The short answer
"Best HPI check" is a search for the best vehicle history check, because hpi check® is one company's product and the name has become shorthand for the whole category. There are at least seven UK services worth considering, and on 23 September 2026 a full check with finance, write-off and stolen records cost anywhere from £8.49 to £39.99 depending on who you buy it from.
There is no single best one. The right choice depends on whether you want the lowest price, the strongest guarantee, an international history, or a report that explains what it found. This guide sets out what each of the seven charges and lists, using only what each company publishes on its own website on the date shown, so you can pick for your situation.
- Cheapest full check with finance, write-off and stolen: mycarcheck comprehensive £8.49, Total Car Check Gold £9.99. Both under half the hpi check® price.
- Strongest guarantee: hpi check®, the AA (HPI-provided) and Total Car Check Gold all state a £30,000 data guarantee. Carhealth, mycarcheck and carVertical do not state one.
- Best for an imported or foreign-registered car: carVertical, the only provider here describing international sources, at £39.99 a report.
- Only report on this list with an AI reading, a model buyer's guide, common faults and salvage photos: Carhealth at £19.99, or from £9.99 a report on bundles and the weekly plan.
- Do not judge by the headline price. Several providers' cheapest tiers leave out the finance check, and finance is the record most likely to cost you the car.
- Whichever you choose, run it before you pay a deposit.
Carhealth is our own product. It is held to the same rows and the same sourcing as everyone else below, and we have stated plainly where rivals offer something we do not. Carhealth is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any other provider named here. hpi check®, carVertical, Total Car Check, mycarcheck, CarCheck.co.uk and The AA are trade marks of their respective owners, used only to identify the products compared.
Prices on 23 September 2026
All figures read from each provider's UK site on 23 September 2026 (carVertical's pricing page as captured 22 September). The "full check" column is the cheapest tier on that site that lists outstanding finance, insurance write-off and stolen checks together.
| Provider | Full check, single | Bundles | Cheaper tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mycarcheck | £8.49 comprehensive | 2 for £9.99, 3 for £12.49, 5 for £19.99, 10 for £34.99 | Basic £4.99: write-off, stolen, export, no finance. Free check: MOT, valuation, make and model | mycarcheck.com |
| Total Car Check | £9.99 Gold | 3 for £14.99, 5 for £19.99 | Silver £3.99 (5 for £9.99): write-off, stolen, plates, keepers, no finance. Free check available | totalcarcheck.co.uk/Prices |
| The AA | £14.99 | 5 at £6 each | None listed | theaa.com/vehicle-check |
| hpi check® | £19.99 | MultiCheck 3 for £29.99 | Basic £9.99: no guarantee, no write-off details, no mileage discrepancies | home.hpicheck.com |
| Carhealth | £19.99 | 2 for £29.99, 5 for £54.99, weekly plan £9.99 for 2 codes | Free check: make, model, colour, MOT history, tax, mileage readings | carhealth.co.uk/pricing |
| carVertical | £39.99 | 2 for £51.98, 3 for £62.97 | None listed | carvertical.com/gb/pricing |
| CarCheck.co.uk | Not shown on homepage (price appears after entering a registration) | Not shown | Free check: make, model, MOT dates, tax, mileage registrations, recalls, export | carcheck.co.uk |
Note on mycarcheck: its "2 full checks for £9.99" was labelled an autumn sale on the day we read it, so it may not last.
What each report lists
"Yes" means the provider's own UK page lists the item for the tier priced above. "Not listed" means we could not find it on that page; it is not a claim that the provider cannot supply it.
| Check | mycarcheck | Total Car Check Gold | The AA | hpi check® | Carhealth | carVertical | CarCheck.co.uk premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding finance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed on UK pricing page | Not listed |
| Insurance write-off | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, Cat A/B/S/N | Damage and write-offs | Damage check with repair cost and date |
| Stolen (police record) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Theft check |
| Mileage discrepancy | Not listed | Not listed on prices page | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mileage registrations |
| Full MOT history | Yes (from the free tier) | Free check lists it | Not listed | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Previous keepers | Not listed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Owner history |
| Plate changes | Yes (basic lists plate transfers) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Plate change |
| Scrapped, imported or exported | Export and scrapped | Yes | Scrapped | Scrapped | Yes | Not listed | Scrapped and export in free check |
| Valuation | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Salvage auction records | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, with photos where they exist | Not listed | Not listed |
| Service history | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |
| Online advert history | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, with asking prices and pictures |
| AI analysis | "AI insights" | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yes, whole-history read | Not listed | Not listed |
| Model buyer's guide and common faults | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| International records | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | No, UK only | Yes, 1,000+ sources (their description) | Not listed |
| Data guarantee | Not stated | £30,000 | £30,000 | £30,000 | None | "Report return guarantee" | Not stated |
| Refunds stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Full refund where no data found; 14-day refund on unused reports | Not stated | Not stated |
A few readings of that table worth spelling out.
