EDF vs Octopus Energy (November 2026): Tariffs, Prices and Which to Choose

Last updated: Thursday 12 November 2026

EDF or Octopus: which is better? Octopus wins on service, and the two are close on price. In Energy Review’s comparison, updated 9 November 2026, EDF’s cheapest deal was its Simply Tracker Jan28 at about £1,622 a year for a typical East Midlands home, £42 less than Flexible Octopus at about £1,664, but the EDF tracker has a £100 exit fee and Flexible Octopus has none. Citizens Advice scored Octopus 3.67 out of 5 (5th) for April to June 2026, against 2.96 (10th) for EDF. If you want to fix, Octopus’s 18-month fix was about £100 a year cheaper than EDF’s cheapest fix in the same comparison. For electric car drivers, EDF’s GoElectric has the cheaper fixed overnight rate at 6.66p per kWh, while Octopus’s Intelligent Octopus Go Max goes down to 6.5p on a variable tariff.

This SwitchSquid guide compares EDF and Octopus for a household on gas and electricity, using Energy Review’s figures (prices from 1 November 2026 for an East Midlands home paying by monthly Direct Debit), Citizens Advice’s customer service table for April to June 2026 and Ofgem’s price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Your own price depends on where you live, your meter and how much you use. We may earn a commission if you use the comparison buttons on this page, which open MoneySuperMarket’s home energy comparison. It does not change the price you pay.

EDF vs Octopus at a glance (November 2026)

*Energy Review estimates for a representative East Midlands three-bed home on dual fuel paying by monthly Direct Debit, from its Octopus Energy vs EDF Energy comparison (prices from 1 November 2026, page updated 9 November 2026). Service scores are from Citizens Advice’s supplier table for April to June 2026. EV rates are from Octopus’s Intelligent Octopus Go page, a 9 November 2026 reading of Octopus’s public price data (London, Direct Debit) and EDF’s GoElectric page.

Prices: EDF vs Octopus under the £1,723 price cap

The price cap, and why both suppliers start from it

From 1 October to 31 December 2026, Ofgem’s price cap sets a typical dual-fuel bill at £1,723 a year for a home paying by Direct Debit. On average that means 26.32p per kWh for electricity with a 54.83p daily standing charge, and 7.97p per kWh for gas with a 29.68p daily standing charge. There is no VAT on household electricity from 1 October 2026 (the temporary 0% rate runs to 30 June 2027 after the Budget extension, GOV.UK says), while gas still carries 5%.

The cap limits rates on standard variable tariffs. It is not a cap on your bill: use more and you pay more. EDF’s Standard (Variable) tariff and Flexible Octopus both sit at or just below the cap. In Energy Review’s example, Flexible Octopus came out about £8 a year cheaper than EDF’s standard variable tariff, thanks to its lower standing charges.

Variable and tracker tariffs

EDF’s cheapest option in that comparison was its Simply Tracker Jan28 at about £1,622 a year. It follows the cap each quarter with a daily discount taken off the electricity and gas standing charges, runs until 31 January 2028 and has a £100 exit fee. That makes it a tracker with a tie-in: when the cap rises in January, your rates rise with it, and leaving early costs £100.

Flexible Octopus was about £1,664 a year and has no exit fee, so you can move to a fix or another supplier at any time without a charge. MoneySavingExpert’s figures from 10 November 2026 also put Flexible Octopus about £10 a year below the cap. Octopus has its own Tracker tariff too, which moves daily with wholesale prices rather than quarterly with the cap. Our guide to whether Octopus Tracker is worth it explains the risks of that one.

Fixed deals

On fixes, Octopus was cheaper in Energy Review’s comparison. Its 18M Fixed October 2026 v7 was about £1,848 a year with a £150 exit fee, and its 12-month fix was about £1,899 with a £100 exit fee. EDF’s cheapest fix there was Simply Fixed 2Yr Nov28v2 at about £1,948 a year for 24 months with a £200 exit fee, and its 12-month fix was about £2,094.

That isn’t the whole market. MoneySavingExpert’s fix table on 10 November 2026 included an EDF Exclusive May28v2 18-month fix at about 2.5% above the cap, roughly £1,766 a year at typical use, with a £75 exit fee per fuel. Exclusive tariffs are usually sold only through a particular comparison site, so the cheapest EDF or Octopus price may be one you only see in a comparison. Our tracker vs fixed guide lists the cheapest fixes we could find this week.

Should you switch before January?

Ofgem will announce the January to March 2027 cap by 25 November 2026. Published forecasts range from £1,999 a year (Cornwall Insight, 30 September) to £2,215 (British Gas, 9 November), against today’s £1,723, and uSwitch’s average of the British Gas, EDF and E.ON Next predictions was about £2,182 on 11 November, a rise of roughly 27%. Our January 2027 price cap forecast tracks each source.

If January lands near £2,182, a fix costing around £1,770 to £1,850 a year would beat the cap from January, while costing a little more than the cap until the end of December. A tracker or variable tariff, including EDF’s Simply Tracker and Flexible Octopus, would rise with the cap. That is the main question for most households: do you want certainty for the next 12 to 24 months, or flexibility?

EV tariffs: Octopus Go and Intelligent Octopus Go vs EDF GoElectric

Electric car tariffs are where the two suppliers differ most. Both give you a cheap overnight rate for the whole home, not just the car, so you can also run the dishwasher or washing machine in that window.

Intelligent Octopus Go rates are London, Direct Debit, from Octopus’s public price data on 9 November 2026, and the Octopus Go rate is the November 2026 national average from Best Chargers’ Octopus tariff review; day rates and standing charges vary by region. EDF’s rate is from its GoElectric page, which says the price is fixed for the length of the tariff and works with any electric car and charger. EDF also pays a £5 monthly bill credit, £60 a year, if you opt into its Smart Charging bolt-on and keep using it.

