10 Best Background Check Sites & Services in 2024

The best background check companies for employers meet the unique needs of your business by offering multiple screening options, fast turnaround times, an intuitive platform, integrations, and compliance tools for confident decision-making. The best background check services for individuals are easy-to-use with clear pricing and a variety of search options. Let's compare the best background check companies for employers and individuals in 2024.

Running background checks on your own can be time-consuming and expensive. Partnering with a third-party provider to conduct your organization’s screenings can save time and support compliance with local, state, and federal hiring laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Here’s a look at the five best background check companies for employers:

Checkr is a highly-ranked, FCRA-compliant company that offers background checks for small, medium, and enterprise businesses in a range of industries. The platform makes it easy to sign up and order checks the same day with several preset packages with popular search selections, with the option to customize with add-on screenings. The company’s API seamlessly integrates with your existing ATS and HRIS systems, streamlining your background check processes and saving you time by automating common workflows. Built-in compliance tools help support adherence with local, state, and federal background check guidelines. Dedicated and responsive customer and candidate support teams are available via phone, email and chat.

Customizable packages start at $29.99 per check and increase in price based on criminal search coverage and additional verifications; volume discounts are available. Add-on searches and screenings help you customize background checks to meet your organization’s needs.

First Advantage provides background check services to small, mid-market, enterprise, and global organizations across various industries. The company offers a variety of screening options, giving you the flexibility to choose the best background check for the role you’re hiring. First Advantage’s industry-specific packages are designed to meet the needs of specific verticals, and its compliance management tools help reduce organizational risk.

In October 2024, First Advantage acquired Sterling Check. It is unknown if the two background check companies will begin operating as one or continue with separate service offerings.

Starting at $29 per check, with additional searches costing extra.

HireRight offers a suite of screening options for small, medium, enterprise, and global businesses. Employers can choose from pre-built packages for businesses in various industries, plus add-on products are available to customize screenings for specific roles. Small and medium-sized businesses can purchase single criminal background checks through HireRight's self-service option.

Starting at $36.47 for a single background check, with add-ons costing extra.

Accurate provides background check services for businesses of all sizes. The company offers a self-service small business solution for companies running fewer than 100 checks annually and an enterprise solution for companies with higher volume. Both options have built-in compliance tools to support local, state, and federal hiring regulations. You can choose from preset background check packages or customize your screenings to fit your organization's needs.

Starting at $32.23 per report, plus a $25 setup fee to verify your business and create an account.

Based in Canada, Certn offers background checks for any size businesses. with a self-service option specifically for small businesses. The company offers a suite of screenings to service many industries, with background checks available in over 200 countries. Additionally, Certn integrates with major applicant tracking systems, compliance platforms, and other HR software for streamlined hiring.

Starting at $29.99 for a criminal check package, though all search types are offered a-la-carte.

Background checks for individuals can help you learn more about people in your life, like potential roommates or neighbors. Since these types of checks generally aren’t compliant with the FCRA, they shouldn’t be used for employment purposes. Information in these reports often includes criminal history, address records, and property information. You can even search to see what information is available about you.

Here are five of the top background screening companies for personal use.

Checkr not only offers employment background checks, but also offers personal background checks. Running a background check on yourself gives you the opportunity to preview what employers and landlords might see so you can anticipate questions and review the report for errors or inaccuracies, plus you’ll save time instead of searching public records on your own. 

The report can be ordered in a few easy steps and results are available to view in the online candidate portal. The personal background check may include a Social Security number trace, national criminal search, county criminal search, global watchlist search, and sex offender registry check.

Starting at $49.99 per report, with additional options to include more comprehensive search results.

TruthFinder combs billions of public records in a single search to help you learn more about specific individuals. You can search a person’s name, phone number, email address, and more to find information about their background.

Starting at $28.05 per month for unlimited people searches.

Intelius offers three types of searches to help you learn more about distant relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or people you're dating. The company’s searches claim they can help you avoid email and telemarketing scams and determine whether potential online buyers or sellers are legitimate.

Starting at $25.11 per month for unlimited people searches.

