- Cheapest overall
- Neither reliably. Compare the dollar cost at your address; both are often beaten by smaller retailers.
- Best for extras
- ENGIE for NRMA members and Seniors Card holders (Perks and Seniors plans). Origin for gas, solar, broadband and LPG.
- Customer ratings
- ENGIE 3.6/5 on Trustpilot but 1.3/5 on ProductReview; Origin 1.5/5 on Google.
- Where they overlap
- NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. ENGIE also sells in WA; Origin also sells in the ACT.
The short answer
ENGIE and Origin are not easy to separate on headline price, because both discount against the Default Market Offer (DMO) and both vary a lot by network. The difference is what each adds. ENGIE leans on partner perks: its Perks plans bundle discounts on movies, fuel and retail partners for NRMA members, and it has Seniors and solar-specific plans. Origin leans on range: electricity, gas, solar, broadband and LPG on one account. If you do not use the perks or the bundle, the decision comes down to the dollar figure at your address.
Who they are
ENGIE is the Australian retail arm of the French energy multinational of the same name. It was known as Simply Energy until its 2024 rebrand, has around 700,000 accounts (roughly 12% of the retail market) and sells electricity and gas in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Origin Energy is ASX-listed (ORG), one of the Big 3, sells in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT, and owns the Eraring coal-fired power station in NSW, whose closure has been extended to April 2029.
Plans compared
ENGIE sells Perks (bundled partner discounts, aimed at NRMA members), Seniors (an additional discount for Seniors Card holders), Solar (a higher feed-in tariff option) and an optional GreenPower add-on.
Origin sells Origin Go (flat rate, no conditions, typically 5% to 12% below the DMO), Origin Max (12% to 18% below, with direct debit and email billing), Solar Boost (a higher feed-in tariff) and Spike (wholesale pass-through pricing, with real bill risk in a heatwave).
How to weigh a perk against a discount. On the NSW Ausgrid network the 2026-27 DMO 8 reference price is $1,899 per year at 4,000 kWh (AER, effective 1 July 2026), so each percentage point of discount is worth about $19 a year. If an Origin plan is five points cheaper than a comparable ENGIE plan, that is roughly $95 a year, and an ENGIE Perks bundle only comes out ahead if you would genuinely use more than that in movie tickets, fuel savings or retail discounts. Put a dollar value on the perks you would actually use, then compare the totals.
Beyond price
Service. ENGIE ranked first nationally for call-centre experience in the Australian Customer Experience Professionals Association rankings in early 2025, and has won business and state-level value awards. Review platforms are more mixed: 3.6/5 on Trustpilot but 1.3/5 on ProductReview. Origin sits at 1.5/5 on Google. Review sites skew towards people with a bad experience, so a gap this wide between platforms is worth a few minutes reading recent reviews before you commit to either.
Ownership and generation. ENGIE is foreign-owned (France) and Origin is Australian-listed with its own generation. Neither affects your network, your supply reliability or your consumer protections.
See both at your address
Rates for ENGIE and Origin Energy vary by distribution network. The only comparison that matters is the one at your postcode.
Compare plans nowWhen each one wins
Choose ENGIE if you are an NRMA member or Seniors Card holder who would use the perks, you are in Western Australia (where Origin does not sell), or its price at your address beats Origin's.
Choose Origin if you want gas, solar or broadband on one account, you are in the ACT, or a current Origin offer wins on dollars at your address.
Our verdict: ENGIE or Origin Energy?
These two win different households. ENGIE is the better fit if the perks line up with how you already live (NRMA, Seniors Card), and its solar and GreenPower options are real choices. Origin is the better fit if you want the bundle.
On pure price, neither is the market leader, and the review scores for both are mixed enough that we would read recent reviews rather than trust any single number. The cheapest retailer at your postcode is often a smaller one, so run the comparison before you commit to either.