Best Car History Check UK: HPI vs Total Car Check vs Full Car Checks vs CarVertical vs My Car Check vs Rooster
The best car history check depends on what you’re paying for: the longest-established brand with a data guarantee (HPI), a free tier with paid extras (Total Car Check, My Car Check), a single flat-price full report (Full Car Checks, £9.99), a report built around imported and European history (CarVertical), or the most complete free check with the cheapest full upgrade (Rooster, £4.99). The data underneath is largely shared, so this comparison is mostly about price, presentation and what each free tier gives away.
The comparison
| HPI | Total Car Check | Full Car Checks | CarVertical | My Car Check | Rooster | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Basic vehicle data | MOT, tax, spec | Basic check | Limited preview | MOT, tax, basic history | Full MOT history, spec, keepers, plates, running costs, ULEZ |
| Full report from | £19.99 | £9.99 | £9.99 | £39.99 | £8.49 | £4.99 |
| Finance / theft / write-off | Paid | Paid | Paid | Paid | Paid | Paid |
Prices checked Oct 2026. Provider prices and free-tier contents change often; new-customer web prices shown.
Same data, different prices
Finance registers, the insurance industry’s write-off records and the police stolen index are the sources behind every full check on this page. Providers differ in how much of the free public data they show before asking for money, in extras like valuations and running costs, in whether they offer a guarantee, and in price — and price varies by a factor of three or four for reports built on the same records. That’s the single most useful thing to know before comparing.
Best for the brand and the guarantee: HPI
HPI is the name the whole category borrowed, and it sells that heritage with a data guarantee that compensates for certain errors in the report. If you want the certificate a dealer recognises and the reassurance of the guarantee, it’s the choice, at the premium end of the price range. What an HPI check covers, and what it costs, is in our HPI guide.
Best free tier: Total Car Check and My Car Check
Both give a reasonable amount away — MOT, tax and basic spec — and charge for the full report at a mid-market price. Total Car Check has the broader free layer of the two in our reading, and a tiered set of paid reports; full detail in our Total Car Check guide.
Best single flat price: Full Car Checks
Full Car Checks sells one full report at £9.99 with a free basic layer beneath it, and it publishes a sample report so you can see the format before paying — which more providers should do. It’s the most direct like-for-like comparison with Rooster: same model, roughly double the price for the paid layer, and a narrower free tier.
Best for imports: CarVertical
CarVertical’s distinction is European and international history — useful for a car that spent its early life abroad, where UK-only checks have nothing to say. For a car with a straightforward UK history it’s paying for coverage you don’t need.
Best value: the case for £4.99
Rooster’s free check is the most complete free tier in this comparison: full MOT history and the model’s pass rate, spec and insurance group, keeper count with plate, colour and import markers, and running-cost data no other free check includes. Finance, theft, write-off and a valuation — powered by Experian — are £4.99, which is less than any full report we’ve priced. The honest framing: Rooster doesn’t offer a data guarantee, and it doesn’t cover overseas history. If you want either, pay for it. If you want the same UK records at a fraction of the cost, run the free check and decide from there.
How to choose in three questions
Is the car UK-history only, or has it lived abroad? Do you want a guarantee, or the data? And how many cars are you looking at — because a free check you can run on every advert, paying only for the finalist, changes the maths.
Best car check FAQs
Which car check is most accurate? They query the same registers, so accuracy is broadly equal for UK data. Differences show up in presentation, extras and in how recently the report was pulled — always run the check close to purchase.
Is a cheap car check reliable? If it queries the finance, theft and write-off registers, yes. Check what the paid layer actually includes; the price differences are mostly brand and margin.
Do I need a guarantee? It’s a comfort rather than a necessity. The guarantees are conditional, and the check itself — run on the day, matched to the VIN — is what protects you.
What’s the best free car check? The one that shows the most before charging. On the public layer, Rooster’s is the most complete we’ve compared; the paid layer costs money everywhere.
Download Rooster and run car checks in the app.
