Introduction
"carVertical or HPI?" is one of the most common questions UK used-car buyers ask, and most of the answers online are either years out of date or written by someone with a referral link. Prices have moved a lot in 2026 alone: carVertical's single UK report is now £39.99, hpi check's full report is £19.99, and Total Car Check sells a Gold check for £9.99. Those are not small differences when you are about to spend the price of a used car on top.
This guide sets the four services out side by side using only what each company publishes on its own website. Every price and inclusion below was read from the provider's UK page on the date shown, and the source is named in each table. Carhealth is our own product, so we have kept ourselves to the same rows and the same rules as everyone else, and we have been explicit about what rivals offer that we do not.
If a price has changed since 4 October 2026 (carVertical, hpi check and Carhealth) or 23 September 2026 (Total Car Check), the provider's own page wins. Check it before you buy.
- Single full report (carVertical, hpi check and Carhealth on 4 October 2026, Total Car Check on 23 September 2026): Total Car Check Gold £9.99, hpi check £19.99, Carhealth £19.99, carVertical £39.99.
- All four list the four big risks for a UK-registered car: outstanding finance, insurance write-off, stolen record and mileage. carVertical's UK sample report shows outstanding finance by name, with the lender and term. The differences are in what else is listed, how many reports you get for the money, and what happens if the data is wrong.
- carVertical is the only one built on international data (its page says over 1,000 sources). For a car that has spent its life in the UK, the other three draw on the same categories of UK records.
- hpi check and Total Car Check Gold carry a £30,000 data guarantee. carVertical lists a "report return guarantee". Carhealth offers a report return guarantee (a full refund if a report errors out or is missing data that should exist), and a 14-day refund on unused reports; neither is a £30,000 data guarantee.
- Of the pages we read, only Carhealth's list an AI reading of the report, a model-specific buyer's guide, common faults and life expectancy (carVertical's sample report shows none of these, but does show a score out of 100; Total Car Check was not checked). carVertical's sample also has a service schedule, photos and listing records in its timeline.
- Whichever you choose, run the check before you pay a deposit, not after.
Who these four companies are
carVertical is a Lithuanian company selling vehicle history reports across Europe and beyond. Its UK pricing page describes reports built from "over 1,000 international sources" and "over a billion verified records", and says more than 4.5 million people have used it. Its strength, on its own description, is breadth across countries.
hpi check is the original UK provenance check, run by HPI Limited, part of Solera. The name is a registered trade mark, which is why you will see "hpi check®" on its site. Its homepage describes "the best part of a century" in the business, 80+ data points in the full check and a £30,000 guarantee.
Total Car Check is a UK check provider that positions itself on price: its homepage title reads "The lowest cost car check in the UK - £1.99" (that is the per-check price of a five-pack of its Silver check). It cites over 300 million checks since 2018, a 4.9 rating from over 75,000 app store reviews, and AutoExpress Best Buy awards from 2020 to 2024.
Carhealth is our own UK-only service. A report pulls DVLA, DVSA, Police National Computer, insurance, finance and salvage auction records for a UK registration, then CarhealthAI reads the whole history and writes a plain-English summary, a buyer's guide and a list of common faults for that model. The report also shows previous adverts with photos, colour changes and how long cars like yours tend to last.
Carhealth is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to carVertical, HPI Limited or Total Car Check. carVertical, hpi check and Total Car Check are trade marks of their respective owners and are used here only to identify the products being compared.
Prices: single report and bundles
Prices were read from each provider's UK page: carVertical (pricing page 4 October 2026, sample report 5 October 2026), hpi check and Carhealth on 4 October 2026, Total Car Check on 23 September 2026. Where a provider sells more than one tier, the row shows the tier that includes finance, write-off, stolen and mileage checks, so the comparison is like for like.
| carVertical | hpi check | Total Car Check (Gold) | Carhealth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One full report | £39.99 | £19.99 | £9.99 | £19.99 |
| Two reports | £51.98 (£25.99 each) | Not listed | Not listed | £29.99 (£15.00 each) |
| Three reports | £62.97 (£20.99 each) | £29.99 MultiCheck (£10.00 each) | £14.99 (£4.99 each) | Not listed |
| Five reports | Not listed | Not listed | £19.99 (£3.99 each) | £54.99 (£11.00 each) |
| Cheaper tier | None listed | Basic £9.99 (no guarantee; page says mileage discrepancies and write-off details not included) | Silver £3.99, or five for £9.99 (write-off, stolen, plate changes, keepers; £10,000 guarantee) | Weekly plan: £9.99 a week for two report codes, cancel any time |
| Source | carvertical.com/gb/pricing, 4 Oct 2026 | home.hpicheck.com, 4 Oct 2026 | totalcarcheck.co.uk/Prices, 23 Sep 2026 | carhealth.co.uk/pricing, 4 Oct 2026 |
Three things stand out.
