Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in background check software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 14 tools, reviewed
#1 PESCHECK
Dutch background-screening platform with published pay-as-you-go pricing · Netherlands · pescheck.io
Published pay-as-you-go pricing Netherlands-based, EU entity No setup fees or minimums
PESCHECK is a Dutch background-screening company, registered as PESCHECK B.V. in Enschede with an additional office in Munich, Germany, and one of six vendors in this ranking that publish real prices: Standard packages start from EUR 36 a screening for ID verification and a criminal record check, Enhanced from EUR 64 adding an integrity assessment and right-to-work check, and Complete from EUR 146 adding work references and adverse media, though the calculator on the same page quotes lower rates of EUR 24, 55 and 137.
- Pricing: Pay-as-you-go / candidate. Standard from EUR 36 (ID and criminal record), Enhanced from EUR 64, Complete from EUR 146 per screening on the package cards, though the page's calculator uses EUR 24, 55 and 137. Free plan: none.
- Best for: European employers wanting transparent, no-minimum pricing
- Strengths: ID verification and criminal record checks; Reference and adverse media checks; PEP and sanctions screening.
Where it falls short
Its country coverage and brand recognition outside Europe trail the largest US incumbents, and a very large US-centric enterprise may still prefer the scale and native integrations of Checkr or First Advantage.
Wrong for
A large US enterprise wanting a single quoted enterprise contract across thousands of domestic hires a year is better served by First Advantage or HireRight.
Visit PESCHECK →
#2 Certn
Canadian screening platform with pay-per-check pricing published in CAD, USD and GBP · Canada · certn.co
Founded 2016 Pay-per-check, published CAD, USD and GBP pricing ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified
Certn is a Canadian background-screening platform, founded in 2016 and backed in part by Export Development Canada alongside several venture funds.
- Pricing: Pay-per-check. Pay-per-check, published by region: in Canada identity verification CAD $4.99, basic criminal record check CAD $24.99, social media check CAD $59.99. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Small and mid-sized employers wanting a visible price before signup
- Strengths: Canadian and international criminal record checks; Identity verification (OneID); Employment and education verification.
Where it falls short
Published prices exclude pass-through access fees, which vary by jurisdiction, and the regional price lists differ in which checks they include, so buyers should price the exact checks they need in their own region before committing, and there is no stated free trial.
Wrong for
A buyer wanting deep US-specific compliance tooling and FCRA-focused workflows may find Checkr or GoodHire a more purpose-built US fit.
Visit Certn →
#4 GoodHire
Checkr's SMB-facing background-check brand, San Francisco · United States · goodhire.com
A Checkr company 100,000+ employers claimed FCRA-compliance focus
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.
- Pricing: Per report. Basic from $29.99, Essential from $59.99, Complete from $94.99 per check for employers running under 50 checks a year. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Small and mid-sized US employers wanting an FCRA-focused, candidate-friendly tool
- Strengths: Criminal background checks; Employment and education verification; Driving records.
Where it falls short
Published per-check pricing applies only below 50 checks a year, after which it moves to a custom quote, and because it shares ownership, infrastructure and list prices with Checkr, a buyer comparing the two should check current feature and support differences directly rather than assume they are meaningfully different products.
Wrong for
A larger employer or product team wanting Checkr's full API-first, developer-facing platform and its wider published add-on catalog should go directly to Checkr instead.
Visit GoodHire →
#5 iprospectcheck
US employment-screening firm, Granite Bay, California, founded 2009 · United States · iprospectcheck.com
Founded 2009 FCRA-compliance focus US-based support team claimed
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.
- Pricing: Per report. Published packages: $34.95 to $99.95 per check for 1 to 25 checks a year, $24.95 to $89.95 for 25 to 50 a year. Free plan: none.
- Best for: US employers wanting a smaller, more responsive vendor over a large incumbent
- Strengths: Criminal background checks; Employment and education verification; Drug testing with clinical services.
Where it falls short
Published package prices only cover employers running up to 50 checks a year and exclude pass-through costs such as court access fees, clinic charges and third-party verification fees, so higher-volume buyers still need a quote, and its pitch is built around US screening rather than international coverage.
Wrong for
An employer hiring mostly outside the United States, or needing international criminal and verification checks at volume, should start with First Advantage, HireRight or Zinc instead.
