Background check software runs the screening a company does before, and sometimes after, it hires someone: pulling a criminal record search, confirming a claimed job title and dates with a former employer, checking a diploma, running identity verification, or querying a sanctions list.
What separates the vendors here is less the checklist of report types, most cover a similar range, and more how the results get back to a recruiter: turnaround time, how many countries a search actually reaches, whether pricing is published or quote-only, and how clearly the tool documents the consent and adverse-action steps a hiring team still has to run under its own legal advice. What counts as a lawful check, and how the results may be used, varies sharply by country and by check type, so every claim below is the vendor's own description of what it does, not legal guidance for any jurisdiction.
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In short
What background check software does
Background check software, also called pre-employment or employment screening software, automates ordering, tracking and returning checks such as criminal record searches, employment and education verification, identity verification, reference checks and sanctions screening, typically through an API or ATS integration rather than a manual request to an agency.
Five things, in this order. Feature counts are not among them: they are the least useful
comparison in software, because every vendor ticks every box.
01
Setup effort in background check software
What the first ninety days of a background check software rollout cost in hours, not in licence fees. A product that needs a partner engagement before it does anything is a different purchase from one a team configures in an afternoon.
02
What background check software really costs
What the bill becomes once the modules a normal buyer of background check software needs are added, and whether you can read that number without a sales conversation.
03
Getting your data out of background check software
How your own data comes back out, in what format, and whether that export is included in the background check software contract or billed as a project.
04
Independence from the vendor
Whether you can buy background check software, run it and leave it on your own terms. This test decides most of the order on this page, and it is why the largest vendors in background check software often sit below the smaller ones.
05
Who the product is built for
The size and shape of company each background check software product was actually built for. Most regret in software comes from buying for a company you are not yet.
The fourth test decides most of the order on this page, and it is the reason the largest
background check software vendors sit below the smaller ones. A product with a published price, an export
that works and no mandatory implementation partner is a product you can leave.
A platform suite that arrives with a quote, a partner and a two-year commitment may well be
the better software and is still the harder decision to reverse. We rank background check software for the
buyer who has to live with that decision without a procurement department, which is a stated
bias rather than a hidden one.
We do not publish a score out of ten. A number like 8.4 is a judgement dressed as a
measurement, and nobody can check it.
What you can check is on this page: what each background check tool costs, where the vendor is
established, whether the price is published, and what we think it is bad at. Our full method
is on the how we work page.
Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
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Berlin AI hiring platform combining reference checks with pre-hire assessments
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Country is where the vendor is headquartered or contracts from, which is a
different question from where your data is hosted. Where the two tell different stories, the
entry says so.
US background-check platform with published per-report pricing and API-first integrations
Ranked #1 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Checkr is a San Francisco-based background-check platform built around an API that plugs into an ATS rather than a standalone portal, and it is one of the few vendors in this category that publishes real per-report prices instead of routing everyone to a sales call: Basic runs $29.99 for an SSN trace, sex-offender registry and national criminal search, Essential adds identity verification and unlimited county search for $59.99, and Complete adds state and federal criminal search for $94.99.
Add-ons like motor vehicle records, drug screening and employment verification are priced separately and billed at cost for third-party court fees. Checkr also owns GoodHire, its own SMB-facing brand, and Truework, an income and employment verification company, giving the group reach across several adjacent screening products.
What stands out
Published per-report pricing
API-first, developer-friendly
Owns GoodHire and Truework
United StatesPer report: Basic $29.99, Essential $59.99, Complete $94.99, plus custom Enterprise pricing
US screening group screening 200M+ candidates a year, now including Sterling after their 2024 merger
Ranked #2 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
First Advantage is an Atlanta-founded (2003) screening group operating at a scale most vendors in this category cannot match: it states over 200 million candidate screens a year, more than 1 billion records across proprietary databases, and coverage in 200-plus countries and territories, serving roughly 80,000 customers.
The company became substantially larger in 2024 when it completed its acquisition of Sterling Check Corp, one of its largest direct competitors, folding Sterling's screening volume and client base into its own platform. Pricing is not published and runs through a sales conversation, which fits its positioning toward large enterprise and Fortune 100 accounts rather than a self-serve small-business buyer.
