- Cheapest overall
- 1st Energy at most addresses: competitive market rates with no conditional discounts, against AGL's 5% to 15% below DMO.
- Customer satisfaction
- 1st Energy: 4.8/5 on Trustpilot, among the best in the industry. AGL: 1.8/5 on Google, typical Big 3 territory.
- Coverage
- 1st Energy serves NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and TAS; it is one of very few alternatives in Tasmania. AGL serves NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and the ACT.
- Best for bundling
- AGL (electricity, gas, solar, internet, EV). 1st Energy offers electricity and gas only.
The short answer
1st Energy is what switching is supposed to feel like: simple plans with no conditional discounts, competitive rates, and a 4.8-star Trustpilot average that is close to unheard of in Australian energy. Customers switching to 1st Energy from standing offers report savings around 25% on quarterly bills, consistent with the gap between default and competitive pricing. AGL is the establishment alternative: rarely the cheapest, rated 1.8/5 on Google, but backed by enormous scale and the broadest service ecosystem in the market. For households that just want cheaper power handled well, 1st Energy is the stronger pick. For bundlers and ACT residents, AGL keeps its case.
Who they are
1st Energy is a Melbourne-headquartered, Australian-owned retailer selling electricity and gas across NSW, Victoria, SEQ Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. Its Tasmanian presence is genuinely unusual: outside Aurora Energy, few retailers serve that market at all. AGL, founded in 1837 and ASX-listed, is Australia's oldest and largest energy retailer with roughly 4 million customer accounts, serving the mainland eastern states, SA and the ACT.
Plans compared
1st Energy deliberately avoids the discount games. Its plans are month-to-month with competitive usage rates, reasonable supply charges and no conditions to meet: the price on the bill is the price you agreed to. In a market where conditional discounts are designed to lapse, that simplicity has real dollar value over time.
AGL offers its Low Plan and Value Saver structures (trading usage rates against supply charges), typically 5% to 15% below the Default Market Offer, plus frequent introductory credits. The structure choice can suit different usage profiles, but the ongoing rates rarely trouble the cheapest third of the market.
Worked example: NSW Ausgrid network, 4,000 kWh/year. The 2026-27 DMO 8 reference price is $1,744 (AER, effective 1 July 2026). A typical AGL plan at 10% below lands around $1,570. A competitive 1st Energy market offer at 18% below lands around $1,430, roughly $140 a year ahead, without any conditions to maintain. A household switching to either from an expired standing offer saves considerably more, which is where the commonly reported 25% savings come from.
Beyond price
Service. The recurring theme in 1st Energy's reviews is that switching was easy and nothing went wrong afterwards: helpful staff, clear billing, no surprise fees. Its 4.8/5 Trustpilot average leads the retailers we cover (with the usual caveat that Trustpilot invitations can flatter scores). AGL's 1.8/5 Google average reflects the standard Big 3 complaint mix of billing complexity, wait times and expired plans rolling onto dearer rates.
Coverage and breadth. Tasmania is 1st Energy's trump card; the ACT is AGL's. And AGL's ecosystem, electricity, gas, solar, internet and EV charging in one account, has no answer at 1st Energy, which sells energy only.
See both at your address
Rates for 1st Energy and AGL vary by distribution network. The only comparison that matters is the one at your postcode.
Compare plans nowWhen each one wins
Choose 1st Energy if you want competitive rates with zero conditions, a switching experience that is consistently rated among the best in the industry, or you live in Tasmania and want an alternative to Aurora.
Choose AGL if you live in the ACT, you want multiple services in one account with a polished app, or a current AGL introductory credit outprices 1st Energy at your address and you will re-compare when it expires.
Our verdict: 1st Energy or AGL?
1st Energy is the retailer we point people to when they say switching sounds like a hassle. The plans are simple, the rates are competitive without conditions, and the satisfaction ratings suggest the experience actually matches the pitch. Against AGL it usually wins on price and always wins on simplicity.
AGL's honest advantages, the ACT, the bundle, the brand, are real but narrow. If none of them applies to you, this comparison points the same way as our Red Energy and Alinta head-to-heads: the challenger wins, and the only step left is confirming the numbers at your own postcode.