Comparison sites help you find the best deal on everything from gas and electricity to broadband and bank accounts. Here’s all you need to know.

How to find the best deals

To get the best deal from a comparison website, you might need to use several sites. Here's how. Follow these steps to work out what you need to do:

1. How best to use a price comparison site

Here are general comparison site tips:

• Use more than one site - they usually feature different deals and rarely offer a whole-of-market search.
• Give accurate personal information - to get correct quotes.
• Make sure the product fits your needs - the cheapest deal may not be best and some providers pay to appear top.
• The interest rate advertised might not be the one you get – for loans and credit cards, the rate advertised will be a representative rate, this means the lender expects around half of its customers to get this rate. Your rate will depend on your individual circumstances when you apply.
• Watch out for pre-selected tick boxes and filters – these may incorrectly hide better deals.
• Check if you can get a better deal going to the provider directly.

2. Energy (gas and electricity)

Although the fixed energy tariffs on offer at the moment are still at the same level as the price cap or only slightly lower, you might still want to think about switching to a fixed deal.

Being on a fixed tariff means that you’ll know what your bill will be each month, but it also means you could overpay if the price cap goes down.

It's a good idea to check energy prices using comparison websites such as Which?

3. Broadband, landline phone and TV

If your current contract has ended, you can often make large savings by switching to a cheaper phone, TV or broadband deal.

If you’re looking for a package deal, you can try MoneySavingExpert’s ‘Bundle’ search – although always check if it’s cheaper getting things separately.

You could also take a look at Ofcom-approved comparison sites

4. Mobile phone and Sim-only contracts

Making sure you’re on the right deal and not paying for calls, texts and data you don’t use, or regularly going over your allowance, is an easy way to cut costs. Just watch out for any fees if you decide to leave an existing contract early.

MoneySavingExpert's cheap mobile finder and the Which? mobile comparison tool are two useful comparison sites to try.

5. Bank accounts

Many bank accounts come with perks such as interest-free overdrafts, free overseas spending or cashback on bills. Some might also offer an incentive if you switch your existing account – where all your payments are automatically moved over for you. 

Our MoneyHelper compare bank accounts tool helps you view account features, fees and charges.

6. Mortgages

A mortgage is often one of the biggest financial commitments you’ll make, so getting the best deal can save you thousands in interest. 

Comparison sites can be useful to get an idea of the best rates on the market. The rates displayed can be confusing as you will typically see three types of rates: introductory or initial interest rate, a standard variable rate, and an APRC (annual percentage rate of charge), which is the averaged annual interest rate you’d pay if you held the mortgage over its entire term once the introductory rate had expired.  

APRC is a helpful tool to provide an indicative comparison between one mortgage with another as it takes into account the cost of the borrowing along with all mortgage-related fees and charges.

MoneySavingExpert has useful guidance on how to find the best mortgage dealOpens in a new window, including what to look out for and when to use a mortgage broker.

7. Credit cards

Using a credit card well can help improve your credit score, plus offers free purchase protection. Certain cards also offer a 0% interest period on new spending and/or balances transferred to the card, plus some have perks such as cashback, loyalty points or other rewards.

The credit card you can get will also depend on whether you meet qualifying criteria – for example, an annual salary of more than £15,000. To help, most comparison sites use eligibility checkers to show which credit cards are likely to accept you. Alongside information like the annual percentage rate (APR) and if the charge charges a monthly or annual fee, this might show you your expected credit limit.

8. Personal loans

If you need to borrow money, a personal loan has fixed monthly repayments so the debt and interest is cleared at the end of the term – which is usually one to five years.

Most comparison sites use eligibility checkers to show which loans are available to you. Using the details you enter, they find your credit file and scan multiple lenders to see which are most likely to lend to you. This is known as a ‘soft search credit check’ and won’t affect your credit score – always check this carefully to avoid a “hard search” will be marked on your report.

Alongside an indication of whether you’ll be accepted, the results will often show a mixture of ‘guaranteed’ rates – which is the rate you will get if you apply – and the representative APR (annual percentage rate) where only 51% of people need to get that, others can be charged more.

9. General shopping, from everyday essentials to furniture

Comparison sites can help you find bargain prices on many items.

For example, IdealoOpens in a new window and Google shoppingOpens in a new window compare prices across many stores like Currys, Argos and John Lewis. You can filter by free delivery and free returns, plus you can see past prices and set up email notifications if prices drop.

CamelCamelCamel's Amazon price trackerOpens in a new window is also useful to see if a current Amazon deal has been cheaper in the past. MoneySavingExpert also has tips to find the cheapest online prices

10. Beware of scams and bad practice

If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers can create convincing adverts which comparison sites don’t always pick up on. Imitation products might also be passed off as the real thing, or the condition of the product might not be as described.

If you’re considering buying from a retailer you don’t recognise, it’s worth doing a quick search for the company. Look for other customer reviews, where the company is based and if it’s listed on Companies House.

For financial services companies, you can also check the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register. For reviews, you can try checking customer scores for companies on Trustpilot.

You also have added protection if you pay by credit card. This is called “Section 75” and can be a powerful tool to reclaim money if something goes wrong with your purchase. Section 75 is only applicable for purchases over £100 (so £100.01 and over) or under £30,000 (so £29,999.99 and under) – if your purchase falls outside of this you have a separate protection called “chargeback”. Chargeback is also applicable to purchases on debit cards. You can find out more about these powerful protections in our guide on section 75 and chargeback.