What stands out
Founded 2003, Atlanta
Absorbed Sterling Check Corp in 2024
1B+ records, 200+ countries/territories claimed
United StatesQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
Nashville-based screening firm, founded 1995, now owned by General Atlantic and Stone Point Capital
Ranked #3 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
HireRight, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is among the longest-established names in this category, founded in 1995 and grown substantially through acquisitions, including Powerchex and Kroll Background Worldwide in 2010, General Information Services in 2018, and J-Screen and PeopleCheck in 2019.
It listed on the NYSE in 2021 and went private again in 2024, when General Atlantic and Stone Point Capital acquired it for $1.65 billion. Pricing is not published, and evaluating it means a sales conversation rather than a self-serve signup, consistent with an enterprise-oriented buyer rather than a small business ordering one-off checks.
What stands out
Founded 1995, one of the oldest in the category
Went private again in 2024 ($1.65B deal)
Built through acquisitions (GIS, Kroll, PeopleCheck)
United StatesQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
Long-standing US screening brand, operated by First Advantage since their 2024 acquisition
Ranked #4 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Sterling was one of the largest independent background-check providers in the US market before First Advantage completed its acquisition of Sterling Check Corp in 2024. Its own website now redirects prospective customers toward First Advantage's platform for ongoing service, and the Sterling brand continues to operate as part of that larger group rather than as a separate company.
Anyone evaluating Sterling today is, in practice, evaluating First Advantage's combined pricing, coverage and account terms, so it is worth comparing the two entries on this page side by side rather than treating them as fully independent options.
What stands out
Now part of First Advantage
Global screening network
Brand retained post-acquisition
United StatesQuoted per organisation via First Advantage; no published self-serve pricing
Irvine, California screening firm with 25+ years in the market and 16,000+ customers claimed
Ranked #5 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Accurate Background, based in Irvine, California, positions itself on scale and longevity: the company states it has operated for more than 25 years, serves over 16,000 customers worldwide, and processes more than 60 million searches a year.
Its range covers the usual criminal, credit, drug-screening and identity-verification checks aimed at large and mid-market employers managing high-volume hiring. As with most of the established US players in this category, pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation, which makes it harder to compare on cost alone against the handful of vendors here that do publish numbers.
What stands out
Operating 25+ years
16,000+ customers claimed
60M+ annual searches claimed
United StatesQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
Checkr's SMB-facing background-check brand, San Francisco
Ranked #6 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
GoodHire operates as a distinct brand within Checkr's corporate family, sharing Checkr's San Francisco address and underlying screening infrastructure while marketing separately toward small and mid-sized employers.
The company states it serves more than 100,000 employers and centres its pitch on FCRA compliance and straightforward, candidate-facing screening reports, covering criminal background checks, employment and education verification, driving records and drug testing. Because it shares ownership with Checkr, a buyer comparing the two should check current pricing and feature differences directly rather than assume they are identical products under two names.
What stands out
A Checkr company
100,000+ employers claimed
FCRA-compliance focus
United StatesQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing on the main site
Canadian screening platform, founded 2016, pay-per-check pricing published in CAD
Ranked #7 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Certn is a Canadian background-screening platform, founded in 2016 and backed in part by Export Development Canada alongside several venture funds. Unlike most vendors in this category it publishes real per-check prices in Canadian dollars: a basic Canadian criminal record check starts at CAD $24.99, identity verification at CAD $4.99, and international add-ons like a social media check or a driver's abstract are priced individually rather than bundled into an opaque package.
That transparency, and Certn's international check catalogue beyond Canada, makes it a reasonable option for a company that wants to see a number before talking to sales, though buyers outside Canada should confirm coverage and pricing in their own currency before committing.
What stands out
Canadian-founded, 2016
Pay-per-check, published CAD pricing
Backed in part by Export Development Canada
CanadaPay-per-check from CAD $4.99 (identity verification) to CAD $59.99 (social media checks); Canadian criminal record checks from CAD $24.99
UK background-checking platform covering criminal checks in 195+ countries
Ranked #8 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Zinc, registered as Zinc Work Ltd in England and Wales, runs pre-employment screening across a stated 195-plus countries from a single dashboard, covering criminal records, right-to-work verification, employment references, financial checks and social media review across six platforms.
