Grant Funding Resources
Free guides, insights, and resources to help you navigate the UK grant funding landscape and maximise your chances of success.
Free guides to UK grant funding
These guides cover the practical questions that come up when applying for UK grants: what schemes exist, who qualifies, what applications actually cost and how to write responses that answer what assessors score. They are free and need no signup. The most-used are the grant writing cost guide, which sets out real UK market rates including the success fees most consultancies charge, and the grant application guide, which works through how to structure responses against published criteria. Regional guides cover Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland separately, because devolved funding differs substantially. Scheme-specific guides cover Innovate UK competitions, including what replaced Smart Grants, and the National Lottery Community Fund. Everything here reflects current UK schemes and is updated as they change; where a guide quotes a figure, the source is stated so you can check it.
Featured Guides
Best Grant Writing Consultants UK (2026)
Fourteen UK grant consultants checked on their own sites: who each suits, how they charge, the one that publishes fees, and three still selling a closed scheme.
Read Guide →
Innovate UK Deadline This Week?
What to do the week before, the night before, the hour before and the last five minutes before an Innovate UK competition closes at 11:00am.
Read Guide →
How Innovate UK Scores an Application
The question set, the 0 to 10 scale, how many assessors read it, and what a fundable score looks like.
Read Guide →
Innovate UK Success Rates
UKRI’s own award figures year by year: 20% in 2025-26, 16 to 25% since 2020-21, and why an open business competition runs lower.
Read Guide →
What Costs Can You Claim on an Innovate UK Grant?
Eligible cost categories, overheads, subcontracting, funding rates by company size and how match funding works.
Read Guide →
How Long Does Innovate UK Take to Decide?
From the 11:00am close to the outcome email, the grant offer and the project start, in weeks.
Read Guide →
Grantify Alternatives UK
Ten alternatives to Grantify with published prices and success fees: software, consultancies and grant databases.
Read Guide →
GrantUp Review 2026
How much GrantUp charges, the two routes that carry a success fee, and how to read its success-rate claim.
Read Guide →
ZenGrants Review 2026
ZenGrants pricing and plan limits, its data terms, who runs it, and when you need a person instead.
Read Guide →
Grantify Review 2026
What Grantify sells, what its terms say about fees and refunds, its Trustpilot score, and who should look elsewhere. Written by a competitor.
Read Guide →
Best Grant Writing Services UK
UK grant writing providers compared by who they suit: innovation specialists, large-company consultancies, charity support and fixed-price review.
Read Guide →
How Much Does Grant Writing Cost in the UK?
What UK grant writers actually charge in 2026: day rates, fixed fees, success fees and retainers, with real numbers.
Read Guide →
What Replaced Innovate UK Smart Grants?
Smart closed to new applications in January 2025. Growth Catalyst, Innovate UK’s 2026 strategy, Velocity, the odds stated in current briefs, and the grant competitions open now.
Read Guide →
Open Innovate UK Competitions (Live)
Every competition on the Innovation Funding Service, read several times a day: what closes in the next fortnight, what is open and what opens soon.
Read Guide →
Can You Use ChatGPT to Write a Grant Application?
Yes, within UKRI’s rules: what you must declare, what to keep out of it, where it helps and where it costs marks, and what it costs against the alternatives.
Read Guide →
Best AI Grant Writing Tools for UK Businesses
Ten tools with their real prices checked on the vendors’ own sites: which serve UK funders, which only take US nonprofits, and which one no longer exists.
Read Guide →
How to Write a Strong Grant Application
Step-by-step guide to writing grant applications that answer the criteria. Learn what assessors look for and common mistakes to avoid.
Read Guide →
National Lottery Community Fund Guide
Complete guide to applying for National Lottery grants. From Awards for All to Reaching Communities.
Read Guide →
Guides & Insights
AI Grant Writing for UK Organisations
How to use AI effectively for grant applications—without losing authenticity or making costly mistakes.
Wales Grants Guide
Comprehensive directory of Welsh grants: Business Wales, Development Bank, council funding, and more.
Best Instrumentl Alternative for UK
Compare UK grant platforms. Why UK organisations need UK-focused tools over US platforms.
Top 10 Grants for Tech Startups
The best government grants for UK tech startups. From Innovate UK sector competitions to regional funding.
Innovate UK Application Tips
What Innovate UK assessors look for and how to score highly in competition applications.
Innovate UK Smart Grants: Paused Since January 2025
What the scheme funded and its rules from the final rounds, kept as a record while it is closed to new applications.
R&D Tax Credits Explained
Everything you need to know about UK R&D tax credits. Who qualifies, how much, and how to claim.
UK Government Grants Guide
Complete overview of UK government grants for businesses. Types, eligibility, and how to apply.
Innovation Funding Guide
A comprehensive guide to R&D grants, Innovate UK funding, and research funding opportunities.
Regional Funding Guides
Explore grants available in your region of the UK.
Welsh Grants
Complete guide to grants in Wales including Business Wales, ECO4, and DAF.
Scottish Grants
Scottish Enterprise, Business Gateway, and Scottish EDGE funding.
Northern Ireland Grants
Invest NI, InterTradeIreland, and Go For It programme.
England Regional Grants
LEPs, Growth Hubs, and regional funding across England.