Top 5 Best Free VIN Decoders

Although I have already covered the best and most popular paid VIN decoders, it is time to pay attention to the most common VIN search sites on the internet. Yes, you are right, today we will talk about free VIN decoders.

You might think that the difference between paid and free VIN decoders is not so significant to justify the investment, but you would be wrong. Although both types use the same sources (in most cases, anyway), the information that they display is not the same.

When you pay for the VIN search, you want to get as much as possible information regarding the actual mileage, the number of owners, possible recalls, title, maintenance records, insurance claims, and so on. Paid VIN decoders compete in delivering accurate data regarding the condition of the vehicle, which is something free VIN decoders cannot do. However, this doesn’t mean that there is no place for free VIN decoder sites. They can be very useful, but you have to know when and for what to use them.

When to use a free VIN decoder?

The only reliable information free VIN decoders can provide is data regarding the car itself – model year, engine option, trim, version, colors, and so on. This means that free VIN decoders come real handy when you are unsure exactly what kind of car is in front of you.

Say you uncovered a band find classic, or you are looking to buy a rare version, and you are not sure that that is the right car. Just use the free VIN decoder from our list, and in a few moments, you will know if you are looking at a real 1993 Mustang SVT Cobra or just a well-disguised but ordinary Fox-body 5.0 GT. So, free VIN decoders are used when the condition or mileage is not the first concern, or it is obvious. So, let's see which one is the best.

First Place – myfreevin.com

The interesting thing about myfreevin.com is that this service gives you exactly what you need and doesn’t try to wow you with trivia information like whether the car in question has or doesn’t have a sunroof. Since myfreevin.com is an affiliate site of the CarVertical project, this means that information is very accurate and only displayed if proven.

By testing the myfreevin.com along with some other similar sites, I found out that only this free VIN decoder equally supported cars from all parts of the world. Most of the competitors only covered US-built and sold cars and few selected European brands; however, this site didn’t make a difference whether the vehicle in question was JDM-spec Mazda, US-built Chevrolet or EU-spec Peugeot. This makes it the best one out there and valuable but free VIN decoder for you to use.

Second Place – vindecoderz.com

The vindecoderz.com is an ambitious service, especially for a free VIN decoder. It offers not only basic VIN checks but also license plates search (US-register vehicles only) and problems and recalls information. Although this is an excellent idea, the service is not as good as you expected. There is not a lot of information about recalls, and the system covers only a few models, and license plates search is flawed and doesn’t recognize older tags.

The good thing is the guide on how to read VIN numbers manually you will find if you scroll down and a list of supported manufacturers. This is useful if you need to decode a specific or old-style VIN number manually.

Third Place – decodethis.com

Decodethis. com goes step further from the previous two entries and delivers very accurate VIN results regarding necessary information about the make-model-model year. When the search engine recognizes the car, it also searches several popular used car sites and finds similar vehicles listed for sale. This useable feature immediately shows you the prices of vehicles so you can instantly see if you are getting a good deal or not

This free VIN also uses the databases to deliver a detail spec-sheet with the original MSRP price (if available). The service tries to list all options you might have on the car, but I tested this free VIN decoder and found out that the list of equipment is inconclusive, so you shouldn’t take it for granted.

Fourth Place – vindecoder.net

This free VIN decoder has a cool feature, which is only limited to a number of US-built models. When you search the VIN number, it will display the standard make-model-model year data but also show some of the factory specifications like tire size, dimensions, fuel consumption, and so on.

When you type your VIN in vindecoder.net, it recognizes what kind of vehicle it is and searches automotive databases for factory specifications if available. This cool feature is useful when you want to see if the car you are considering buying has factory-correct tire size, brakes, trim level, and so on.

Also, vindecoder.net has an option of paid VIN reports, which are provided by VinAudit service.

Fifth Place – vinformer.su

When you type 17-digit VIN number in vinformer.su you will get the necessary information about your car like make, model, model year, and engine option. Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that will go beyond what other similar services do. The good thing is that this free VIN decoder is fast and can display information about older cars as well as non-US models.

For people looking for more, vinformer.su is connected to other well-known and paid VIN decoders like Carfax, so if you want more information, you can get it at a price.