Groundsure Costs: Homebuyers, Avista and HouseCheckup comparison (2026)

Homebuyers and Avista are different products

The current Homebuyers page names contaminated-land liability, flood, radon, ground stability and planning-related risks. The Avista page adds explicit coal-mining CON29M, non-coal mining and Cheshire Salt Search categories. Those distinctions matter when comparing a solicitor's search recommendation. A general reference to “a Groundsure report” leaves the product unspecified. Ask which report the quote includes and whether additional mining or other searches are required for the property. Do not assume a coalfield alert and a CON29M report are interchangeable.

Compare VAT-inclusive costs and the quote's scope

The advertised starting figures are before VAT: Homebuyers £92.60 and Avista £138.90. Applying 20% VAT gives £111.12 and £166.68 respectively. Groundsure also advertises the separate Homescreen entry product from £62.95 + VAT; that figure should not be labelled as Homebuyers. A search provider or solicitor may quote a bundle or add service charges, so use the actual itemised quote rather than comparing a complete search pack with a vendor's single starting price. The published pages were checked on 5 September 2026.

A professional opinion is more than shared source names

Two reports may both cite an environmental agency or BGS yet supply different datasets, resolutions, interpretation and contractual protections. Groundsure publishes a building-level and site-wide flood-assessment proposition; HouseCheckup supplies screening with its source limitations. Our public-register context is not a Part 2A contaminated-land liability assessment. Counting risk headings or saying a cheap report contains a fixed percentage of another report's data would hide these differences. Check the sample's actual conclusions and the terms attaching to the opinion you need.

Can a buyer obtain the report directly?

Groundsure's public product pages have sign-in purchase links and customer-support contact details. That establishes an ordering path, but does not prove that every visitor can check out without an account or that only solicitors are permitted to order. Confirm the provider's current account requirements when buying directly. If a solicitor is already ordering searches, discuss the exact product with them first to avoid paying twice for the same report. For the wider distinction, read our conveyancing-searches guide.

What a HouseCheckup report can establish

HouseCheckup combines the available official-source risk maps, property records and area context for a chosen address. A person reviews the report before it is emailed. A score using 6 factors is shown where sufficient data is available; missing checks are identified. Sold-price records are context, not a valuation. Planning designations are not a complete planning-application history. Ground and radon bands describe mapped areas rather than measurements of the building. Neither a postcode match nor a reassuring score proves that a property has no defects.

Our current purchase options are Lite £9.99 and Complete £24.99, paid once. We do not promise an automated valuation, title register, owner names, a contaminated-land liability opinion or a CON29M search. A physical survey and the legal searches requested by a solicitor serve different purposes. Check the illustrative sample and current offer and delivery terms before ordering.

Make the comparison on the same basis

Use the exact product name when checking a quote. A consumer report, recurring research account, professional data platform and formal environmental search are different purchases. Confirm the address, geographic coverage, records included and the date of any source before relying on a result. A feature absent from a public checklist is not proof that the provider cannot supply it. This page reports what we could verify publicly; it does not award a numerical quality score or reproduce unverified customer allegations.

For the broader buying decision, see our report comparison guide and the self-published HouseCheckup review. If you need something our report does not supply, use the relevant official service or professional rather than interpreting a lower price as equivalent coverage.