There are many types of price comparison site on the internet today. Some compare the details and prices of various services – such as bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, insurances and loans – so you can see which individual product best suits your needs. Others specialise in a specific market niche and concentrate on just one product group like cameras, computers, mobile phones, broadband etc.  Some of the larger, more comprehensive sites attempt to collate and compare the prices of thousands of items from various retailers so you can find the cheapest on the market without trawling through a hundred different sites. These are sometimes referred to as ‘shopbots’. It is certainly a crowded marketplace and the boundaries that used to define specific types of comparison site are being blurred as competing sites continue to emerge and develop.

When using any of these sites it is always a concern to know for sure that the results being offered are a) accurate, b) comprehensive and c) up to date. Sadly, this is not always the case. Although most sites claim to be either ‘independent’ &/or ‘unbiased’, they invariably earn revenues from the referral of buying customers and therefore cannot truly be totally without bias.  They can also be constrained to offering only the products and services that neatly fit in with their particular technology platform and this often precludes at least the smaller retailers, manufacturers and service providers and sometimes one or two of the big players. Therefore, can any of them offer the complete picture? Is it that important?  Here’s a quick run down on the bigger players and our impression of their particular strengths:

Top 10 UK Price Comparison Websites (General shopping sites)

• Kelkoo.co.uk – huge range covering most categories including books, CDs, computers, electronics, travel & more.
• Pricerunner UK – huge list of categories including books, CDs, electrical appliances, travel, insurance & more.
• Shopping.com UK – comprehensive range of categories including books, CDs, electrical appliances, travel, insurance & more.
• Amazon.co.uk – a vast, popular site now showing price comparisons from other retailers across a huge range of products.
• Ciao.co.uk – featuring comparisons and reviews for a large range of categories.
• Google Product Search (BETA) – familiar interface with a huge range of products but no ‘shop front’ and results can sometimes be a bit quirky.
• BuyCentral.co.uk – large range of products presented in a slightly cluttered, clunky interface
• Pricegrabber.co.uk – large range of products covering most categories in a clean, user-friendly interface.
• Nextag.co.uk – offers a good range of categories.
• Shop.com – huge range of high street goods including clothing, beauty, electronics, books, etc.

Others include: Shopzilla.co.uk – Abcaz.co.uk – Shopping.zdnet.co.uk – MSN shopping UK (uses Shopping.com UK & Pricerunner UK) – Zencudo.co.uk – Foundem.com – Twenga.co.uk – Jellydeal.co.uk – Pricecomparison.co.uk – Smartshopping.co.uk – Find-dvd.co.uk – 123PriceCheck – Pricechecker.co.uk – Onlinepriceguide.co.uk –

Visit Dmoz.org for a comprehensive list of UK price comparison sites.

Top 10 UK Financial Comparison Websites (Mortgages, loans, credit cards etc)

• Moneysupermarket.com – comparisons of insurance, broadband, shopping, utilities and money.
• Gocompare.com – comparisons of insurance, utilities and money
• Confused.com – insurance comparisons
• Comparethemarket.com – insurance comparisons
• Uswitch.com – comparisons of money, insurance, utilities and communications
• Unravelit.com – comparisons of insurance and utility prices
• Beatthatquote.com –
• Totallymoney.com - 
• Buyability.co.uk -
• Virginmoney.com – Comparisons of ISAs, mortgages, loans and insurance for registered users

Others include: moneyexpert.com – MoneyExtra.com – Moneywise.co.uk – Moneynet.co.uk – Moneyfacts.co.uk – LoveMoney -  which.co.uk.

Top 10 UK Insurance Comparison Websites (Car, home & travel insurances) 

• Moneysupermarket.com – car, household and travel insurance comparisons
• GoCompare.com – car, home and travel insurance comparisons
• Confused.com – comparisons of car, home and travel insurance
• CompareTheMarket.com – car, home and travel insurance comparisons
• USwitch.com – insurance comparisons
• OnlyInsurance.com – insurance-only site
• Tesco Compare –
• Screentrade.co.uk
• 1stquote.co.uk
• Directline.com – compare motor insurance prices.

Others include: Unravelit.com – The AA – Virginmoney.com –

Top 10 UK Household Utilities Comparison Websites (Gas & Electricity)

• USwitch.com – popular service that compares gas, electricity, broadband, digital TV and mobile phone bills.
• Unravelit.com – comparisons of utility prices, home telephone, loans, credit cards and home insurance.
• Moneysupermarket.com – comparisons of utilities, loans and insurance.
• SimplySwitch – Electricity, gas and broadband price comparisons.
• Energylinx – Home electricity and gas price comparison service.
• TheEnergyShop.com – gas and electricity price comparison.
• Save on your bills – gas and electricity price comparison.
• UKpower.co.uk – gas and electricity price comparison.
• Energy Helpline with £10 cashback – one provider offers cashback as an incentive to use their service (mentioned on Martin Lewis’s MSE’s guide).
• Confused.com
• HomeAdvisoryService.co.uk
• SwitchWithWhich.co.uk
   

Top 10 UK Travel & Overseas Holiday Comparison Websites (Packages, flights, hotels & car hire )

• Expedia.co.uk – flight, hotel, car hire and holiday comparisons, also allows flight with car hire comparisons.
• links to Ebookers, Expedia, Holiday Autos, Opodo and Lastminute on this page include advert links
• Opodo.co.uk – flight, hotel and car hire comparisons.
• Ebookers.com – comparisons of flight, hotel and car hire.
• Travelocity.co.uk – holiday and flight comparisons.
• Farebuster.co.uk – flight comparisons.
• Kayak.co.uk – flight, hotel and car comparisons.
• Lastminute.com – includes a sophisticated Eurostar break and hotel finder.
• Priceline UK – users can make offers on flights, hotels and car hire. Having found the flight or hotel the user desires, the user can then make an offer on the site which can then be accepted or declined by the site’s airline, hotel and car hire partners.
• Kelkoo.co.uk – comparisons of flights, car hire and holidays
• Skyscanner.net – the Guardian’s Sept 2005 flight comparison favourite.
• Travelsupermarket.com – comparisons of hotels, flights and car hire.
• Traveljungle.co.uk – comparisons of hotels, flights and car hire.
• Mobissimo.co.uk – flights, hotels and car hire comparison.
• Cheapflights.co.uk – flight comparisons
• Cheapestflights.co.uk – flight comparisons
• Dialaflight.com – flight comparisons
• Flightline.co.uk – flight comparisons
• Lowcostbeds.com – hotel comparisons