Visit iprospectcheck →
#6 Checkr
US background-check platform with published per-report pricing and API-first integrations · United States · checkr.com
Published per-report pricing API-first, developer-friendly Owns GoodHire and Truework
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 six vendors in this category that publish real per-report prices instead of routing everyone to a sales call: Basic covers an SSN trace, sex-offender registry and national criminal search, Essential adds identity verification and unlimited county search, and Complete adds state and federal criminal search.
- Pricing: Per report. Per report: Basic roughly $30, Essential roughly $60, Complete roughly $95, plus custom Enterprise pricing. Free plan: none.
- Best for: US employers wanting a developer-friendly, API-first integration
- Strengths: SSN trace and sex-offender registry search; County, state and federal criminal search; Identity verification.
Where it falls short
Add-ons like motor vehicle records, drug screening and employment verification are priced separately, and enterprise-tier pricing is not published.
Wrong for
A very small employer hiring mostly outside the US may find PESCHECK's or Veremark's international per-candidate packages a better fit than Checkr's US-centric criminal-search tiers, which start at $29.99 a report.
Visit Checkr →
#7 RefNow
London reference-checking platform automating employer references and UK right-to-work verification · United Kingdom · refnow.com
London-registered Reference-checking specialist UK right-to-work and DBS features
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.
- Pricing: Quote only. Credit-based plans with optional paid add-ons, prices not published. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Employers wanting faster, automated reference checks alongside an existing screening vendor
- Strengths: Automated reference collection and fraud detection; Employment verification (RefNow Respond); UK DBS checks (Basic, Standard, Enhanced).
Where it falls short
It is not a substitute for a full criminal-record and identity screening vendor, so most buyers will run it alongside, rather than instead of, a broader platform, and pricing is not published.
Wrong for
A company wanting a single vendor covering criminal records, identity and references together should choose Checkr, Zinc or PESCHECK instead.
Visit RefNow →
#8 HiPeople
Berlin AI hiring platform combining reference checks with pre-hire assessments · Germany · hipeople.io
Berlin-based, EU entity EU or US data hosting offered Bundled with assessments and AI interviews
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.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Teams wanting reference checks folded into a wider AI hiring workflow
- Strengths: Automated reference checks; AI-run structured interviews; Skills assessments and job simulations.
Where it falls short
It is a narrower fit for a buyer who specifically wants a criminal-record or identity-verification vendor rather than a reference check bundled into a broader AI hiring suite, and it does not publish self-serve pricing.
Wrong for
A buyer wanting criminal record and identity verification as the primary product, with reference checks as one feature among several, should choose PESCHECK, Certn or Zinc instead.
Visit HiPeople →
#9 Zinc
UK background-checking platform covering criminal checks in 195+ countries · United Kingdom · zincwork.com
ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified claimed 195+ country criminal-record coverage claimed FCA, CQC and Ofsted compliance features
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.
- Pricing: Pay-as-you-go / quote. Self-serve pay-as-you-go plan for employers making 50 or fewer hires a year (free account, card on file, check prices not listed publicly). Free plan: none.
- Best for: UK-regulated employers (financial services, healthcare, education)
- Strengths: Criminal record checks across 195+ countries claimed; Right-to-work verification; Employment references.
Where it falls short
Pricing is not published at any tier: the self-serve pay-as-you-go plan for employers making 50 or fewer hires a year needs an account and payment details before checks are ordered, and the SMB and Enterprise tiers route to a demo booking, so comparing cost means signing up or talking to sales first.
Wrong for
A buyer wanting to see a published price before creating an account or booking a demo should choose Certn, Veremark or PESCHECK instead.
Visit Zinc →
#10 Vetty
US screening and onboarding platform, Cedar Park, Texas · United States · vetty.co
Combines screening with onboarding/I-9 Mobile-first candidate flow Healthcare, education and staffing focus
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.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Healthcare, education and staffing employers wanting screening plus onboarding in one tool
- Strengths: Criminal record checks; Health screenings and drug testing; Professional license monitoring.
Where it falls short
Pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation, and its country coverage and brand recognition are narrower than the largest incumbents in this category.
Wrong for
A large multinational needing broad international coverage across dozens of countries is better served by First Advantage, HireRight or Zinc.
Visit Vetty →
#11 Accurate Background
Irvine, California screening firm with 25+ years in the market · United States · accurate.com
Operating 25+ years 16,000+ customers claimed 60M+ annual searches claimed
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, describing itself as the largest privately held, minority-owned global provider of employment background screening services.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large and mid-market employers with high-volume hiring
- Strengths: Criminal and credit checks; Drug screening; Identity verification.
Where it falls short
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.