CarCheck.co.uk's premium report is a different animal. Its listed strengths are service history, online advert history and a damage check with repair costs, which nobody else on this list offers. But its homepage does not list an outstanding finance check anywhere in the premium report, and it does not show the premium price until you enter a registration. If finance is your worry, do not assume it is covered.
mycarcheck is the price leader for a finance-inclusive check, at £8.49 single or £5 each in the two-pack sale. Its free tier is one of the more generous (MOT history, valuation, AI insights), and it says clearly that the free and basic tiers exclude finance.
The £30,000 guarantee sits with three names. hpi check® and the AA are the same underlying product (the AA's page says its checks are provided by HPI Limited), and Total Car Check's Gold matches the figure at half the price. If you want that backstop, those are the three.
carVertical's UK page does not itemise UK records the way the British services do, so several rows read "not listed". That is about its page, not necessarily its report. Its case is the imported car.
Which one for you
Lowest price with finance included: mycarcheck comprehensive at £8.49, or Total Car Check Gold at £9.99 if you also want the guarantee.
Cheapest per car if you are checking several: Total Car Check's five for £19.99, mycarcheck's five for £19.99, or Carhealth's weekly plan at £9.99 a week for two report codes if your search is running over a few weeks.
A guarantee behind the data: hpi check® at £19.99, the AA at £14.99, or Total Car Check Gold at £9.99, each stating £30,000 on its own terms.
A car that has lived abroad: carVertical. Nobody else here describes international sources.
A report that tells you what the findings mean: Carhealth. At the same £19.99 as hpi check® you get the AI reading of the whole history, a buyer's guide for the model, the common faults to check in person, and salvage auction photos where they exist. What you do not get is a data guarantee; we refund where no data is found and unused reports within 14 days.
Service history or how the car was advertised before: CarCheck.co.uk, with the finance caveat above.
No history check can tell you the mechanical condition of a car or whether a repair was done well. A history check tells you what is recorded; an inspection tells you what is in front of you. For anything expensive, do both.
Run a Carhealth check
Enter the registration on the car history check page. The report is on screen in about a minute and emailed to you, and the sample report shows every section before you pay. If finance, a write-off marker or a mileage problem shows up, the AI summary at the top says so in plain English.
FREE INSTANT CHECK
Cheap car? Check it free before you buy.
Clocking is rife. Verify the mileage against MOT records free. Full history from £9.99.
Free instant check · 14-day refund on unused reports
How we compiled this
- Sources: mycarcheck.com, totalcarcheck.co.uk and its Prices page, theaa.com/vehicle-check, home.hpicheck.com, carhealth.co.uk/pricing and sample report, carcheck.co.uk, all read on 23 September 2026; carvertical.com/gb/pricing as captured on 22 September 2026.
- "Not listed" means the item did not appear on the page we read. Providers may include more than their pages say; ask them if it matters.
- We have not run the seven reports against the same vehicle for this article and make no claim about any provider's accuracy or completeness. Guarantee terms belong to each provider.
- Prices change. We re-check this page quarterly; if you spot something out of date, tell us.
Frequently asked questions
Is an "HPI check" from another company a real HPI check?
No. hpi check® is HPI Limited's product and a registered trade mark. Every other provider sells a vehicle history check of its own. The AA's check is HPI's product under the AA name, according to the AA's own page.
What is the cheapest HPI check alternative?
On 23 September 2026, mycarcheck's comprehensive check at £8.49 was the cheapest single check we found that lists outstanding finance, write-off and stolen records. Total Car Check's Silver at £3.99 is cheaper still but does not include finance.
Which check has a guarantee?
hpi check®, the AA and Total Car Check Gold each state a £30,000 data guarantee on their own terms. carVertical states a "report return guarantee". Carhealth, mycarcheck and CarCheck.co.uk do not state a data guarantee on the pages we read.
Do I need more than one check?
Usually not, if the one you buy includes finance, write-off, stolen and mileage. Where it can be worth two: an imported car (carVertical for the foreign history, a UK check for the UK records) or a car with a suspicious past where CarCheck.co.uk's advert history adds a second angle.
How much is a Carhealth check?
£19.99 for one full report, £29.99 for two, £54.99 for five, or £9.99 a week for two report codes on the weekly plan, with a free check of the public data before you buy. See pricing.
Comparison verified 23 September 2026. Carhealth Ltd is not affiliated with any other provider named. Product names are trade marks of their respective owners.