✓
Beacon Accountability & Transparency
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).
Compare charities
Compare charities side-by-side
Pick up to four and see their Clarity scores, cause spend, reserves and filing record in one table — straight from UK regulator accounts.
How we score Information only — not donation advice.
Add charities 0 of 4 selected
Loading charities…
Loading your comparison…
Fetching the charity directory and your selected profiles.
Information only — not donation advice. Methodology · Source records identify the relevant UK regulator. No charity is declared a winner on financial ratios alone.
Popular head-to-head comparisons
Brand and model match-ups with Clarity Score beacons and UK regulator filings — information only, not donation advice.
Macmillan Cancer Support vs Cancer Research UK
Give to Macmillan Cancer Support if you want to fund support and navigation for people affected by cancer, or to Cancer Research UK if you want to fund cancer research and public information.
Open comparison →RSPCA vs Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Choose the RSPCA to support prevention of cruelty and broad animal welfare work. Choose Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to support care, reunification and rehoming for dogs and cats.
Open comparison →Dogs Trust vs Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Dogs Trust concentrates on dogs, through rehoming, owner support and welfare education. Battersea combines care, reunification and rehoming for both dogs and cats. Pick by species and the kind of help you want to fund.
Open comparison →Shelter vs Crisis
Shelter offers housing and homelessness support alongside campaigning. Crisis provides education, employment, housing and wellbeing services and campaigns to end homelessness. Fund the mix of practical help and policy work you care about most.
Open comparison →Large national animal charity vs Local animal rescue
The national charity here suits giving to prevention of cruelty and broad animal welfare. The local rescue suits giving to community rescue and care for domestic animals, small farm animals and wildlife.
Open comparison →Cancer research charity vs Patient support charity
Fund a cancer research charity to back long-term research and public information. Fund a patient support charity to help people affected by cancer get support and navigation.
Open comparison →National homelessness charity vs Local homelessness service
The national charity here combines housing and homelessness support with campaigning. The local service covers prevention, housing, health and skills, from rough-sleeping support to recovery. Fund the approach that fits your aim.
Open comparison →Large international aid agency vs Specialist niche charity
The large agency in this example centres on children’s welfare and relief across countries. The specialist example pairs emergency relief with long-term development in education, livelihoods, health and water. Choose by the work you want to fund.
Open comparison →Oxfam GB vs Save the Children UK
Oxfam GB spans humanitarian response, development and campaigning; Save the Children UK centres on children’s welfare and relief across countries. Start from whether you want a child-focused programme or a broader one.
Open comparison →NSPCC vs Barnardo's
The NSPCC focuses on child protection and preventing harm. Barnardo's offers specialist support to groups such as young people in care and those facing exploitation. Choose the kind of help for children you want to fund.
Open comparison →British Heart Foundation vs Stroke Association
The British Heart Foundation focuses on cardiovascular research and public support; the Stroke Association combines stroke support services with campaigning and research. Decide whether you mainly want to fund research or recovery support.
Open comparison →Mind vs Samaritans
Mind works on mental-health information, campaigning and local partnerships. Samaritans coordinates emotional support across a branch network in the UK and Ireland. Pick the one whose kind of help you want to fund.
Open comparison →Cats Protection vs Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
Cats Protection focuses on cats, through rehoming, neutering and welfare information. Battersea provides care, reunification and rehoming for dogs and cats. Choose by species, and by whether neutering work matters to you.
Open comparison →Islamic Relief Worldwide vs Muslim Aid
Islamic Relief Worldwide pairs emergency relief with long-term development; Muslim Aid pairs emergency response with poverty-focused programmes. As their registered work overlaps, compare specific appeals and the charity number receiving your gift.
Open comparison →Help for Heroes vs The Royal British Legion
Help for Heroes supports wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans. The Royal British Legion covers Armed Forces welfare, membership and remembrance. Fund the one whose remit matches your reason for giving.
