The top 5 UK car history checks compared
A full car history check costs between £9.99 and £39.99 from the best-known UK providers. We make CarCanny, so we've set five of them against the same 18 checks our report answers, using what each provider lists on its own site, and we say where another check is the better buy.
By Hubert Rachwalski
Founder and car enthusiast
Updated
First published
Quick answer
Full checks cost £9.99 to £39.99 (October 2026). CarCanny's full report costs £9.99: all 18 checks, an AI-powered verdict and a free check first, paid once with no subscription. HPI, the RAC, the AA and Total Car Check Gold add a £30,000 data guarantee. carVertical costs most and suits imported cars.
Key takeaways
- Full checks from the best-known UK providers cost between £9.99 and £39.99, and you should pay once, never for a subscription.
- CarCanny answers all 18 checks for less than HPI, the RAC, the AA or carVertical, and explains the results in a plain-English verdict.
- For a car that has spent time abroad, carVertical is worth its higher price, as it adds foreign records and damage photos.
See what CarCanny finds on the car you're looking at.
What are the best car history checks in the UK?
The best-known UK checks are HPI Check, carVertical, the RAC, the AA and Total Car Check. They differ most on price, what's free, whether they guarantee their data and whether they explain what they found.
| Provider | One car | Several cars | What's free | Data guarantee | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CarCanny (us) | £9.99 | 3 for £19.99 | Logbook match and a short AI verdict | None: we fix it or refund you | All 18 checks, explained in plain English |
| HPI Check | £19.99 | 3 for £29.97 | Not listed | £30,000 | The name sellers and dealers know best |
| carVertical | £39.99 | £20.99 each in a bundle of 3 | No free check | Report return guarantee | Cars that have spent time abroad |
| RAC Car Data Check | £14.99 | Not listed | Not listed | £30,000 | Buyers who already trust the RAC |
| AA Car Check | £14.99 | 5 at £6 each | Not listed | £30,000 | Checking five or more cars |
| Total Car Check Gold | £9.99 | 3 for £14.99 | MOT history and tax record | £30,000 | A guarantee at a challenger price |
How do car history checks compare on the 18 checks that matter?
CarCanny's full report answers all 18 checks below, and the other five list most of them, but not all, on their sites.
| Check | CarCanny | HPI | carVertical | RAC | AA | Total Car Check Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logbook match | Free: colour, engine size and plate | Yes, if you enter the V5C details | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |
| MOT status | Full report | MOT expiry | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Free |
| Mileage | Full report: every MOT reading checked for clocking | Asks you to type the current reading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| MOT history | Full report: every test, defects by severity | Listed; not shown in our test | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Free |
| Finance | Full report | Yes, names the lender | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recall | Full report: outstanding or clear, from the DVSA | Yes | Yes | Not included | Not listed | Yes |
| Write-off | Full report, with the category | Yes | Yes, with damage records | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Value | Full report; the price range free by email | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
| For sale | Full report: similar cars listed, and the cheapest price | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Sold | Full report: similar cars sold in the last 90 days, and the cheapest | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Demand | Full report: how long similar cars take to sell | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Stolen | Full report | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tax | Full report | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Free |
| Keepers | Full report | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plate changes | Full report | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scrapped | Full report | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Imported | Full report | Yes | Yes, with records from abroad | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Exported | Full report | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Plain-English verdict | AI-powered, plus the verdict in full on most cars | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Records from abroad and damage photos | No, UK records only | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
HPI's mileage and MOT rows come from full checks we bought on three test cars: it asked us to type in the current reading, and it showed the MOT expiry but not the past tests. The other rows are what each provider lists on its own site. Tax and MOT status are also on GOV.UK, so a check that doesn't list them leaves you one more lookup. CarCanny's full report answers them with the other 15 checks.
Which car history check is cheapest?
Total Car Check Gold is the cheapest of the five: £9.99 for one car and £14.99 for three, with a £30,000 guarantee.
CarCanny's full report costs £9.99 for one car, or £19.99 for three. That's less than HPI at £19.99, the RAC and the AA at £14.99 each, and carVertical at £39.99, for all 18 checks and an AI-powered verdict.
Bundles bring the price per car down if you're comparing several cars, but you pay for them up front. CarCanny's 3-pack credits last 6 months, so you don't have to use them all this week.
How do you avoid a car check that turns into a subscription?
Read the terms next to the price before you pay, because some check sites sell a cheap first report that turns into a monthly subscription.
The trick is a first report for pennies that quietly signs you up to a monthly fee until you cancel, often for more than a full check costs. It sits in the small print, so many buyers only find out when the next charge reaches their bank statement.
Look for the word "trial"
A trial, "access" or "membership" for pennies is usually the start of a subscription, not a one-off report.
Find the price after the first payment
Look for "then £X a month" near the button, in the footer or in the terms. If you can't find it, don't pay.
Untick anything pre-ticked
A pre-ticked box can sign you up for extras. Untick it before you enter your card.
Pay for a report, not an account
Choose a check that sells a report for one price and tells you exactly what it covers.
CarCanny is one payment with no subscription and no account. Our 3-pack is paid once too and never renews. The checkout shows the price and the company behind it, VLAYER LABS LTD, before you pay.
