The best VAT validation API depends on which numbers you check, how many, and what you need besides a yes or no: UK coverage, the company name and address, proof of the check, or EORI and IBAN checks. The tables below compare the common options on those points and on price per 1,000 checks.
We make vatcheckapi, so we are not neutral. How we built the tables:
- Every cell comes from that provider’s own pricing page or documentation, checked on October 26 and re-checked on October 29, 2026.
- “Price per 1,000” is the monthly list price divided by the checks the plan includes, in the provider’s own currency, not converted.
- A dash means we did not find the feature on the provider’s site.
- Where we could not check a provider for a column, it is left out of that table rather than guessed.
Prices change, so check them before you buy. If a row is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
Short answer
- vatcheckapi: EU and UK numbers in one call, with the company name and address, VIES consultation numbers, and EORI and IBAN checks on the same key. 150 free checks a month, then $5.00 down to $2.40 per 1,000, with no rate limit on paid plans.
- EuroValidate: the lowest list price per check at very high volume; GB numbers on paid plans only.
- VAT Sense, Vatstack or EuroValidate: if you also need Norway, Switzerland, Australia or other countries outside the EU and UK.
- VIES (EU) plus HMRC (GB) directly: both free, if you run a handful of checks and can maintain two integrations.
Coverage, free tier and price
| Option | Coverage (UK?) | Free tier | Price per 1,000 checks (entry plan → largest standard plan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| vatcheckapi | EU 27, XI and GB. UK: yes | 150 / month, no credit card | $5.00 ($9.99 for 2,000) → $1.99 ($199 for 100,000) |
| VAT Sense | EU 27, XI, GB, NO, CH, AU, ZA, BR. UK: yes | 100 / month, no credit card | $13.98 ($6.99 for 500) → $2.60 ($129.99 for 50,000) |
| Vatstack | EU (VIES), GB, NO, CH, AU, SG. UK: yes | Launch plan: 100 / month; Developer: unlimited test validations | $30.00 ($15 for 500) → $10.00 ($150 for 15,000) |
| EuroValidate | EU 27, NO, CH, AU; GB on paid plans | 100 / month (EU only), no credit card | €0.038 (€19 for 500,000) → €0.015 (€149 for 10,000,000) |
| Abstract API | EU 27 and XI; no GB in its documentation | 100 requests | $1.65 ($99 for 60,000)¹ |
| viesapi.eu | EU (VIES). UK: not stated | Test API with fixed test numbers only | €10.00 (€10 for 1,000) → €5.00 (€50 for 10,000) |
| VIES (European Commission), direct | EU 27 + XI. No GB numbers since 2021 | Free | Free |
| HMRC VAT API, direct | GB only | Free | Free |
¹ Abstract API’s page shows the Standard plan at $99 a month with 60,000 requests, and the same 60,000 under yearly billing; check the period before you buy.
- VAT Sense’s own price list (its llms-full.txt) is in US dollars; its pricing page can show GBP or EUR depending on where you open it. It bills in GBP, USD or EUR, and yearly billing is 20% cheaper.
- Vatstack lists “starts at” prices; its free Launch plan charges $0.09 for each validation above the included 100.
- viesapi.eu prices are net monthly prices in euros (20% less with yearly billing).
- EuroValidate also has a €49 plan with 2,000,000 requests, and every plan includes VAT, IBAN and EORI checks.
- All vatcheckapi plans are on the pricing page. Yearly billing gives about 2 months free.
