Every row below is a data point or function a user can actually rely on when checking a company. We list what each service provides, and what it does not.
How to read this grid: tick = included. amber dash = partial or paid tier only. cross = not offered. Details under each mark come from the providers' own published material and our own audits, with dates at the foot of the page.
| Data function | Black Flag Alertfree for everyone | Company Watchpaid plans | RedFlag Alertpaid subscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| Risk scoring | |||
| Headline risk scoreThe number you act on | YesR-Score 0 to 100, plus a Risk Rating of 1 to 10 with plain band labels. | YesH-Score 0 to 100, plus a colour-coded risk rating. | YesCategories, not numbers: Gold, Silver, Bronze, then one to three red flags. |
| Score breakdownSee why the score is what it is | YesThree components with published weights: Profit 42%, Assets 38%, Funding 20%. Every ratio explained in plain English. | PartialH-Score factors shown, but the formula is proprietary. | NoSingle composite score. The breakdown field exists but is locked behind premium tiers. |
| Event overrideA winding-up petition beats healthy accounts | YesAn active winding-up petition forces Risk Rating 10, whatever the accounts say. | NoH-Score is purely financial. Petition data sits in separate Gold-tier feeds. | YesDetrimental events force the three-red-flag rating. |
| 5-year score trend | YesCharted per company with a warning threshold. | PartialHistorical H-Score available in reports. | NoCurrent rating only. |
| Recommended credit limit | YesFigure plus a plain-English credit recommendation. | YesCredit and contract limits, from Bronze tier. | YesCredit limit and a separate credit score. |
| Company financials | |||
| Filed accounts depth | 5 yearsTurnover, operating profit, PBT, net assets and staff per year, direct from Companies House iXBRL. | YesFull financial statement explorer as a paid add-on. | PartialRatios surfaced, not the full filed figures. |
| Ratio breadth | 9 ratios × 5 yearsROCE, RONW, margins, leverage, interest cover, current ratio, cash coverage, each with an explanation. | YesRatio analytics around the H-Score. | 27 ratiosWide set, including per-employee measures. |
| Sector benchmarking | YesCash vs sector peers: percentile against thousands of same-sector companies. | YesIndustry percentile positioning. | No |
| Data quality indicator | YesPer company: how many metrics were usable, scored out of 100. We show our confidence, not just the result. | No | No |
| Court and insolvency events | |||
| County Court Judgements | DailyChecked daily from HMCTS records, shown on the company page. | NoNot listed in current plans. | Yes |
| Winding-up petitions | DailyFrom The Gazette, checked daily, overrides the score. | Gold tierIncludes unadvertised petitions and applications. | Yes |
| Strike-off and Gazette notices | YesFirst Gazette notices and proposals to strike off, dated, in the credit events table. | NoNot listed in current plans. | YesTracked as detrimental events. |
| Directors, ownership and identity | |||
| Phoenix director detection | YesNames directors who previously served on companies that later failed, with the companies listed and verifiable. | Gold tierEnhanced directorships data, Gold only. | No |
| Ownership structure | YesPSC data with a visual ownership map and control breakdown. | No | No |
| VAT number | VerifiedChecked against HMRC, with the verification date shown. | YesFrom Bronze tier. | No |
| Registered charges and mortgages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monitoring and workflow | |||
| Email alerts on risk changes | FreeWith a free account. | YesFrom Bronze tier. | YesMonitoring is their core product. |
| PDF reports | Free | YesSnapshot reports plus Excel export. | Yes |
| Natural-language company screening | YesAsk in plain English, get matching companies across the whole register. | No | No |
| Data access and integration | |||
| API | Free trialSelf-serve, no card. 100 calls and 20 contact lookups per rolling 24 hours. | YesAPI, scoring gateway and BigQuery access. | YesGraphQL API with paid access. |
| AI agent integration (MCP) | YesWorks inside Claude, Cursor and Windsurf. | No | No |
| Warehouse access (BigQuery) | No | YesDirect dataset access for enterprise users. | No |
| Coverage | 5.1m searchableEvery England and Wales company, around 3.4m scored. Scotland and Northern Ireland not covered. | UK-wideCount not published. | ~3.5m ratedTheir claimed figure. |
Prices as published or audited on the dates shown at the foot of the page.
Sources. Black Flag Alert: live product, August 2026. RedFlag Alert: our own audit of their platform and API, March 2026; their website blocks automated access, so current-page verification was not possible. Company Watch: their public plans page, 18 August 2026. Where a cell says a feature sits in a paid tier, that comes from the provider's own plan list.