It reports ISO 27001 and SOC2 certification and builds in compliance features aimed at UK-regulated sectors specifically, including FCA, CQC and Ofsted requirements. Pricing is not published; the site describes three tiers, from pay-as-you-grow for under 20 hires a year up to an enterprise tier, but every one of them routes to a demo booking rather than a visible number.
What stands out
ISO 27001 and SOC2 certified claimed
195+ country criminal-record coverage claimed
FCA, CQC and Ofsted compliance features
United KingdomThree tiers (Pay-as-you-grow, SMB, Enterprise), quoted on request
London-based screening platform with rare published per-candidate pricing
Ranked #9 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Veremark, registered in London as Veremark Ltd, is one of only two vendors in this list that publishes real prices rather than sending every visitor to a sales call. Its three packages run from Essential at $42 a candidate (two references plus an identity check) up to Executive at $183 (adding employment verification, social media, academic and global sanctions checks), and individual checks are available a la carte from around $14 to $23.
That published pricing is explicitly aimed at organisations hiring under 50 candidates a year; above that, Veremark moves to a custom quote like most of its competitors, and its own pricing page notes regional variants for Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, the UK and the US.
What stands out
Published per-candidate pricing, unusual in this category
A la carte checks available
London-registered (Veremark Ltd)
United KingdomEssential $42, Professional $144, Executive $183 per candidate (packages); a la carte checks from $14; custom quotes above 50 candidates/year
US screening and onboarding platform, Cedar Park, Texas
Ranked #10 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Vetty, based in Cedar Park, Texas, bundles background screening with the onboarding paperwork that usually follows it, covering criminal records, health screenings, professional license monitoring, drug testing and I-9 verification through what it calls a mobile-first platform.
That combination targets employers in healthcare, education, tech and staffing who want one system spanning the pre-hire check and the post-offer paperwork rather than two separate tools. Pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation, and the company positions itself as a smaller, more specialised alternative to the largest incumbents in this category rather than trying to match their global country coverage.
What stands out
Combines screening with onboarding/I-9
Mobile-first candidate flow
Healthcare, education and staffing focus
United StatesQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
US employment-screening firm, Granite Bay, California, founded 2009
Ranked #11 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
iprospectcheck, headquartered in Granite Bay, California, has offered employment screening since 2009, covering criminal background checks, employment and education verification, and drug testing with coordinated clinical services.
It advertises a 24-hour average turnaround, FCRA compliance and a US-based support team as its core pitch, aimed at employers who want a smaller, more responsive vendor rather than one of the largest incumbents. Pricing is not published on the site and requires a direct conversation with the company, so budgeting means requesting a quote before comparing it against the published-price options in this list.
What stands out
Founded 2009
FCRA-compliance focus
US-based support team claimed
United StatesQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
London reference-checking platform automating employer references and right-to-work/DBS verification
Ranked #12 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
RefNow, registered in London as RefNow Ltd, focuses specifically on automating the reference-checking step of hiring rather than covering the full range of criminal, credit and identity checks that the larger platforms in this category bundle together.
It states it can cut reference-checking time by 95% through automation, and it adds right-to-work and DBS-related verification features aimed squarely at UK employers. That narrower scope makes it a fit for a company that already has a screening vendor for criminal and identity checks and wants a faster, more automated way to collect and verify references specifically, rather than a single vendor covering everything.
What stands out
London-registered (RefNow Ltd)
Reference-checking specialist, not full criminal screening
RTW/DBS verification features for UK hiring
United KingdomQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
Dutch background-screening platform (Enschede) with published pay-as-you-go pricing
Ranked #13 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
PESCHECK is a Dutch background-screening company, registered as PESCHECK B.V. in Enschede with an additional office in Munich, Germany, and one of the few vendors anywhere in this category, European or otherwise, that publishes real prices: Standard packages start from EUR 36 a candidate for ID verification and a criminal record check, Enhanced from EUR 64, and Complete from EUR 146 covering references and adverse media alongside the rest.
