What is a background check?
A background check is a way to learn a person’s true identity, including their real name, aliases, age, employment history, previous addresses, marital status, criminal record, relatives, associates, assets, bankruptcies, and so on. In other words, it’s a tool for verifying someone’s identity and finding out if that person is who they say they are.
Running background checks online is very simple – you only need to type the person’s name and any additional known details about the person to narrow down the search results, like their age and state they live in – if you have this information.
What are the best background checks in 2024?
We’ve tested dozens of background check tools on the internet. While there are plenty that claim to be free, none of them provide detailed background information unless you pay for it.
There are, however, some websites that can provide very basic information about people for free (e.g. names, aliases, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers), such as TruePeopleSearch.
As with anything in life, you get what you pay for. If you’re serious about performing a solid background check, you’re going to need a paid background check, and below are our top picks.
TruthFinder is the best choice for background checks we’ve found. It offers the most comprehensive reports I’ve seen, covering contact details, criminal and traffic records, employment history, and more. TruthFinder excels in uncovering criminal records that many other tools miss.
At $28.33 per month for unlimited background reports, it’s an excellent value. However, remember to cancel the service if you no longer need it to avoid automatic billing.
If you want a background check service that’s as budget-friendly as it is high-quality, check out Intelius. Backed by the same company that owns TruthFinder, Intelius offers the same depth of information.
Best of all, Intelius provides a $0.95 5-day trial, allowing you to run unlimited background checks. Just make sure to cancel your subscription before the trial ends to avoid automatic charges.
BeenVerified background checks provide access to billions of records from leading sources. Its capabilities in locating public records and social media profiles are impressive during our test.
A one-month membership is priced at $29.99 and allows you to run up to 100 reports. If you opt for the 3-month membership plan, the cost is $19.49 per month.
Spokeo is one of the most widely used background check services in the industry, known for its speed and ease of use. Although some reviews mention inaccuracies and incomplete data, Spokeo excels in providing detailed information about a person’s online presence.
You can try Spokeo’s 7-day trial for $0.95. If you don’t cancel the auto-renewal, you’ll be billed $29.95 per month after the trial ends.
PeopleFinders has been around since 1999. It’s easy to use, reasonably priced, and comes with excellent mobile apps. It can find criminal, property, and court records associated with individuals in the US.
What we like most about PeopleFinders is the option to purchase a single report. A background report costs $19.95, while a monthly PeopleFinders subscription for unlimited reports is $29.95. Occasionally, it offers a 3-day trial for $3.95.
1. TruthFinder
TruthFinder is our favorite background check on the market.
It sources its data from a vast database of public records (including police and court records, vehicle/vessel registration records, property records, etc.), and public websites including social media platforms.
You can search for nearly anyone in the United States by name, phone number, address, or email address. The results may reveal the person’s contact information, criminal and arrest records, assets, bankruptcy information and liens, licenses, social media profiles, and other public records. The search is totally anonymous – meaning your subject won’t be notified about your search.
During our test, TruthFinder consistently provided more comprehensive information on our subjects than other tools we tested, and it even uncovered criminal records overlooked by others.
While TruthFinder offers unparalleled depth, it comes at a slightly higher price point of $28.33 per month for the people search plan, which includes unlimited reports. The plan automatically renews unless you cancel it.
2. Intelius
Intelius is another comprehensive background check tool backed by the same company that owns TruthFinder and it’s more affordable – pricing at $25.11 a month. Despite the lower cost, you can expect similar comprehensive reports.
You can look up someone’s name, phone number, or address and get a detailed background report on that person. The report may contain information like the person’s full name, age, possible photos, employment history, contact details, social media links, address history, criminal records, financial history, and more.
3. BeenVerified
BeenVerified does an awesome job at providing updated and comprehensive information on people.
According to BeenVerified, it partners with a number of publicly available data providers and third-party specialty data providers to offer you the most comprehensive sets of information. In our tests, it provided a treasure trove of information with just a few clicks and almost never completely failed to find someone.
BeenVerified offers a 7-day trial membership for only $1. After the trial, you’ll be billed $22.86 per month if you don’t cancel the membership. All memberships are limited to 100 reports per month.
4. Spokeo
Spokeo offers a powerful background check and it’s probably one of the most well-known people search tools.
It runs records searches on the county, state, and federal levels, and scours social media and public websites to compile thorough background reports.
A background check with Spokeo may uncover the subject’s phone numbers, email addresses, age, marital status, aliases family members, court records, social media profiles, address history, work history, and estimated income. This allows you to get a broad overview of the new contacts you make.
The one-month Spokeo membership is priced at $19.95 and you’ll be able to perform 100 searches a month.
5. PeopleFinders
PeopleFinders isn’t the most well-known people search tool out there, but it’s actually been around since 1999. It’s fast, accurate, and reasonably priced.
The Premium Membership costs $29.95 a month, and it allows you to access a wealth of data including property records, assets, business records, criminal records, bankruptcies, liens, judgments, and more.
You can run a background check on someone by name, phone, email address, and address with PeopleFinders. This allows you to search through over 120 billion public records in the U.S.
When should you run a background check?
There are many circumstances when you may consider doing a background check on someone.
On a personal level, you might want to know what information about yourself is searchable on the internet, and running a background check will provide the answer so you can take action to protect your privacy.
If you’re trying online dating and you want to ensure the person is being genuine with you, a background check will tell you whether they really are who they say they are.
Sometimes, you are just curious about what your old friends and relatives do in their lives, and a background check may reveal their social media links and employment details.
Additionally, if you’re considering moving to a new neighborhood, you might feel more comfortable knowing who lives next door to you. Running a criminal background check can offer peace of mind and give you a sense of security during the stressful transition.
For all these personal uses, the good news is that there are many decent and affordable background check services online. We’ll delve into the best background checks in this guide.
However, if you’re doing this for more formal purposes, like pre-employment screening, tenant evaluation, credit/insurance check, and education verification, you’ll need FCRA-compliant services. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), using a non-FCRA-compliant background in such situations is illegal.
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