Repax vs Valpak is a choice between two very different ways to handle packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the rules that make a business pay to collect and recycle the packaging it sells.
Valpak is a UK compliance scheme that takes the job on for you. Repax is software your own team runs across every market you sell in.
Below we line the two up side by side, then walk through where each one genuinely wins, what they cost, and which fits your business.
Repax and Valpak head to head
Here is the whole comparison in one view. It lines Repax and Valpak up across what actually matters when you choose, from how each one is delivered and the streams it covers to pricing and the kind of producer it suits.
| Criterion | Repax | Valpak | What it means for a UK producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Software your team runs | Managed scheme, done for you | Do you want to operate it yourself, or hand it over? |
| Strongest at | Multi-market EPR from one product record | UK packaging compliance, taken off your plate | Repax travels across markets; Valpak owns the UK |
| Streams | Packaging, batteries, electronics, textiles (30+ categories) | Packaging, WEEE, batteries, textiles, plus UK plastic tax and DRS | Both cover the main UK streams; Repax reaches more markets |
| Markets | Global, EU-built and EU-hosted | UK core, growing internationally | Selling outside the UK points toward Repax |
| Data | Product-data-first, spec once and reuse | 65M+ SKU database and data services | Valpak brings scale of data; Repax gives you a live record you own |
| EU Declaration of Conformity | Built in and self-serve (Declare) | Covered as a service, no self-serve tool | If the PPWR deadline is pressing, Repax has a dedicated tool |
| Files and buys evidence for you | Not yet, Comply is on the way | Yes: registration, reporting and recycling evidence | Valpak does the filing today; Repax does not yet |
| Pricing (2026) | Public (free tier, then €29 or €59 per month) | Sales-led, quote only | Repax you can start today; Valpak needs a conversation |
| Best for | Producers who want to own a multi-market workflow | UK businesses who want it handled | Match it to how hands-on you want to be |
The single line that explains most of the table: Valpak takes the work off your desk, Repax keeps it on your desk but makes it fast. Neither is the wrong answer. They suit different producers.
What Valpak does well
Valpak's strength is that they do the job so you do not have to. They run a managed scheme, so once your data is in, their team carries the compliance from there.
Here is what that buys a UK producer:
They take the obligation on for you
You hand over your packaging data and Valpak registers you, calculates and files your reports, and sources the recycling evidence that UK rules require. For a team with no compliance specialist, that is the whole appeal, the job leaves your desk.
They have deep UK data and reach
Valpak's product and packaging database runs to more than 65 million SKUs, and they have been reading UK packaging rules since 1997. That depth also feeds fee accuracy, so you are less likely to over-report and overpay.
They cover more than packaging
Alongside packaging EPR they handle WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment), batteries and textiles, plus the UK plastic packaging tax and the coming Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), and they offer recyclability assessments and packaging design support.
They reach beyond the UK when you need it
The UK is their core, but Valpak also runs international and global EPR services, so a UK-anchored business expanding into Europe can lean on the same provider.
If your priority is to make packaging compliance somebody else's problem, that is exactly the model Valpak is built around.
Where Repax comes out ahead
Repax takes the opposite route. Instead of doing the work for you, it gives your team software that makes the work quick to do yourself, and it is built to travel across every market you sell in, not just the UK.
Repax is product-data-first. You describe a product once, its packaging, components, materials and their weights, and every report is generated from that single record. Update a material once and every product using it carries the change. Repax is also our own product, so we lead with it, though we are straight about where Valpak wins.
Where Repax comes out ahead for the producers we build for:
One record answers many markets
Because compliance is generated from your product data, the same spec answers packaging in the UK, packaging in Germany, batteries in France and textiles elsewhere. A UK-anchored scheme is built around UK rules; Repax is built to cross borders. If you already sell into the EU, one tool that covers every market beats bolting a UK scheme onto something else.
The PPWR deadline is already handled
Declare produces the EU Declaration of Conformity that the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) requires from 12 August 2026. It generates the signed document with a unique ID and hosts the public page its QR code resolves to for the full retention period. Valpak can advise on PPWR as a service, but there is no self-serve tool for that document.
You can start today
Pricing is public and setup is self-serve, so a producer can be building their catalogue the same afternoon, with no procurement process and no sales call first.
You keep the workflow and the data
The product record lives with you, so there is no annual handover and nothing walks out the door if you change provider. Each sale is frozen at the moment it happens, so a 2024 filing still reconciles in 2027 even after your catalogue has moved on.
