> How Check Take Home Pay and takehomeapi.com compare for UK take-home pay: endpoints, tax years, HMRC test data, MCP, plans and prices, as each site states them.

Web version: https://checktakehomepay.co.uk/compare/takehomeapi · Last updated: 2026-10-09

# Check Take Home Pay and TakeHome API compared

Two APIs for UK pay. What each covers, how each is tested, and what each costs.

## The short answer

Both are UK pay APIs with a free tier of 100 calls a month. TakeHome API covers take-home pay (with a comparison endpoint), for 2025/26 and 2026/27, has an MCP server, and lets an agent pay per call in USDC without an account. Check Take Home Pay covers take-home pay and also employer cost, payroll periods, statutory pay, entitlements and contractor calculations, and its income tax, NI and student loans pass HMRC’s own payroll test data; it has 2026/27 only so far.

TakeHome API’s details are as its own site states them on 8 October 2026 ([takehomeapi.com](https://takehomeapi.com), [pricing](https://takehomeapi.com/pricing)). If anything here is out of date, [tell us](https://checktakehomepay.co.uk/contact) and we’ll correct it.

## Side by side

|  | Check Take Home Pay | TakeHome API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Calculations | Take-home, gross from net, employer cost, payroll periods, statutory sick and family pay, redundancy, notice, holiday, minimum wage, self-employed, director pay, umbrella pay, IR35 compared ([all 22 endpoints](https://checktakehomepay.co.uk/docs)) | Take-home, and a comparison of 2 to 5 scenarios |
| Tax years | 2026/27 | 2025/26 and 2026/27 |
| Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | Yes | Yes |
| Student loans | Plans 1, 2, 4, 5 and postgraduate | Plans 1, 2, 4, 5 and postgraduate |
| How accuracy is stated | Tested against HMRC’s payroll test data for income tax, NI and student loans, to the penny; the rest against cases worked from gov.uk ([accuracy](https://checktakehomepay.co.uk/accuracy)) | Rates from GOV.UK, with sources on each result; results described as estimates; no testing claim stated |
| MCP server | Not yet | Yes, three tools |
| Without an account | An agent signs itself up for a free key | Pay per call in USDC (x402) |
| Free | 100 calculations a month | 100 calls a month |
| Paid | Pro £14 a month for 5,000 calculations, then £4 per 1,000 more; Scale £49 a month for 50,000 calculations, then £2 per 1,000 more | Starter £15 a month for 5,000 calls; Pro £49 for 50,000; Business £149 for 250,000 |
| Past the plan | Calls go on; the extra are billed | Not stated |

## Which to use

-   **Take-home pay for this year and last**: TakeHome API has both years; Check Take Home Pay has this year.
-   **Employer cost, payroll, statutory pay or contractors**: Check Take Home Pay, which has endpoints for each.
-   **Figures you need to match payroll to the penny**: Check Take Home Pay works per pay period as payroll does and passes HMRC’s own test data.
-   **An agent paying per call with no account**: TakeHome API’s x402.

## Get an API key

Free for 100 calculations a month, with every endpoint.

[Get an API key](https://checktakehomepay.co.uk/login)[Read the quickstart](https://checktakehomepay.co.uk/docs/quickstart)