Open comparison →Marie Curie vs Macmillan Cancer Support
Marie Curie provides end-of-life care and family support, covering terminal illness broadly. Macmillan offers support and navigation for people affected by cancer. Choose by whether end-of-life care or cancer support is closer to your purpose.
Open comparison →Alzheimer's Society vs Alzheimer's Research UK
Alzheimer's Society combines dementia support, information, campaigning and research. Alzheimer's Research UK focuses on dementia research and public understanding. Choose by whether you want services and research together or a research-focused remit.
Open comparison →Guide Dogs vs RNIB
Guide Dogs works on guide-dog partnerships, mobility and rehabilitation. RNIB’s activities span accessible information, education, practical support and rights. Give according to whether mobility or this broader sight-loss work fits your purpose.
Open comparison →PDSA vs Blue Cross
PDSA provides veterinary care and pet-welfare education. Blue Cross covers animal welfare broadly, including care and rehoming programmes and responsible pet ownership. Choose by whether veterinary treatment or wider welfare work fits your aim.
Open comparison →WWF-UK vs RSPB
WWF-UK works on conservation, sustainable resource use and environmental protection within a global network. The RSPB covers wildlife, habitat conservation and public education, extending beyond birds. Choose the focus that fits your purpose.
Open comparison →Christian Aid vs CAFOD
Christian Aid works on poverty reduction, rights and essential services, with attention to structural causes of poverty. CAFOD, a Catholic agency, combines community development, emergencies and advocacy. Both work with partners, so compare specific programmes.
Open comparison →Save the Children UK vs UNICEF UK
Save the Children UK funds child programmes that Save the Children International delivers and makes grants to UK families. UNICEF UK raises money for UNICEF and runs UK schemes with schools and health services.
Open comparison →RSPCA vs Dogs Trust
The RSPCA works to prevent cruelty to all animals, alongside 131 separately registered branches. Dogs Trust works only with dogs, through its own rehoming centres, owner support and education. Choose by species and type of work.
Open comparison →Alzheimer's Society vs Dementia UK
Alzheimer's Society runs dementia support services, funds research and campaigns, partly under local authority contracts. Dementia UK concentrates on specialist dementia nursing through Admiral Nurses, a nurse-led helpline and virtual clinics.
Open comparison →Islamic Relief Worldwide vs Muslim Hands
Islamic Relief Worldwide is the international office of a federation of independent members, and UK donors give to it directly. Muslim Hands is a UK charity that makes most of its grants to locally registered Muslim Hands partners abroad.
Open comparison →Islamic Relief Worldwide vs Human Appeal
Islamic Relief Worldwide is the international office of a federation whose independent members also pass it funds. Human Appeal is a UK charity working through its own hubs, field offices and local partners, with one-to-one orphan sponsorship.
Open comparison →Marie Curie vs Sue Ryder
Marie Curie gives free end-of-life care at home and in hospices across the UK. Sue Ryder gives palliative care in parts of England and online bereavement support UK-wide, after leaving neurological care.
Open comparison →Plan International UK vs World Vision UK
Both raise UK money, including through child sponsorship, for programmes their global families deliver. Plan International UK has no religious affiliation and focuses on children’s rights and equality for girls; World Vision UK is a Christian children’s charity.
Open comparison →British Red Cross vs MSF UK
The British Red Cross runs its own UK emergency, refugee and health services and works abroad within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. MSF UK funds and staffs medical projects that MSF’s operational centres run.
Open comparison →Mind vs Rethink Mental Illness
Mind provides mental-health information and helplines nationally and works with independent local Minds. Rethink Mental Illness runs its own services and peer groups in England for people affected by severe mental illness.
Open comparison →Christian Aid vs Tearfund
Christian Aid is sponsored by 41 churches across Britain and Ireland and funds local partners to tackle poverty and its causes. Tearfund works with local churches and Christian organisations that agree with its Statement of Faith.
