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Monthly request plans vs one credit balanceVAT Sense sells 10,000 requests for €34.99 a month, and 1Lookup bills $0.010 for each valid EU VAT number and nothing for one that is not valid.
Both check a VAT number against live records and return the registered name and address where the country shares them. VAT Sense is priced by monthly requests, checks the UK and six other countries beyond the EU, and bundles rates, currency conversion and invoicing. 1Lookup bills only valid EU numbers, from one balance shared with every other lookup.
VAT Sense is a VAT API. One request validates a number against live records for the UK, the EU, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa and Brazil, and every plan also includes VAT and GST rates, currency conversion and VAT-compliant invoicing. Plans run from a free 100 requests to 50,000 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 VAT Sense validation, priced per valid number
VAT Sense gives each plan a monthly allowance of requests that covers validation, rates, currency conversion and invoicing. This is the check on its own, as a single API call on a shared balance.
1Lookup vs VAT Sense: the same criteria, side by side
Both products measured on identical criteria, with VAT Sense’s numbers taken from its own published pricing.
1lookup1lookup.ioData and validation APIs
vatsense.comVAT number validation- VAT Sense · Starts at
- Starter at €5.99 a month for 500 requests (€57.50 a year if paid annually). The Free plan gives 100 requests a month at €0.00.
- 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.
- VAT Sense · Free trial
- No time-limited trial is printed. The Free plan (100 requests 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
- VAT Sense · Do credits expire?
- Plan allowances are counted per month. A rollover of unused requests is not printed on the pricing page.
- 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 requests per month, with a 20% discount for paying a year upfront (prices exclude VAT; the page says plans can be paid in GBP, USD or EUR and prints euro amounts). Free: 100 requests a month at €0.00. Starter: 500 requests for €5.99 a month. Basic: 2,000 requests for €11.99. Standard: 10,000 requests for €34.99. Plus: 25,000 requests for €69.99. Premium: 50,000 requests for €119.99. Enterprise plans with custom volumes and service level agreements are offered above 50,000 requests a month. Every plan includes the full API: validation, VAT and GST rates, currency conversion and VAT-compliant invoicing. Per-1,000 figures are the plan price divided by its requests, 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. | Starter at €5.99 a month for 500 requests (€57.50 a year if paid annually). The Free plan gives 100 requests a month at €0.00. |
| Free option | Free single lookups via the online tools at 1lookup.io/tools, no account required | Free plan: 100 requests per month at €0.00, 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 (100 requests 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 | Plan allowances are counted per month. A rollover of unused requests is not printed on the pricing page. |
What VAT Sense costs at volume
| Volume | VAT Sense price | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 500 requests a month (Starter) | €5.99 a month | €11.98 |
| 2,000 requests a month (Basic) | €11.99 a month | €5.99 |
| 10,000 requests a month (Standard) | €34.99 a month | €3.49 |
| 25,000 requests a month (Plus) | €69.99 a month | €2.79 |
| 50,000 requests a month (Premium) | €119.99 a month | €2.39 |
VAT Sense's prices are printed in euros and the per-1,000 figures are the plan price divided by its requests, 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: VAT Sense 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 | VAT Sense |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum commitment | None. Monthly plans with no contract and no minimum volume; cancel any time | The pricing page says all plans can be upgraded or downgraded at any time, and paying a year upfront gives a 20% discount. |
| Going over your quota | Not listed | Above 50,000 requests a month the pricing page points to Enterprise plans with custom request volumes. |
| API access | Included on every plan and during the free trial; there is no tier that unlocks it | Full API access on every plan, including the Free plan. |
| 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 | Not listed |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | Service level agreements are offered on Enterprise plans; the site footer links an SLA page. No uptime percentage was read on the pricing page. |
| Support | Starter: Email Support; Growth: Priority Email & Chat Support; Professional: Chat + Live Meeting; Enterprise: Dedicated CSM | Not listed |
1Lookup
VAT Sense
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
- A repeat check of the same number inside 7 days comes from your saved result at no charge, and a CSV with a vat_number column checks a whole list
- No monthly request allowance to size in advance: credits roll over for 3 months and pay for every other lookup too
- 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 VAT Sense wins
- Plans are cheap per check at every size it prints: €5.99 a month holds 500 requests, €34.99 holds 10,000 and €119.99 holds 50,000, and the 100-request Free plan needs no card.
- Every plan, the free one included, carries the full API: VAT number validation, VAT and GST rates, currency conversion and VAT-compliant invoicing.
- Validation runs against live records for the UK, the EU, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa and Brazil, so a Great Britain number can be checked.
- It can return the official consultation number for a check, as documented proof for your audit trail, when you send your own VAT number with the request.
- Client libraries and code examples are shown for Python, Node.js, PHP, Go, Ruby, C# and Java.
VAT Sense pricing and product facts verified against vatsense.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 one balance for VAT checks and your other lookups, and a number that is not valid or a country that is down to cost nothing, instead of a monthly request allowance sized in advance.
Consider VAT Sense instead if: you check UK, Australian, Norwegian, Swiss, South African or Brazilian numbers, or want VAT rates, currency conversion and invoicing on the same key: VAT Sense includes them on every plan, from a free 100 requests a month.
Frequently asked questions
What is VAT Sense used for?
Checking VAT numbers and handling VAT in one REST API. It validates numbers for the UK, the EU, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa and Brazil, returns EU and global VAT and GST rates, converts currencies and issues VAT-compliant invoices. It can return the official consultation number for a check when you send your own VAT number with the request.
How does VAT Sense pricing work?
Monthly plans by requests, priced in euros on the pricing page. Free is 100 requests, Starter is 500 for €5.99 a month, Basic is 2,000 for €11.99, Standard is 10,000 for €34.99, Plus is 25,000 for €69.99 and Premium is 50,000 for €119.99. Paying a year upfront takes 20% off, plans can be paid in GBP, USD or EUR, and above 50,000 requests an Enterprise plan is offered on request. Prices 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 VAT Sense or 1Lookup cheaper?
VAT Sense, at every size on its pricing page. Its Standard plan holds 10,000 requests for €34.99 a month, and the 1Lookup Starter month that covers 10,000 checks costs $99. The page prints euro amounts. 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 VAT Sense charge when a country is down or a number is not valid?
Its pricing FAQ says a validation that fails because an upstream government service is unavailable does not count against the monthly usage. It does not say whether a number that comes back not valid counts. 1Lookup charges nothing in either case, and nothing for a mistyped number, in the API, the dashboard and bulk jobs.
Does VAT Sense check Great Britain and countries outside the EU?
Yes. VAT Sense validates UK, Australian, Norwegian, Swiss, South African and Brazilian numbers as well as EU numbers. 1Lookup checks the 27 EU member states and Northern Ireland (prefix XI). A Great Britain number is refused with a plain explanation at no charge.
What is the best VAT Sense 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 need rates, currency conversion, invoicing or numbers from outside the EU, those stay with a vendor that sells them.
Where does VAT Sense beat 1Lookup?
On price and on scope. VAT Sense costs less than 1Lookup for the same number of checks at every size it prints, covers seven jurisdictions, includes rates, currency conversion and invoicing on every plan, can return the official consultation number and lists client libraries for seven languages. 1Lookup records the time the registry answered but does not return a consultation number.
Is VAT Sense worth it in 2026?
If you check a modest number of VAT numbers, or you also need UK numbers, rates and invoices, yes: the entry plans are small and the free plan needs no card. If you check EU numbers at volume alongside other lookups, compare the per-valid-number price on one balance.