--- title: "Marie Curie vs Macmillan — charity comparison" description: "Marie Curie vs Macmillan compared: hospice and end-of-life nursing vs living-with-cancer support — Clarity Scores, cause spend and UK regulator filings." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare/marie-curie-vs-macmillan retrieved: 2026-08-18T02:02:13.334Z license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- [MC](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/marie-curie) [MARIE CURIE](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/marie-curie) 80/100 4★ Reg. 207994 compared with [MC](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/macmillan-cancer-support) [MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/macmillan-cancer-support) 75/100 4★ Reg. 261017 # Marie Curie vs Macmillan — charity comparison **In short:** Marie Curie is built around hospice and end-of-life care; Macmillan around support for people living with cancer — related, not interchangeable, and both checkable on filings. Data from [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), last updated 12 August 2026. Marie Curie vs Macmillan is the usual search when someone wants to help people with cancer and knows both names. One is a hospice and nursing charity (not only cancer). The other is a cancer-support organisation. For research vs support, see Macmillan vs Cancer Research UK instead. Information only. ## Key differences | What to compare | MARIE CURIE | MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT | | --- | --- | --- | | Primary model | Hospice, palliative and end-of-life nursing and support | Information, support services, grants and advocacy for people with cancer | | Condition focus | Terminal illness and end of life (including, but not only, cancer) | Cancer — living with and beyond a diagnosis | | Results timeline | Care for people at the end of life, and their families, now | Practical and emotional support during and after cancer | | Best if you want | Hospice and end-of-life care | Support for people living with cancer | ## What the latest filings show Figures from the most recent annual accounts on the Charity Commission register. Clarity scores use our [methodology](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology). | Metric | MARIE CURIE | MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT | | --- | --- | --- | | Overall score | 80/100 (4★) | 75/100 (4★) | | Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 | | Spend on charitable activities | 71% of expenditure | 69% of expenditure | | Fundraising efficiency | £3.2 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) | £3.1 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) | | Latest income | £181m | £246m | | Fundraising spend | 29% of expenditure | 31% of expenditure | | Reserves | 5 months | 2 months | | Accounts filing | On time | On time | | Data confidence | high | high | | Charity number | 207994 | 261017 | [MARIE CURIE on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/207994) · [MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/261017) ## MARIE CURIE may suit you if… - You want donations to fund hospice and end-of-life nursing - You or someone you know has used Marie Curie services - You are choosing a national palliative-care charity after reading the filings [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/marie-curie) ## MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT may suit you if… - You want support for people living with cancer today - You or someone you know has used Macmillan-style services - You prefer cancer-support over hospice as the primary model [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/macmillan-cancer-support) ## Common questions ### Marie Curie vs Macmillan — which is better to donate to? Neither is universally better. Marie Curie is oriented to hospice and end-of-life care; Macmillan to cancer support. Compare Clarity Scores and cause spend, then give to the model that matches your intention. ### What about Cancer Research UK? That is a research-led model, not a support or hospice charity. See Macmillan vs Cancer Research UK if you are choosing between support and research. 100 How we score charities +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. [Full methodology →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) Accountability & Transparency Scored from filings 40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10). Financial Health Scored from filings 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). Financial Efficiency Scored from filings 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). Community Support Scored from filings 10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio. Overall score 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. [Compare these charities side-by-side](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities?ids=marie-curie,macmillan-cancer-support) [Back to compare](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities)