Octopus Energy vs E.ON Next (2023 Comparison)

Lasted Updated: 20th October 2023

Two of the biggest energy suppliers right now are Octopus Energy and E.ON Next. In this article we will compare the two, looking at which one is better when it comes to areas such as tariffs, prices, customer service and reviews.

You can use the links below to skip to a particular section or just scroll down to read our in-depth comparison in full.

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Who is E.ON Next?

E.ON Next is the latest part of the EON group. Their primary focus is to supply renewable energy to customers across the UK.

Essentially E.ON Next was E.ON’s answer when the energy market saw several new suppliers using technology and other resources in order to drive down prices.

E.ON Next was created in 2020 and took on previous Npower customers, which E.ON brought out in 2019.

Who are Octopus Energy?

Octopus Energy is an energy provider that supplies renewable energy. Established in 2016 and part of the wider Octopus Group of companies, they are the largest investor in the UK solar industry.

In addition, Octopus Energy also invests in wind generation, energy through the anaerobic digestion of plants, and rapid response gas generation.

Octopus now has over two million customers across the UK and has won several awards, including the Uswitch Supplier of the Year and the Which? Energy Supplier of the year 2021.

Octopus has also taken on customers from recently collapsed suppliers, including Bulb and Avro Energy.

What’s the difference in tariff options?

E.ON Next

E.ON Next currently offers 1 variable tariff and 2 fixed tariffs:

Next Flex

– This is variable tariff that can go up and down in price depending on the energy market.
– As the price can change, you are not locked into a contract and so are free to switch to a different tariff or supplier at any time.
– This tariff doesn’t appear to require a smart meter and also comes with a discount if you pay via direct debit.

Next Fixed 12m

– This is a fixed rate tariff, meaning you are guaranteed to pay the same rate for the next 12 months, no matter if energy prices go up or down.
– The cost of this security however is a £75 exit fee, per fuel. So £150 if you want to move away your gas and electrcity before the fixed term is up.
– This tariff also requires a smart meter to be already installed or for you to be happy to have one installed if not.

Next Fixed 24M

– This tariff is the same as the above fixed rate tariff with two differences:
– Firstly, your contract is for 2 years
– Secondly, you are charged an exit fee of £150 per fuel. So £300 in total if you are are a duel fuel customer.

Octopus

Currently, Octopus Energy is only offering two tariffs to new customers:

Flexible Octopus

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

Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed September 2023

– This is a 12 month contract with prices fixed for that time.
– Exit fees of £75 per fuel
– Only available to existing customers

Tracker Tariff

– Unit rates change on a daily basis
– No exit fees
– Only available with a smart meter
– Not available on signing up – see below for more details
– Unit rate is capped at 100p/kWh for electricity and 30p/kWh for gas (including VAT)
Conclusion: When it comes to tariff features, there isn’t a lot of difference here. However, Octopus Energy’s Tracker tariff stands out here as something different, meaning the win goes to Octopus.

Octopus vs E.ON Next: What’s the difference in price?

We ran a like-for-like comparison directly on each supplier’s website to see what prices they offered for the tariffs mentioned above. We used the following details:

  • Dual Fuel supply
  • Standard Meter
  • Medium usage (3-bedroom house with four occupants)
  • 2,900 kWh of electricity and 12,000 kWh of gas
  • Postcode in the East Midlands

It is important to note that your actual quote is likely to be different, as changing each aspect of the above criteria will result in a different amount quoted.

Let us look at how they compared:

E.ON Next

On E.ON Next’s website, we were offered these prices:

Tariff NameTariff DescriptionMonthly Cost
Next FlexFlexible tariff where prices go up and down with the market. No contract.£156.45
Next Fixed 12m V21 year, fixed contract. A smart meter is needed. £75 exit fee per fuel.£166.47
Next Fixed 24M V12 year, fixed contract. A smart meter is needed. £75 exit fee per fuel.£167.15

Octopus

We also looked at the Octopus Energy website to get a quote based on the same details above:

Tariff NameTariff DescriptionMonthly Cost
Tracker TariffSmart tariff where prices change daily. No contract. No exit fees.*£92.99
Flexible OctopusFlexible tariff where prices go up and down with the market. No contract.£155.47
Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed September 202312 month, fixed rate contract. £75 exit fee per fuel.**£155.47
*Using an average rate over previous months for both fuels. Only available to existing customers. ** Available to existing customers only.

The tracker tariff is only available to existing customers, but you can sign up on the flexible tariff above and then switch straight to the tracker. You can find out more in our Tracker Tariff article here.

Conclusion: Octopus Energy’s standard tariffs offer slightly better value for money compared to the E.ON Next tariffs. The biggest difference however is with the Tracker tariff, which could save you over £60 per month! This makes Octopus Energy the stand-out value-for-money supplier.

Octopus wins on value for money.

Who offers the greenest energy?

Renewable energy and sustainability are at the heart of both of these suppliers’ offerings.

Let’s take a look to see how they compare in this area:

E.ON Next

E.ON next advertise heavily that 100% of the electricity they generate is from renewable sources. This means that the electricity their customers use is sourced from; Their own renewable energy generation plants, supply agreements with independent renewable energy wind and solar plants and purchase renewable electricity certificates.

On their website E.ON Next states, that they generate enough electricity at their biomass plant to supply 100,000 homes across the UK. While green gas is not mentioned at all on the one tariff on offer, we understand that E.ON Next has invested in green gas certificates for their greenest tariffs (not currently on offer).