In practice, GoElectric suits drivers who want a fixed overnight price, a longer seven-hour window and no need for a compatible car or charger. Intelligent Octopus Go suits drivers whose car or charger Octopus supports, because it can schedule charging into extra cheap slots, but the variable versions can change price. Octopus says the 6.5p rate is up to 75% below the average cap unit rate of 26.32p.

Customer service: is Octopus better than EDF?

On the official figures, yes. Citizens Advice ranked Octopus 5th of 16 large suppliers for April to June 2026 with 3.67 out of 5, and EDF 10th with 2.96. Octopus had 21.4 complaints per 10,000 customers against 47.7 for EDF, and its average call wait was 1 minute 9 seconds against 2 minutes 47 seconds. EDF answered 85.4% of emails within two days and Octopus 86.4%, so email response was close.

Which? shows a wider gap. Octopus had a Which? total score of 74% and is a Which? Recommended Provider for the ninth year running, while EDF scored 58%, the second lowest of the 17 suppliers rated, according to Energy Review. On Trustpilot both score 4.8 out of 5, from 911,202 reviews for Octopus and 268,502 for EDF.

EDF does have strengths. It generates much of its own electricity, including from nuclear, and backs its EV tariffs with zero-carbon electricity. It also offers WhatsApp and SMS support, which answered about 91% of messages within two days in the same quarter.

Which should you choose?

• Choose Octopus if you want the stronger service record, no exit fee on its variable tariff, or the cheapest fix of the two in Energy Review’s comparison.

• Choose EDF if you drive an electric car and want a fixed overnight rate with a seven-hour window, or if EDF’s tracker or an EDF exclusive fix comes out cheapest for your postcode.

• Consider neither if a comparison shows a cheaper fix or tracker from another supplier. Neither EDF nor Octopus had the cheapest fix in MoneySavingExpert’s table this week.

How to switch from EDF to Octopus, or Octopus to EDF

1. Find your yearly kWh for electricity and gas on your latest bill or in your app.

2. Check whether your current tariff has an exit fee. Variable tariffs don’t; most fixes and some trackers do, though you can usually leave in the last 49 days of a fix without one.

3. Compare tariffs for your postcode, including the supplier you are leaving, and note the exit fee on any new fix.

4. Apply with the new supplier. It handles the switch, which usually takes about five working days, and your supply won’t be cut off.

5. Give a meter reading on switch day if you don’t have a working smart meter, and pay your final bill from the old supplier.

Sources

• Energy Review: Octopus Energy vs EDF Energy (updated 9 November 2026)

• Citizens Advice: compare energy suppliers’ customer service (April to June 2026 scores)

• Ofgem: energy price cap (1 October to 31 December 2026)

• Octopus Energy: Intelligent Octopus Go and EDF: GoElectric

• Daily Record: Martin Lewis on fixing before January (11 November 2026)

Our verdict: for most homes, Octopus is the safer all-round choice on service and fixed prices, while EDF is worth a look for EV drivers who want a fixed overnight rate. With January’s cap likely to rise, compare a fix from both, and from the rest of the market, before Ofgem’s announcement.

FAQ

Is Octopus better than EDF?

On customer service, yes. Citizens Advice scored Octopus 3.67 out of 5 (5th) for April to June 2026 against 2.96 (10th) for EDF, and Octopus had fewer than half as many complaints per 10,000 customers. On price the two are close, so compare both for your postcode.

Is EDF cheaper than Octopus?

Sometimes. In Energy Review’s 9 November 2026 comparison, EDF’s Simply Tracker Jan28 was about £1,622 a year, £42 less than Flexible Octopus, but it has a £100 exit fee. Octopus’s cheapest fix was about £100 a year cheaper than EDF’s cheapest fix in the same comparison.

Is EDF the cheapest energy supplier?

Not across the board. EDF had the cheapest tracker in Energy Review’s EDF vs Octopus example, and an EDF Exclusive 18-month fix was among the cheapest fixes in MoneySavingExpert’s 10 November table at about 2.5% above the cap. Other suppliers, including Fuse Energy, had cheaper fixes that week.

What does Martin Lewis say about Octopus and EDF?

Martin Lewis doesn’t tell people to pick one supplier over another. On 11 November 2026 he said the cheapest fix was about 2% above the current cap and that “the risk-averse thing to do is lock in a fix”, while avoiding long tie-ins or large exit penalties. That advice applies whether the fix is from EDF, Octopus or another supplier.

Which is better for an electric car, Octopus or EDF?

EDF GoElectric has a fixed overnight rate of 6.66p per kWh for seven hours, from 11pm to 6am, and works with any car and charger. Intelligent Octopus Go Max goes down to 6.5p on a variable tariff, with smart charging slots for supported cars and chargers. Intelligent Octopus Go’s 12-month fixed version is 7.9p, with a £50 exit fee.

Should I fix with EDF or Octopus before January 2027?

Fixing before Ofgem’s announcement on 25 November 2026 makes sense if the fix costs less than you expect to pay on January’s cap. Forecasts range from £1,999 a year (Cornwall Insight, 30 September) to £2,215 (British Gas, 9 November), against £1,723 now. Compare fixes from both suppliers and the wider market, and check the exit fee.

Can I leave EDF or Octopus without paying an exit fee?

Yes, if you are on a variable tariff such as Flexible Octopus or EDF’s Standard (Variable), or in the last 49 days of a fixed deal. Fixes and EDF’s Simply Tracker Jan28 charge exit fees of £100 to £200 if you leave earlier.