My Nous review: is it legit, safe and worth using?

This post contains an affiliate link. The Penny Pincher may receive a small payment if you use the Nous link, at no extra cost to you. This has not affected my view of the service.

Keeping on top of household bills can take a fair amount of time, particularly when your energy, broadband and mobile contracts all finish at different points in the year. I started using Nous to see whether it could find cheaper deals for me, even though I already spend plenty of time looking for ways to save money.

It identified more than £400 in potential annual savings across the bills I checked, including around £300 on energy. However, my existing contracts have meant I haven’t been able to switch yet; those savings certainly impressed me!

Not being able to switch yet hasn’t stopped Nous from continuing to be useful, as Nous flagged an upcoming subscription and asked whether I wanted it cancelled, which prompted me to realise I wasn’t using it and could stop paying for it, which I did. That unexpected message has now saved me £10.99 a month, so that reminder was really helpful, even while I was still waiting for the right time to change my other household contracts.

You can currently try Nous Premium free for a month without entering your card details. If you don’t choose to subscribe afterwards, you move onto Nous Free, which manages up to two household services without a monthly charge. You can check your bills with Nous and decide how much help you want it to provide.

How I reviewed Nous: I’ve used it to check my own household bills and received its subscription reminder. I haven’t completed a provider switch through Nous, so the savings discussed here remain potential savings.

What is Nous and how does the app work?

Nous helps you keep track of household bills, look for cheaper deals and deal with some of the admin involved in changing providers. You give it information about your household and the services you use, then choose what you want it to handle. It uses artificial intelligence, or AI, to help process information and carry out tasks, with updates and conversations available through WhatsApp.

For example, when a broadband contract is coming to an end, Nous can look for an alternative and help with the change, depending on the permissions you’ve given it. It can also identify subscriptions and help cancel ones you no longer want. The intention is to reduce the time you spend managing these things yourself, while keeping your bills under constant review, alerting you when it thinks it can save you some money!

What happened when I tried Nous?

I added several household bills, including my energy account, to see what Nous could find. I thought my existing deals were reasonably competitive, but its comparison identified around £300 a year in possible energy savings. I checked some additional bills, and the potential annual savings jumped up to more than £400.

Frustratingly, I haven’t been able to make those switches yet because several contracts were renewed fairly recently, and leaving a fixed deal early could mean paying an exit fee, which would eat into the savings, so I'll need to wait until changing providers makes financial sense rather than switch simply because the new monthly payment looks lower; you have to weigh up the savings.

My mobile account also needed more consideration than comparing the price of one phone contract. Several family members’ numbers are part of the same contractual arrangement, with discounts and allowances attached, and one device is still being paid for. Me removing one number from that package would affect what we pay overall, so the cheaper option Nous found wasn’t suitable for me at that point. Still, that's because I'd overcomplicated my contract somewhat, and for most people the price comparison would be far less tricky!

The subscription reminder I found useful

Nous recently told me a subscription was coming up and asked whether I wanted it cancelled. That made me stop and think about whether I was actually using it, and I realised it was something I could cancel. It hadn’t decided for me that the subscription was unnecessary; the reminder prompted me to make that judgement myself.

That’s the sort of help I can see being useful even when you’re happy with your energy or broadband deal. A subscription can stay on your list of payments long after you’ve stopped getting much use from it. Sometimes you get used to paying it, or perhaps don't even notice the payment leaving your account every month, and being asked whether you still want it gives you a reason to actually think about it and make the decision as to whether you actually really need that subscription coming out of your account every month!

How does Nous find cheaper household bills?

Nous uses information about your providers, payments and contract dates to look for alternatives. It can help identify when an existing deal is ending and whether another option could cost less. For energy, it compares a selected panel of suppliers rather than every tariff on the market, so its recommendation isn’t a 'guarantee' that nothing cheaper exists elsewhere.

The replacement also needs to provide what you actually use. A lower broadband payment won’t be much help if the speed is unsuitable for your household. A cheaper mobile deal could lose its appeal if it removes roaming or data you rely on, so it is important to compare the service, the full contract cost and any fee for leaving your current deal together, before you make the decision to switch.

Does Nous switch your bills automatically?

It can, depending on the savings mode and permissions you choose. Nous offers Manual, Balanced and Freedom modes, which give it different levels of responsibility for finding and arranging changes. You can change your savings mode through your household dashboard.

If you want to decide on every change yourself, Manual is the mode I’d look at first. Balanced involves Nous handling more of the process, while Freedom lets it make switching decisions automatically. Before choosing, read what that setting authorises and keep an eye on messages about proposed changes, particularly if a contract is tied to other household services.

