Octopus Energy vs British Gas: Heat Pump Installation Compared (2026)

Quick answer: Octopus Energy publishes a typical installed price of £4,459 after the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant; British Gas publishes no standard price and instead gives a fixed quote after a free home survey. Octopus fits its own Cosy heat pumps with an 8-year warranty; British Gas includes five years of repair cover.

Octopus Energy and British Gas are two of the biggest heat pump installers in Britain, but they sell in very different ways. Octopus is vertically integrated — it designs and builds its own “Cosy” heat pumps and quotes largely online. British Gas is survey-led: an adviser visits, then you get a fixed, all-in quote. For what heat pumps cost across the whole market, see heat pump installation costs in 2026.

A note on independence: Home Energy Quotes has no commercial relationship with Octopus Energy or British Gas. We have not tested either installation service first-hand — this comparison uses only each company’s published packages, GOV.UK scheme rules and dated Trustpilot data, checked in July 2026.

The two offers at a glance

Sources: Octopus Energy Cosy heat pump page, British Gas air source heat pump page, Trustpilot (Octopus, British Gas) · checked July 2026.

Pricing and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Octopus is unusually transparent on price: it publishes a typical installed cost of £4,459 after the grant, which implies roughly £11,959 before support. That sits close to our modelled national mid-point for a heat pump installation of £11,014 (see how we calculate costs). British Gas takes the opposite approach — no standard price, but its post-survey quote is fixed and includes items that are often extras elsewhere, such as larger radiators, rewiring and a new consumer unit if needed.

Both companies apply the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant on your behalf, as the scheme requires the MCS-certified installer to make the application. The standard grant is £7,500 for an air source or ground source heat pump in England and Wales. From 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027 a targeted uplift raises this to £9,000 — but only for homes currently heated by oil or LPG; £7,500 remains the standard rate for everyone else, according to GOV.UK. If you heat with oil or LPG, the application date determines which amount you get, so mention it when you request quotes.

Hardware and installation

Octopus installs its own Cosy range — the Cosy 6 for homes with heat loss under about 5.6 kW, the Cosy 9 up to about 8.7 kW, and the Cosy 12 for larger or older properties. All use R290 refrigerant, and the package includes a stainless steel hot water cylinder, the Cosy Hub controller and up to four wireless room sensors. British Gas says it installs heat pumps “made by the top manufacturers” but does not name brands on its main page, so ask which unit you would get when you book a survey; its installations typically take about a week with a team of three heating engineers and an electrician.

Either way, the installation must be MCS-certified for the grant to apply. Our guides to choosing an MCS-certified heat pump installer and TrustMark, MCS and PAS 2030 accreditations explain what those badges actually cover — they apply equally when you are comparing national brands against independent local installers.

Warranties and aftercare

Octopus gives an 8-year warranty on the Cosy heat pump itself, plus remote monitoring — it says many faults can be diagnosed and fixed without a visit. British Gas structures its cover differently: unlimited repairs to the heat pump for five years and cover for the whole heating system in the first year, provided the unit is serviced annually, with its HomeCare products available afterwards. British Gas also advertises a “Warm Home Promise” — a money-back commitment if the system does not keep you as warm as your old boiler (terms apply). The structures are hard to compare directly: eight years of product warranty versus five years of repair cover with service conditions — read both sets of terms rather than the headlines.

Running costs and tariffs

A heat pump’s economics depend on its efficiency (its COP) and your electricity rate. At the July–September 2026 Ofgem price cap of 26.11p/kWh for electricity and 7.33p/kWh for gas, a well-installed heat pump running at seasonal efficiency around 3 can deliver heat at a unit cost broadly comparable to a gas boiler — and cheaper on a time-of-use tariff. Both firms sell heat-pump tariffs: Octopus’s Cosy Octopus (Octopus says Cosy customers on this tariff saved an average of £224 last year versus a gas boiler running at 85% efficiency on its standard variable tariff) and British Gas’s heat pump tariff, advertised with half-price electricity from 1pm–4pm and midnight–7am. On our modelled estimate, switching to a heat pump could save up to £452 a year, though outcomes vary widely by home — try the calculator for a regional figure, and see our heat pump guide for the fundamentals.

Reviews and reputation

On Trustpilot in July 2026, Octopus Energy held around 4.8/5 from roughly 730,000 reviews, and British Gas around 4.4/5 from roughly 333,000. Treat both numbers with care: they cover each company’s entire business — mostly energy supply — not just heat pump installations. When comparing, filter for recent heat-pump-specific reviews, and ask each firm about its MCS complaint record.

FAQs

Do Octopus and British Gas apply the £7,500 grant for me?

Yes. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme requires the MCS-certified installer to apply on your behalf, and both companies deduct the grant from your quote, so you only pay the net amount.

Can I get the £9,000 grant?

Only if your home is currently heated by oil or LPG, and only for applications made between 21 July 2026 and 31 March 2027. For everyone else the grant remains £7,500. The application date sets the amount, per GOV.UK.

Which is cheaper, Octopus or British Gas?

There is no published like-for-like answer, because British Gas does not publish a standard price. Octopus’s typical £4,459 after-grant figure is a useful benchmark — get a British Gas survey quote and at least one independent MCS installer quote to compare against it.