The Best Free Background Check Websites

Almost every business today conducts background checks on its employees while making hiring decisions. This is crucial as it gives employers information about a candidate’s past criminal records, address, phone numbers, social handles, etc.

However, several businesses still fail to conduct such checks and end up with employees who could harm the company. If you want to start working background checks on all your new hires to check for criminal records, this guide will list some of the best free background check services you can use to get the information you need.

All these best free background check websites have gone through countless hours of testing so that we can give you the most comprehensive and reliable list.

Too long to read? Here are our top 3 free background check websites for 2023:

Is There a Totally Free Background Check?

When you look for websites to perform background checks, you’ll notice that not all are free. Further, not all are reliable or have the permissions necessary from the FCRA to aggregate such data. However, you will come across some reliable background check services that offer accurate information with a five or seven-day trial at a minimal cost, such as $1.

Each background check website on this list gathers data from public records or online databases. These include court records, the person’s contact details, address history, financial records, arrest records, employment history, and much more. The following section takes you through ten background check services you can rely on to get comprehensive reports on any individual.

Spokeo

The first and most reliable service on this list that you can use to get a comprehensive report on someone’s background is Spokeo. While it began in 2006 as a social network, it has become a compelling people search engine. It can perform a comprehensive background check and look up addresses, names, phone numbers, and email addresses.

This is a powerful tool that gives you basic information about an individual. For example, you can find someone’s birthday date. It gathers data from multiple public records and consumer reports and provides information about an individual’s estimated income, property details, criminal records, etc. Moreover, Spokeo can also be used to check social media platforms and accounts linked to someone’s phone number or email address so that you can get a detailed overview of someone’s activities and interests online.

With a geo-grouping function, Spokeo easily aggregates search data based on location. You also get a 30-day free trial once you sign up on the Spokeo website.

Pricing Plans

• Business (200 reports) = $35.95
• Professional (500 reports) = $19.95
• Team (700 reports) = $119.95

Pros

• It offers a user friendly interface
• Grants access to billions of personal records
• Comes with over 10 years of experience in data management
• Provides quick results

Cons

• The free trial has a few limitations
• Marriage information can be incomplete

Searqle

The next legitimate background check service on this list is Searqle. It is a people search engine that allows users to search for information about people using their name, phone number, email address, or physical address. The website provides access to a comprehensive database of public records, including contact information, social media profiles, criminal records, and more.

Searqle also works as a reverse phone lookup. You can use it to get details about any businesses associated with a given number, as well as someone’s address, email address, and other essential information about the individual.

Searqle’s mission is to provide accessible and affordable access to public records, help people find and connect with others, and make the world safer and more transparent. The service is designed to be user-friendly and provides instant results to help users quickly find the information they’re looking for. Searqle also prioritizes user privacy and security, ensuring that all searches are confidential and secure.

Searqle Plans

While some functions on the website are accessible, accessing a complete profile requires payment. The pricing plans for this service start at $24.9 per month. However, if you’re unsure about a monthly plan, you can try the service with a three-day trial for just $1. Before committing to a total monthly plan, this trial allows you to test the features and see if they fit your needs.

Pros

• No need for smartphone installation
• Unveil information in three simple steps
• Receive results within seconds
• Secured by CLOUDFLARE protection

Cons

• The free trial is currently unavailable

TruthFinder

TruthFinder is one of the most well-known comprehensive background check services available today. It offers more detailed reports than a lot of other websites and offers unlimited searches as well. This often justifies the slightly higher price of this service when compared to further criminal background checks.

You can use TruthFinder to conduct people searches, perform a reverse address lookup, and search for someone’s social media handles, photos, address history, criminal records, and much more. It also performs dark web searches along with thorough background checks.

This background check site will give you information about misdemeanor offenses, court records, traffic court records, sex offenses, and much more. You will get access to their sex offender status, their aliases (if any), employment history, possible relatives, bankruptcies, and much more. All this detailed information makes this one of the best background check sites today.

The service has a quick customer response team to help with queries or issues. It also offers a five-day trial at just $1, so you can test it to see if it fits your needs best.

Pricing Plans

• Monthly membership = $28.99 per month
• Two-month membership = $23.99

Pros

• Provides detailed reports at all times
• Quick customer support response
• Up-to-date information
• It has a rich database of information from public records
• Comes with a user friendly interface

Cons

• It only offers monthly plans
• You cannot download reports to view them later

WhitePages

WhitePages is one of the most essential background search websites on this list because it’s one of the few with approval under the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) to aggregate user data. This approval gives it access to a whole gamut of detailed information from public records that you can use to retrieve comprehensive background reports.

