The best business energy comparison sites for your energy renewal
Comparing business energy tariffs is a tricky business. With suppliers offering various product types, differing contract lengths, green and renewable sources, fixed and variable standards — it is a minefield to navigate the market. Now, however, energy comparison engines are able to save you valuable time when it comes to switching suppliers.
You can now enter a few fields of information and details of your current energy usage to see the best rates for your business. Some sites even complete the contract for you there and then.
But which is the best business energy price comparison engine? Do they all ask for endless information? Is the process really quicker than a phone call? We have all the answers here.
I’ll review some of the most popular business energy comparison sites to learn how efficient and user-friendly they actually are.
To measure the metrics of each site, I’ll rate them on:
a) User-interface, required data and time
b) Site Metrics based on last 90 days
c) My opinion
Site Traffic over past 90 days — down 55%
User-interface, required data and time:
Taking you straight to a page with a telephone number, Uswitchforbusiness doesn’t actually have a price comparison engine. After entering 6 fields of information, there is an 8 second lag. You’re then put in a digital queue and asked to await a phone call. It’s all very frustrating. You’ll also need to have relevant documentation to hand for the call, too. I didn’t have my meter number (MPAN) handy, so I had to deal with three separate phone calls which came all at once — some three hours later. Not as quick or efficient as I’d hoped.
Reviews: You can read the reviews for Uswitchforbusiness here.
My opinion: 5/10. Took ten minutes overall and I didn’t even get a quote for my troubles. Not the quick and easy price comparison engine other sites can offer! For me it’s a no brainer. I’ll compare my business energy quotes elsewhere!
2. Bionic
Site Traffic over past 90 days — down 47.8%
User-interface, required data and time:
A promising landing page with clear slogans on savings, Bionic only asks for a simple postcode at first. Then you select your meter from a dropdown box and confirm your business’ name. You’re asked what type of quotes you want: gas, electricity or both. So far so good.
But then the engine couldn’t find my meter number (MPAN) and became very inconsistent and unresponsive. I had to restart the process four times before it could finally locate my MPAN. After that, it asks you 3 more questions about your supplier, usage and contract, before allowing you to search for some long-awaited results!
Unfortunately, no quotes are given just yet, as you have to wait 23 seconds to enter a ‘Live Chat’ with ‘Energy Team 1’, who ask you 2 more questions. Having answered those, you wait a further 12 seconds for a reply: they’ll call you. Just be sure to leave your full name, email address and telephone number. Underwhelming.
Quite a time-consuming website, requiring lots of information and patience. There are better sites out there, for sure!
3. GoCompare
Site Traffic over past 90 days — down 2.93%:
User-interface, required data and time:
Hidden behind 3 dropdown menus, business energy is not immediately visible on GoCompare’s busy homepage. Maybe they’re not as dedicated as I thought. After finding the business energy section, there’s a number of disclaimers and information boxes to read. A little orange box allows you to proceed with your quote search.
It starts by asking which energy you’d like to compare, followed by your postcode, address and meter number search. This doesn’t take very long. After another 10 clicks or so, you’ll be asked for your current energy usage or energy spend — you can break it down monthly, quarterly or annually.
Then you enter your email address and the search begins. I ran 2 separate searches and found an average loading time of 33 seconds — but I did finally get some quotes — and some unit rates!
You’re able to see your new supplier, contract length and annual/monthly cost. There’s no metric to measure your savings though, so you’ll have to have your current bill and a calculator handy for that.
Though it’s more time-consuming than other engines, GoCompare does provide you with quotes, and you are able to sign-off on your new agreement by following the 8-step process outlined below.
Reviews: You can read the reviews for GoCompare here.
My opinion: 6/10. Hooray! I finally got some quotes! I had to hunt a little and click a few times, but I could get the contract sorted online — only after doing some sums on my calculator though. No phone calls necessary. Took around 15 minutes and a calculator, all in.
Site Traffic over past 90 days — down 9.32%
User-interface, required data and time:
Welcomed by a simple homepage, LoveEnergySavings begins by asking for a post code to begin comparing quotes. After that, you’ve got to enter it again (!) and find your address. Then there’s five more fields to get through before you enter in your current monthly costs.
What’s handy is that the website keeps you updated on the progress of your renewal with a live progress tracker at the top of the page. It even calculates your estimated savings as you enter in more data.
After you’ve finished with the forms, you have to wait around 10 seconds to get the message below. Yes, once again, we’ll have to wait for yet another phone call. They were quick to call, however — responding in just over two hours. Unfortunately, though, it turned out that the savings quoted online were unavailable via telephone. A little disappointing. After a tiresome jargon-filled phone call, I was left feeling confused, disappointed and mislead.
Reviews: You can read the reviews for LoveEnergySavings here.
My opinion: 4/10. A promising start! Took 8 minutes from start to finish. But fell apart when I couldn’t see actual quotes and had to wait for a phone call. Even worse when our online quote couldn’t no longer be matched via telephone!
Site Traffic over past 90 days — up 0.6%
User-interface, required data and time:
Finding the ‘Compare Electricity’ page proved to be tricky at first, having to navigate multiple categories. Then it’s all just quite confusing. You need to enter some digits from your current bill (yes, you’ll need that to hand) and power through 14 different questions. Once at the end though, it all begins to unravel.
A ‘trusted partner’ of CompareTheMarket, Bionic’s ‘Energy Team 1’ pop up on your screen again! Hello, my old friends! Yes, you’ve guessed it! More questions and more phone calls! They’ll ask you about the state of your contract and your contract end dates and… will schedule you in for a call at their convenience. Great.
I’m devastated though, in reality. I’ve spent 15 minutes on this page already and now I’ll have to wait indefinitely. Quite a time-consuming website overall, requiring lots of information and patience. There are better sites out there, for sure!
Reviews: You can read the reviews for CompareTheMarket here.
My opinion: 3/10. A tricky start and a very tiresome process! After doing a 3-page survey, I was sent back to an engine that couldn’t even show me some quotes! Surely comparing business energy quotes is easier than is?
Yes, it is.
Site Traffic over past 90 days — up 4.74%
User-interface, required data and time:
Finally, a breath of fresh air! A dedicated business energy price comparison engine! There’s a bold claim on the homepage: I can get my contract sorted “100% online — in less time than it takes to make a cup of tea.” Wow. I better try this myself! There’s even an option to “Go Green — View 100% Green Offers Only” — I like this site already!
This site is so quick and efficient, it doesn’t even compare. You’ll have to use it to believe it.
I only had to enter my postcode and it gave me my meter number automatically! Take note, other comparison engines! I chose my contract end date, and in 6 seconds, I had 65 quotes to choose from!
I could see my savings, my unit rates, my monthly and annual costs — it was like all of my renewal prayers had been answered. Within a matter of seconds, I was able to hit ‘Switch Now’ and managed to get my contract sorted within 90 seconds. The PDF is in my email inbox already. I believe the correct term is: ‘Game Changer’.
Reviews: You can read the reviews for BusinessEnergyQuotes here.
My opinion: 10/10. An option to go green, a dedicated business energy comparison engine, an easy, 3-step, 2-minute process — what’s not to love? No phone calls and no waiting. A 2-year renewal in just a few clicks. It really was as simple as that.
*Disclaimer:
Written by an employee of Northern Gas and Power, this article may show some bias towards other comparison engines. However, the content and experiences in this article are truthful and demonstrate the scenarios an actual consumer will face when visiting these business energy comparison sites.