Open comparison →Islamic Relief Worldwide vs Penny Appeal
Islamic Relief Worldwide runs relief and development from the Islamic Relief federation’s international office and says it has no 100% donation policy. Penny Appeal funds water, food, orphan and emergency work through partners and offers a 100% Zakat policy.
Open comparison →Human Appeal vs Penny Appeal
Human Appeal runs relief, development and one-to-one orphan sponsorship through its own hubs, field offices and local partners. Penny Appeal funds water, food, orphan and emergency programmes through partners, with orphan sponsorships shared by up to eight donors.
Open comparison →National Zakat Foundation vs Islamic Relief Worldwide
The National Zakat Foundation collects Zakat from UK Muslims and gives it as grants to eligible Muslims in need in the UK. Islamic Relief Worldwide uses Zakat in the UK and overseas alongside its wider emergency and development work.
Open comparison →National Trust vs English Heritage
The National Trust looks after historic places, countryside and coast in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, funded largely by members and visitors. English Heritage runs over 400 sites in the National Heritage Collection under a licence from Historic England.
Open comparison →Cats Protection vs RSPCA
Cats Protection works only with cats, rehoming and neutering them through centres and volunteer teams run as one UK-wide charity. The RSPCA works on cruelty to all animals in England and Wales, with 131 separately registered branches.
Open comparison →Comic Relief vs BBC Children in Need
Comic Relief, the charity behind Red Nose Day, makes grants to organisations tackling poverty and injustice in the UK and internationally. BBC Children in Need makes grants to projects for children and young people across the UK.
Open comparison →SSAFA vs Help for Heroes
SSAFA helps serving personnel, veterans and families through casework that secures grants from other charities, plus its Forcesline helpline. Help for Heroes runs its own physical health, mental health and welfare services for veterans and families.
Open comparison →Oxfam GB vs UNICEF UK
Oxfam GB runs humanitarian, development and campaigning work as an Oxfam International affiliate and sells donated goods in its UK shops. UNICEF UK raises money for UNICEF’s work for children and runs UK children’s-rights schemes.
Open comparison →Plan International UK vs Save the Children UK
Plan International UK funds girls’ equality and child sponsorship programmes that Plan International Country Offices run. Save the Children UK funds child programmes delivered by Save the Children International and gives grants to UK families.
Open comparison →Prostate Cancer UK vs Prostate Cancer Research
Prostate Cancer UK funds research, runs a free Specialist Nurses service and campaigns across the UK. Prostate Cancer Research is a smaller charity funding research and patient information, including its infopool website.
Open comparison →UNICEF UK vs British Red Cross
UNICEF UK channels donations to UNICEF’s work for children and runs UK children’s-rights schemes. The British Red Cross responds to UK emergencies and supports refugees itself, and backs Red Cross and Red Crescent relief overseas.
Open comparison →Oxfam GB vs British Red Cross
Oxfam GB tackles poverty through humanitarian response, development and campaigning, with partners and UK shops. The British Red Cross runs emergency, refugee and health services in the UK and contributes to international relief through its Movement.
Open comparison →UNICEF UK vs World Vision UK
UNICEF UK raises money for UNICEF’s emergency and development work for children and runs UK children’s-rights schemes. World Vision UK is a Christian charity funding child-focused programmes, including child sponsorship, that World Vision Partnership offices deliver.
Open comparison →World Vision UK vs Save the Children UK
World Vision UK is a Christian charity whose child-focused programmes and sponsorship are delivered by World Vision Partnership offices. Save the Children UK funds programmes run by Save the Children International and gives grants to families in the UK.
Open comparison →Tearfund vs World Vision UK
Tearfund works through local churches and Christian partners that agree with its Statement of Faith, and runs some crisis programmes directly. World Vision UK funds child-focused programmes and sponsorship that World Vision Partnership offices deliver.
Open comparison →MSF UK vs Mercy Ships UK
MSF UK raises money and recruits staff for emergency medical projects run by MSF’s operational centres. Mercy Ships UK raises money and recruits volunteers for Mercy Ships’ hospital ships, which provide free surgery and train health workers in Africa.