Signup is free with no credit card required, and payment only happens once a screening actually runs. The company states ISO 27001 certification, GDPR compliance, PBSA accreditation and registration with the Dutch POB register for private investigation and screening organisations, and claims over 2,600 clients and 300,000-plus screenings completed with an average turnaround under 24 hours.
What stands out
Netherlands-based (PESCHECK B.V.), EU entity
ISO 27001 and GDPR-compliant, PBSA-accredited claimed
Published pay-as-you-go pricing
NetherlandsStandard from EUR 36, Enhanced from EUR 64, Complete from EUR 146 per candidate; free account, pay per screening run
Berlin AI hiring platform combining reference checks with pre-hire assessments
Ranked #14 of 14 in Best Background Check Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
HiPeople, registered as HiPeople GmbH in Berlin, is not a pure background-check vendor: its platform bundles automated reference checks alongside application screening, AI-run interviews and skills assessments, positioned as an end-to-end hiring workflow rather than a single screening report.
That makes it a narrower fit for a buyer who specifically wants a criminal-record or identity-verification vendor, and a stronger one for a team that wants reference collection folded into the same tool as the rest of its hiring process. The company states it offers a choice of EU or US data hosting, which is relevant for a European employer that wants reference data kept inside the EU, though it does not publish self-serve pricing.
What stands out
Berlin-based (HiPeople GmbH), EU entity
Reference checks bundled inside a broader hiring platform
EU or US data hosting offered
GermanyQuoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing
Background check software, also called pre-employment or employment screening software, automates ordering, tracking and returning checks such as criminal record searches, employment and education verification, identity verification, reference checks and sanctions screening, typically through an API or ATS integration rather than a manual request to an agency. The differences that matter are rarely in the feature list, so this is
the order we would work through them.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
10 of the 14 tools here publish what they cost; the other 4 quote per organisation, which means a sales conversation before you can compare anything. If you are buying without a procurement function, start with the ones that publish: First Advantage, HireRight, Sterling, Accurate Background, GoodHire, Vetty, iprospectcheck, RefNow, PESCHECK, HiPeople.
02
Work out what the first ninety days cost in time
Licence cost is the number in the contract; setup effort is the number that surprises people. Ask every shortlisted vendor who does the configuration, how long it took the last customer of your size, and what happens if that person leaves halfway.
03
Check the exit before the entry
Ask for an export of your own data in a format you can open, and ask whether it is included or billed as a project. A vendor that hesitates here is telling you what renewal negotiations will feel like in three years.
04
Match the tool to the size you are, not the size you plan to be
Most regret in this category comes from buying for a headcount that never arrived. The entry-level products here are not worse; they are aimed at a different company.
05
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 14 vendors are established in 5 countries across 2 regions (North America 9, Europe 5). Where a vendor is established decides which government can compel access to what it holds, which is a different question from where the servers are. For most buyers that is a factor, not a veto.
What goes wrong most often when buying background check software
Shortlisting background check software on a feature matrix. Every vendor in this category ticks every box, so the matrix tells you nothing and costs a week.
Testing with clean data. Import the messy export from the system you are replacing, because that is what your first week of background check software will actually look like.
Letting the vendor run the demo. Ask for a background check tool sandbox and do your own three most common tasks in it, timed.
Buying for the company you plan to become. The entry-level background check tools here are not worse products, they are aimed at a different size of company.
07
Frequently asked questions
9 answers
What is the best background check in 2026?
Checkr leads our ranking of 14. Checkr is a San Francisco-based background-check platform built around an API that plugs into an ATS rather than a standalone portal, and it is one of the few vendors in this category that publishes real per-report prices instead of routing everyone to a sales call: Basic runs $29.99 for an SSN trace, sex-offender registry and national criminal search, Essential adds identity verification and unlimited county search for $59.99, and Complete adds state and federal criminal search for $94.99.
Add-ons like motor vehicle records, drug screening and employment verification are priced separately and billed at cost for third-party court fees. Checkr also owns GoodHire, its own SMB-facing brand, and Truework, an income and employment verification company, giving the group reach across several adjacent screening products.