Octopus

Just like E.ON Next, Octopus put their green energy credentials at the forefront of its offering. They offer 100% renewable electricity on all tariffs as standard. Much of this they generate at their own plants, and they invest heavily in the production of renewable electricity and green gas from biomass plants.

Octopus’s Supergreen customers also receive a carbon-neutral gas supply which is offset by Octopus’s partnership with Renewable World.

Conclusion: These are two suppliers who are doing their bit for the production of renewable energy, and when it comes down to it we can’t pick one over the other – They are both green giants! It’s a tie.

Octopus vs E.ON Next: Who has better customer reviews?

Trustpilot is the most reliable website to compare 1,000’s of genuine customer reviews. Here is our comparison based on the information available:

  • E.ON Next scored 4.2 out of 5 based on over 59,000 reviews (source)
  • Octopus scored 4.8 out of 5 based on over 180,000 reviews (source)

We have to assume the low number of E.ON Next reviews is due to them only being around since 2020 as there is a significant difference.

Overall, 73% of E.ON Next customers rate them as ‘Excellent’. At the other end of the scale, 15% rated them as bad, and the additional 13% fell somewhere in between.

In the case of Octopus, 89% of their customers rate them as excellent, and just 3% rated them as bad. Leaving just 8% of customers somewhere between.

Both companies respond to customer reviews, both good and bad.

Both companies receive a high number of positive reviews. However, in the case of E.ON Next, when customers feel let down is the time it takes to answer the phone. Some customers state they have had to resort to messaging on Twitter to get a reply. It’s also clear that their customer service agents are a credit to them, with many of them being personally thanked on Trustpilot.

Similarly, Octopus customers more often state that the agent they spoke to was helpful and resolved their queries. There are also comments about switching is easy and that they are always clear and efficient when it comes to communications.

Conclusion: Neither supplier is doing a bad job of keeping their customers happy. However, the stats speak for themselves, and Octopus wins this section due to their number of excellent reviews and fantastic positive feedback.

Who has the better website and app?

We tried out both E.ON Next and Octopus’s websites. Both are really well laid out, and we had no trouble finding our way around. It’s possible to view tariffs, bills, input meter readings and update any personal details.

You can download apps for both E.ON Next and Octopus Energy onto a smartphone or tablet. These apps have been designed for easy account management where you can check your usage, bills and tariffs.

In Octopus’s case, over 71,000 customers rank their app well at 4.8 out of 5 stars. Mainly due to the functionality and reliability of the app.

The E.ON Next App is similarly popular and is also rated 4.8 out of 5, proving that they too have developed a well-functioning and user-friendly app.

Conclusion: Both energy suppliers offer easy-to-use account management through a browser. They also both offer well-developed apps which have great ratings from customers. This one is a tie.

Who has the better customer service?

We checked data on the Citizens Advice website to compare information on the customer service offered by each supplier. We believe they offer the most unbiased view based purely on facts obtained from Ofgem and the suppliers directly.

Please note in this case, E.ON Next are not listed separately from E.ON, so we have used E.ON’s stats here for comparison:

OctopusE.ON Next
Average call centre wait time03:4402:15
Emails responded to with 2 days56.8%75.9%
% customers with an accurate bill97.8%96.2%
Switches completed < 15 days98.1%97.7%
Opening hours9 am – 5 pm (4 pm Friday)8 am – 8 pm (8 am – 6 pm Saturday)
Contact via PhoneYesYes
Contact via EmailYesYes
Contact via WebchatNoYes
Source: Citizens Advice
Conclusion: On comparing the data, E.ON Next outperforms Octopus in the two most important categories, call centre waiting times and email response times. Octopus were slightly better when it came to bills and switching.

Due to being better in the two key areas, E.ON Next wins on customer service.

Which supplier has fewer complaints?

We looked at the complaint data each energy provider openly provides. To make sure we cover the same period for both, we will look at Q4 for 2022.

We have summarised the data in the below table:

Octopus EnergyE.ON Next
Complaints per 100,000 customers1,1261,885
Resolved next working day71%71%
Resolved in 8 weeks90%91.4%
Sources: Octopus Energy Q2 2023. E.ON Next Complaints Q2 2023
Conclusion: Octopus for this period clearly stands out as the company that received fewer complaints and won here. They were just as quick to fix things when they went wrong with similar complaints resolved both by the next working day or within 8 weeks.

Octopus wins when it comes to complaints.

What are the main differences between the two?

These two suppliers have offerings that are similar to each other. They both focus on green energy generation, offer similar tariffs and similar performance in customer service. There are some important differences between the two, however.

Here is a recap of how they measured up in each area:

AreaSummaryWinner
Tariff OptionsOctopus offers more tariff options including the innovative Tracker tariff, so won here.Octopus
PriceOn fixed and variable tariffs Octopus were slightly cheaper. Their Tracker tariff was significantly cheaper, so they won on price.Octopus
Greenest EnergyBoth Octopus and E.ON Next were evenly matched when we compared their green credentialsDraw
Customer ReviewsOctopus had the best customer reviews on Trustpilot, so wins this one.Octopus
Website/AppE.ON Next wins when it comes to customer service. They were faster on emails and phones.Octopus
Customer ServiceE.ON Next wins when it comes to customer service. They were faster on emails and on the phone.E.ON Next
ComplaintsOctopus Energy had fewer complaints for the quarter we compared, despite being slower to resolve them, but they still win here.Octopus

Is Octopus Energy better than E.ON Next?

This head-to-head comparison was close, but Octopus won the battle coming out in front in five categories with E.ON Next only winning one.

And the winner is… Octopus Energy!
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.

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