Cheapest PPSR and REVS checks compared: 14 providers, one table

Prices are in Australian dollars including GST, as shown on each provider's website in October 2026. "Not stated" means we could not find the figure on the provider's site or a public review listing. Review scores are those visible on Trustpilot, ProductReview or the provider's own Google widget at the same date; they are not ours. Prices change; check the provider before you buy.

The certificate is identical at every price. AFSA issues it, it carries a search number, and it shows the same finance, stolen and written-off data whether you paid $0, $2 or $54.90. Nobody in the table has better register data than anybody else.

What changes with price is the work around the certificate. At the bottom, $4.99 to $9.90 buys the certificate plus a plate-to-VIN step, delivered by email and SMS, with no explanation. The rego surcharge is visible: Eprotech charges $2 more for a plate search than a VIN search, which is the clearest public price for the plate step. In the middle, $19.90 to $29.95 generally adds a formatted report and sometimes recall data. From $34 upward you are paying for enrichment: odometer figures, prior listings, valuations and claims data, which is also where reviews complain most about accuracy.

Two sites in the table sell a $0.99 seven-day trial that renews at $19.99 or $24.99 a month unless cancelled. The pitch is 15 reports a month, which works out well under the $2 government fee per report. The arithmetic only holds if most subscribers never run a second search. Reviews for one of them show 51 per cent one-star ratings, mostly about the renewal.

The tell is a price below $2. Nobody can sell a PPSR certificate for less than AFSA charges for it and stay in business. A sub-$2 headline price is a trial, a loss-leader or a mistake. Read the checkout page for the words "renews" or "per month" before you enter a card.

• Is the official certificate PDF included, with its search number, or only a summary? A summary cannot be retrieved from the PPSR later.
• What happens if you mistype the VIN or plate? Some providers state they will still charge you; the $2 search does too.
• Is the total at checkout the advertised price? One provider's reviews repeatedly describe a $9.90 advertisement becoming $17.90 through pre-ticked add-ons.

We are not the cheapest. The $2 search is, and Budget Direct is free. Our $12.95 certificate price is the $2.00 government fee plus $10.95 for our part. That covers the plate lookup, the plain-English verdict, a free re-run on typos, a refund if no certificate arrives and delivery in minutes. There is no subscription, no trial and nothing pre-ticked. If you have the VIN and want only the certificate, ppsr.gov.au is the right answer and we say so on every page.