Two honest caveats. Repax does not file into scheme portals for you yet, that is the job of Comply, which is not live, so today you still submit through each scheme's own channel and source your own recycling evidence. And Repax is not a UK compliance scheme, so it will not take the obligation off your hands the way Valpak does.
What each one costs
Cost is where the two feel most different, and for a smaller producer it often decides the whole thing.
Repax publishes its pricing. Core and Declare each share the same simple tiers:
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Free: €0/mo
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Growth: €29/mo
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Pro: €59/mo
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Enterprise: custom, for high volume
Prices are as of 2026 and shown before VAT. You start on the free tier with no sales call and see your product data working before you ever speak to anyone.
Valpak, like most UK compliance schemes, does not publish pricing. You request a quote, and the fee reflects the packaging you place on the market plus the managed service around it. That is normal for a done-for-you scheme, it just means the first step is always a conversation rather than a signup.
Which one is right for your business
The clearest way to choose is by the shape of your business, not by a feature checklist.
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You are UK-only and want it handled for you. Valpak. Hand over the data, let an established scheme carry the obligation, and get on with your day. Ecosurety is the other big name here if you want to compare managed schemes.
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You sell beyond the UK, or plan to. Repax. Software travels better than a UK-anchored scheme, because one product record generates each market's report. This is the single strongest reason to pick Repax over Valpak.
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Your pressing problem is the PPWR Declaration of Conformity. Repax. Declare is built for that document, from signing to hosted retention, and you do not wait on a service to produce it.
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You are just starting and want to see a price. Repax. The free tier and public pricing let you begin without a sales call, and the product-data model grows with you.
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You want deep UK data work and fee accuracy, done for you. Valpak. Their 65 million SKU database and decades of UK experience are hard to match, and their data depth helps keep your fees tight.
If you want to see how the wider field of UK packaging tools compares, our roundup of the best UK packaging EPR software lays the main options out side by side.
Our verdict
Strip it back and the choice is one question: do you want the packaging obligation taken off your hands, or do you want to own the workflow yourself?
If the answer is "take it off my hands, in the UK," Valpak is the safer, more established pick, and their data depth is a genuine advantage. If the answer is "let my team run it, across every market we sell in, starting today," Repax is the better fit, and the PPWR Declaration of Conformity comes built in.
For most of the producers we build for, mid-market businesses selling across borders who would rather own a fast workflow than hand it over, Repax is the recommendation. For a UK-only business that wants a scheme to do the whole job, Valpak earns its place.
Questions producers ask about Repax and Valpak
Short, direct answers to what comes up most when producers weigh these two.
Is Repax or Valpak better for EPR compliance?
It depends on how you want to work. Repax is better for a producer who sells across markets and wants software their own team runs, with public pricing and the PPWR Declaration of Conformity built in. Valpak is better for a UK business that wants an established scheme to take the whole packaging obligation off its hands.
What is the difference between Valpak and Repax?
Valpak is a managed UK compliance scheme, so you send your data and they handle registration, reporting and recycling evidence for you. Repax is product-data-first software your team runs, so you spec a product once and generate any market's report from it. Core and Declare are live today, with Comply on the way.
Does Valpak file EPR reports for you?
Yes. That is the point of a managed scheme. Valpak registers you, produces and files your packaging reports, and sources the recycling evidence UK rules require. Repax does not file into scheme portals yet, that is the job of Comply, which is not live, so today a Repax user still submits through each scheme's own channel.
Is Repax or Valpak cheaper?
Repax publishes its pricing (a free tier, then €29 or €59 per month) and starts without a sales call. Valpak is quote-only, with the fee based on the packaging you place on the market and the managed service around it. Treat this as 2026 posture and confirm current figures with each provider.
Which is better for a small business?
Repax, in most cases. Its free tier, public pricing and self-serve setup suit a smaller producer who wants to be compliant without a sales call, and the product-data model grows with you. Valpak can still suit a small UK business that simply wants the job done for it and does not want to touch the software at all.
Does Valpak handle EPR outside the UK?
Yes, to a point. The UK is Valpak's core, but they also run international and global EPR services. If most of your sales are outside the UK, though, software built to cross borders from one product record, like Repax, usually fits a multi-market producer better than a UK-anchored scheme.
Does Valpak produce the PPWR Declaration of Conformity?
Valpak can advise on the PPWR as part of their services, but they do not offer a self-serve tool for the EU Declaration of Conformity. Repax built Declare specifically for that document, from signing to hosted retention. Doing it by hand is possible too, it just gets fiddly once you have more than a handful of products.
For the official UK rules, the government's guidance on extended producer responsibility for packaging sets out what producers must do, and the EU regulation behind the declaration is on EUR-Lex.
