As Australia’s most trusted comparison website*, we know consumers rely on us to do what we say on the tin. Canstar Blue’s Most Trusted Awards help consumers identify electricity, natural gas, internet and mobile plan providers. These awards represent the views of energy and telecommunications customers just like you. Seeing a Most Trusted award logo lets you know that this is a brand that delivers on its promises.
Trust is hard to gain and easily lost, so how do we measure it for our Most Trusted Awards? We’ve created a methodology to allow us to determine winners consistently and without bias.
Read our Most Trusted Methodology
Felix joined the Aussie telco market in 2020 and is part of the TPG Telecom group. At its launch, Felix offered a single prepaid subscription-style phone plan with unlimited data (as a capped speed). However, it now offers a range of prepaid plans with set data inclusions, while its most expensive plan still includes unlimited data by default with 20Mbps capped speeds.
In addition to its simple suite of plans — available as either eSIM or with a physical SIM card — Felix’s emphasis is on being an environmentally conscious brand. As a partner of the One Tree Planted non-profit organisation, Felix promises that for every month that customers stick with their plan, one tree will be planted on their behalf. In June 2024, Felix hit its goal of planting two million trees.
Felix’s mobile plans are no lock-in contract and include unlimited standard national calls and SMS, plus unlimited data banking (on plans with a set data inclusion) and no excess data charges. Felix operates on the Vodafone 4G and 5G mobile networks.
Compared to other SIM-only plans on the market, Felix tends to offer good value for money and with deals and discounts regularly on offer, customers can often save on their plan fees. Felix was also the winner in our 2024 Most Satisfied Customers ratings for prepaid SIM-only plan providers, showing that customers are generally happy with the value and service they receive from Felix.
The internet market is a crowded space, with many providers vying for new customers by offering cheap plans, discounts or added extras. However, sometimes customers want more than just the best price. For some Aussies, good customer service or trust — knowing that their provider will help during times of service dropouts or slow speeds — can be more important than even the cheapest deals.
Aussie Broadband has been a highly-rated and winning brand, in both our annual customer satisfaction NBN provider ratings and internet and entertainment bundle ratings. It has also gained a larger customer base over the years since its 2003 launch, in a crowded NBN market dominated by a small number of big name providers.
For many, the Australian-based operations and customer support could be a draw card, and the company has a strong ethos on how it operates to deliver quality services to Australians — the ‘Aussie’ way. It maintains a strong social media presence and regularly offers discounts and competitions alongside its range of products and services.
When it comes to internet plans, specifically NBN, Aussie Broadband’s prices tend to be on the more expensive end of the spectrum, by about $5-$10 monthly. However, it seems customers may be willing to pay a bit more for a provider that offers the trust and service that have become synonymous with the Aussie Broadband brand.
Cheap electricity rates can be a great incentive to capture new customers. But the biggest discount won’t always be enough to win the hearts of everyday Aussies if the service and support isn’t there to back it up. This is something challenger brand Tango Energy appears to understand.
A winning brand across several of our customer satisfaction ratings in the energy space this year, Tango Energy seems to be getting something right when it comes to electricity service, support and costs for Aussie households.
With affordable rates and incentives for those willing to bundle their services, it may be Tango Energy’s ability to make electricity simple and easy that’s garnered it the hearts of households across the nation. Its accessible online features, such as direct debit payments and e-billing, could also be a big drawcard for tech-savvy Aussies.
Further to building its trust among households, the retailer offers phone and online support, from a dedicated helpline to an online chat bot to assist with any enquiries. It also offers guidance through helpful articles on its website which cover topics such as rebates and concessions, power outages, billing and payments, moving and new connections and account management.
While price isn’t everything and there are numerous established brands out there generally doing the right thing, Tango Energy takes it a step further by building a loyal and trusting customer base.
Just because a natural gas supplier is cheap, doesn’t necessarily mean it will be good. That’s why it’s also important to consider other factors such as customer service and support when choosing your natural gas provider.
One provider that seems to be getting it right in this space is Kleenheat. A consistent contender in our natural gas supplier ratings for Western Australia, Kleenheat appears to have won the hearts of household gas users in this area with its discounts and incentives for members of local auto club, RAC. The retailer also offers LPG across WA and the Northern Territory.
From endorsing local events and establishments via its social media pages, to sharing helpful energy tips and tricks through its blog, Kleenheat has truly integrated itself as a member of the local community in WA, which is great for building trust with consumers. When households can see a company that truly cares for the area it operates in – paired with a significant number of years’ experience under its belt – it can give them confidence that they have chosen a provider that will look after and support them.
Kleenheat offers a range of plans, suited to a variety of households in WA. While gas prices are still regulated by the government in the state, retailers are permitted to offer discounts or specialty rewards off that set price as a point of difference in the market. In Kleenheat’s case, this is generally through direct debit and e-billing discounts or FlyBuys points, in addition to one-off specialty offers.
This category was previously titled ‘Most Trusted Energy Providers’ until 2023 and only considered electricity providers in market. The below winners were awarded under this title.
Canstar Blue offers a range of commercial and organic opportunities for winning brands that want to let the world know they’re the best in their field. Our Commercial Team is ready to help you maximise your win!
Got some questions about how the Most Trusted Award works, or want to get your brand involved? Check out the questions below, or head to our FAQ page.
Our Most Trusted Awards are based on a ratings scale of 0 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), with consumers rating their provider, and providers in general. However, trust means different things to different people, but in regards to the energy market, we take it to mean that consumers trust their providers to not rip them off, to not make plans unnecessarily complicated, to deliver good customer service and to generally do the right thing, in addition to a few other areas.
From here, the results are correlated, with the brand with the highest average Trust rating awarded the Most Trusted Award. You can learn more about the Most Trusted Award in our Methodology here.
(*) Source: Canstar Group research, conducted by Qualtrics Dec/Jan 2021/22. n=1075
