Comparisons · 2026

Compare RentFig

Honest head-to-head comparisons for UK landlords — tenant referencing providers first, because that's where the money and the confusion are. Every price is normalised to include VAT and re-checked against the provider's own site, and where a provider doesn't publish a price we say so instead of inventing a bracket.

One thing worth knowing before you start: most of the big UK referencing brands will not sell to you at all if you manage your own property. Canopy, Goodlord, HomeLet and Let Alliance are agent channels. That, more than headline price, is usually what decides your shortlist.

Tenant referencing providers

Who can actually buy each service matters as much as the price. Several of the best-known UK referencing brands sell only through letting agents, which puts them out of reach of a self-managing landlord whatever their rate card says.

Switching from a provider

Broader round-ups when you've decided to leave a platform and want the options ranked by the job you need doing.

Software and ways of working

Comparisons against how landlords manage a portfolio today, rather than against a rival product.

Going deeper on referencing prices

If you want the whole market in one table rather than a head-to-head, the cheapest tenant referencing guide compares every named UK provider by price, what each check covers and whether you need an account. For the mechanics of vetting someone rather than the shopping around, read how to reference a tenant, or referencing student tenants and guarantors if there's a guarantor involved.

FAQ

Which tenant referencing provider is cheapest in the UK?

Among providers a landlord can buy from directly, RentFig's £9 credit check is the cheapest published price we can find, and Oops Insurance's £14.99 full reference undercuts RentFig's £19. OpenRent charges £30 per reference. The agent-facing providers — Canopy, Goodlord, HomeLet and Let Alliance — publish no usable per-reference price at all and quote on application, so they cannot be ranked on price. Prices re-verified 1 August 2026 and normalised to include VAT, because residential lettings are VAT-exempt and a landlord cannot reclaim it.

Why can't I get a price from HomeLet, Goodlord or Canopy?

Because you are not their customer. Those platforms are sold to letting agencies on contracts, and the per-reference cost is part of a negotiated package rather than a published rate. HomeLet states on its own site that referencing is available to letting agents who work in partnership with HomeLet, and points individual landlords to its insurance team instead. If you self-manage, the practical shortlist is the providers that sell direct.

Are HomeLet and Let Alliance different companies?

No. Both are trading names of Barbon Insurance Group Limited, part of PIB Group, and both sell the same Experian-built VISTA referencing product. Getting a quote from each is not getting two independent quotes. Let Alliance does also offer a Same Day Referencing product built with TransUnion, which HomeLet does not market under that name.

What happened to Vouch referencing?

Vouch has been absorbed into Goodlord. The vouch.co.uk domain now returns a permanent redirect to Goodlord's referencing page, which states that Vouch referencing has moved to Goodlord. The Vouch name survives only as the label of a middle tier, Control (Vouch). Existing customers can still sign in to the old dashboard, but new referencing is bought as Goodlord, through a letting agent.

Can a landlord be charged for tenant referencing?

The landlord pays, not the tenant. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 charging a tenant for referencing is a banned fee in England, so every price on these pages is a cost to the landlord or their agent. That is exactly why the per-check price is worth comparing.

Disclaimer:These comparisons are general information for UK landlords, not legal or financial advice. RentFig is our own product. Every other company named is independent, and its details are summarised from its public website and may change — always confirm current pricing and what's included directly with the provider.

Reference a tenant from £9

Send the applicant a free application form, then pay only if you run a check — a £9 credit check or a £19 full reference covering income and affordability, employer and previous-landlord references, Right to Rent (England) and anti-fraud. No account, no subscription, most results within 48 hours. RentFig members pay £7 and £17.

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 the landlord pays for referencing — charging the tenant is a banned fee in England.

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