CarCanny vs Carpeep: which car history check should you use?
We make CarCanny, so we've kept this comparison to facts you can check on each site, as they stood on 1 October 2026. Both cover the records that matter. The differences are price, what's free and what's guaranteed.
By Maciej Kalka
Car enthusiast
Updated
First published
Quick answer
As of 1 October 2026, both check finance, theft, write-offs, mileage and MOT history. Carpeep's full check costs £15 and comes with a £30,000 data guarantee. CarCanny's full report includes a valuation, which Carpeep's report didn't have when we tested it. CarCanny has no data guarantee, but fixes or refunds a report that's wrong.
Key takeaways
- Both paid reports cover finance, theft, write-offs, mileage and MOT history.
- CarCanny's full report includes a valuation, while Carpeep's £15 check has a £30,000 data guarantee.
- CarCanny's free report shows the make, model, colour, engine and fuel with a short AI verdict; Carpeep shows the make, year, colour and fuel. Neither includes the MOT, finance, theft or write-offs for free.
See what CarCanny finds on the car you're looking at.
How do CarCanny and Carpeep compare?
They cover the same core records. CarCanny adds a valuation, and Carpeep adds a data guarantee.
| Feature | CarCanny | Carpeep |
|---|---|---|
| Price of a full report | £9.99, or 3 for £19.99 | £15, or 3 for £35 |
| Subscription | None | None |
| What's free | Logbook details and a short AI verdict | Make, year, colour and fuel only |
| Outstanding finance | Yes | Yes |
| Stolen | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance write-off and category | Yes | Yes |
| Mileage check | Yes, from MOT readings | Yes, from MOT readings |
| Full MOT history | Yes, with each failure and advisory | Yes |
| Previous keepers | Yes, where recorded | Yes |
| Imported, exported or scrapped | Yes | Yes |
| Plate changes | Yes | Not listed |
| Valuation | Trade-in and dealer prices | Not listed |
| If the report is wrong | Fixed or refunded if it's wrong | £30,000 data guarantee |
How much does a Carpeep check cost compared with CarCanny?
Carpeep's full check costs £15, or £35 for a pack of 3 (£11.67 a check). CarCanny's full report costs £9.99 for one car, or £19.99 for a 3-pack (£6.66 a car). Neither has a subscription or auto-renewal.
Use CarCanny's free report first, so you only pay for the car you're serious about. Both 3-packs are paid up front, whether or not you use every check, and CarCanny's must be used within 6 months.
What do you get for free?
CarCanny's free report shows the make, model, colour, engine and fuel with a short AI verdict; Carpeep shows the make, year, colour and fuel. Neither includes the MOT, finance, theft or write-offs for free.
CarCanny's free report shows the make, model, colour, engine, fuel, CO2 and age, with a short AI verdict. The other 17 checks show as locked cards, so you can see what the full report adds before you pay.
What's in each paid report?
Both paid reports check finance, theft, write-offs, mileage, keepers and import, export and scrapped records.
CarCanny's full report also shows what the car is worth, from a trade-in price to a dealer's forecourt price, and what each MOT test found. If it's wrong, CarCanny fixes it or refunds you. Carpeep's report comes with a £30,000 data guarantee. Read its terms to see what it covers.
What does a CarCanny full report check?
CarCanny's full report checks mileage, finance, write-off and stolen, plus 14 more. All 18 checks and an AI-powered verdict.
| Check | The question it answers | In the free report? |
|---|---|---|
| Logbook match | Is it the car in the advert? | Yes |
| MOT status | When's its next MOT due? | No, full report only |
| Mileage | Clocked to hide wear? | No, full report only |
| MOT history | Bills its MOTs warned of? | No, full report only |
| Finance | Does a lender still own it? | No, full report only |
| Recall | A safety fix still due? | No, full report only |
| Write-off | Written off, worth less? | No, full report only |
| Value | Asking price too high? | No, full report only |
| For sale | Asking prices right now? | No, full report only |
| Sold | What cars like this sold for? | No, full report only |
| Demand | Do cars like it sell fast? | No, full report only |
| Stolen | Could police take it away? | No, full report only |
| Tax | Declared off the road? | No, full report only |
| Keepers | Many owners, fast? | No, full report only |
| Plate changes | A new plate hiding its past? | No, full report only |
| Scrapped | Scrapped, then sold on? | No, full report only |
| Imported | Pricier to insure and fix? | No, full report only |
| Exported | Meant to have left the UK? | No, full report only |
Every free report answers logbook match, and shows the value as a price range if you ask for it by email. If the DVLA record shows the car was scrapped, the free report tells you not to buy it. The full report answers all 18.
The verdict sums the checks up and isn't one of them. Nor are the car's details, such as its make and CO2: only the logbook match, which sets them against the V5C, counts as a check.
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.
Which car check should you choose?
Choose on what matters most to you: a valuation and a free preview, or a guarantee.
| If you want | Choose |
|---|---|
| To know what the car is worth before you haggle | CarCanny |
| To see a free preview laid out like the full report | CarCanny |
| A data guarantee on the report | Carpeep |
Frequently asked questions
Does a Carpeep check include a valuation?
Not in the reports we bought on our test cars. CarCanny's full report includes a valuation, from a trade-in price to a dealer's forecourt price.
Does Carpeep have a free car check?
Not a full one. Carpeep shows the make, year, colour and fuel type for free, so you can confirm it's the right car. The MOT, tax and history records are in its paid check.
Do both checks include outstanding finance?
Yes, in the paid reports. Finance isn't part of the free DVLA record, so neither CarCanny's free report nor Carpeep's free lookup includes it.
Can I see a car's MOT history for free?
Yes. GOV.UK shows every MOT test, its mileage and any advisories for free. Paid reports add the finance, theft and write-off records that GOV.UK doesn't show.
Sources
- Carpeep: Used car check before buying(opens in a new tab)
- Carpeep: Free car check(opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: Check the MOT history of a vehicle(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
Maciej Kalka
Car enthusiast at CarCanny
Maciej is a researcher at vlayer, the company behind CarCanny, working on zero-knowledge proofs and applied cryptography. Before vlayer, Maciej was a doctoral researcher in physics at AGH University of Krakow.
