How We Make Money

Using Switch is free for you, always. Here's exactly how we keep the lights on and why it never affects the deals you see.

Start a Quote View All UK Suppliers Expert Help: 01926 942125

How We Make Money

Using Switch is free for you, always. Here's exactly how we keep the lights on and why it never affects the deals you see.

Start a Quote View All UK Suppliers Expert Help: 01926 942125

Switch transparency, how we earn commission

The Simple Answer: We Earn Commission

Switch is a comparison service, and like every comparison site in the UK, we are funded by referral commissions, not by the people using the site. When you find a deal through Switch and click through to a provider, that provider pays us a fee. You pay nothing extra. The price you see on Switch is the same price you'd find going directly to the provider.

This model has existed since the first price comparison websites launched in the early 2000s. It allows us to build and maintain a genuinely useful service, and to offer it free of charge to every person in the UK who wants to save money on their bills.

We want to be upfront about how this works, why it doesn't compromise the deals you see, and what your rights are when you use our service.

How Our Referral Commission Works

Five steps from comparison to payment: no surprises.

You compare deals on Switch

You enter your details and Switch pulls live tariffs from our panel of providers. Every deal is ranked by total annual cost. No provider pays to appear higher in results.

You choose a deal and click through

When you select a deal, we generate a unique tracking link. This link records that you came from Switch so the provider knows to attribute the referral to us.

You complete your purchase or switch

You sign up directly with the provider, on their website or by phone. Switch is not part of that transaction. The price, contract, and service are entirely between you and the provider.

The provider pays Switch a commission

Once your switch or purchase is confirmed, the provider pays Switch a referral fee. This fee is agreed in advance and is fixed, it does not vary based on your tariff cost or how much you spend.

We reinvest in the service

Commission revenue funds the technology, data, compliance, and people that keep Switch accurate and up to date. The cycle repeats, better data, more providers, more savings for you.

Does Commission Affect the Deals You See?

No. Switch ranks every deal by total annual cost to you, not by the commission rate we receive. A provider that pays us a higher commission does not appear higher in results. We built the ranking engine this way from day one, because our business only works if you trust us, and trust requires accurate results.

Some providers do pay to feature in sponsored positions on our results pages. When this happens, those positions are clearly labelled as 'sponsored' or 'featured'. Sponsored deals are additional to the organic ranked results, they do not displace deals with a lower annual cost. You will always see the cheapest available deals in the main results.

A small number of providers choose not to work with comparison sites. Where we are aware of a provider not listed on Switch, we will note this in our guides. We encourage you to check those providers directly if you want to be certain you have seen every available option.

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the technical name for the referral model Switch uses. Here's what it means in plain terms.

Performance-based payment

We only earn a commission when a referral converts, that is, when you actually complete a switch or purchase. If you browse Switch but don't switch, we earn nothing from that visit.

Cost-neutral for consumers

Providers build the cost of customer acquisition, including affiliate commissions, into their standard pricing. The commission we receive is not added on top of your bill. It comes from the provider's existing marketing budget.

Regulated activity

Switch is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and, where required, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our affiliate arrangements with energy and telecoms providers operate within Ofgem and Ofcom framework requirements.

Standard across the industry

Every major UK comparison site, covering energy, broadband, insurance and financial products, operates on the affiliate model. The alternative would be charging consumers to use the service, which would disadvantage people on lower incomes who have the most to gain from switching.

Why Do Comparison Sites Like Switch Exist?

Before price comparison websites, finding the best energy deal or broadband package required phoning every provider individually, collecting quotes manually, and doing the maths yourself. Most people didn't bother. Providers could rely on customer inertia, the tendency to stay put even when better deals were available.

Comparison sites broke that inertia. By making it fast and easy to see the full market, they shifted market power from providers to consumers. Ofgem data consistently shows that households who switch save money, and that the savings are largest for people who haven't switched in several years.

Switch's role is to make the comparison as accurate and as unintimidating as possible. That means live data, plain English, and results that prioritise your total cost over our margin. We believe that a comparison service which earns trust earns more referrals over time, so our commercial incentives and your interests are aligned.

Your Rights & Our Responsibilities

Using Switch comes with clear protections. Here's what we commit to.

Accurate results, always

We update tariff and price data continuously from provider feeds. If a deal shown on Switch is no longer available when you reach the provider's site, we want to know, use the feedback link on any results page.

Your data, protected

Switch collects only the information needed to run a comparison. We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Our full Privacy Policy is available at switchsquid.com/privacy/ and explains exactly how your data is used.

Complaints handled fairly

If something goes wrong, a deal you switched to isn't what we showed, or you believe our service misled you, our complaints procedure is at switchsquid.com/complaints-procedure/. We aim to respond within 5 working days.

No pressure, ever

Switch never calls you unsolicited to push a deal. We never use countdown timers or false scarcity to rush a decision. If a deal is the right deal for you, it will still be there when you're ready.

Still Have Questions?

If something about how Switch works isn't clear, or if you have a concern about a specific deal, result, or interaction, we'd rather you asked than stayed uncertain.

Call us: 01926 942125 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)

Email us: hello@switchsquid.com

Write to us: Switch Squid Ltd, Fullford House, Royal Leamington Spa, CV32 4EA

Our team is based in the UK and typically responds to email queries within one working day.

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