What our call data shows
Is there a best month to switch energy? Our calls suggest people are far more likely to go ahead in winter. We looked at 12 months of energy comparison calls made by our call centre partner, from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. In the winter months, a much bigger share of answered calls ended in a switch than in the summer.
From November to February, 14.0% of answered calls ended with the person switching. From June to September, it was 7.7%. The lowest month of the lot was September, at 5.9%.
That is the headline. The rest of this page is the detail, what it can and cannot tell you, and what it might mean if your own tariff has been ticking along untouched for a while.
Key takeaways
- Across 22,175 answered calls, 2,409 ended in a switch, a share of 10.9%.
- November to February: 1,410 switches from 10,086 answered calls (14.0%).
- June to September: 629 switches from 8,181 answered calls (7.7%).
- September was the lowest month, at 5.9%.
When do people actually switch energy?
In our figures, people were most likely to go through with a switch between November and February. November was the highest month of the year, at 14.9%, and February the lowest of the four, at 12.6%.
From March the share dropped. June came in at 9.4%, July at 8.0% and August at 7.9%, before September fell to 5.9%. October picked up again, to 9.2%.
Here is the full month by month picture. “Answered” means calls that reached a Sold, Not Sold or Callback outcome. “Switched” means calls that ended in a sale. The counts are leads, not households.
| Month | Answered calls | Switched | Share that switched |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 3,114 | 463 | 14.9% |
| Dec 2025 | 2,202 | 311 | 14.1% |
| Jan 2026 | 2,744 | 380 | 13.8% |
| Feb 2026 | 2,026 | 256 | 12.6% |
| Mar 2026 | 804 | 77 | 9.6% |
| Apr 2026 | 570 | 62 | 10.9% |
| May 2026 | 1,017 | 92 | 9.0% |
| Jun 2026 | 1,863 | 175 | 9.4% |
| Jul 2026 | 2,100 | 167 | 8.0% |
| Aug 2026 | 1,884 | 149 | 7.9% |
| Sep 2026 | 2,334 | 138 | 5.9% |
| Oct 2026 | 1,517 | 139 | 9.2% |
Source: Switcheroo data, energy comparison calls by our call centre partner, 22,175 answered, 1 Nov 2025 to 31 Oct 2026.
Why the share matters more than the call count
You might look at the table and notice that some months had far more calls than others. March had 804 answered calls, while November had 3,114. It is tempting to read that as “more people wanted to switch in November”. It does not show that.
The number of calls each month mostly follows how many leads we sent our call centre partner, which goes up and down with how much we spend on marketing. So the raw count tells you more about our advertising than about anyone’s appetite for a better deal.
The share is the fairer measure. Of the people our partner actually spoke to, how many went on to switch? That is the number that moves with the seasons in our data, and it is the one this page is about.
One more caveat. These are calls about leads, not a survey of the country. One person may make more than one enquiry, and the people who fill in a comparison form are already thinking about switching. So treat this as a picture of switching among people who asked us for help, not of every home in Britain.
Why might winter be different?
Our data shows the pattern. It does not show the reason. Here are some possible explanations, and we would rather be honest that none of them is proven by these figures.
Bills are on people’s minds. Heating goes on, usage goes up and winter bills are usually the bigger ones. It is possible that a person who has just opened a large bill is more ready to act on the call than someone thinking about energy in August.
Price cap news lands at regular points. Ofgem sets the energy price cap every three months, and it covers standard variable, or default, tariffs. In 2026 Ofgem said prices would go up by 13% from 1 July and by a further 4% from 1 October, both figures for a typical household on a default tariff that uses electricity and gas and pays by Direct Debit (see our October price cap news, or read the details on Ofgem’s October to December 2026 price cap page). The summer months after the July rise did not show a higher share of switches in our data, so headlines alone do not seem to tell the whole story. Nationally, July 2026 was a record month for the number of switches, as we covered in our July energy switching record news, yet in our calls July was one of the quieter months for the share of people who went ahead.
The calendar gets in the way. Summer holidays and the back to school rush may simply leave less room for life admin. September, our lowest month, sits right in that rush. That is a guess, not a finding.
The likeliest answer is a mix of all of these, plus things that no call log can show.
Should you wait for winter to switch energy?
No. Switching works the same way in any month, and our data says nothing about whether winter deals are better or worse. It only says that more of the people we spoke to went ahead in winter.
The one thing that costs you money in every season is doing nothing. Your supplier is quietly counting on it. If you are on a standard variable tariff, your rates can move each time Ofgem changes the cap. Ofgem says it will announce the level for 1 January to 31 March 2027 by 25 November 2026.
So the useful question is not “which month?” but “when did I last check?” If the answer is “not sure”, that is your month. Our guide on how to check whether switching energy supplier is worth it walks through what to look at first, and our explainer on credit checks when you switch energy covers one of the most common worries.
Roo would put it more cheerfully: there is no wrong month, only a long gap between checks.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best month to switch energy supplier?
- There is no single best month to switch energy. In our data, a bigger share of answered calls ended in a switch between November and February, but that tells you when people acted, not when deals were better. The right time is whenever you have not checked your tariff for a while.
- Where do these figures come from?
- They come from energy comparison calls made by our call centre partner between 1 November 2025 and 31 October 2026: 22,175 answered calls, of which 2,409 ended in a switch. The counts are leads, not households.
- Why were there fewer calls in some months?
- The number of calls mostly follows how many leads we sent, which changes with our marketing spend. That is why this page looks at the share of answered calls that ended in a switch, not the number of calls.
- Does the price cap affect me if I am on a fixed tariff?
- No. Ofgem says you are not affected by changes to the energy price cap if you have changed to a fixed rate tariff. The cap covers standard variable, or default, tariffs.
- When is the next price cap announcement?
- Ofgem says it will announce the price cap for 1 January to 31 March 2027 by 25 November 2026, and may publish earlier if it needs to.
Sources
- Switcheroo data, energy comparison calls by our call centre partner, 22,175 answered calls, 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. Supports every figure in the month by month table, the totals and the seasonal shares. “Answered” means calls with a Sold, Not Sold or Callback outcome; “switched” means calls with a Sold outcome. Counts are leads, not households.
- Ofgem, Changes to energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026 (publication date 26 August 2026). Supports the 4% rise from 1 October 2026, the 25 November 2026 announcement date for the January to March 2027 cap, and the point that a fixed rate tariff is not affected by cap changes.
- Ofgem, Changes to energy price cap between 1 July and 30 September 2026 (publication date 27 May 2026). Supports the 13% rise from 1 July 2026 for a typical household on a default tariff paying by Direct Debit.
- Ofgem, Energy price cap and standing charges explained. Supports the point that the cap is reset every three months and covers standard variable, or default, tariffs.
