---
title: "How does CharityCompare score charities? | CharityCompare"
description: "The Clarity Score V1 awards up to 100 points — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10)."
source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/answers/how-we-score
retrieved: 2026-08-18T00:46:46.968Z
license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0"
---

Scoring

# How does CharityCompare score charities?

**In short:** The Clarity Score V1 awards up to 100 points — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). An open statutory inquiry by the relevant UK regulator scores 0. Stars use the same bands as the labels (90+ = 5★ Exceptional). See the methodology page for the full scale.

Data from [CharityCompare editorial](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), last updated 12 August 2026.

The [Clarity Score](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) is a 0–100 rating of how clearly a charity **accounts for its money** in UK regulator filings. It is not a ranking of impact, popularity, or “best charity to donate to.”

## Four pillars
| Pillar | Points | What it uses |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Accountability & Transparency | 40 | Filing history, trustee oversight, declared policies |
| Financial Health | 30 | Reserves in months, income trend, liabilities to assets |
| Financial Efficiency | 20 | Cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale |
| Community Support | 10 | Volunteer-to-staff ratio where published |

An open **statutory inquiry** is a kill switch: the score is 0 and a regulatory warning is shown.

## Stars match the labels

90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated. **Give with Confidence** is 75+ with up-to-date filings and no serious red flags. There is no 1★ band.

## Who gets a full score

A full score needs detailed annual-return fields. Charities under £100,000 income, and many OSCR/CCNI records with thinner published returns, get a [basic register profile](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity-directory) instead. Every UK-registered charity still has a page. Scores cannot be bought.

## Related questions

- [→ How often is data updated?](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/answers/how-often-updated)
- [→ What is a good Clarity Score?](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/answers/what-is-a-good-clarity-score)
- [→ Why only charities over £100k income?](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/answers/why-100k-minimum)
- [→ Why does a well-known charity have a lower score than a small one?](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/answers/why-does-a-charity-i-know-score-low)

Look up any UK charity's free Clarity Score from regulator filings.

[Search charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity-directory) [Read the guides](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides)

**Information only** — see [guides](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides) for more detail.