How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- HireRight says it screens more than 85 million people annually, while Checkr reports 140,000+ businesses run on its platform, which gives you a sense of this market's scale.
- GoodHire is the only provider here with public per-check pricing, starting at $29.99 per check for its Basic package; everyone else quotes custom.
- Sterling has merged into First Advantage, and Orange Tree's site now redirects to Accurate, so consolidation is actively reshaping who sells what.
- Small teams that run occasional checks should start with GoodHire, Certn, or Vetty; high-volume and enterprise programs belong with Checkr, HireRight, First Advantage, or Accurate.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Checkr | companies screening at volume with speed | See website | No |
 GoodHire | small businesses that want prices on the page | $29.99 per check | No |
 First Advantage | enterprises consolidating screening vendors | See website | No |
 HireRight | regulated industries and global hiring programs | See website | No |
 Accurate | mid-market companies wanting a screening partner | See website | No |
 Certn | fast international and remote-team screening | See website | No |
 Vetty | scaling companies that want screening plus onboarding | See website | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best background check software
Background check software is really two things: the compliance engine that keeps your screening FCRA-legal, and the workflow that gets results back before your candidate accepts another offer. Turnaround time, coverage depth, and candidate experience separate the good from the frustrating here, because the underlying data sources are largely the same across providers.
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Checkr rebuilt background screening as a data platform, and its homepage numbers show the bet paid off: more than 140,000 businesses, 260 million real identities mapped covering 96% of US adults, and a +60 NPS the company calls one of the highest in B2B tech. The pitch centers on accuracy and speed: tenant screening results in 4 minutes versus a 48-72 hour industry average, and 2,400+ direct government sources refreshed daily for insurance underwriting data.
Checkr's expansion beyond employment screening into mortgage, tenant, insurance, and personal verification makes it a platform play rather than a point vendor. The company also launched Checkr Profiles, portable verified identity for individuals, which signals where screening is heading. The honest catch is that Checkr is engineered for volume and self-service; pricing is quote-based and smaller employers will not get the white-glove onboarding an Accurate or Vetty provides.
What we like- 140K+ businesses and 260M+ mapped identities
- 97% of customers say turnaround beats their previous vendor
- Strong API and marketplace integrations
Watch out for- No public pricing
- Built for scale, so very small teams get less hand-holding
Starting price$29.99 per check
Free planNo
GoodHire earns its place as the most transparent option in this comparison: its own pricing page lists Basic from $29.99 per check, Essential from $59.99, and Complete from $94.99, each bundling progressively deeper criminal coverage from national search up through county, state, and federal records. Employers running fewer than 50 checks a year get custom packages, and more than 100 add-on screenings cover employment and education verification, MVR, drug testing, and international checks.
Now part of the Checkr family, GoodHire keeps its own SMB-focused identity: a simple online platform, candidate self-consent workflows, and a help center for the compliance questions small teams always have. The catch is structural: the preset package prices assume 50+ checks annually, so truly occasional screeners should talk to sales before assuming the sticker numbers apply. For a 30-person company hiring steadily, though, this is the easiest buying experience in the category.
What we like- Transparent per-check pricing from $29.99
- Built for SMB ease of use
- 100+ screening add-ons with custom packages for low volume
Watch out for- Preset packages require 50+ checks per year
- Enterprise global programs are not its strength
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Sterling's acquisition by First Advantage closed in late 2024, and sterlingcheck.com now serves as the transition home for the combined company. The numbers describe the largest background screening footprint in the industry: more than 80,000 organizations served globally, 200+ countries and territories, 200 million screens conducted annually, and roughly two-thirds of the Fortune 100 as customers.
For buyers, the merger means one contract can now cover background checks, drug and health screening, I-9, MVR, and identity verification at global scale, with the automation Sterling built for candidate experience layered onto First Advantage's infrastructure. Existing Sterling customers are being moved onto the combined platform with the promise of no workflow disruption. The honest catch is transition friction: during a merger of this size, account teams, product roadmaps, and contract terms are all in motion, so new enterprise buyers should get commitments in writing.
