My mum's is great, because her poor eyesight meant she struggled to read the old meter, and I had to remind her to do it every month too (then she had to relay it to me so I could enter it on line). Now, neither of us has to do anything other than check the account occasionally to make sure nothing looks amiss.
Her first meter was not compatible with her next supplier, but the new company soon fitted a new one for her.
That said, I didn't change her supplier again when the contract ended, because she couldn't face any more hassle, even though the meter she has now should still work if she changes again.
Luckily, a new contract with them wasn't much more than the cheapest deals available on the comparison sites, and worth it for her peace of mind.
The in-house display soon ended up in a drawer though, because it was giving her the impression that she was using far more energy than was actually the case, which worried her.
Quite often, the best deals require your agreement to have a smart meter installed.
Personally, I have had three such deals so far but still no smart meter. When the first company sent someone to fit one, they found that there wasn't enough space, and Western Power were supposed to come to see to that. That was over two years ago, and we are still waiting!