Which household bills can Nous manage?

Energy, broadband and mobile bills remain central to the service, and Nous now advertises car insurance among its supported areas. It has also expanded into subscription management and other household admin, including organising appointments, researching purchases and chasing refunds.

The features available to you depend on your plan and the task, so use your account to see what it can handle for your household.

Some of those tasks are things you could do yourself but keep putting off. You might have a refund to chase, a subscription to cancel or a renewal date you’d otherwise forget. My own experience of the subscription reminder has made that side of Nous more relevant to me, alongside the bill comparisons.

Is Nous free and how much does Nous Premium cost?

Nous Free costs nothing and manages up to two household services for one UK address. Premium costs £6.99 per household each month, with a free first month and no card details needed to start the trial. If you don’t opt into a paid subscription afterwards, your account moves onto Free.

At £6.99 a month, 12 paid months would cost £83.88. That’s another household expense, so I’d want the extra features, rewards or time saved to justify it. The free trial gives you a chance to try those features before committing to a monthly payment.

You can cancel the monthly Premium subscription without a minimum contract or exit fee by contacting Nous at support@nous.co. Cancelling Premium doesn’t undo a provider switch that has already been arranged. Any separate energy, broadband or mobile contract continues under its own terms.

Are the savings shown by Nous guaranteed?

No, the figures are estimates, and your eventual saving depends on your existing deal, the proposed replacement and your circumstances. Energy comparisons need particular care because a lower monthly Direct Debit doesn’t necessarily mean the electricity or gas itself is cheaper.

It always makes sense to compare the price per unit of energy, the daily standing charge and the same annual usage figures to see whether the tariff would reduce your costs.

Nous also advertises typical savings of £310 for Free and £960 for Premium. Those examples cover different combinations of household services, with the Premium figure including switching rewards, so they aren’t a like-for-like test of what upgrading alone would save you. Your own Nous proposal is the relevant part, as everybody will be different, and some people will save more than others.

How do Nous Premium cash rewards work?

Premium members can receive rewards on eligible switches where a provider pays Nous a commission. The amount and conditions should be shown with the proposal, and rewards usually build up over 12 months while you remain with that provider and on Premium. A reward advertised for the whole year therefore isn’t normally available to withdraw in full as soon as you switch.

Rewards are normally used towards your Nous subscription first, and you can request a payout of an available excess balance. Moving onto Free stops further rewards building up, but you keep rewards already earned, subject to the account terms. Closing your Nous account is different: withdraw any available rewards first, as closing it means losing the remaining balance.

For an illustrative example, a £120 reward spread evenly over a year would build up at £10 a month. After a £6.99 monthly subscription, that would leave £3.01 from that month’s reward, assuming you met all the conditions and no other charges applied. That isn’t a current offer; it shows why the timing of rewards and the subscription cost belong in the calculation.

Could switching through Nous mean missing cashback?

Yes, it could, because switching through Nous is a different route from starting a purchase through TopCashback or Quidco. Compare the amount you’d pay through each route, including any reward, subscription fee and cost of leaving your existing provider.

For example, imagine two equivalent 12-month contracts, with one costing £30 a month and offering £50 cashback, while the other costs £25 a month with no cashback. Even if the £50 is paid, the first would cost £310 for the year, compared with £300 for the second. That’s why I compare the contract price before deciding whether cashback makes a deal better.

I still think cashback is worth checking when you’re happy to arrange the switch yourself. Our guide to the best UK cashback apps and websites explains the different options, and Manual mode leaves you able to compare them with what Nous finds.

That said, if you’d rather have Nous always checking for the best-priced deal, and have it handle the admin and the change, the time that saves, and the reassurance that you don't have to get involved in the process actively, makes the service pretty invaluable, especially if you are the type of person who often forgets, or doesn't want the hassle to check for better deals and just lets things auto-renew, which many of us are guilty of!

Is Nous legit and safe to use?

Nous is a legitimate UK household bill-management service, with both free and paid plans. Connecting a bank account uses Open Banking, which lets you authorise access to account information through a regulated provider without giving Nous your online banking password. You can withdraw that access through your bank, the provider or your Nous account settings.

Bank-account access is only part of what to consider because Nous can also work with email and calendar connections you authorise. Those permissions allow it to find relevant information and carry out tasks, such as dealing with providers or adding reminders. Its privacy statement explains how that information is used, and I’d connect only the services needed for the help I wanted.