Company data and related checks
| Option | Company name & address | Consultation number | EORI / IBAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| vatcheckapi | Yes, where the register publishes them, with a checked_at timestamp | EU numbers, when you pass your own EU VAT number as requester_vat_number (documentation); not for GB | Both, on the same API key. IBAN bank name and BIC for DE, AT, CH, LI, BE, CZ |
| VAT Sense | Yes (company_name, company_address, where available) | With requester_vat_number (EU for EU, GB for GB numbers); not for AU, NO, CH, ZA, BR | EORI: yes (EU and UK). IBAN: – |
| Vatstack | Yes (company_name, company_address); empty for Germany and Spain | From VIES (EU) and HMRC (GB), once you save your own VAT number in its dashboard | EORI: yes (EU and GB). IBAN: – |
| EuroValidate | Yes, company data from the Starter plan | – | Both (IBAN with BIC and bank name) |
| Abstract API | company_name and company_address in its sample response | – | – (IBAN is a separate Abstract API) |
| viesapi.eu | Parsed trader address, from the €30 / month Business plan | – | – |
| VIES (European Commission), direct | Where the member state shares them | When you send your own EU VAT number | No. EU EORI is a separate Commission service (EOS) |
The HMRC VAT API is not in this table because we could not check its documentation for these features.
Monthly cost by volume
What you pay depends on which plan your volume lands in. Standard-plan list prices, in each provider’s own currency. Vatstack’s overage uses its published per-validation price.
| Validations per month | vatcheckapi | VAT Sense | Vatstack | EuroValidate | Abstract API | viesapi.eu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $9.99 (2,000 plan) | $13.99 (2,000 plan) | $30 ($15 plan + 500 × $0.03) | €19 (500,000 plan) | $99 (60,000 plan) | €10 (1,000 plan) |
| 10,000 | $35.99 (10,000 plan) | $39.99 (10,000 plan) | $150 (15,000 plan) | €19 | $99 | €50 (10,000 plan) |
| 40,000 | $95.99 (40,000 plan) | $129.99 (50,000 plan) | $400 ($150 plan + 25,000 × $0.01) | €19 | $99 | Above the largest standard plan; individual offer |
On paid vatcheckapi plans you don’t need to size for peaks: there is no rate limit.
Beyond the yes/no check
| vatcheckapi | VAT Sense | viesapi.eu | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch checks | Free bulk VAT validator (50 numbers); IBAN batch endpoint (up to 100 IBANs) | – | Batch (async) checks |
| Monitoring | – | – | From the €50 / month Professional plan |
| Published SLA | No | 99.9% monthly uptime on all paid plans (SLA page); custom terms on Enterprise | 99.5% availability in its terms of service (its home page says 99.9%) |
| Registry outages | Clear error (503), not billed, so you can retry | Not counted (HTTP 412) | – |
| Other checks | EORI, IBAN and e-invoice validation; hosted MCP server for AI agents | EORI validation | – |
Which one fits
- vatcheckapi: EU and UK checks in one call, with name and address, consultation numbers and no rate limit on paid plans. It also fits if you need EORI, IBAN or e-invoice checks, since one key covers all of them.
- EuroValidate: very high volumes at the lowest list price per check; also Norway, Switzerland and Australia. GB numbers need a paid plan.
- VAT Sense: countries outside the EU and UK (Norway, Switzerland, Australia, South Africa, Brazil). Its standard plans stop at 50,000 checks a month; above that it offers enterprise plans.
- Vatstack: also Norway, Switzerland, Australia and Singapore; the highest list price per check in our table.
- viesapi.eu: parsed addresses, monitoring of a customer base; EU numbers only.
- VIES and HMRC directly: free, if you run a few checks and can maintain two integrations, outage handling and retries yourself.
What to look for
- UK coverage. VIES stopped covering GB numbers in 2021, so check that the API also checks GB numbers against HMRC. Northern Ireland (XI) numbers still go through VIES.
- Format and checksum checks before the registry call. These report typos instantly, even when VIES is down. Country formats are on our VAT number format page.
- Clear errors when a national service is down, so you can retry instead of rejecting a valid customer, and no charge for the failed call.
- Company name and address, where the member state provides them, to prefill invoices and catch mismatches.
- Proof of each check: at least a timestamp you can store with the invoice, and the VIES consultation number if your tax adviser wants it. See reverse charge VAT for why this matters.
- Rate limits on the plan you’ll actually use. Checkout spikes and nightly invoice runs hit limits first.
- Price per 1,000 at your real volume, not the entry plan’s headline price.
- A date on every row of any comparison you rely on, including this one.
Try it without code: VAT number validator. Related: EORI validation API · VAT number formats.