What we like- Combined scale of Sterling and First Advantage
- 80,000+ organizations and 200M+ screens annually
- About two-thirds of the Fortune 100 are customers
Watch out for- Brand transition in progress, which can confuse contracting
- Enterprise sales motion with no self-serve path
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
HireRight is the incumbent built for complexity: more than 85 million people screened per year, coverage across 200+ countries and territories, about half of the Fortune 100 as customers, and 70+ integrations with leading ATS and HCM platforms. Its strengths cluster around regulated and global hiring: DOT and FMCSA compliance, drug and health screening, Form I-9, and the kind of compliance infrastructure that keeps multi-jurisdiction programs defensible.
The company, taken private in 2024, positions its platform as the only unified global screening solution in the industry, which matters when you are running consistent programs across regions with different data and privacy rules. Customer reviews on its own site emphasize ease of ordering drug screens and the breadth of reporting. The catch is fit: HireRight is an enterprise program vendor, and a 50-person company will find Certn or Vetty faster to buy and easier to live with.
What we like- 85M+ people screened annually with 200+ country coverage
- 70+ ATS and HCM integrations
- Deep compliance and drug-testing capabilities
Watch out for- Enterprise-focused with custom pricing
- Smaller employers may find it heavier than needed
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Accurate has spent nearly three decades building a reputation as the screening vendor that acts like an extension of your team rather than a software login. Its homepage claims more than 16,000 customers worldwide, 60 million-plus annual searches, support in 30 languages, and vertical teams for healthcare, retail, transportation, staffing, and gig work. It is also the largest privately held, minority-owned global provider in the space, which matters for supplier-diversity programs.
The service model is the differentiator: dedicated teams, 24/7 support commitment, and an API plus ATS integrations for companies that want both automation and a human to call. Accurate has also been acquisitive, including CareerBuilder Employment Screening, which broadened its US footprint. The honest catch is pricing opacity and a product that leads with service rather than self-service speed; buyers who want to sign up and run a check tonight should look at Certn or GoodHire first.
What we like- 16,000+ customers with a partnership-oriented service model
- 60M+ annual searches across 6 continents
- Strong healthcare, retail, and transportation verticals
Watch out for- No public pricing
- Mid-market focus means less platform automation than Checkr
#6
Certn
Best for: fast international and remote-team screening
Visit certn.co
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Certn is the modern challenger that made speed its brand: it claims to reduce time-to-hire by up to 80%, with many checks completed in minutes, and supports screening in all 195 countries for distributed teams. More than 20,000 companies use it, and its homepage cites a 4.7-star rating from 200+ businesses on G2 with 93% satisfied with support. The platform offers pay-as-you-go pricing, a RESTful API with a sandbox, and integrations with Greenhouse, Lever, and Workday.
Certn also runs mycrc.ca for personal Canadian criminal record checks, showing its consumer-side reach. For US small and mid-size companies hiring internationally or remotely, the combination of global coverage, mobile-first candidate experience, and transparent-feeling pricing is compelling. The catch: pricing details are still quote-based for business accounts, and as a Canadian-headquartered company, US buyers running deep county-level programs should validate coverage state by state during evaluation.
What we like- Checks in 195 countries with minutes-fast turnarounds
- 20,000+ companies and a 4.7-star G2 rating
- Developer-friendly API and 100+ ATS integrations
Watch out for- Canadian roots mean US buyers should verify state-level coverage depth
- Quote-based pricing
#7
Vetty
Best for: scaling companies that want screening plus onboarding
Visit vetty.co
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Vetty's thesis is that background screening and onboarding are one workflow, so it built one platform for both: run the checks, schedule health screenings, and collect signatures on onboarding documents from a single dashboard. The mobile-first design targets the real bottleneck in screening, candidate drop-off, with mobile ID capture that reduces the typos and delays Vetty says are the number one cause of slow turnarounds. Customers include Wag., HHS, and MasterClass, and the company is PBSA-accredited.
