Tippa vs WasteMatrix
In short: both report the loads a receiving site takes in to Defra’s Digital Waste Tracking, and both are on Defra’s list of software. WasteMatrix is made for permitted receiving sites, on a single plan. Tippa reports to Defra free, makes hazardous consignment notes on each UK nation’s own form and builds waste returns for all four regulators, and it covers carriers, skip hire and brokers too. The table sets out what each says it does.
Tippa and WasteMatrix, side by side
As each product’s own website described it on , and Defra’s list of software on GOV.UK the same day. “Not stated on its website” means we couldn’t find it there, not that WasteMatrix doesn’t do it. Prices are as each supplier gives them. Check WasteMatrix’s website before you buy.
| Tippa (this site) | WasteMatrix | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Receiving sites, carriers, skip hire, brokers and dealers, in all four UK nations | Permitted waste receiving sites |
| UK nations | England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with each regulator's own forms and returns | Not stated on its website |
| Price | Core tools free; add-ons £5 to £25 a month each, extra sites £25 (each with an office user), extra vehicles and office users £5 (plus VAT) | £30 a month per site with 2 users, then £5 a month a user (plus VAT) |
| Free option | Yes: 1 office user (and another with each extra site), 1 site, 1 vehicle, unlimited drivers and loads, Defra reporting included; every add-on free for its first month, no card needed | None published; a 7-day free trial |
| Apps | Web, on any phone, tablet or computer; not yet in the App Store or Google Play | Web |
| Reporting waste received to Defra | Every load received, on every plan including the free one; resent every hour if Defra's service is down | Yes, on its one plan; failed sends queue and are retried automatically |
| Carriers’ and brokers’ reporting to Defra | Not yet: Defra plans it for carriers and brokers from October 2027 | Says it's building for Defra's phase 2 ("the rest of the waste chain") |
| Hazardous waste consignment notes | Free, on the EA's, NRW's, SEPA's or NIEA's own form, filled in from the record, with each waste's hazardous properties and POPs | Records hazardous and POPs consignment details at receipt, signed on an iPad; making the note itself not stated |
| Waste returns | EA, NRW, SEPA and NIEA waste returns, and EA and NRW hazardous waste consignee returns (add-ons) | Not stated on its website |
| Working with no signal | Yes: loads, weighing, collections and drop-offs are recorded with no signal and sent when it's back | Not stated on its website |
| Weighbridge | A weighbridge mode, with weights typed in and tares remembered; doesn't read an indicator or print tickets yet | Mentioned; whether it reads an indicator or prints tickets not stated |
| Invoicing and accounts software | Invoicing (add-on); invoices and payments export as CSV, with no direct link to Xero, Sage or QuickBooks yet | Not stated on its website |
| On Defra’s GOV.UK list of software | Yes, listed as "TTPPA | TIPPA"; no test scenarios marked exempt | Yes; no test scenarios marked exempt |
| Defra’s test scenarios | All 14 run, none exempted; the results for each are published on this site | Says all 14 passed in April 2026, none exempted; results for each not published |
Where WasteMatrix is stronger
- Each site on its plan comes with two users. Tippa’s free core has one office user, and each more is paid for.
- You can book a free demo with a person before you sign up. Tippa answers questions by email, but doesn’t offer a walkthrough.
- It’s made for permitted receiving sites alone, so everything in it is about taking loads in.
Where Tippa is stronger
- Reporting every received load to Defra is free, on the free plan, with no limit on loads.
- Waste returns for the Environment Agency, NRW, SEPA and NIEA, and EA and NRW hazardous waste consignee returns, built from your records (add-ons). WasteMatrix’s website doesn’t mention returns.
- Hazardous consignment notes made for you, free, on the EA’s, NRW’s, SEPA’s or NIEA’s own form.
- It keeps working with no signal at the gate, and has a weighbridge mode that remembers each vehicle’s tare.
- The results of each of Defra’s test scenarios are published, scenario by scenario, on Defra test results.
- Carriers, skip hire firms and brokers can use it too, with unlimited drivers free.
Which suits you
Choose WasteMatrix if…
- you run a permitted receiving site and want one plan a site, with two users included
- you’d like a demo with a person before you start
Choose Tippa if…
- you want Defra reporting free, with no trial running out
- you also need your quarterly waste returns, consignee returns or hazardous consignment notes
- you collect or carry waste as well as receiving it
- your gate sometimes has no signal
Moving from WasteMatrix
WasteMatrix’s website says the records it has sent to Defra can be exported, so start there: export your loads, and your customers if you can, as a spreadsheet. Tippa’s Import Records then brings your customers, sites, vehicles and past loads across, free: download Tippa’s template, as Excel or CSV, and paste your old records in. Every row is checked, carrier registrations and permits included, before anything is saved; rows with a problem come back as a file to fix, and you can undo an import for 7 days. You choose whether past loads are sent to Defra, so loads WasteMatrix has already reported aren’t sent twice.
The core tools are free, with no limit on loads, so you can run both side by side for as long as you like before you decide. Where your records are kept and who can see them is on Security and your data. If you’d like to check something first, ask us before you sign up: a person reads every message.
How we compared them
We read WasteMatrix’s own website on , and nothing written about it elsewhere, and checked Defra’s list of software providers on GOV.UK the same day. Tippa’s column describes Tippa as it is today. That makes this a comparison on paper: we haven’t used WasteMatrix, or measured how easy either is to use, how reliable it is or how good its support is, and a feature a website doesn’t mention may still exist.
We make Tippa, and we’ve tried to be fair, saying first where WasteMatrix is stronger. Tippa isn’t affiliated with WasteMatrix; WasteMatrix is a trade mark of its owner. If anything here is wrong or out of date, email support@tip-pa.co.uk and we’ll check it and put it right.
Common questions
Is Tippa a WasteMatrix alternative?
Yes, for a receiving site: both report the loads you take in to Defra’s Digital Waste Tracking, and both are on Defra’s list of software. Tippa also makes waste returns and hazardous consignment notes, and covers carriers, skip hire and brokers.
Can I move my records from WasteMatrix to Tippa?
WasteMatrix’s website says the records it has sent to Defra can be exported, so start there: export your loads, and your customers if you can, as a spreadsheet. Then bring them into Tippa with Import Records, free. You choose whether past loads are sent to Defra, so loads already reported aren’t sent twice.
Is either approved by Defra?
No software is. Defra doesn’t approve or certify waste tracking software: its list on GOV.UK only confirms that a provider has connected to its service. Tippa and WasteMatrix are both on it.
How did you compare Tippa and WasteMatrix?
We read WasteMatrix’s own website, and Defra’s list on GOV.UK, on the date shown at the top of this page. It’s a comparison on paper: a feature a website doesn’t mention may still exist. Tippa isn’t affiliated with WasteMatrix.
How Tippa helps
Tippa records every load your site receives, reports it to Defra for free, and builds your waste returns from the same records.
This page compares what Tippa does with what WasteMatrix’s own website said on the date shown. It isn’t a review of WasteMatrix, and features and prices change. Check with WasteMatrix before you buy.