Wrong for
A small employer running occasional checks will find its enterprise-oriented sales process heavier than needed; PESCHECK or Veremark fit that volume better.
Visit Accurate Background →
#12 HireRight
Nashville-based screening firm, founded 1995, taken private again in 2024 · United States · hireright.com
Founded 1995 Went private again in 2024 ($1.65B deal) Built through acquisitions (GIS, Kroll, PeopleCheck)
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.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large enterprises wanting a long-established, deeply integrated screening vendor
- Strengths: Criminal and identity checks; Employment and education verification; Drug and health screening.
Where it falls short
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.
Wrong for
A small business wanting a card-payable, self-serve signup should choose Checkr, Certn, Veremark or PESCHECK instead.
Visit HireRight →
#13 First Advantage
US screening group processing 200M+ candidate screens a year, now including Sterling · United States · fadv.com
Founded 2003, Atlanta Acquired Sterling Check Corp in 2024 1B+ records, 200+ countries/territories claimed
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.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quoted per organisation; no published self-serve pricing. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Very large, high-volume global enterprises
- Strengths: Criminal background screening; Identity verification; Drug and occupational health screening.
Where it falls short
Pricing is not published and runs through a sales conversation, which fits its positioning toward large enterprise accounts rather than a self-serve small-business buyer, and its scale means recent-acquisition integration work is still ongoing for former Sterling customers.
Wrong for
A small or mid-sized employer wanting a fast, self-serve signup with visible pricing should choose Checkr, Certn, Veremark or PESCHECK instead.
Visit First Advantage →
#14 Sterling (now First Advantage)
Long-standing US screening brand, now operated by First Advantage · United States · sterlingcheck.com
Now part of First Advantage Global screening network Customers moving to First Advantage
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 for a reported $2.2 billion. Its own website now states "Sterling is now a First Advantage company" and "New name.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quoted per organisation via First Advantage; no published self-serve pricing. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Existing Sterling customers evaluating their current provider
- Strengths: Criminal background checks; Identity verification; Global screening network.
Where it falls short
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.
Wrong for
A buyer wanting a clearly independent vendor, rather than a legacy brand inside a larger combined company, should treat First Advantage as the entry to evaluate instead.
Visit Sterling (now First Advantage) →
Questions and answers
What is the best background check software in 2026?
PESCHECK ranks first of 14, best for european employers wanting transparent, no-minimum pricing. Certn is second (small and mid-sized employers wanting a visible price before signup) and Veremark third (employers hiring under 50 candidates a year wanting a visible price). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
Is background check software legal advice on what I'm allowed to screen for?
No. Every vendor in this list describes what its own product does, not what the law in any given country or state permits.
Why do First Advantage and Sterling appear as separate listings if Sterling was acquired?
First Advantage completed its acquisition of Sterling Check Corp in 2024, and Sterling's own website now states it is a First Advantage company and tells customers their accounts, support and checks are moving to First Advantage.
What is the difference between Checkr and GoodHire?
GoodHire operates as a distinct brand within Checkr's corporate family, sharing Checkr's underlying screening infrastructure while marketing separately toward small and mid-sized employers with a stated focus on FCRA-style compliance and candidate-facing report clarity.
Which vendors publish real pricing instead of routing to a sales call?
Checkr and its GoodHire brand publish per-report US pricing, Certn publishes per-check price lists for Canada, the US, EMEA and ANZ, Veremark publishes per-candidate package pricing for organisations screening under roughly 50 candidates a year, PESCHECK publishes pay-as-you-go pricing in euros with no minimum commitment, and iprospectcheck publishes package prices for employers running up to 50 checks a year.
Can these tools screen candidates outside the United States?
Most of the larger platforms, First Advantage, HireRight, Accurate Background, Checkr, Zinc, state coverage across well over 100 countries, though depth and turnaround vary enormously by jurisdiction and check type.
What's the difference between a full screening platform and a reference-checking specialist?
Most vendors here, Checkr, First Advantage, HireRight and others, bundle criminal record, identity, employment and education checks into one platform.
How long do background check platforms keep candidate data?
Retention periods are set by the vendor's own policy and by applicable law in the relevant jurisdiction, and they vary across this list; several vendors state ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification and GDPR-compliance claims, which describes their security programme rather than a specific retention period.
Do candidates need to consent before a check is run?
In most jurisdictions, yes, some form of documented candidate consent is a legal requirement before a background check can be run, and every vendor in this list builds a consent step into its workflow.
