National Trust vs English Heritage
In short: The National Trust looks after historic places, countryside and coast in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, funded largely by members and visitors. English Heritage runs over 400 sites in the National Heritage Collection under a licence from Historic England.
Last reviewed by CharityCompare editorial.
Both are membership charities that open historic places to the public, but they hold them differently. The National Trust, incorporated by Act of Parliament, reported 2.61 million memberships and 25.9 million visitors in 2024–25. English Heritage operates sites it does not own under a licence from Historic England, and had 1.19 million members and 5.75 million visitors in 2024/25.
National Trust vs English Heritage: key differences
| What to compare | THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY | THE ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST |
|---|---|---|
| Registered work and operating model | Looking after historic places, countryside and coast permanently for the nation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. | Conserving and opening the National Heritage Collection, under a licence from Historic England, and running London’s blue plaques scheme. |
| What to consider | Its 25.9 million visitors is not defined in the report, and its 2.61 million memberships cover 5.35 million individuals. Membership brought in £309.4 million of its £766.2 million income. | English Heritage is wholly controlled by Historic England, a public body, and its government grant ended after 2022/23. A new 10-year licence to run the Collection began in April 2025, extendable to 20 years. |
| Access and practical checks | Check opening times and membership terms on its official site before visiting. It covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, not Scotland. | Its report says membership gives free entry to its sites for an adult and up to six children, and over 250 of its sites are free to all visitors. |
| Sourced result or evidence gap | 32,200 hectares: Priority wildlife habitat created or restored, against a target of 25,000 hectares by 2025. Cumulative to 2024–25, charity-reported. It also cares for 896 miles of coastline and about 250,000 hectares of land. | 5.75 million: Visitors to its sites. Year to 31 March 2025, pay-to-enter sites, down from 6.1 million. A charity-reported output; it also unveiled 15 London blue plaques and hosted over 190,000 school-age children on over 4,800 school visits. |
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. 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).
| Metric | THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY | THE ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST |
|---|---|---|
| Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2025 | 2025 |
| Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 |
| Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg |
| Overall score | 97/100 (5★) | 84/100 (4★) |
| Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Spend on charitable activities | 91% of expenditure | 73% of expenditure |
| Fundraising efficiency | £10.2 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | £3.4 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) |
| Cost to raise £1 of donations | Not shown for 2025: trading income was 96% of donations | Not shown for 2025: trading income was 289% of donations |
| Latest income | £766m | £155m |
| Fundraising spend | 9% of expenditure | 27% of expenditure |
| Reserves | 25 months | 3 months |
| Accounts filing | On time | On time |
| Data confidence | high | high |
| Charity number | 205846 | 1140351 |
THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY on the register · THE ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST on the register
Considering National Trust
- You want to support historic houses, gardens, countryside and coast across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- You want to back habitat restoration as well as heritage.
Considering English Heritage
- You want to support the castles, abbeys, prehistoric sites and other monuments of the National Heritage Collection.
- You value free sites and school visits, and London’s blue plaques.
National Trust vs English Heritage: questions answered
National Trust or English Heritage: which should I support?
There is no universal winner. The National Trust looks after places it holds permanently across three nations, including large areas of countryside and coast; English Heritage runs the National Heritage Collection under licence from Historic England. Choose by the places and work you care about, then check the accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment.
Does English Heritage own its sites?
No. Its report says the National Heritage Collection is held by Historic England, with many sites in the guardianship of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and others owned by Historic England, government departments or the Crown Estate. English Heritage runs them under a Property Licence and Operating Agreement.
Is English Heritage part of the government?
English Heritage is a registered charity, but it is wholly controlled by Historic England, an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its £80 million government grant was fully drawn by the end of 2022/23.
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.
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.