What is the difference between GiveRadar and CharityBase?

Geographic scope and query paradigm. CharityBase (charitybase.uk) is a free open-source GraphQL API created by Dan Kwiatkowski that aggregates UK Charity Commission for England and Wales data with related sources (Companies House, 360 Giving, ONS, charity websites, social media) into a single normalized GraphQL endpoint. It powers NGO Explorer, Find that Charity, and many other UK charity-sector tools. GiveRadar is a free global research database covering 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries from 50+ official government registries (including the same Charity Commission data CharityBase exposes), accessed via REST API. CharityBase is the canonical open API for UK charity data; GiveRadar is the broader cross-country option.

Is GiveRadar a CharityBase alternative for UK charity research?

For UK-specific work, CharityBase is the canonical option among open APIs. CharityBase ingests deeper UK-specific sources (Companies House links, 360 Giving grant data, social media handles, ONS classification) than GiveRadar surfaces in our normalized cross-country schema, and exposes them through GraphQL queries that are particularly powerful for UK-sector research. For UK research that benefits from cross-country comparison or our automatic Integrity Assessment and red flag detection, GiveRadar adds value alongside CharityBase. Many UK researchers use both: CharityBase for the deep UK-specific GraphQL queries, GiveRadar for the cross-country comparison layer.

Does CharityBase cover non-UK charities?

No. CharityBase is built specifically on the Charity Commission for England and Wales register and related UK data sources. Charities registered in Scotland (OSCR), Northern Ireland (CCNI), or any non-UK jurisdiction are out of scope. GiveRadar covers OSCR, CCNI, and 65+-3+ other countries through their respective official regulators, so for cross-border charity research GiveRadar is the appropriate option.

Is CharityBase's API free?

Yes, CharityBase is fully free and open-source. The GraphQL API requires authentication via an API key (free signup) and provides interactive playgrounds for query development. The underlying data is also published openly. GiveRadar's REST API is similarly free at the 100-request-per-day tier (free signup), with paid Pro and Enterprise tiers for higher volume. Both platforms keep open access central to their model.

Why does CharityBase use GraphQL instead of REST like GiveRadar?

Different design philosophies. GraphQL lets clients query exactly the fields they need with a single request, which is particularly elegant for the kind of complex sector-specific queries CharityBase users build (e.g., "return all charities with income > 1M GBP, classified under health, with at least one trustee in common with charity X"). REST is simpler for straightforward record retrieval and is the conventional choice for most public APIs; GiveRadar's REST + OpenAPI specification is easier for many developers to integrate without learning GraphQL. Both paradigms are valid; the right choice depends on query complexity needs.

Does GiveRadar use the same Charity Commission data CharityBase uses?

Yes, ultimately the same source. Both platforms rest on the Charity Commission for England and Wales register as the canonical UK charity data source. CharityBase exposes additional UK-specific enrichment (Companies House links, 360 Giving grants, ONS classification, social handles) that we do not all surface in our normalized cross-country schema. GiveRadar adds an automatic Integrity Assessment, red flag detection, sanctions screening, and per-charity news context that CharityBase does not provide. The two systems are designed for complementary use rather than competition.

Is CharityBase associated with NGO Explorer?

Yes. NGO Explorer (ngoexplorer.org), a tool surfacing England-and-Wales charities working overseas, is built on top of CharityBase data; David Kane (formerly NCVO) developed NGO Explorer using Dan Kwiatkowski's CharityBase as the backend. Find that Charity (findthatcharity.uk) is also built on the CharityBase ecosystem. CharityBase is effectively the open-data infrastructure layer for the UK charity sector; multiple tools build on it. GiveRadar ingests Charity Commission data directly for the UK portion of our cross-country schema, but we acknowledge CharityBase as the canonical open API for UK-deep work.

Who built CharityBase?

CharityBase was created by Dan Kwiatkowski as an open-source project to make UK Charity Commission data more accessible and queryable. The codebase is published on GitHub at github.com/charity-base/charity-base-api. Kwiatkowski's work has become foundational infrastructure for the UK charity-sector open-data community, enabling tools like NGO Explorer, Find that Charity, and many sector dashboards. We credit and thank the CharityBase project in our documentation as one of the references that informed our UK data ingestion approach.

Comparison

GiveRadar vs CharityBase: an honest comparison

Q: Should I use CharityBase or GiveRadar for UK charity research?

For UK-deep work, CharityBase is the canonical option. For cross-country research, GiveRadar adds the international scope CharityBase intentionally does not cover. For per-charity scoring (Integrity Assessment), red flag detection, sanctions screening, or news context, GiveRadar adds layers CharityBase does not provide. Many UK researchers run both APIs alongside: CharityBase for sector-specific queries, GiveRadar for the verification and operational signals.

Two free open-data charity APIs with different scopes. CharityBase (charitybase.uk) is the canonical free GraphQL API for UK Charity Commission data, created by Dan Kwiatkowski; it powers NGO Explorer and Find that Charity. GiveRadar is a free REST API covering 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries with an automatic Integrity Assessment.

Skip to verdict All comparisons

GiveRadar

Free global charity research database. 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries from 50+ official government registries. REST API with public OpenAPI spec. Automatic Integrity Assessment 0-100, red flags, sanctions screening, news context. Covers UK Charity Commission data plus 64 other countries' regulators in a unified normalized schema.

CharityBase

Free open-source GraphQL API for UK charity data, created by Dan Kwiatkowski. Aggregates Charity Commission for England and Wales with Companies House links, 360 Giving grants, ONS classification, social media, and charity websites into a single GraphQL endpoint at charitybase.uk. Powers NGO Explorer (ngoexplorer.org), Find that Charity (findthatcharity.uk), and many UK charity-sector dashboards.

The 30-second verdict

For UK-deep charity research with custom GraphQL queries spanning Charity Commission + Companies House + 360 Giving + ONS, CharityBase is the canonical open option and we cannot replicate its UK-specific enrichment depth. For cross-country research across 65+ countries, automatic Integrity Assessment, red flag detection, sanctions screening, or news context, GiveRadar adds layers CharityBase does not provide. Many UK researchers use both alongside: CharityBase for deep UK queries, GiveRadar for the cross-country comparison and verification layer.

Dimension	GiveRadar	CharityBase
Geographic coverage	65+ countries	UK only (England and Wales primary; aggregates UK-related sources)
Charity records	7 million+ charities	~170,000+ UK charities (full Charity Commission for England and Wales register)
API paradigm	REST + OpenAPI specification	GraphQL with interactive playground
Pricing	Free 100 req/day; Pro 99 USD/month for 10,000 req/day	Fully free with API key signup; open source
Per-charity scoring	Integrity Assessment 0-100 (5 components)	No score; raw data
Red flags / news / sanctions	Yes (auto + GDELT + Open Sanctions)	No
UK-specific enrichment	Charity Commission core fields; less depth on UK-specific sources	Companies House links, 360 Giving grants, ONS classification, social handles, charity websites
Open source	Methodology + OpenAPI spec under CC-BY 4.0; codebase proprietary	Yes, full GraphQL API codebase open at github.com/charity-base/charity-base-api
Tools built on top	Independent platform	NGO Explorer, Find that Charity, many UK charity-sector dashboards
Founder / lead developer	Matt Timmermans	Dan Kwiatkowski

Primary sources

All figures sourced from each platform's published documentation. GiveRadar figures are live counts.

Written by GiveRadar; we built it and we believe in it. CharityBase is foundational open-data infrastructure for the UK charity sector and we recommend it without reservation for UK-deep work. The two platforms are complementary; this page exists to clarify which fits which use case. Email [email protected] for corrections.