Which car history check explains what it found?
Of the six checks here, only CarCanny lists a plain-English verdict on its site: a summary of what the report found and what it means for the car.
Most checks give you a list of results to interpret yourself. Our verdict tells you what the results mean for this car, what to look at when you view it and how to challenge the asking price.
Who writes the verdict in a CarCanny report?
AI writes the full report's plain-English verdict from the car's records and what's generally known about the model, except for a car you shouldn't buy.
The verdict is a headline and a short summary at the top of the report, red flags first. Below it, "The verdict in full" goes further: the car's records against what's generally known about the model, what to check at the viewing, and how to challenge the asking price, using only the trade and retail figures from the report's own valuation.
- The full report's verdict is labelled "Written by CarCanny AI from this car's records and what's generally known about this model. What's known about the model isn't a check of this car." The free check's "Look out for" card is labelled "Written by CarCanny AI from what's generally known about this model. It isn't a check of this car."
- The verdict isn't expert or professional advice. It sums up the 18 checks, and the checks are the record.
- A car recorded as stolen, scrapped or written off in category A or B gets "Don't buy this car.", written by fixed rules, not AI, and no verdict in full.
- If the AI can't write the verdict, the report shows one written by fixed rules instead.
The free report has a shorter verdict, also written by AI: a headline and a sentence or two on what's generally known about the car's model.
What can you check for free before you pay?
CarCanny's free check answers one of the 18 checks, logbook match, and usually adds a short AI verdict, so you can rule a car out before you spend anything.
- Free on every car: logbook match.
- If the DVLA record shows the car was scrapped, the free check tells you not to buy it.
- Free if you ask by email: the value as a price range.
- A short verdict, written by AI from what's generally known about the model.
Total Car Check shows the MOT history and tax record for free, and carVertical has no free check. Finance, theft and write-offs are paid-for on every check here, so use a free check to decide whether to view a car, then pay for a full report before you buy.
Is carVertical worth paying more for?
carVertical is worth its higher price mainly for a car that has spent time outside the UK, because it adds records and damage photos from other countries.
For a car that's only been in the UK, the key records are the same: finance, theft, write-offs and mileage. A write-off check shows whether an insurer wrote the car off, but no database records damage that was never claimed. So have the car inspected, by a mechanic you trust or an inspection service, whichever check you buy. If you're paying for an inspection anyway, carVertical's damage data adds less, and the difference in price can go towards the inspection.
Do you need a car check with a data guarantee?
A data guarantee is peace of mind rather than a must-have: it pays out, up to a limit and on conditions, if the check misses a record it should have found.
HPI, the RAC, the AA and Total Car Check Gold each offer up to £30,000, so read their terms to see what's covered. CarCanny doesn't offer a data guarantee. If your report is wrong through our mistake, or missing a check, we fix it or refund you.
Which car history check should you choose?
Choose on what you need to know, where the car has been and how much a guarantee matters to you.
| If you want | Consider |
|---|---|
| All 18 checks, explained in plain English, with a free check first | CarCanny |
| A guarantee at a challenger price | Total Car Check Gold |
| The name sellers recognise | HPI Check |
| To check five or more cars | AA Car Check |
| A check for an imported car | carVertical |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best car history check in the UK?
It depends on the car and what you need. For a car that's only been in the UK, a full check covering finance, theft, write-offs and mileage does the job: CarCanny's full report covers all 18 checks and explains them in a plain-English verdict. For an imported car, carVertical adds records from other countries.
Is an HPI check worth it?
HPI is the best-known name, and its £19.99 check names the finance company and comes with a £30,000 data guarantee. Other full checks cover the same key records for less, so it's worth it if the name and the guarantee matter to you.
What is the cheapest full car history check?
Total Car Check Gold is the cheapest of the five here at £9.99, or £14.99 for three. CarCanny's full report costs £9.99, or £19.99 for three, and adds an AI-powered verdict. Avoid checks sold for pennies: they're often the start of a monthly subscription.
Is a free car check enough?
No. A free check shows whether it's the right car, but not the MOT, finance, theft or write-offs. Use one to decide whether to view a car, then pay for a full check before you buy.
Is carVertical worth it in the UK?
For a car that has spent time abroad, yes, because it adds foreign records and damage photos. For a car that's only been in the UK, other full checks cover the key UK records for much less, and an inspection is the better way to find damage that was never claimed.
Sources
- HPI: What the HPI Check includes(opens in a new tab)
- carVertical: Car history check(opens in a new tab)
- carVertical: What are report bundles?(opens in a new tab)
- RAC: Car Data Check(opens in a new tab)
- The AA: Car Check(opens in a new tab)
- Total Car Check: Prices(opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: Check a used vehicle you're buying(opens in a new tab)
The ideas for our guides come from people on our team. We use AI tools to help research, draft and edit them, and the named author reads each one before it's published.
Written by
Hubert Rachwalski
Founder and car enthusiast at CarCanny
Hubert is the founder of CarCanny and a car enthusiast. He built CarCanny as the check he wanted as a buyer: simple, clear and honest about what it does and doesn't know.
