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Per-endpoint vehicle plans vs one credit balance1Lookup decodes a VIN for $0.010, where CarsXE charges $49 a month for 2,000 decodes and $0.15 for each one after that.
Both return the year, make, model, trim, engine and plant country for a 17-character VIN. 1Lookup bills each decode from one shared credit balance and charges nothing when no vehicle is found. CarsXE sells a wider vehicle catalog, with prices, history and theft checks that 1Lookup does not.
CarsXE is a vehicle-data API. A VIN decode returns specifications, original MSRP, equipment flags, colors and warranties, and the same vendor sells market value, history, lien and theft checks, recalls and plate decoding. Its paid plans start at $49 a month for 2,000 decodes. 1Lookup sells the decode on its own: 2 credits, about $0.010 on the Starter plan, charged only when a vehicle comes back.
The CarsXE decode, priced per vehicle found
CarsXE sets a monthly quota for each endpoint and bills every decode past it as overage. This is the decode half as a single API call on a shared balance.
VIN decode (CarsXE Specifications)
VIN Decoder API
A 17-character VIN in; the year, make, model, trim, body class, engine, drive type, transmission, plant country, weight class and manufacturer out, from the NHTSA vPIC records. A VIN with no record, or one that cannot exist, is refused before anything is charged.
2 credits per vehicle found, free when the records hold nothing
Try one VIN first
Free VIN Decoder
The same decode in a browser, so you can compare the fields with what CarsXE returns for the same VIN before you write any code.
Free, no account, one VIN at a time
1Lookup vs CarsXE: the same criteria, side by side
Both products measured on identical criteria, with CarsXE’s numbers taken from its own published pricing.
1lookup1lookup.ioData and validation APIs
carsxe.comVehicle data- CarsXE · Starts at
- Starter at $49 per month ($490 per year billed annually). It includes 2,000 Specifications (VIN decode) calls per month, then $0.15 per decode beyond the quota. Market Value, History and Lien & Theft have no included quota on Starter and are billed only as overage.
- 1Lookup: $99/mo for 20,000 credits ($4.95 per 1,000, down to $2.00 on Enterprise)
- CarsXE · Free trial
- No separate time-limited trial is printed on the pricing page. The free Sandbox (100 lifetime calls, no credit card) serves as the trial; after it is used the FAQ says to upgrade to a paid plan.
- 1Lookup: 7-day free trial on every plan: $5 of credits on Starter, $20 on Growth, Professional, and Enterprise, with no payment today
- CarsXE · Do credits expire?
- Plan quotas are per month and counters reset at the start of each billing period; the Sandbox allowance is one-time and does not reset. A rollover of unused quota is not printed. Separately, the Service credit terms say prepaid Service Credits expire one year after purchase or issuance if not used and are not refundable.
- 1Lookup: Unused monthly credits roll over for 3 months; separately purchased credits last 1 year
| Criteria | 1Lookup | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly plans with universal credits; core phone, email and IP lookups cost 1 credit, enrichment and intelligence products cost more | Monthly or annual subscription with a monthly quota per API endpoint, then pay-as-you-go overage per call. Plans: Sandbox $0 (up to 100 API calls lifetime); Starter $49 per month billed monthly or $490 per year billed annually (shown as $40.83 per month, Save $98); Pro $249 per month billed monthly or $2,490 per year billed annually (shown as $207.50 per month, Save $498); Business is Contact Us with custom pricing. Overage is billed per call above the endpoint quota at the rates in the Overage Pricing tab. |
| Starting price | $99/mo for 20,000 credits ($4.95 per 1,000, down to $2.00 on Enterprise) | Starter at $49 per month ($490 per year billed annually). It includes 2,000 Specifications (VIN decode) calls per month, then $0.15 per decode beyond the quota. Market Value, History and Lien & Theft have no included quota on Starter and are billed only as overage. |
| Free option | Free single lookups via the online tools at 1lookup.io/tools, no account required | Sandbox: Up to 100 API calls lifetime, No credit card required. Inside the 100: Market Value 5 calls, History 1 call, Lien & Theft 5 calls (lifetime). |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on every plan: $5 of credits on Starter, $20 on Growth, Professional, and Enterprise, with no payment today | No separate time-limited trial is printed on the pricing page. The free Sandbox (100 lifetime calls, no credit card) serves as the trial; after it is used the FAQ says to upgrade to a paid plan. |
| Do credits expire? | Unused monthly credits roll over for 3 months; separately purchased credits last 1 year | Plan quotas are per month and counters reset at the start of each billing period; the Sandbox allowance is one-time and does not reset. A rollover of unused quota is not printed. Separately, the Service credit terms say prepaid Service Credits expire one year after purchase or issuance if not used and are not refundable. |
What CarsXE costs at volume
| Volume | CarsXE price | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 VIN lookups a month (Starter) | $49 a month; lookups beyond the quota are $0.15 each | $24.50 |
| 25,000 VIN lookups a month (Pro) | $249 a month; lookups beyond the quota are $0.10 each | $9.96 |
CarsXE's Starter works out to $24.50 per 1,000 decodes only when all 2,000 are used, and $150.00 per 1,000 past the quota. 1Lookup's decode is $9.90 per 1,000 on Starter, drawn from a balance that also pays for every other lookup. Compare a month of your real VIN volume, not the quota.
