’ll also protect five trees in the UK per fuel for each year of your green energy tariff, contributing to cleaner air and improving natural habitats (source).

This tariff has also been awarded the gold standard by Uswitch – one of the only three energy suppliers to achieve this accreditation. This tariff is not currently available but may be back in the future.

EDF has really proven their commitment to being an eco-friendly energy provider over recent years. They claim to be the biggest generator of zero-carbon electricity (source), with wind, nuclear and solar projects all combining to give them this title.

Similarly to British Gas, they also offer 100% renewable electricity on their fixed tariffs, but not on their variable tariffs. They don’t appear to offer anything that compares to the ‘Green Future Tariff’ from British Gas either.

British Gas vs EDF: Who has better customer reviews?

Reviews from other customers are a great way to gauge how good these energy suppliers are actually going to be if you join them. To see how they compare, we looked at both the overall Trustpilot score and looked at a variety of individual reviews for each supplier.

Here are their overall Trustpilot scores:

• British Gas scored 3.9 out of 5 based on over 164,000 reviews (source)
• EDF scored 4.2 out of 5 based on over 65,000 reviews (source)

50% of British Gas customers rated them 5 stars, whereas 29% gave them only a 1-star review. The reviews for British Gas are slightly complicated because they don’t just cover energy supply customers, they also include boiler services and other products the company offers.

Looking at just reviews regarding energy supply, customers often praised British Gas for being “a one-stop shop” for your energy-related needs, being quick to solve any switching issues and being able to speak to someone when you need to.

Looking at the negative reviews, there was a focus on the app being poor, billing issues and long waits to get these resolved and generally poor customer service.

Looking at EDF, a much higher proportion gave them a 5-star review (73%). Only 15% of customers gave them a 1-star review.

Positive feedback generally mentioned their good customer service and being quick to fix issues. They also praised competitive prices. When looking at the negative reviews, customers complained about smart meter installation and issues getting credit back. There were also complaints about their customer service.

British Gas vs EDF: Who has the better website and app?

British Gas and EDF both offer their customers an app as well as user-friendly websites. Having the option to manage energy accounts online and via an app is pretty standard these days, but does one supplier have a better offering than the other?

Both apps can be used to update personal details, review bills, submit meter readings and review usage.

Let’s take a closer look at how the two apps compare in further detail: 

British Gas’ app has a score of 2.5/5 based on 34,000 reviews and EDF’s app has a score of 4.5/5 based on over 109,000 reviews.

The British Gas app has low reviews due to some common themes – no real-time accuracy and the app often crashing. This understandably causes a lot of frustration for customers. 

Many British Gas customers prefer to log in online using a desktop it seems as the website offers far better functionality.

The EDF app is generally reviewed much more positively. With few complaints, customers praise how easy it is to submit meter readings and how fast the app is.

British Gas vs EDF: Who has the better customer service?

To find the best impartial customer service information, we referred to the Citizens Advice website, where you can find supplier-specific customer service comparisons. Citizens Advice conducts its own survey every 3 months and provides feedback on each supplier for a variety of factors.

Here are the key customer service factors for our two suppliers:

Both energy suppliers perform reasonably well based on various customer service scoring factors. EDF answers phone calls quicker than British Gas and provides customers with accurate bills more often too. They also generally reply to emails faster. 

Neither not operates its phone lines during weekends, but EDF does offer longer opening hours during the week.

British Gas vs EDF: Who has fewer complaints?

Each supplier has to publish quarterly complaints data publicly. To get an understanding of how often each supplier receives complaints and how quick they are to resolve them when they do, we have put the below comparison together.

EDF receives more complaints than British Gas per 100k customers, they are also slower at resolving these, with a lower percentage resolved the next working day. They do perform slightly better when it comes to complaints being resolved after 8 weeks, however.

British Gas vs EDF: What are the main differences between the two?

Is British Gas or EDF the better supplier?

Other comparisons

If you are looking a British Gas or EDF as a potential supplier to switch to, we have some other comparisons you may be interested in:

British Gas

• Octopus vs British Gas
• British Gas vs Scottish Power
• British Gas vs E.ON Next
• British Gas vs OVO

EDF

• Octopus vs EDF
• EDF vs OVO
• EDF vs E.ON Next