PeopleFinders offers fast results with data from various public sources to help you find information about friends or relatives. The site is free to use for basic public record searches and offers more detailed reports and real-time updates to paid members. You can conduct searches on its website or use the mobile app for a more robust experience, including auto spam call blocking. 

Starting at $24.95 a month for a basic membership.

US Search offers a people search tool that accesses billions of public records. Through the site, you can find contact information for friends and family members or identify unknown phone numbers. This people search tool provides contact information, but not civil or criminal history. The site offers search types by name, phone number, or address with different types of information being reported for each. 

Starting at $19.86 per month for unlimited reports.

Here’s a closer look at what the best background check websites offer employers and individuals. 

It may be possible for employers to conduct free background checks, as it’s often possible to request records directly from law enforcement agencies or educational institutions. For example, Texas criminal background checks can be conducted through the Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) and California criminal records can be requested through the California Department of Justice’s automated service. Though both searches are free, there are fees to obtain a copy of the criminal background check results. 

Individuals may be able to perform limited checks for free. For example, certain states provide public access to online criminal records, along with court, arrest, and inmate records. You may also be able to use free background check sites for simple people searches, like TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, or Spokeo. But if you want more details or comprehensive information, you typically have to pay a fee. 

The background check company that’s right for you depends on your specific needs and whether you're conducting a search for employment or personal purposes. The best background check companies offer a range of screening options with fast turnaround times and customer service teams to answer your questions, as well as a simple sign up process and easy-to-use platform.

If you’re looking to conduct employment-related screenings, working with an FCRA-compliant background check company, like Checkr, can help support compliance with local, state, and federal hiring regulations. Depending on your budget and hiring volume, you may also want to look for features like mobile options for easy applicant tracking and reporting tools to help you fairly evaluate and improve your hiring process. Time-saving features that help you automate workflows and seamlessly integrate the background check process with your existing systems are also important.

If you’re an individual trying to find the best background check website, you may want to look for an option with affordable and transparent pricing, extensive search results, and customer support. Depending on how many background checks you need, you may also want to look for a service that offers unlimited searches.

Background checks are most commonly used by employers for pre-employment screenings to determine eligibility for a role and make informed hiring decisions. Organizations may also use background checks to screen volunteers to ensure they’re qualified and capable of performing the required tasks. The best online background check companies for employers help companies make fair and informed hiring decisions while remaining compliant with applicable hiring regulations. 

Not all background checks are conducted by businesses and non-profit organizations. Some individuals conduct background checks for personal reasons. Personal background checks can help people stay safe and avoid scams by providing information about potential roommates, neighbors, partners, online buyers and sellers, unknown phone numbers, and email addresses. They can also help job candidates preview what an employer or landlord might see on a background check.

Pricing for the best background check service varies based on multiple factors, including whether it’s an employer or individual search, the scope of your searches, types of add-on screenings you include, the number of searches you complete, and the provider you choose to partner with. For example, Checkr's employment background checks start at $29.99 and discounts are available for companies with high volume hiring.

The information included in a background check varies based on the type of check you complete (employment or personal) and the screenings you choose to include.

Employment background screenings vary based on the organization’s background check policy and applicable laws, but may include criminal background checks, driving records checks, employment or education verification, credit checks, and more. The best background check sites offer multiple search options, so you can choose the specific screenings for each role. 

Personal background checks may include a person’s contact information, criminal records and civil judgments, property records, social media profiles, and more.

Background checks can provide a wealth of information, whether for employment or personal use. Using a third-party background check provider offers many benefits—especially for employers. 

Top background screening companies can help employers maintain compliance with complex laws and regulations, streamline the background check process for more efficient hiring, and provide an improved candidate experience, enhancing your business’s reputation.

Checkr’s modern platform provides fast and accurate screenings to help you find qualified candidates for your organization and make informed hiring decisions. Our services save you time by automating workflows and help minimize your risk by supporting compliance with local, state, and federal guidelines governing background checks. Get started.

*Descriptions of service offerings, website images, and pricing mentioned in this article are accurate as of date of publication.

About the author

Sarah writes about small business topics and corporate communications. She has written on a wide range of topics, including background checks, hiring trends, company culture, and employee training and development. Her work includes educational articles, press releases, newsletters, and employee onboarding collateral.