Before you sign: CarsXE and 1Lookup on the operational terms
The terms that decide what a year actually costs, rather than what the first month does. “Not listed” means we could not verify it on either product’s published pages, not that the answer is nothing.
| Term | 1Lookup | CarsXE |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum commitment | None. Monthly plans with no contract and no minimum volume; cancel any time | No monthly minimum term printed: FAQ says 'Yes, you can cancel your subscription at any time. You will not be charged for the next billing cycle.' Terms of the annual plan beyond 'billed annually' were not read. |
| Cost per extra seat | Not listed | No per-seat fee printed. Create Organization is listed as included in Starter, Pro and Business and not included in Sandbox. |
| Going over your quota | Not listed | Pay-as-you-go beyond the per-endpoint monthly quota at the Overage Pricing rates (for example Specifications $0.15 on Starter, $0.10 on Pro). Overage billing is on by default; if the customer opts out, requests past the quota return 429 until the period resets. |
| API access | Included on every plan and during the free trial; there is no tier that unlocks it | API access is included on every plan, including the free Sandbox (up to 100 API calls lifetime). Paid plans add monthly quotas, longer data retention, organizations and higher support tiers. |
| Rate limit | 1,000 requests per minute on standard accounts, with higher limits available on request | No per-second throttles on standard plans per the docs; limits are monthly per-endpoint quotas (Specifications 2,000 per month on Starter, 25,000 on Pro; Sandbox 100 lifetime). |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | No uptime percentage printed. The plan comparison lists 'Support SLAs' as Included in Business only (custom pricing). |
| Compliance | Not listed | SOC 2 Type II Certified, audited by GreenHat Assurance (pricing page footer). |
| Support | Starter: Email Support; Growth: Priority Email & Chat Support; Professional: Chat + Live Meeting; Enterprise: Dedicated CSM | Support response tiers by plan: Basic (Sandbox), Standard (Starter), Priority (Pro), Dedicated (Business). Slack support and Support SLAs are Business only. |
CarsXE fine print worth reading twice
Published terms that change what CarsXE costs or what you can do with it. Each one links to the CarsXE page it was read on, because a claim about somebody else’s contract should be checkable in one click.
Market Value, History and Lien & Theft show 'Check overage pricing' on Starter and Pro because no calls are included; every call is billed at $1.50, $4.99 and $1.00 respectively.
Read it on CarsXE’s siteOverage billing is on by default on plans with overage pricing, so volume above the quota is charged automatically at the tier's overage rate rather than blocked.
Read it on CarsXE’s siteThe terms say payments are non-refundable unless a CarsXE representative approves an exception.
Read it on CarsXE’s sitePrepaid Service Credits (a separate credit product) are not refundable and expire one year after purchase or issuance if unused.
Read it on CarsXE’s siteCalls that return success true are billed per call, but Ownership lookups bill per returned record and Recalls Batch bills per VIN in the submit, so bulk jobs on those endpoints cost more than one unit.
Read it on CarsXE’s site
1Lookup
CarsXE
Where 1Lookup wins
- A decode costs about $0.010 on Starter against $0.15 for each CarsXE decode past its quota, and nothing when no vehicle is found
- No quota per endpoint to size in advance: one credit balance pays for VIN decoding and every other lookup, and credits roll over for 3 months
- A bulk CSV of VINs costs the same per vehicle as the API, and a free one-VIN decoder lets you check the fields before you build
- The same API key and balance also cover phone, email and IP validation, so a vehicle form can validate the customer next to the VIN
Where CarsXE wins
- A VIN that is not found is free: the pricing FAQ says failed API calls are not charged and do not reduce the usage quota, and the billing guide says failed or empty lookups are free.
