VS Series
Octopus Energy v E.ON
The newcomer that grew into Britain's biggest household supplier, against one of the long-established names. How do their accounts compare?
Octopus Energy leads on turnover, growth and net assets; E.ON Next on pre-tax profit and profit margin. Octopus Energy is the biggest by turnover at £13,683m, against £7,367m at E.ON Next. Both lost money; E.ON Next lost the least, £0.68 of every £100 it took.
The year ends are up to 8 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. Octopus Energy files group accounts that include subsidiaries; E.ON Next files for a single company, which flatters the group on size.
Accounts compared: Octopus Energy to Apr 2025 · E.ON Next to Dec 2025
Who they are
Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy Group Limited · 09718624Octopus Energy is an energy company that supplies gas and electricity to homes and businesses in Britain and other countries.In brief: energy supplier · green and smart tariffs · Kraken software · Britain and abroadFull profile →E.ON Next
E.On Next Energy Limited · 03782443E.ON Next is an energy supplier selling electricity and gas to homes and small businesses across Great Britain.In brief: household energy supplier · electricity and gas · took on npower customers · owned by E.ON SEFull profile →The Numbers
The leader on each measure is marked. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).
Category winners
Biggest by turnover
Octopus Energy
£13,683m
Most pre-tax profit
E.ON Next
-£50m
Smallest loss
E.ON Next
-0.7%
Fastest-growing turnover
Octopus Energy
+10.1%
Biggest employer
Octopus Energy
10,030 staff
Highest pay per head
Octopus Energy
£49,000
Most turnover per head
E.ON Next
£1.8m
Largest net assets
Octopus Energy
£1,482m
Most cash
Octopus Energy
£1,512m
The Takeaway
- E.ON Next loses the least. Of every £100 it takes, it loses £0.68, against a loss of £1.90 at Octopus Energy.
- Octopus Energy is the largest on the top line, £13,683m of turnover, 1.9x E.ON Next's £7,367m.
- Octopus Energy is growing fastest, turnover +10.1% on its own prior year. E.ON Next went backwards.
- Octopus Energy is the biggest employer with 10,030 people; Octopus Energy pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £49,000.
- Octopus Energy has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £1,482m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
Every company here made a loss. E.ON Next lost the least, £0.68 of every £100 of turnover. Octopus Energy does worst, losing £1.90.
Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.
The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.
Out of every £100 of turnover
Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.
Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?
By turnover the order is Octopus Energy (£13,683m), E.ON Next (£7,367m).
By headcount, Octopus Energy leads with 10,030 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Octopus Energy to Apr 2025, E.ON Next to Dec 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Octopus Energy grew fastest, turnover +10.1% on its own prior year, ahead of E.ON Next (-7.2%).
Turnover change on each company's own prior year
Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?
Octopus Energy employs the most, 10,030 people, against 4,020 at E.ON Next.
Octopus Energy has the highest average staff cost, about £49,000 a head; E.ON Next the lowest, about £43,000.
E.ON Next brings in the most turnover per employee, about £1.8m, against £1.4m at Octopus Energy. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.
Who owns each one?
Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.
Held by Octopus Energy Topco Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 10 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Octopus Energy →
E.On Next Energy Limited · 03782443Held by E.On Uk Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns E.ON Next →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | Octopus Energy | E.ON Next |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name | OCTOPUS ENERGY GROUP LIMITED | E.ON NEXT ENERGY LIMITED |
| Company number | 09718624 | 03782443 |
| Incorporated | 2015 | 1999 |
| Accounts filed | 9 January 2026 | 1 October 2026 |
| Turnover, prior year | £12,433m | £7,941m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £78m | £24m |
| Staff costs | £492m | £174m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 3.6% | 2.4% |
| Employees, prior year | 6,438 | 3,852 |
| Dividends paid | n/d | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 10 | 0 |
A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.
Octopus Energy v E.ON: common questions
Who is the biggest of Octopus Energy or E.ON Next?
Octopus Energy, with turnover of £13,683m in the year to April 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
E.ON Next: the smallest loss, -£50m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
Octopus Energy, with 10,030 employees in its latest accounts.
Octopus Energy or E.ON Next: which is bigger?
Octopus Energy, with turnover of £13,683m against £7,367m at E.ON Next on their latest filings. On margin, E.ON Next keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
Where do these figures come from?
Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.
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