First, the spread on a single report is four to one. Total Car Check's Gold at £9.99 is the cheapest full check of the four by a distance; carVertical's £39.99 is the dearest, and its page presents that as the "full price" against which its bundles are discounted.
Second, bundles change the order. If you are checking three cars, hpi check's MultiCheck (£10.00 each) and carVertical's three-pack (£20.99 each) both cut the per-report cost sharply. Carhealth's weekly plan is the cheapest way to check several cars in a short period: £9.99 a week buys two codes, so two cars a week for under a fiver each, and it cancels any time.
Third, the cheaper tiers are not the same product. hpi check's Basic at £9.99 does not include mileage discrepancies or write-off details, on its own page's wording, and carries no guarantee. Total Car Check's Silver includes the write-off check and stolen marker but not outstanding finance, which sits in Gold. If you only compare headline prices you can end up buying a check that misses the thing you were worried about.
What each report lists
This table records what each provider's own UK page lists as included in the tier priced above. "Not listed" means we could not find it on that page on the date given; it does not mean the provider cannot supply it, and you should ask them if it matters to you. For carVertical the cells come from its UK sample report (5 October 2026); "Not in sample report" means we did not see it there.
| Check | carVertical | hpi check | Total Car Check (Gold) | Carhealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding finance | Yes, by name, with lender and term | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance write-off | Yes, with category | Yes | Yes | Yes, with Cat A/B/S/N |
| Stolen (Police National Computer) | Yes (police checks in 15 countries) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mileage discrepancy | Yes | Yes | Not listed on prices page (free check lists mileage) | Yes |
| Full MOT history with advisories | Yes | Yes | Not listed on prices page (free check lists MOT history) | Yes |
| Previous keepers | Yes (owner count) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number plate changes | Not in sample report | Yes | Yes | Yes, and colour changes |
| Scrapped, imported or exported | Scrapped: yes. Others: not in sample report | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Logbook (V5C) check | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Log book loans | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |
| Ex-taxi or private hire | Not in sample report | Not listed | Yes | Yes |
| Market valuation | Yes | Yes (where available) | Yes | Yes |
| Salvage auction history | Damage records and photos; no separate auction section | Not listed | Yes | Yes, with links to auction photos where they exist |
| Safety recalls | Yes | Yes (page says it searches manufacturer safety recall data) | Yes (VCA recall notices, on Silver description) | Not listed |
| Timeline of key events | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Previous adverts | Listing records in timeline | Not listed | Not checked | Yes, with asking prices and photos |
| Life expectancy | Not in sample report | Not listed | Not checked | Yes |
| Servicing due | Service schedule | Not listed | Not checked | Yes, by age and mileage (not past service history) |
| International records | Yes, 1,000+ sources (their description) | Not listed | Not listed | No, UK records only |
| AI analysis of the whole history | Not listed; has a score out of 100 | Not listed | Not checked | Yes |
| Model buyer's guide and common faults | Not in sample report | Not listed | Not checked | Yes |
| Source and date | carvertical.com/gb/pricing, 4 Oct 2026, and carvertical.com/gb/sample-report, 5 Oct 2026 | home.hpicheck.com and product pages, 4 Oct 2026 | totalcarcheck.co.uk/Prices and homepage, 23 Sep 2026 | carhealth.co.uk/pricing and sample report, 4 Oct 2026 |
A few honest notes on reading that table.
carVertical's pricing page is written for a broad audience, so the carVertical column comes from its UK sample report instead. That sample shows outstanding finance, write-off category, scrapped status, ownership, recalls, safety rating, emissions and tax, market price, a service schedule and photos. A sample is one car, so a given report may show less or more.
Total Car Check's Prices page is brief. Some of the items it lists elsewhere (MOT history, mileage) appear on its free check rather than on the paid tiers' descriptions, so we have marked them as we found them.
Carhealth does not list a V5C logbook match, a log book loan search or a safety recall section. If any of these is your main concern: hpi check lists a logbook check and manufacturer recall data, Total Car Check lists log book loans and VCA recall notices, and Carhealth lists none of them.
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Guarantees, refunds and support
This is the part most comparisons skip, and it is where the four differ most.
| carVertical | hpi check | Total Car Check | Carhealth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data guarantee | "Report return guarantee" (terms not detailed on pricing page) | £30,000 guarantee, activated by entering the VIN and V5C details | £30,000 on Gold, £10,000 on Silver | Report return guarantee: full refund if a report errors out or is missing data that should exist |
| Refund policy stated | Not stated on pricing page | Not stated on homepage | Not stated on prices page | Full refund where no data is found; 14-day refund on unused reports (full policy on our contact page) |
| Support | Support team (page says) | Data support seven days a week | Not stated on pages read | Email and contact form, reply within 24 hours |
| Extras | Business pricing | Uptime Premium content bundle included | Free check and VIN check tools | Sample report viewable before buying |
A £30,000 guarantee is a real thing. In both hpi check's and Total Car Check's case it means that if the report misses a recorded finance agreement or write-off and you lose money as a result, you can claim up to that amount, subject to their terms. For a buyer spending £15,000 on a car with a private seller, that is a meaningful comfort, and it is something Carhealth does not offer. What we do instead is refund the report if we find no data for the vehicle at all, and refund unused reports within 14 days.
Which one for which buyer
A mainstream UK-registered car from a UK seller. hpi check, Total Car Check, Carhealth and carVertical all list finance, write-off, stolen and mileage. Total Car Check Gold is the cheapest way to get those four with a guarantee. hpi check is the established name with the same guarantee at twice the price. Carhealth costs the same as hpi check and adds the AI reading, the buyer's guide, previous adverts with asking prices and photos and links to salvage auction photos, without the guarantee. carVertical is the dearest, though its sample report shows the core UK records and a service schedule.
An import, or a car that has lived abroad. carVertical is the only one of the four whose page describes international sources, and this is the case it was built for. The UK-only services will show you the car's UK life and nothing before it.
Checking several cars over a few weeks. Carhealth's weekly plan (two codes a week for £9.99) or Total Car Check's five-pack (£19.99) cost the least per car. hpi check's MultiCheck is £10 a report if you know you want exactly three.
You want someone to explain what the data means. A raw report tells you a car was a Cat N write-off in 2021. It does not tell you whether that matters for this model, what a good repair looks like, or which questions to ask the seller. That reading is what Carhealth's AI section, buyer's guide and common-faults list are for, and it is the reason our price sits with hpi check's rather than Total Car Check's.
You want the strongest financial backstop. hpi check or Total Car Check Gold, for the £30,000 guarantee.
How to 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, with every section shown in the sample report before you pay. If the car has outstanding finance, a write-off marker or a mileage that does not add up, the AI summary at the top says so in plain English and explains what to do next.
If you are comparing several cars, the weekly plan sends two fresh report codes each week and stops the moment you cancel.
How we compiled this comparison
- Every price and inclusion was taken from the provider's own UK web pages: carvertical.com/gb/pricing (read 4 October 2026) and carvertical.com/gb/sample-report (read 5 October 2026), home.hpicheck.com and its product pages (read 4 October 2026), totalcarcheck.co.uk and its Prices page (read 23 September 2026), and carhealth.co.uk/pricing and sample report (read 4 October 2026).
- "Not listed" means the item did not appear on the page we read. It is not a claim that the provider does not offer it.
- We have not tested the four reports against the same vehicle for this article, and we make no claim about the accuracy or completeness of any provider's data. The guarantee terms belong to each provider; read them before relying on them.
- Prices change. We check this page quarterly, and if you spot something out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Frequently asked questions
Is hpi check the same as a car history check?
"HPI check" has become a generic phrase for any vehicle history check, but hpi check® is one company's product and a registered trade mark. carVertical, Total Car Check and Carhealth all sell their own history checks; none of them is an hpi check.
Why is carVertical so much dearer than the others?
Its UK page describes reports built from more than 1,000 international sources, and it prices a single report at £39.99 with discounts for two or three. Whether the international coverage is worth the difference depends on whether the car you are buying has a history outside the UK.
Is a £9.99 check good enough?
Total Car Check's Gold at £9.99 lists finance, write-off, stolen, mileage-related data and a £30,000 guarantee, so on its own description it covers the main risks. hpi check's £9.99 Basic does not include write-off details or mileage discrepancies, so it is a different product at the same price. Read what the tier includes, not just the number.
Does Carhealth have a guarantee?
Yes, a report return guarantee (a full refund if a report errors out or is missing data that should exist), plus a 14-day refund on unused reports. It is not a £30,000 data guarantee: if that cover is your priority, hpi check and Total Car Check Gold both offer it on their terms.
Which check should I run first?
Whichever you pick, run it before you hand over a deposit and before you drive to see the car. The most expensive outcome is not the price of the report; it is the outstanding finance you did not know about. Our outstanding finance check, write-off check and mileage check pages explain what each of those records means.
Comparison verified 4 October 2026 (carVertical, hpi check, Carhealth) and 23 September 2026 (Total Car Check). Carhealth is not affiliated with carVertical, HPI Limited or Total Car Check. Product names are trade marks of their respective owners.