- Cheapest overall
- Alinta, usually by a clear margin: 12% to 25% below the DMO against AGL's 5% to 15%.
- Customer satisfaction
- Alinta: 4.5/5 on Trustpilot, well above industry average. AGL: 1.8/5 on Google, typical Big 3 territory.
- Best for bundling
- AGL (electricity, gas, solar, internet, EV in one account). Alinta offers electricity and gas only.
- Ownership
- Both have a Hong Kong connection: Alinta is owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises; AGL is ASX-listed and Australian-owned.
The short answer
On price, this is one-sided. Alinta's No Fuss plan runs 12% to 20% below the Default Market Offer with no conditions attached, and its Deal plan stretches to 15% to 25% below with pay-on-time or direct debit conditions. AGL's plans typically sit 5% to 15% below. At most addresses Alinta lands in the top three cheapest retailers while AGL sits mid-pack, and Alinta pairs the sharper pricing with a 4.5-star Trustpilot rating that AGL's 1.8-star Google average cannot answer. AGL's case rests on breadth: five services in one account and the scale of Australia's oldest energy company.
Who they are
Alinta Energy is a mid-tier retailer serving NSW, Victoria, SEQ Queensland, South Australia and the ACT, owned by Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. AGL, founded in 1837 and ASX-listed, is Australia's largest and oldest energy retailer with roughly 4 million customer accounts across the same five states.
Plans compared
Alinta keeps it to two structures. No Fuss is exactly that: a flat rate with no conditional discounts, typically 12% to 20% below the DMO, on a month-to-month contract. Deal adds a condition (pay on time or direct debit) for a deeper 15% to 25% discount. There is no complexity to game and nothing to forget, beyond meeting the Deal condition.
AGL offers its Low Plan (lower usage rates, higher supply charge) and Value Saver (the reverse), plus frequent introductory credits for new customers. The structure choice can genuinely suit different usage profiles, but the ongoing discounts rarely match Alinta's.
Worked example: SA Power Networks, 4,000 kWh/year. Against the 2026-27 DMO 8 reference price of $2,398 (AER, effective 1 July 2026), Alinta's Deal plan at 20% off lands around $1,918 a year. A typical AGL plan at 10% off lands around $2,158. That is a gap of roughly $240 a year on one of Australia's most expensive networks, and SA is precisely where Alinta tends to price most aggressively.
Beyond price
Service. Alinta's 4.5/5 Trustpilot average is one of the stronger ratings among Australian retailers, though Trustpilot scores deserve mild scepticism since retailers can invite happy customers to review. Even discounting for that, the gap to AGL's complaint-driven 1.8/5 is large and consistent with what we see across platforms.
Breadth. AGL's ecosystem covers electricity, gas, solar, internet and EV charging with a capable app. Alinta sells electricity and gas only.
Ownership. Alinta is foreign-owned (Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, Hong Kong); AGL is Australian-owned and ASX-listed. If local ownership matters to you, that is a point to AGL, though it has no bearing on your rates or supply reliability.
See both at your address
Rates for Alinta 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 Alinta if you want genuinely cheap power with simple plans and a well-rated service experience. For most households comparing these two on price, Alinta wins comfortably.
Choose AGL if you want energy, internet, solar and EV charging in one account, Australian ownership matters to you, or a current AGL introductory offer beats Alinta at your address and you will re-compare when it ends.
Our verdict: Alinta Energy or AGL?
Alinta is one of the retailers we most often see winning the price comparison at real addresses, and it does so with plans simple enough to explain in one sentence. Against AGL it typically wins on price by $150 to $250 a year and wins on service ratings by a wide margin. That is most of what matters in an energy retailer.
AGL keeps its relevance through breadth and brand, and the bundler who wants one account for everything has a real reason to pay its premium. But if the question is simply "who should supply my electricity for less", Alinta is the better answer more often than not. Confirm it at your postcode: network pricing varies, and the cheapest retailer at your address occasionally beats even Alinta.