aWATTar vs Tibber 2026: Prices, Fees & Features Compared for Austria

Traditional electricity tariffs have a fixed price per kWh - regardless of whether you consume electricity at 3 AM or 6 PM. Dynamic electricity tariffs work differently: The price changes every hour based on the current stock exchange electricity price of the EXAA (Energy Exchange Austria).

Why does the electricity price fluctuate? At night, when little is consumed, electricity is cheap. At midday with high solar production as well. In the evening between 5-8 PM, when everyone is cooking and watching TV, demand increases - and so does the price.

Both aWATTar and Tibber pass on this hourly exchange price 1:1 to you - plus a service fee and grid costs. No hidden profit margins on the energy price itself. This is the fundamental difference from traditional providers.

Tariffs and Costs

aWATTar offers two tariffs in Austria:

• HOURLY: Hourly variable tariff. Costs: €4.95/month basic fee + 0.00 ct/kWh energy price markup + current EXAA spot price
• YEARLY: Annual tariff with fixed average price based on futures market

The HOURLY tariff is the core product and ideal for dynamic charging. The annual tariff is more for users who want planning security but still benefit from exchange prices.

App and Features

The aWATTar app (iOS & Android) shows:

• Hourly electricity prices for the next 24 hours
• Consumption history
• Price alerts for cheap hours
• Annual overview and cost forecast

The app is functional but not as polished as Tibber. No direct smart home integration in the app - but there is an open API that can be used by third-party tools.

Smart Home Integration

aWATTar itself doesn't offer direct smart home control, but the API allows integration with:

• Home Assistant (popular open-source smart home system)
• ioBroker (German smart home platform)
• EVCC (electric vehicle charge control)
• Custom scripts and automations

An advantage for tech-savvy users: complete control. A hurdle for beginners: setup requires technical know-how.

Tariffs and Costs

Tibber has a single tariff:

• Monthly fee: €5.99/month (or €3.99 with Tibber Pulse)
• Energy price markup: 0.00 ct/kWh
• Exchange price: Current EXAA spot price passed on 1:1

The monthly fee is slightly higher than aWATTar (€5.99 vs €4.95), but you get more app features and better integration.

App and Features

The Tibber app is considered the best on the market:

• Real-time consumption display (with Tibber Pulse hardware)
• Hourly prices for the next 24 hours
• Smart Charging: Automatic EV charging at the cheapest times
• Power-ups: Gamification with challenges and rewards
• Comparison with other Tibber users
• Tibber Store: Discounts on smart home devices

The app is intuitive, modernly designed and almost turns energy saving into a game. The real-time consumption display with Tibber Pulse (approx. €50) is particularly a highlight.

Smart Home Integration

Tibber has native integrations with the most important smart home systems:

• EV wallboxes: Easee, Zaptec, go-eCharger, etc.
• Heat pumps: Nibe, Stiebel Eltron
• Smart home systems: Home Assistant, Apple HomeKit
• Battery storage: SonnenBatterie, Tesla Powerwall

The big advantage: Plug-and-Play. No API integration needed, everything works directly through the Tibber app. Ideal for users who want it simple.

The actual electricity price is composed of:

• Exchange price (identical with both providers)
• Grid costs (identical, set by grid operator)
• Taxes and levies (identical)
• Service fee (aWATTar €4.95, Tibber €5.99)

Sample calculation for 3,500 kWh/year (typical household):

Assumption: Average exchange price 2025: 7 ct/kWh (varies greatly depending on consumption behavior)

• Energy costs: 3,500 kWh × €0.07 = €245/year
• Grid costs: approx. €350/year (depending on region and grid operator)
• Taxes/levies: approx. €140/year
• aWATTar service fee: €4.95 × 12 = €59.40/year
• Tibber service fee: €5.99 × 12 = €71.88/year

Total costs per year:

• aWATTar: approx. €794 (22.7 ct/kWh average)
• Tibber: approx. €807 (23.1 ct/kWh average)
• Traditional tariff: approx. €1,050 (30 ct/kWh)

Savings compared to traditional tariff: Both providers save approx. €240-250/year with optimized consumption.

You only achieve the theoretical 15-30% savings if you are flexible:

Ideal Profile for Dynamic Tariffs

• EV owners: Can charge at night when electricity is cheap
• Heat pump users: Can charge buffer storage during cheap hours
• Photovoltaic system: Optimize self-consumption, feed in the rest at peak prices
• Flexible devices: Washing machine/dishwasher, dryer timer-controlled in cheap hours
• Home office: Use cheaper daytime prices (often solar surplus at noon)

Less Suitable For:

• Households without flexible high consumers
• Users not willing to adapt habits
• People without smart home or timers
• Those who need absolute price security (e.g., very tight budget)

Choose aWATTar if...

• You want the lowest basic fee (€12.48 less per year)
• You are technically savvy and want to build your own automations
• You already use Home Assistant or ioBroker
• You need the open API for custom solutions
• You want to support an Austrian company
• App aesthetics don't matter to you - as long as the price is right

Choose Tibber if...

• You want a modern, intuitive app
• You value real-time consumption display (Tibber Pulse)
• You prefer plug-and-play smart home integration
• You have an EV and want to charge directly in the app
• You like gamification (power-ups, challenges)
• You want access to the Tibber Store (discounts on smart home devices)
• You find community features (comparison with others) interesting

aWATTar and Tibber are fundamentally very similar: Both pass on the exchange price 1:1, both are monthly cancellable, both work Austria-wide. The difference lies in the philosophy:

• aWATTar: Focus on low costs and open interfaces. For tech enthusiasts and tinkerers.
• Tibber: Focus on comfort and user experience. For everyone who wants it simple.

The annual price difference with typical consumption is only €13-15. Whether you save more with aWATTar or Tibber depends less on the provider and more on your consumption behavior: Those who can charge and heat flexibly save 15-30% compared to traditional tariffs with both.

Our tip: If you already have smart home experience and like to configure yourself, aWATTar is perfect. If you have an EV and want it to "just work," Tibber is the better choice. You can test both for 1-2 months and then decide - thanks to monthly cancellation without risk.