Official data only
Scores use annual returns submitted by charities to the regulator. Each profile links to its register entry and explains the calculation; inclusion in the register is not a regulator endorsement.
UK charity ratings
Check any UK charity before you give
Search 201,348 UK charity profiles by name or charity number. Compare accounts, spending and independent Clarity score ratings for 7,478 charities with detailed filing data.
Try cancer charities, animal charities in Bristol or homelessness in London
- Free for donors
- No commission on donations
- Scores cannot be bought
- 201,348
- Charity profiles
- 7,478
- Fully rated
- 4
- Scoring beacons
- £0
- Commission taken
Quick answer
CharityCompare is a free UK charity directory using official register data from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — 201,348 profiles, including independent Clarity Score ratings (0–100) for 7,478 charities from regulator filings. Compare up to four side-by-side, browse by cause or city — free for donors, no commission on donations, scores cannot be bought.
Charity checker
Check a UK charity number
Find the registered name, source record and available accounts before you donate.
Charity comparison
Compare charity spending
Put up to four charities side by side, with reporting dates and missing data clearly marked.
Local giving
Find charities near you
Explore UK towns and cities, then check where each charity works and who it supports.
Discover charities
Which cause do you want to support?
Explore charity examples, different ways to help and practical questions to ask before choosing. Each guide explains how its charities were selected.
Top rated
Which UK charities score highest?
A selection of high Clarity scores from published filings. These measure reporting and financial stewardship, not programme effectiveness.
Birmingham Diocesan Trust
£24m · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia
£6.0m · Cardiff
Give with confidence
100/100
The Zahra Trust
£5.9m · London
Give with confidence
100/100
Kent Association for the Blind
£5.5m · Maidstone
Give with confidence
100/100
Jw3 Trust Limited
£4.2m · London
Give with confidence
100/100
Polka Children's Theatre Limited
£3.6m · London
Give with confidence
100/100
This showcase includes charities with at least £250,000 annual income, ordered by score then income to break ties. Smaller charities appear in the full leaderboards. No charity pays for these positions.
View all leaderboards Hidden gems — small charities that score big
Where to give now
Causes that need support right now
Curated themes, each opening onto the highest-rated charities working on it.
Cost of living
Food banks & hardship relief
Compare food provision, practical advice and hardship support, with financial evidence and questions to ask.
Housing
Homelessness & rough sleeping
Shelters, outreach teams and housing advice services, compared on transparency and cause spend.
Health
Mental health support
Helplines, counselling and crisis services across the UK, with filing records you can check.
Near you
Are there good charities in my area?
Local charity profiles and ratings for the UK’s biggest towns and cities.
Donor basics
New to checking charities?
Short, practical reading before you give — no jargon.
Giving guides
How to read charity accounts, spot red flags, and give tax-efficiently with Gift Aid.
Donor answers
Straight answers on reserves, admin costs, CEO pay and what a good spending ratio really looks like.
How we score
The full Clarity score method — four beacons, 100 points, and every rule we apply, published in the open.
Why trust these ratings
Where do the scores come from?
Scores use dated public filings and a published calculation. Scores and ranked positions are never for sale.
Published method
Four beacons, 100 points, every rule written down. If you disagree with a score you can see exactly which filing produced it.
Read the methodologyIndependent rankings
We take no commission on donations, and charity membership never changes a rating or ranking position.
How we’re fundedCommon questions about checking charities
How do I know if a charity is good before I donate?
Check three things: that it is registered with the relevant UK regulator, that its accounts are filed on time, and how much of its spending reaches its cause. CharityCompare shows official register facts and, where enough detailed filing data is available, a free Clarity Score from 0 to 100. Read the charity’s evidence of outcomes alongside its accounts.
What is a Clarity Score?
A Clarity Score is CharityCompare’s 0–100 rating of how clearly a charity accounts for its money, built from Charity Commission and other UK regulator filings across four beacons: Accountability & Transparency, Financial Health, Financial Efficiency, and Community Support. It measures accountability on paper, not the real-world impact of a charity’s programmes.
Is CharityCompare free to use?
Yes. Every rating, comparison and search is free for donors. CharityCompare takes no commission on donations, and no payment can change a score. The site is funded by optional charity memberships, business services and reader donations.
Which UK charities does CharityCompare cover?
CharityCompare brings together register data from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Most records have a basic charity profile. A smaller group with sufficient detailed filing data has a Clarity Score and beacon breakdown. Coverage and source dates are shown on the site; a basic profile is not a rating.
Can a charity pay to improve its rating?
No. Clarity Scores are calculated only from official regulator data, so they cannot be bought, edited or influenced by payment. Charities can claim a profile to add a description and verified badge, but the score itself never changes as a result.
How often is the charity data updated?
Ratings are rebuilt from the latest regulator data releases, and each profile shows the date its data was last refreshed alongside the accounts year the score is based on.
Run a charity?
Find your charity’s free register profile and check whether a filing-based rating is available. Claim the profile to add your own description after authority and editorial checks. Claiming never changes your score.