Open comparison →Woodland Trust vs National Trust
The Woodland Trust conserves and creates native woods across all four UK nations and lets people visit its woods free. The National Trust looks after historic houses, gardens, countryside and coast in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Open comparison →The Wildlife Trusts vs National Trust
The Wildlife Trusts are 46 independent local charities; the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts at the centre coordinates, campaigns and passes on grants. The National Trust is one charity caring for places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Open comparison →RSPB vs BTO
The RSPB conserves birds and other wildlife by managing nature reserves, recovering species and campaigning. The BTO is a research charity whose volunteer bird surveys produce data used in official statistics. They run some surveys together.
Open comparison →Breast Cancer Now vs Breast Cancer UK
Breast Cancer Now funds research, runs support services such as a helpline and peer matching, and campaigns across the UK. Breast Cancer UK is a smaller charity working on prevention, including risks from chemicals in everyday products.
Open comparison →Guides: How to compare charities · Cancer charities · Animal charities
Top & bottom lists
Editorial rankings by metric — from UK regulator filings. Information only.
Bottom 10 by filing timeliness
Charities with the weakest filing records in our set — late or missing accounts on the register.
Top 10 charities by accountability & transparency UK
Highest Accountability & Transparency beacon scores — filing record, trustee oversight and declared policies from UK regulator filings.
Top 10 charities by cause spend UK
Charities where the largest share of expenditure went to charitable activities — money to the cause from UK regulator filings.
Top 10 charities by fundraising efficiency UK
UK charities with the most efficient fundraising — lowest fundraising cost as a share of expenditure from UK regulator filings.
Top 10 charities by financial health UK
Highest Financial Health beacon scores — reserves, income stability and balance-sheet signals from UK regulator filings.
Clarity Score
How we score
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
90+ Exceptional
75+ Good
60+ Needs improvement
1+ Poor
0+ Not rated
✓
Beacon Financial Health
30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).
✓
Beacon Financial Efficiency
20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).
✓
Beacon Community Support
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.
Overall score (0–100)
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.
Overall score (0–100)
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.
Pillar breakdown
Sub-metrics award points up to their published maximum, using the scales in our methodology. Pillar rings show the percentage of that pillar’s maximum earned.
Red flags
Factual cards — statutory inquiry, fewer than three trustees, late filings, high fundraising spend, sharp income drops, very high reserves.
Give with Confidence
Score 75+ (about 4★ on the 5-star display), no serious red flags, filings up to date, no statutory inquiry.
What we exclude from a full score
A full Clarity 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 instead of a score. Optional donor support never influences ratings. Basic profiles cover charities in our latest extracts from the three UK regulators; recent registrations may not appear until the next refresh.
Information only — not donation advice. Source: UK charity regulator registers and annual returns (Charity Commission for England & Wales, OSCR, CCNI). Changelog →
Common questions
Is comparing Clarity Scores donation advice?
No. Clarity Scores summarise official UK regulator filings. A higher score does not mean you should donate there. Read the full profile, the scoring guide below, and the charity’s own accounts before giving.
How many charities can I compare at once?
Up to four from our directory — Clarity scores (0–100), beacon breakdowns, income, cause-spend percentages and filing status appear side-by-side.
Where does the data come from?
UK regulator annual returns and registers — the Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR in Scotland, and CCNI in Northern Ireland. Every profile cites primary sources. Rated profiles need detailed return fields; thinner records get a basic register page.
Can I compare famous charities like Macmillan vs Cancer Research UK?
Yes. Use the interactive tool above, or open a curated head-to-head — Macmillan vs Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie vs Macmillan, NSPCC vs Barnardo’s, Mind vs Samaritans, RSPCA vs Battersea, Help for Heroes vs the Royal British Legion, and others — which explain model differences plus filings snapshots.
How do I compare charities in my city?
Browse by cause and city for pages such as best animal charities in Bristol or homeless charities in Manchester, then open the compare tool with up to four shortlisted charities.