Last Updated on October 1, 2026
An IBISWorld report tells you how big a UK industry is, and how it is structured. Of the four paid routes we priced, our own included, it had the lowest entry price, though its page did not say whether VAT is added.
On 1 October 2026 a single UK IBISWorld report cost £1,000 and came as a PDF; the Excel download sat behind the team subscription. We read the price on its Advertising Agencies in the UK report.
The quick verdict
You need an industry’s size and shape, once: IBISWorld’s £1,000 single report had the lowest entry price of the paid routes we read. Check the free sources below first, because the business counts may already answer you.
You need the numbers in a spreadsheet: the single report is PDF only. Word, Excel and PowerPoint downloads were listed for the team subscription, which is priced on enquiry.
You need consumer attitudes: IBISWorld is industry analysis. Look at Mintel or a library that holds it.
You need the businesses themselves, row by row: which businesses AI engines named in one UK scope and whether each matches an active company, or the published prices in a market. That is a Whito Data file: £1,280 once, PDF plus raw CSV. It costs £280 more than IBISWorld’s single report before any VAT on IBISWorld’s price, which its page did not state.
What IBISWorld cost on 1 October 2026
| Single Report | Team Subscription | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,000 | Membership inquiry, no price shown |
| Reports | 1 report | Unlimited, including 410+ UK SIC industry reports, 200+ UK specialised reports and 120+ UK business environment profiles |
| Formats | PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint | |
| Length and delivery | 30+ pages, emailed instantly | Not recorded |
| Licence period | Not stated | 12 months |
| Guarantee | 100% money back guarantee | Not stated |
IBISWorld against the other paid routes
| Route | Entry price | What that buys | Tax as shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBISWorld single UK industry report | £1,000 | One report as a PDF, 30+ pages | VAT treatment not stated on the page |
| Whito Data file | £1,280 | One UK file: PDF plus the raw CSV it is built from | Total payable. No VAT added |
| Statista Starter, one year | £1,908 | One seat, premium statistics, XLS and PPT downloads | Excludes sales tax. Annual contract |
| Mintel single UK report | £2,195 | One report, PDF download plus portal access | Excludes tax |
The trap in the IBISWorld price
The PDF is the product
The single report arrives as a PDF. If you want the figures in a spreadsheet, plan for that work: the spreadsheet formats were listed only under the subscription.
Tax was not shown
The purchase page showed £1,000 with no note on VAT. Check the total at checkout before you compare it with a price that includes or excludes tax.
Check what the report names
If your next step is a sales list, an insurance book or a partner shortlist, check whether the report gives you named rows you can work with, or whether you need a file built for that.
The free routes, and where they stop
ONS. UK Business: Activity, Size and Location counts UK enterprises registered for VAT or PAYE by industry, region, legal structure and employment size. The 2026 edition came out on 24 September 2026. It gives counts.
The government’s Business Population Estimates. These estimate the total number of private sector businesses in the UK, with employment and turnover. On 1 October 2026 the newest edition listed was the 2025 one, published 2 October 2025 and listed as an official statistic in development. Check its reference date before you quote it.
Companies House search. Free to search for registered company information, including registered office address, filing history, accounts and officers. Companies House says it does not check the accuracy of the information filed, so treat it as a record of filings.
The British Library Business & IP Centre. Its market information page lists Mintel, IBISWorld, Statista, eMarketer, Frost & Sullivan and Passport (Euromonitor) among the databases it gives free access to. Access may be on site only. The centre in Bristol, for example, offers Mintel only on its own computers at Central Library, across five areas (beauty and personal care, drink, food, foodservice and leisure), and you cannot print or download from it. Ask your nearest centre what it holds before you travel.
Whito’s free studies. Each Whito Data file sits behind a free study you can read in full, with the method and the limits, before you spend anything. Our UK business statistics page pulls the official counts into one place with a source on each figure.
Where a Whito Data file fits, and where it does not
A Whito Data file is the working behind one of our free studies. You read the finding first, for nothing. The file is every row underneath it: each business an AI engine named, its Companies House or regulator outcome, the collection date, or for our cost work the published price and its source.
It fits if you sell to, insure, franchise, fund or represent businesses in one UK sector and need names and rows you can sort, filter and join to your own data. Eight files are on sale at £1,280 each, emailed within one working day. Other sectors are built to order: we reply in writing with a fixed scope and price, and there is nothing to pay until you order.
It does not fit if you need consumer survey data, global market sizes, forecasts, or coverage outside the UK. A Whito file holds none of those. Each file covers one scope, so check the list on the page before you buy.
Licence terms, from the page: one company, shared internally as widely as you like, not for resale or republication. The page’s refund promise: if the report is not what the page says it is, tell us and we refund you. The free electricians sample is one complete town from a real report.
An IBISWorld report and a Whito file, side by side
| IBISWorld single UK report | Whito Data file | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,000 (VAT not stated) | £1,280 once, total payable, no VAT added |
| Built on | Analyst industry research | Register checks, logged AI answers or published prices for one UK scope |
| What arrives | One PDF, 30+ pages, emailed instantly | One PDF and the raw CSV it is built from, by email within one working day |
| Spreadsheet | Subscription only | Every row, as CSV |
| Refund | 100% money back guarantee | Refund if the file is not what the page says |
Comparing other research providers: see Statista alternatives and Mintel alternatives.
The takeaway: buy IBISWorld for the size and shape of an industry. Buy a file when you need the businesses inside it, row by row.
Questions
How much does an IBISWorld report cost in the UK?
On 1 October 2026 IBISWorld’s purchase options page showed a single UK industry report at £1,000, delivered as a PDF of 30+ pages. The team subscription, which adds Word, Excel and PowerPoint downloads, was priced on enquiry.
Does an IBISWorld single report include Excel data?
Not on 1 October 2026. The purchase options table listed PDF as the only format for a single report, and PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the team subscription.
Is there a free alternative to IBISWorld for UK industry data?
For counts, yes. ONS UK Business: Activity, Size and Location and the government’s Business Population Estimates give business numbers by industry, region and size for free. The British Library Business & IP Centre also lists IBISWorld among its free databases. Ask the centre how access works before you go.
Is a Whito Data file cheaper than IBISWorld?
No. A Whito file is £1,280, total payable, against £1,000 for an IBISWorld single report, whose page did not state VAT. A Whito file holds different data: the businesses AI engines named in one UK scope with their register outcomes, or published prices, as a raw CSV.
