vs
Monthly validation plans vs one credit balancevatcheckapi sells 10,000 VAT validations for $35.99 a month, and 1Lookup bills $0.010 for each EU VAT number that comes back valid, on a balance shared with every other lookup.
Both check a VAT number and return the registered company name and address where the country shares them. vatcheckapi is priced by validations a month, costs less than 1Lookup for the same number of checks at every size it prints, and also checks EORI numbers, IBANs and e-invoices. 1Lookup bills only valid numbers and shares one balance with every other lookup.
vatcheckapi is a VAT validation API. One request checks the format, the checksum and the registration of an EU, Northern Ireland or Great Britain VAT number and returns the company behind it, and the same plans also check EORI numbers, IBANs and e-invoices. Plans run from a free 150 validations to 40,000 a month. 1Lookup sells the EU check on its own: 2 credits, about $0.010 on the Starter plan, charged only when the number is valid.
The vatcheckapi validation, priced per valid number
vatcheckapi gives each plan a monthly quota of validations and stops at the quota on most plans. This is the check on its own, as a single API call on a shared balance.
1Lookup vs vatcheckapi: the same criteria, side by side
Both products measured on identical criteria, with vatcheckapi’s numbers taken from its own published pricing.
1lookup1lookup.ioData and validation APIs
vatcheckapi.comVAT number validation- vatcheckapi · Starts at
- Small at $9.99 a month for 2,000 validations ($99.99 a year if billed yearly). The Free plan gives 150 validations a month.
- 1Lookup: $99/mo for 20,000 credits. At 2 credits each (EU VAT Check API), that is $9.90 per 1,000 VAT checks on Starter, down to $4.00 on Enterprise.
- vatcheckapi · Free trial
- No time-limited trial is printed. The Free plan (150 validations a month, no credit card required) is the way to try it.
- 1Lookup: 7-day free trial on every plan: $5 of credits on Starter, $20 on Growth, Professional, and Enterprise, with no payment today
- vatcheckapi · Do credits expire?
- Quotas are monthly: past the quota the API answers HTTP 429 until the month resets or you upgrade. A rollover of unused validations is not printed.
- 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 plans by validations per month, not by requests (prices in US dollars, exclude VAT, billed monthly; yearly billing gives 2 months free). Free: 150 validations a month, 10 requests a minute, no credit card. Small: $9.99 a month for 2,000 validations. Medium: $35.99 a month for 10,000. Large: $95.99 a month for 40,000, which also includes overages. Custom volume pricing is available on request. One VAT number check counts as one validation. Per-1,000 figures are the plan price divided by its validations, rounded down to the cent. |
| Starting price | $99/mo for 20,000 credits. At 2 credits each (EU VAT Check API), that is $9.90 per 1,000 VAT checks on Starter, down to $4.00 on Enterprise. | Small at $9.99 a month for 2,000 validations ($99.99 a year if billed yearly). The Free plan gives 150 validations a month. |
| Free option | Free single lookups via the online tools at 1lookup.io/tools, no account required | Free plan: 150 validations a month, unlimited API keys and 10 requests a minute, with no credit card required. |
| 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 time-limited trial is printed. The Free plan (150 validations a month, no credit card required) is the way to try it. |
| Do credits expire? | Unused monthly credits roll over for 3 months; separately purchased credits last 1 year | Quotas are monthly: past the quota the API answers HTTP 429 until the month resets or you upgrade. A rollover of unused validations is not printed. |
What vatcheckapi costs at volume
| Volume | vatcheckapi price | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 validations a month (Small) | $9.99 a month | $4.99 |
| 10,000 validations a month (Medium) | $35.99 a month | $3.59 |
| 40,000 validations a month (Large) | $95.99 a month | $2.39 |
vatcheckapi's per-1,000 figures are the plan price divided by its validations, rounded down. 1Lookup's check is $9.90 per 1,000 on Starter and $4.00 on Enterprise, drawn from a balance that also pays for every other lookup. Compare a month of your real volume.
Before you sign: vatcheckapi 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 | vatcheckapi |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum commitment | None. Monthly plans with no contract and no minimum volume; cancel any time | No contract is printed: the FAQ says you can cancel from the dashboard in less than 30 seconds. |
| Going over your quota | Not listed | Overages are listed as a feature of the Large and Custom plans; no overage rate is printed. On the other plans the API answers 429 past the quota. |
| API access | Included on every plan and during the free trial; there is no tier that unlocks it | The API is included on every plan, the Free plan too. |
| Rate limit | 200 requests per 10 seconds for each API key on standard lookups and 1,000 requests a minute for each key on number type, HLR and MNP, and each account can make up to 1,000 requests a minute in total across all its keys; higher limits are available on request | Free plan: 10 requests a minute. Paid plans: no rate limit. |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | No uptime percentage is published; the FAQ says a status page shows the live state of the API with its history. |
| Support | Starter: Email Support; Growth: Priority Email & Chat Support; Professional: Chat + Live Meeting; Enterprise: Dedicated CSM | Email support on Small and above, and the home page promises an answer from engineers within 24 hours. Team management from Medium; tailored support on Custom. |
1Lookup
vatcheckapi
Where 1Lookup wins
- A check costs about $0.010 on Starter, and a number that is not valid, a mistyped one or a country that is down costs nothing
- Credits roll over for 3 months instead of stopping at a monthly quota, and a repeat check of the same number inside 7 days comes from your saved result at no charge
- A CSV with a vat_number column checks a whole list for the same price per valid number as the API
- The same key and balance also cover phone, email and IP validation, so one form can validate the customer next to the VAT number
Where vatcheckapi wins
- Plans are cheap per check at every size it prints: $9.99 a month holds 2,000 validations, $35.99 holds 10,000 and $95.99 holds 40,000, and paid plans have no rate limit.