- The decode response is wide: identity, engine, transmission, drivetrain, dimensions and weights, original MSRP and invoice price, 70+ equipment flags, colors and warranties, with an optional deepdata extension.
- Fixed monthly quotas are cheap per decode when used: Starter includes 2,000 Specifications calls for $49 and Pro includes 25,000 for $249, against $0.15 and $0.10 per decode beyond quota.
- One vendor covers market value, history, lien and theft, recalls, plate decoding, images and OCR, plus a separate International VIN Decoder for non-US VINs and an EU deployment hostname.
- The pricing page footer prints 'SOC 2 Type II Certified, Audited by GreenHat Assurance'.
- The docs say there are no per-second throttles on standard plans, only monthly quotas, and they email the owner at 80%, 90% and 100% of quota.
CarsXE pricing and product facts verified against carsxe.com as of October 2026. Prices change; always confirm on the vendor’s site. 1Lookup numbers come from the live rate card.
Who this is for
A quick, honest read on which tool fits your use case.
Choose 1Lookup if: you decode VINs from code and want one price per vehicle found, with nothing charged when the records hold nothing, on the same balance as your phone, email and IP checks.
Consider CarsXE instead if: the decode is one of several vehicle jobs: CarsXE also sells market value, history, recalls, plate decoding and a separate decoder for non-US VINs, and its Pro quota is cheap per decode when it is used in full.
Frequently asked questions
What is CarsXE used for?
Looking up vehicles by VIN and a wider set of vehicle data from one vendor. The VIN decode returns specifications, original MSRP and invoice price, equipment flags, colors and warranties, and CarsXE also sells market value, vehicle history, lien and theft checks, recalls, plate decoding, images and OCR. Developers use it to fill vehicle forms, price inventory and screen purchases.
How does CarsXE pricing work?
Monthly or annual plans with a quota for each endpoint, then pay-as-you-go overage. Starter is $49 a month ($490 billed yearly) with 2,000 VIN decodes, Pro is $249 a month ($2,490 billed yearly) with 25,000, and Business is by quote. A decode past the quota is $0.15 on Starter and $0.10 on Pro. Market value, history and lien and theft reports have no included quota on Starter or Pro and are billed per call at $1.50, $4.99 and $1.00. A free Sandbox gives 100 calls in total.
Does CarsXE charge when a VIN is not found?
No. CarsXE's pricing page and billing docs say failed and empty lookups are not charged and do not reduce the quota. 1Lookup works the same way: a VIN with no record, a VIN that cannot exist and a lookup the records could not answer all cost 0 credits, in the API, the dashboard and bulk jobs.
How much does 1Lookup charge for the same VIN decode?
2 credits per vehicle found, free when the records hold nothing. On the Starter plan ($99 a month for 20,000 credits) a decode is about $0.010, which covers 10,000 decodes a month and is $9.90 per 1,000. At the Enterprise end of the rate card it is about $0.004. CarsXE's Starter works out to $0.0245 a decode only if all 2,000 are used (derived: $49 divided by 2,000), and $0.15 beyond that.
What is the best CarsXE alternative?
If you need the decode and not the rest of the catalog, a per-decode VIN API is the cheaper purchase. 1Lookup's VIN Decoder reads the NHTSA vPIC records, returns the vehicle as the manufacturer filed it, and bills 2 credits only when a vehicle is found, with a bulk CSV option and a free one-VIN tool to try first. If you also need vehicle history, market value or theft checks, those stay with a vendor that sells them.
Where does CarsXE beat 1Lookup?
On breadth. CarsXE returns original MSRP and invoice price, 70+ equipment flags, colors and warranties, and sells market value, history, lien and theft, recalls, plate decoding and images from the same account. It prints a SOC 2 Type II certification, has no per-second throttles on standard plans, and falls back to a separate international decoder for non-US VINs. 1Lookup decodes vehicles built for the US market and does not return prices, equipment lists or ownership history.
Is CarsXE worth it in 2026?
If you need market value, history or lien and theft checks next to the decode, yes: one account covers them, and the Pro quota of 25,000 decodes for $249 works out to about a cent each when it is used in full. If you only decode VINs, or you decode a few hundred a month, the monthly fee and the $0.15 overage rate are the parts to model before you commit.