For scaling startups and marketplaces that onboard cohorts quickly, collapsing screening and onboarding into one system genuinely saves coordination time. The honest catch is scale: 1,000+ customers is real traction but a fraction of Checkr's or HireRight's footprint, and pricing is not published. Companies that need maximum coverage depth or global compliance infrastructure should weigh the bigger vendors; companies that need hiring velocity will like Vetty's focus.
What we like- One platform for background checks, health screenings, and onboarding documents
- Mobile-first candidate flow
- PBSA-accredited
Watch out for- Smaller customer base (1,000+) than the enterprise vendors
- Pricing not published
How we chose
We screened for providers that are live and actively selling employment background screening in 2026, and we opened and verified every homepage directly. We included both enterprise program vendors and SMB-friendly platforms to cover the range of buyers searching for the best background check service, from a 20-person startup to a global enterprise. Pricing comes only from each vendor's own site, which is why GoodHire is the only one with per-check numbers. We did not run test background checks. We also excluded pure people-search sites aimed at consumers, since employers need FCRA-compliant screening with candidate consent, not casual lookups.
What "the best background check service" means for an employer
The question behind the keyword is usually: which service will screen my candidates quickly, legally, and without a painful process? For employers, the answer must be an FCRA-compliant consumer reporting agency with proper disclosure, candidate consent, and adverse-action workflows. That rules out people-search apps and DIY database lookups for hiring decisions; they expose you to legal risk.
Match the vendor to your hiring pattern. Occasional hires: GoodHire, Certn, or Vetty, where you can order online and pay per check. Steady volume with integration needs: Checkr, where the API and ATS connections pay off. Regulated, global, or high-stakes programs: HireRight, First Advantage, or Accurate, where compliance depth and account support justify the enterprise process. And always pilot with your actual roles: turnaround times vary enormously by county and check type, and a vendor's average says little about your slowest jurisdiction.
FCRA basics every buyer should know
Employment background checks in the US are governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You need written disclosure and candidate authorization before running a check, you must follow a two-step adverse action process if you might not hire based on results, and several states and cities add ban-the-box and salary-history restrictions. Every vendor on this list is built to manage this workflow, but the legal responsibility stays with you as the employer. If your team lacks in-house employment counsel, favor vendors with strong compliance guidance and support, and get your process reviewed before you scale it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best background check service for small business?
GoodHire is the most transparent option with per-check pricing from $29.99, while Certn and Vetty offer fast, self-serve screening that suits small teams. All three let you order checks online without an enterprise contract.
How much does an employment background check cost?
GoodHire publishes per-check pricing from $29.99 for a basic package to $94.99 for its complete package. Other providers quote custom pricing based on volume, check types, and coverage. Expect deeper checks with county, federal, and verification components to cost more per candidate.
How long does a background check take?
Turnaround varies by check type. Database searches like SSN traces and national criminal searches can return in minutes; county court searches depend on the jurisdiction and can take days. Vetty notes most of its checks complete within 4-10 business days, and Checkr advertises tenant screening results in about 4 minutes.
Are online background check apps legal for hiring?
People-search apps are generally not FCRA-compliant for employment decisions. Employers should use a consumer reporting agency that provides disclosure, consent, and adverse-action workflows. All seven providers in this comparison are built for compliant employment screening.
What shows up on an employment background check?
Typical components include SSN trace, national and county criminal searches, sex offender registry, global watchlists, and often employment and education verification, MVR for driving roles, and drug testing. Each employer configures the package by role, and candidates can see what is being checked.
Checkr vs GoodHire: which is better?
Both are now part of the same company. Checkr suits higher-volume and platform-integrated screening programs, while GoodHire targets small and mid-size businesses with simpler setup and published pricing. Choose based on your hiring volume and how much integration you need.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://checkr.com/
- https://www.goodhire.com/
- https://www.goodhire.com/pricing/
- https://www.sterlingcheck.com/
- https://www.hireright.com/
- https://www.accurate.com/
- https://certn.co/
- https://vetty.co/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.