- It checks EU member state numbers, Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and the same plans also cover EORI numbers, IBANs and e-invoices (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD and Factur-X).
- Sandbox API keys, included from Medium up, cost nothing and return fixed test data, so an integration can be tested without using the quota.
- It publishes an OpenAPI 3.1 specification, a hosted MCP server for AI agents and official libraries for eight languages.
- Errors on its side, including a 503 when a VAT register is down, and rejected requests do not count against the quota.
vatcheckapi pricing and product facts verified against vatcheckapi.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 want to pay only for numbers that come back valid and keep the unused part of a month for later, since credits roll over for 3 months, on one balance with your other lookups.
Consider vatcheckapi instead if: price per check is what you buy on: vatcheckapi costs less than 1Lookup for the same number of checks at every size it prints, and the same plans also check EORI numbers, IBANs, e-invoices and Great Britain numbers, with a free plan of 150 validations.
Frequently asked questions
What is vatcheckapi used for?
Checking VAT numbers from code. One call validates the format and checksum of an EU, Northern Ireland or Great Britain VAT number, looks up its registration and returns the company name and address with the time of the check. The same plans check EORI numbers, IBANs and e-invoices (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD and Factur-X), and vatcheckapi publishes an OpenAPI specification, a hosted MCP server and libraries for eight languages.
How does vatcheckapi pricing work?
Monthly plans by validations, not requests. Free is 150 validations a month with 10 requests a minute and no card, Small is $9.99 a month for 2,000, Medium is $35.99 for 10,000 and Large is $95.99 for 40,000 and includes overages. Paid plans have no rate limit, yearly billing gives two months free, and larger volumes are priced on request. Prices are in US dollars and exclude VAT.
How much does 1Lookup charge for the same check?
2 credits per valid number, free when the number is not valid or the country does not answer. On the Starter plan ($99 a month for 20,000 credits) a check is about $0.010, which covers 10,000 valid numbers a month and is $9.90 per 1,000. At the Enterprise end of the rate card it is about $0.004.
Is vatcheckapi or 1Lookup cheaper?
vatcheckapi, at every size it prints. Its Medium plan holds 10,000 validations for $35.99 a month, and the 1Lookup Starter month that covers 10,000 checks costs $99. 1Lookup is built for a team that wants one balance for every lookup, or that wants to pay only for numbers that come back valid, and not for the lowest price on VAT checks alone.
Does vatcheckapi charge for a number that is not valid?
Its docs say only successful calls count against the quota: errors on its side, such as a 503 when a VAT register is down, and rejected requests do not, but an answer about an invalid number is a successful call and does count. 1Lookup charges nothing for a number that is not valid, a mistyped number or a country that is down, in the API, the dashboard and bulk jobs.
What happens when a vatcheckapi plan runs out?
The API answers with HTTP 429 until the month resets or you upgrade; overages are listed only on the Large and Custom plans. 1Lookup credits roll over for 3 months, so an unused part of one month is still there in the next.
What is the best vatcheckapi alternative?
If you want to pay only for numbers that are valid and keep one balance for every lookup, 1Lookup's EU VAT Check bills 2 credits when the number is valid, serves a repeat check of the same number inside 7 days from your saved result at no charge, takes a CSV with a vat_number column, and lets unused credits roll over for 3 months. If you also need EORI, IBAN or e-invoice checks, or Great Britain numbers, those stay with vatcheckapi.
Where does vatcheckapi beat 1Lookup?
On price and on scope. vatcheckapi costs less than 1Lookup for the same number of checks at every size it prints, checks Great Britain numbers, EORI numbers, IBANs and e-invoices on the same plans, gives free sandbox keys from the Medium plan and has no rate limit on paid plans. 1Lookup does not check Great Britain numbers, EORI numbers, IBANs or e-invoices.
Is vatcheckapi worth it in 2026?
If your volume is steady and you only need VAT validation, yes: the plans are small, the free plan needs no card and the price per check is low. If you check numbers alongside other lookups, or many numbers you send are not valid, compare the per-valid-number price on one balance.