--- title: "British Red Cross vs MSF UK: Key Differences & Ratings" description: "British Red Cross vs MSF UK compared: UK crisis services and a Red Cross national society vs funding and staff for MSF medical projects, with 2025 reports." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare/british-red-cross-vs-msf-uk retrieved: 2026-10-23T14:58:04.241Z date_note: "Retrieval time is not the filing, register-extract or editorial-review date; cite those dates from the content." license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- [TB](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/the-british-red-cross-society) [THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/the-british-red-cross-society) 77/100 4★ Reg. 220949 compared with [MS](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/medecins-sans-frontieres-uk) [MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK)](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/medecins-sans-frontieres-uk) 75/100 4★ Reg. 1026588 # British Red Cross vs MSF UK **In short:** The British Red Cross runs its own UK emergency, refugee and health services and works abroad within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. MSF UK funds and staffs medical projects that MSF’s operational centres run. Last reviewed 23 October 2026 by CharityCompare editorial. The British Red Cross delivers services in the UK itself; MSF UK does not normally manage medical projects directly. In 2025 the British Red Cross responded to 1,300 UK emergencies and reports supporting more than 1.4 million people worldwide. MSF UK granted £73.8 million to other MSF sections and deployed 100 UK staff to projects in 30 countries. None of these figures is a health outcome. ## British Red Cross vs MSF UK: key differences | What to compare | THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY | MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) | | --- | --- | --- | | Registered work and operating model | UK crisis response, refugee support and health and care services, plus international work as a Red Cross national society. | Funding, staff and advocacy for medical humanitarian projects run by MSF operational centres. | | What to consider | Its UK services and international work answer different questions: 1,300 emergencies is a UK activity count, while the more than 1.4 million people supported worldwide is reported as work done within the global Movement. Ask which part of the work an appeal funds. | MSF UK’s money and staff go into projects that MSF’s operational centres manage, so its accounts show grants rather than project results. In 2025, 99% of its income came from donations and legacies, and it says it safeguards its independence through private funding. | | Access and practical checks | In the UK, help comes through named services such as the 24/7 crisis and emergency response service, refugee support, the mobility aids hire service and family tracing. Check what operates in your area. | Medical care is delivered in projects that MSF’s operational centres manage, not at MSF UK. When giving, check whether an appeal is for a named crisis or unrestricted; 87% of its 2025 fundraising income was unrestricted. | | Sourced result or evidence gap | 1,300: UK emergencies responded to by its crisis and emergency response teams. 2025, UK. A charity-reported activity count. Separately, 77% of people given one-to-one refugee casework reported reduced risk to their safety and wellbeing, but the report says that measure covers only a subgroup. | £73.8 million: Grants to other MSF sections, of which £71.5 million went directly to medical humanitarian work and social mission. 2025, MSF UK. A financial input, not a patient outcome; MSF UK also deployed 100 UK staff on 124 assignments in 30 countries. | ## What the latest filings show Figures from the accounts held in our dated dataset; the live register may contain newer filings. Ratios can span multiple years, as labelled. Clarity scores use our [methodology](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/methodology). Cost to raise £1 of donations is not part of the score; legacies make it lumpy, and it is withheld where trading costs would distort it ([how it works](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/methodology#cost-to-raise)). | Metric | THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY | MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) | | --- | --- | --- | | Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2024 | 2024 | | Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 | | Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg | | Overall score | 77/100 (4★) | 75/100 (4★) | | Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 | | Spend on charitable activities | 78% of expenditure | 86% of expenditure | | Fundraising efficiency | £4.9 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) | £7.1 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) | | Cost to raise £1 of donations | Not shown for 2024: trading income was 29% of donations | 16p per £1 (2024) · 15p over 2022–2024 | | Latest income | £287m | £95m | | Fundraising spend | 22% of expenditure | 14% of expenditure | | Reserves | 2 months | 1 month | | Accounts filing | On time | On time | | Data confidence | high | high | | Charity number | 220949 | 1026588 | [THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=220949&subId=0) · [MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1026588&subId=0) ## Considering British Red Cross - You want to fund crisis response and practical support in the UK as well as international relief. - You want services the charity runs itself, such as refugee support, mobility aids or family tracing. [Full profile →](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/the-british-red-cross-society) ## Considering MSF UK - You want to fund medical humanitarian projects through an organisation that relies almost entirely on private donations. - You are happy for your gift to fund projects that MSF’s operational centres manage, with MSF UK’s board deciding which to fund. [Full profile →](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/medecins-sans-frontieres-uk) ## British Red Cross vs MSF UK: questions answered ### British Red Cross or MSF UK: which should I support? There is no universal winner. The British Red Cross runs UK emergency, refugee and health services and supports international relief within its Movement; MSF UK funds and staffs medical projects run by MSF’s operational centres. Choose the kind of help you want to fund, then check the appeal and accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment. ### Does MSF UK take government funding? MSF UK’s 2025 report says 99% of its income came from donations and legacies, and that it will safeguard its independence through private funding. The foreword to its 2024 report says MSF operates without government or UN funding. These statements describe MSF UK’s own accounts, not every MSF entity worldwide. ### Is the British Red Cross part of the International Red Cross? It is one of the Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies that, with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), make up the Movement. It is a UK charity incorporated by Royal Charter in 1908, with its own accounts. 100 How we score charities + The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically. [Full methodology →](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/methodology) Accountability & Transparency Scored from filings 40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10). Financial Health Scored from filings 30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises). Financial Efficiency Scored from filings 20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below). Community Support Scored from filings 10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio. Overall score Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated. [Compare these charities side-by-side](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/compare-charities?ids=the-british-red-cross-society,medecins-sans-frontieres-uk) [Back to compare](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/compare-charities) **Information only** — not donation advice. We do not tell you where to give. Sources: [British Red Cross: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=220949&subId=0), [British Red Cross: Annual report and accounts 2025](https://assets.redcross.org.uk/82b1e254-5524-0172-0612-9ce813c7824c/ff947d8c-da95-4116-95a2-402b16d8ba63/British-Red-Cross-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2025.pdf), [MSF UK: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1026588&subId=0), [MSF UK: Annual Report and Accounts 2025 (year to 31 December 2025)](https://msf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-05/MSF%20UK%20Trustees%20Annual%20Report%202025%20%28signed%29%20-%20compressed.pdf), [MSF UK: Report of the Trustees 2024 (filed with the Charity Commission)](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1026588/accounts-and-annual-returns). See also [how we score](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/compare-charities#how-we-score).