Compare and Save

Comparison websites are a great way to harness the power of the internet to make savings and help your money go further. Nowadays you can compare prices on a huge range of products and services, from booking your holiday to the weekly shop.

Depending on what you are looking for will depend on the amount of information you'll need to get a quote. For travel, all you need is a destination and dates, but for insurance you'll need a whole lot more.

Most comparison sites bring together a range of products and service in the market, but are not always comprehensive. Depending on the site, you should get a good range of products and services to help you get the best savings in the market. It also helps that the many comparison sites have ratings and customer reviews to help you decide on what product or service is best to buy.

What can you compare?

Travel – If you like to book your holidays independently, sites such as www.expedia.co.uk and www.ebookers.com allow you to compare flight, hotel and hire car costs. In many cases this gives you more flexibility than booking a package and can often save you money.

Gas and electricity – Compare domestic and business energy providers at www.energyhelpline.com. It could be that you can get your gas and electricity cheaper elsewhere. Either enter your actual gas and / or electricity consumption, or let the site estimate what you use by looking at the size of your house, family, and your lifestyle.

Petrol – Simply enter your postcode into www.petrolprices.com and it'll tell you what the average cost of petrol is in your area. Create a free account and it will tell you which petrol stations will give you the cheapest prices.

Insurance – Check that you're getting the best deal on your car and home insurance with Lloyds TSB. For Home insurance our panel of leading insurers each quote for the cover that you've chosen based on your information. We'll present you with the lowest of the returned prices, and you pick a policy that's right for you.

Supermarkets - www.mysupermarket.co.uk compares the cost of your normal shopping basket at all the main supermarkets. They’ll also suggest alternative to expensive branded products to help you make even bigger savings.

Online shopping – A quick internet search will show you many sites that will find you the lowest prices on a wide range of consumer goods, from laptops to washing machines. Enter in the product you're looking for and let them get prices from a range of stores. Sites to look out for are www.kelkoo.co.uk, www.pricerunner.co.uk and www.shopzilla.co.uk.

Tips on using comparison sites

• Know what you are looking for - If you can specify the product, you’ll get more relevant results. For example, entering ‘laptop’ into a shopping site will give you hundreds or results. If you can enter the brand and individual product reference, you’ll just compare prices for the laptop you want.
• Be flexible – if searching for a flight or a holiday, try different dates to see if you can get a better deal.
• Check all your details – if you have provided incorrect information, you may not get what you want. Giving inaccurate information to your insurer may affect your cover, your premium, or your ability to claim.
•  Be aware - it’s very difficult for a comparison site to compare every single product or service provider. You may want to combine using one of these sites with doing your own research – just in case.