World Vision vs Save the Children
In short: 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.
Last reviewed by CharityCompare editorial.
Each charity passes money to a global body that delivers its overseas programmes. World Vision UK remitted £46,002,000 to World Vision International in the year to September 2025. Save the Children UK transferred £129,372,000 to Save the Children International for programme delivery in calendar 2025, and also funds grants for UK families. Faith basis and UK work are the clearest differences.
World Vision vs Save the Children: key differences
| What to compare | WORLD VISION UK | THE SAVE THE CHILDREN FUND |
|---|---|---|
| Registered work and operating model | Christian child-focused development, relief and advocacy, delivered by World Vision Partnership field-based partners. | Children’s welfare and relief through the Save the Children movement, plus UK programmes for families in crisis. |
| What to consider | Its 3.3 million people reached covers projects it funded, without saying whether totals are whole-project or attributed. Its report describes its UK role as being champions for children. | Its children-reached headline of 37.8 million covers the whole movement in 92 countries. The UK charity is one of 17 members financing international programmes and supported the movement in 37 countries in 2025. |
| Access and practical checks | Child sponsorship is its committed-giving scheme; ask what a monthly gift funds, as its report labels the 47,032 year-end figure in two ways. | For overseas giving, check the named appeal and country. Its £300 Family Grants reach UK families through partner organisations. |
| Sourced result or evidence gap | Over 3.3 million: People reached directly, 1.8 million of them children. Year to 30 September 2025, 35 countries. A charity-reported output. For one area programme in Zambia it reports Grade 3 reading comprehension rising from 9% in 2021 to 19% in 2024, without an independent evaluation cited. | 37.8 million: Children directly supported by the Save the Children movement. 2025, 92 countries, movement-wide. A charity-reported output with no UK-member share given; UK Family Grants supported more than 2,800 children. |
What the latest filings show
Figures from the accounts held in our dated dataset; the live register may contain newer filings. Ratios can span multiple years, as labelled. Clarity scores use our methodology. Cost to raise £1 of donations is not part of the score; legacies make it lumpy, and it is withheld where trading costs would distort it (how it works).
| Metric | WORLD VISION UK | THE SAVE THE CHILDREN FUND |
|---|---|---|
| Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2025 | 2025 |
| Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 |
| Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg |
| Overall score | 73/100 (3★) | 80/100 (4★) |
| Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Spend on charitable activities | 82% of expenditure | 86% of expenditure |
| Fundraising efficiency | £5.4 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | £7.4 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) |
| Cost to raise £1 of donations | 33p per £1 (2025) · 31p over 2023–2025 | Not shown for 2025: trading income was 13% of donations |
| Latest income | £66m | £263m |
| Fundraising spend | 18% of expenditure | 13% of expenditure |
| Reserves | 2 months | 2 months |
| Accounts filing | On time | On time |
| Data confidence | high | high |
| Charity number | 285908 | 213890 |
WORLD VISION UK on the register · THE SAVE THE CHILDREN FUND on the register
Considering World Vision UK
- You want a Christian charity that works with children of all faiths and none through long-term community programmes.
- You want to sponsor a child through a committed-giving scheme.
Considering Save the Children UK
- You want to fund children’s programmes and humanitarian response through the Save the Children movement.
- You also want to help UK families in crisis.
World Vision vs Save the Children: questions answered
World Vision or Save the Children: which should I support?
There is no universal winner. World Vision UK is a Christian charity funding child-focused programmes and sponsorship through its partnership; Save the Children UK funds the Save the Children movement’s programmes and also runs UK grants for families. Choose the approach you prefer, then check the appeal and accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment.
Does faith play a part in either charity?
World Vision UK says it is inspired by Christian faith and works alongside children of all faiths and none. Save the Children UK’s registered purposes are to promote children’s welfare without differentiation on grounds including creed.
How much does each send to its international body?
World Vision UK remitted £46,002,000 to World Vision International in the year to 30 September 2025. Save the Children UK’s accounts show £129,372,000 transferred to Save the Children International for programme delivery in 2025. The two figures cover different periods and should be read with each charity’s total income.
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.
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.