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Honest Price & Feature Comparison

An Honest Alternative to an HPI Check

MOT Checkup gives you the MOT history, mileage and clocking detection, advisory patterns and AI reliability scoring free, with no sign-up — the layers HPI charges £19.99 for. Here's exactly what each check covers and costs, with no fabricated claims. Enter a reg to start free.

UK

Free MOT, mileage & advisory checks. Premium report £7.99. Last updated: June 2026.

HPI® is a registered trademark of Solera Holdings. MOT Checkup is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to HPI Ltd or Solera. We use “HPI check” only as the generic UK phrase for a vehicle history check.

MOT Checkup vs HPI — what each one covers

The table below is true as of June 2026. Where we don't hold a licensed layer, we say so plainly rather than imply we do.

FeatureMOT CheckupHPI Check
Full DVSA MOT history
Mileage / clocking detectionAutomatic rollback flagging on our free tier.
Recurring MOT failure & advisory patternOur free verdict; HPI does not surface this.
AI reliability scoring
Outstanding finance (lender data)We don't currently bundle this licensed layer — use a licensed provider.via licensed provider
Insurance write-off (MIAFTR)Licensed layer, not currently bundled.via licensed provider
Stolen marker (PNC)Licensed layer, not currently bundled.via licensed provider
No sign-up to see free data
PriceFree / £7.99£19.99

What you can check right now, free

The single biggest reason people look for an HPI alternative is price — and the honest truth is that a large part of what a paid report shows is the DVSA MOT record, which is published free. On MOT Checkup you can run, by registration and with no sign-up:

Those free checks rule out a lot of bad cars before you spend a penny. You only need a paid report for the licensed provenance layers — finance, write-off category and stolen markers — which require a provider that licenses those databases.

The honest bit: where HPI still wins today

Right now we do not bundle the licensed finance, write-off (MIAFTR) and stolen-marker (PNC) layers that HPI's £19.99 report includes. If those specific checks are what you need, a licensed provider — Total Car Check (around £7.95) or HPI — is the right tool, and we'll tell you so rather than pretend our free check replaces them. What we won't do is dress up the MOT data you can get free as a paid 'history report'.

For a fuller side-by-side, see our MOT Checkup vs HPI comparison.

HPI alternative FAQ

What is the best alternative to an HPI check?
It depends on what you actually need. If you want the MOT history, mileage and clocking detection, advisory patterns and AI reliability scoring, MOT Checkup gives you all of that free with no sign-up — the layers HPI charges for on top of the free MOT data. If you specifically need the licensed finance, write-off and stolen-marker databases, you need a provider that licenses those records, such as Total Car Check (around £7.95) or HPI itself (£19.99). The honest answer is that no single cheaper provider gives you HPI's full licensed dataset for free — what varies is price and what each one chooses to bundle.
Is MOT Checkup the same as an HPI check?
No, and we won't pretend otherwise. HPI's £19.99 report includes licensed finance, write-off and stolen-marker databases that we do not currently bundle. Where MOT Checkup leads is the free MOT history layer — with mileage/clocking detection, advisory-pattern verdicts and AI reliability scoring that HPI does not offer — and a lower-priced Premium report. If you need the licensed provenance layers, use a licensed provider. They are not a like-for-like swap today.
Why is an HPI check £19.99 when others are cheaper?
The underlying licensed data — DVSA for MOT, DVLA for specs and tax, Experian for finance, the PNC for stolen markers, MIAFTR for write-offs — is largely the same across providers, because they all draw from the same upstream registers. The £19.99 HPI price reflects brand and the report packaging, not exclusive data. Cheaper providers such as Total Car Check (around £7.95) license the same provenance layers and sell them for less. The MOT history layer itself is published free by the DVSA, which is why a free site can show it at no cost.
What can I check for free before paying for any report?
On MOT Checkup you can run the full DVSA MOT history, an automatic mileage and clocking check, an MOT failure-pattern verdict, and AI reliability scoring for any UK car, by registration, free and with no sign-up. Those free checks alone rule out a lot of bad cars. You only need a paid report when you specifically want the licensed finance, write-off or stolen-marker layers, which require a provider that licenses those databases.
Is MOT Checkup affiliated with HPI?
No. HPI® is a registered trademark of Solera Holdings. MOT Checkup is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to HPI Ltd or Solera in any way. We use the term 'HPI check' only because it has become the generic phrase UK buyers use for a vehicle history check, the way people say 'hoover' for a vacuum cleaner.
Are the competitor prices on this page accurate?
Competitor prices are quoted as published on their public pricing pages at the time of writing (June 2026) and may change. HPI is listed at £19.99 and Total Car Check at around £7.95 based on their advertised single-report prices. Always check the provider's current price before buying, and check exactly which data layers each price includes — the headline figure isn't always the like-for-like comparison.

More checks before you buy

Run all of these on any UK car before you pay a deposit — every one is free to start.

Full Car Check

MOT, mileage, tax and spec by reg — the free starting point.

MOT History Check

Every test, advisory and failure on the DVSA record — free.

Mileage / Clocking Check

Spots odometer rollbacks and implausible jumps across MOTs.

MOT Failure History

Pass-rate and recurring-failure patterns from MOT history.

Outstanding Finance

Why unpaid finance can cost you the car — and how to verify.

Stolen Car Check

The warning signs of a stolen vehicle before you pay a deposit.

Write-Off Check

Cat A/B/S/N explained and what a write-off means for buyers.

Cat S / Cat N Check

Insurance write-off categories explained — is it worth buying?

Car Tax Check

Tax status, due date and SORN by registration — free.

Used Car Buying Checklist

The full step-by-step checklist before you buy a used car.

Buying a Cat S / Cat N Car

Is a write-off worth it? The honest costs, risks and decision rule.

Check Finance Before Buying

Why there's no free finance check — and how to verify before you pay.

What Does HPI Clear Mean?

Why an 'HPI clear' result does NOT mean accident-free.

How to Spot a Clocked Car

The tell-tale signs of mileage fraud before you buy.

What Is a Cat S Car?

Category S write-off meaning — structural damage, explained.

What Is a Cat N Car?

Category N write-off meaning — and why 'non-structural' isn't 'minor'.

Start with the free checks

Enter any UK registration for the free MOT, mileage and advisory history before deciding whether you need a paid report at all.

UK