Cheap electricity suppliers in Germany
Changing electricity suppliers in Germany is easy and takes minutes. The biggest issue is fighting laziness and switching. However we make this easy for you by summarising the best deals. We have found that Eprimo is the most competitive and can save you over €400 in the first year (for a family of 3 vs the default Berlin tariff). So switch now and save!
Electricity in Germany is easy to get, but the default tariff is expensive
Getting access to electricity in your new home is easy – you are automatically signed up to the ‘Grundversorger’ which is the default electricity supplier for your region (e.g. Vattenfall in Berlin and Hamburg, while SWM is the provider for Munich). The key problem with this automatic system is that the electricity suppliers know that people will tend to be lazy when thinking about changing providers. As a result, consumers are automatically placed on a ‘default’ tariff which works out more expensive for the consumer.
Cheap electricity in Germany means switching provider
There is no need for you to stay on the expensive default tariff as it literally only takes 3 minutes to complete the online form to change provider (yes we did time ourselves!). So to make the change easy for you, we have summarised below two of the cheapest deals on the market with each contract having only a minimum 12 months term. We have shown you two contracts, one is the cheapest, while the other is slightly more expensive but keeps prices locked in for 3 years (this could save you money particularly given the relatively low cost of energy at the moment).
German electricity price comparison
Choose Your Plan
- Pricing Guarantee Length
- Minimum Contract Length
- Annual Price
- Savings vs Default for first year
- Per month savings over first year
Vattenfall (Default)
€103/ month€103/ month- Rolling contract
- Rolling contract
- €1238 per year
- -
- -
Eprimo
€69/ month€69/ month- 12 month contract
- 12 month price guarantee
- €828 per year
- €409 annual saving
- €34 monthly saving
Gold Gas
€78/ month€78/ month- 36 month contract
- 12 month price guarantee
- €935 per year
- €303 annual saving
- €25 monthly saving
- Pricing Guarantee Length
- Minimum Contract Length
- Annual Price
- Savings vs Default for first year
- Per month savings over first year
Vattenfall (Default)
- Rolling contract
- Rolling contract
- €1238 per year
- -
- -
Eprimo
- 12 month contract
- 12 month price guarantee
- €828 per year
- €409 annual saving
- €34 monthly saving
Gold Gas
- 36 month contract
- 12 month price guarantee
- €935 per year
- €303 annual saving
- €25 monthly saving
Other questions
1) What do I do with my current supplier?
The great thing about switching Electricity providers in Germany is that your new supplier (i.e. Eprimo or GoldGas as we recommend above) will take care of this for you so you do NOT NEED to do anything with your existing supplier. Easy!
2) How much electricity do I need?
All electricity service providers in Germany will ask for an estimate of how much electricity you expect to use in a year. It does not need to be fully accurate because when the meter readings are taken the electricity company will make a positive or negative adjustment to your bill depending on how much electricity you have used. To give you an indication of how much electricity you may need we have the following table:
| People in household | Annual usage (KWh) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2000 |
| 2 | 3000 |
| 3 | 4000 |
| 4 | 5000 |
| 5 | 6000 |
| 6 | 7000 |
3) Where can I get my electricity meter reading?
In German the electricity meter is called “Stromzähler” and you will need to provide your meter reading to the new electricity company. The meter is usually located close to your main door or alternatively in your cellar. If you do not have access to your cellar or unsure where your meter is you should ask your landlord. Here is a picture as an example of what the meter should look like.