Nous uses encryption to protect data and states that it doesn’t sell your banking data. If you’d rather remain responsible for switching, Manual mode is available.

At the time of this update, Nous on Trustpilot showed 4.6 out of 5 from 1,960 reviews. Positive reviews describe savings and help with switching, while some negative reviews raise concerns about unexpected changes and tariff calculations.

Has Martin Lewis recommended Nous?

People have asked me this, and I haven’t found an official Martin Lewis or MoneySavingExpert editorial recommendation for Nous. There is a discussion about Nous on the MoneySavingExpert Forum, but forum members write those posts. They shouldn’t be treated as a recommendation from Martin Lewis or the MSE editorial team.

That distinction is easy to miss when a forum result appears in a Google search. The discussion may help you find other people’s experiences, but it doesn’t establish that MSE has tested or recommended the service. I’d judge Nous on its current terms, your own circumstances and the experiences described in this review.

What are the main advantages and drawbacks of Nous?

For me, having another service watching my bills and subscriptions is the main benefit. I already spend time looking for deals, but Nous still identified possible savings and prompted me to review a subscription I wasn’t using. The free plan and Premium trial also mean you can see whether it helps before taking on a regular subscription.

It won’t suit everyone in the same way. Existing contracts and family discounts can prevent a switch from being worthwhile, and someone who already enjoys comparing providers may prefer to keep doing that themselves. You also need to be comfortable with the information and permissions required for the tasks you ask Nous to handle, but if you want the reassurance of paying less and the constant monitoring of what you're paying, for me, and everyone is different, I think it's a small sacrifice to make!

Is Nous worth it?

For me, yes, it’s worth using, even though I haven’t yet been able to act on the switching opportunities it found; the subscription reminder gave me a reason to reconsider a payment I no longer needed, and that saved me £10.99 straight away, while the bill comparisons showed where I might save when my contracts allow it.

Whether Premium is worth paying for depends on how much you use its extra features. If you mainly want two household bills monitored, Free may be enough, while a household making use of several managed services and admin tasks could get more from Premium. I’d use the trial to see which features I actually returned to before deciding whether to pay.

Want to try Nous?

You can try Nous through my link and begin by checking the bills you want help with. Choose the savings mode that matches how involved you want to remain, and review what it finds against your existing contracts. I’d certainly pay attention to the subscription reminders, because you may spot something you no longer use before you’re ready to switch any of your main bills.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nous?

Nous is a UK service that helps manage household bills and find potential savings. It can also help with subscriptions and other household admin. What it handles depends on your plan and the permissions you choose.

Is Nous legit?

Yes, Nous is a legitimate UK service with free and paid plans. I’ve used it to check my bills and received a reminder about an upcoming subscription. That doesn’t mean every suggested switch will suit your household or save you money.

Is Nous safe to use?

Nous doesn’t collect or store your online banking password when you connect through Open Banking. It uses encryption to protect data, and you can withdraw your bank-data access permission. Also consider the email, calendar and switching permissions you choose to give it.

Is Nous free?

Nous Free costs £0 and manages up to two household services for one UK address. It includes one householder login and limited subscription tracking. You don’t have to upgrade to keep using the free plan.

How much does Nous Premium cost?

Nous Premium costs £6.99 per household per month, with a one-month free trial and no card details required to start. It adds unlimited managed services and household logins, eligible rewards and extra admin assistance, subject to fair use. If you don’t opt into a paid subscription after the trial, you move onto Nous Free.

Does Nous switch bills automatically?

It can, depending on your savings mode and permissions. Manual leaves you to arrange switches, Balanced includes help with switching, and Freedom can make switching decisions automatically. Read the permissions for your chosen mode rather than assuming you’ll always be asked for separate final approval.

Are Nous savings guaranteed?

No, savings estimates aren’t guaranteed. The amount you could save depends on your current contract, usage, exit fees, the replacement deal and any applicable rewards or Nous subscription costs. In my case, existing contracts have prevented me from taking up the switching opportunities so far.

Is Nous worth it?

I’ve found it useful for identifying possible bill savings and prompting me to review a subscription I wasn’t using. I haven’t completed a switch, so I can’t claim the projected savings as money already saved. The free plan and Premium trial let you see whether it helps before deciding whether to pay.

Has Martin Lewis recommended Nous?

I haven’t found an official Martin Lewis or MoneySavingExpert editorial recommendation for Nous. A discussion on the MoneySavingExpert Forum contains individual users’ opinions. Those posts aren’t an endorsement from Martin Lewis or the MSE editorial team.