How did you rank these background check tools?
On what separates products after the demo: how much setup the first ninety days take, what the price becomes once the modules a normal buyer needs are added, how your data comes back out, whether you can buy and leave it without a partner engagement, and who the product is genuinely for.
That fourth test is why the large platform suites usually sit lower here than their market share would suggest. Not on feature counts, and not on a score we invented.
Which background check tools publish their pricing?
10 of the 14, with the pricing model each one publishes:
First Advantage: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing.
HireRight: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing.
Sterling: Quoted per organisation via First Advantage; no published self-serve pricing.
Accurate Background: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing.
GoodHire: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing on the main site.
Vetty: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing.
iprospectcheck: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing.
RefNow: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing.
PESCHECK: Standard from EUR 36, Enhanced from EUR 64, Complete from EUR 146 per candidate; free account, pay per screening run.
HiPeople: Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing.
The other 4 quote per organisation.
Is there a free background check tool?
PESCHECK offer a free tier or a free self-hosted edition. Read what the free tier excludes before you plan around it.
Where are these background check vendors established?
In 5 countries across 2 regions: North America 9, Europe 5.
Checkr is established in the United States.
First Advantage is established in the United States.
HireRight is established in the United States.
Sterling is established in the United States.
Accurate Background is established in the United States.
GoodHire is established in the United States.
Certn is established in Canada.
Zinc is established in the United Kingdom.
Veremark is established in the United Kingdom.
Vetty is established in the United States.
iprospectcheck is established in the United States.
RefNow is established in the United Kingdom.
PESCHECK is established in the Netherlands.
HiPeople is established in Germany.
Establishment decides whose courts and whose disclosure laws apply, which is a separate question from where the data is hosted.
What should you use instead of Checkr?
First Advantage and HireRight are the next two on this page.
First Advantage is for US screening group screening 200M+ candidates a year, now including Sterling after their 2024 merger; HireRight is for Nashville-based screening firm, founded 1995, now owned by General Atlantic and Stone Point Capital. All 14 are ranked here with what each one is bad at.
Who should not buy Checkr?
Checkr is a San Francisco-based background-check platform built around an API that plugs into an ATS rather than a standalone portal, and it is one of the few vendors in this category that publishes real per-report prices instead of routing everyone to a sales call: Basic runs $29.99 for an SSN trace, sex-offender registry and national criminal search, Essential adds identity verification and unlimited county search for $59.99, and Complete adds state and federal criminal search for $94.99.
Add-ons like motor vehicle records, drug screening and employment verification are priced separately and billed at cost for third-party court fees. Checkr also owns GoodHire, its own SMB-facing brand, and Truework, an income and employment verification company, giving the group reach across several adjacent screening products.
Do you get paid for these rankings?
Vendors can pay for visibility, which affects where and how prominently a product appears. It does not change a word of what the entry says about that product, including the criticism, and it cannot buy inclusion for something that does not belong in the category.
We take no commission when you click through to a vendor and we do not know whether you bought anything. The full arrangement is on our disclosure page.
How often is this background check guide updated?
Whenever the facts move: a price change, an acquisition, a product that stops being maintained. The published and updated dates at the top of the page are real, and a review means someone went back to the vendor documentation rather than bumping a date.
These 14 products are the ones we judged worth ranking in background check. If yours belongs here and is missing, tell us what it does and who it is for, and we will look at it. Inclusion is an editorial call and it is not for sale — but nobody gets considered for a list they were never put in front of.
People land on this page with a shortlist to make, not a browsing habit to feed. That is a narrower audience than a banner reaches and a far more decided one.
Written by us, about you
We describe the product in our own words, say who it suits and say who it does not. A vendor never writes the entry and never sees it before it goes up.
A correction costs nothing
If a fact about your product is wrong here, tell us and we fix it, whether or not there is any money between us. That offer is older than any commercial arrangement on this site.
Placement is separate, and disclosed
Where a product sits in the ranking can be paid for, and the notice above the list says so on every page. What the entry says about the product is not for sale at any price.
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