This background check service offers information about various details, including cell phone numbers, previous addresses, age, financial records, background checks, property details, relatives, lien reports, criminal records, and much more. These details make this the perfect service for a personal background check to ensure you’re hiring the right candidate.

Once WhitePage gives you a background report, it also offers a convenient filter slider that helps you easily categorize user information. WhitePages provides a seamless and easy-to-use interface alongside the detailed background reports. Note that the free background check version allows you to find someone’s phone number, but you’ll need to purchase the premium version to get more detailed reports on their background.

Pricing Plans

• Whitepages annual subscription = $29.99
• Contact bundle = $7.99
• Background report = $9.99

Pros

• Customer service representatives are quick to respond
• Has approval under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Gives individuals the option of deleting personal data from the database

Cons

• Scaling the service isn’t easy

Instant Checkmate

The fifth free background check service on this list is Instant Checkmate. This is one of the most user-friendly background check services available today. It allows you to uncover related background checks using someone’s name or the state or city they live in. The service has collected and aggregated personal information for over a decade, making it among the most experienced background check service providers.

Their professional background check service is their most notable feature. It gives you access to information like someone’s address, age, relatives, social media handles, credit reports, criminal history, and so much more. This search engine also offers an Inmate Check feature that lets you get information on an incarcerated individual registered in the prison system.

This comprehensive app is thus one of the best employment background check services you can use. It comes with stellar customer support services, and they always provide comprehensive reports. The service also comes with a five-day trial that you can avail of at just $1.

Pricing Plans

• 1-month membership = $22.86
• 3-month membership = $14.86
• 6-month membership = $9.86

Pros

• The background information is presented in a well-organized interface
• Offers affordable plans for long-term users or organizations
• The five-day trial offers near-free background checks

Cons

• It doesn’t offer consumer reports, tenant, or employment details

InfoTracer

One of the best background check service providers in the market today is InfoTracer. Unlike many background check sites, they have consistently worked to add new features to their search engine, the Facial Recognition Search. It relies on many public records to get the information about people you want.

Whether you want to find out who a number belongs to, get someone’s address, email ID, social media handles, or more, InfoTracer offers a reliable way of doing so. their background searches, for example, provide basic information and other details such as arrest records, bankruptcy details, court judgments, criminal records, dark web searches, inmate searches, property records, and more. With over 1 billion documents, you can get all the background information on a potential employee before you hire them.

As mentioned earlier, one of the most unique features of this background check site is its Facial Recognition Search. While this is relatively new, they’ve been expanding their database rapidly to ensure you get the results you’re looking for. However, note that this is a paid service, but they offer a seven-day trial at just $3.95.

Pricing Plans

• One-time fee for reports = $19.95
• Recurring fees = $19.95
• 7-day trial = $3.95

Pros

• Offers a facial recognition search feature
• It can perform target lookup procedures and provide accurate information

CocoFinder

CocoFinder is another fantastic service for any organization or employer looking to perform a criminal background check on a candidate. It collects data from a wide range of public records to offer you detailed background reports on an individual.

The website makes it easy to perform a reverse phone or address lookup and background check online. The background reports give you details about consumer credit, addresses, financial and educational records, criminal records, court records, traffic violations, and even the person’s sex offender status.

You also get access to a candidate’s employment history, so you have proof of where they worked before applying to your organization. Overall, this background check website offers an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate and 24/7 support to all its clients.

Unfortunately, the website doesn’t offer concise pricing information.

Pros

• 24/7 customer support for all clients
• Intuitive display
• Detailed background checks with access to public records

Cons

• Lack of concise pricing information

BeenVerified

The following criminal background check service on this list is BeenVerified. This service offers users access to millions of public records such as criminal records, court records, arrests, traffic violations, property information, past addresses, and much more. This gives you an overview of their entire criminal history, if any.

While there is no separate Background Search section on this website, all this information is available with its People Search function.

In our experience, the website proved intuitive and easy to use and instantly offered us access to all the public records one would look for when performing a background check on an individual. You can also use this website to get someone’s details from their phone number, get someone’s address and email address, and look up their social media handles.

This free background check also offers two unique features: Unclaimed Money Search and Vehicle Search. The first gives you access to tax refunds, pension payments, tax liens, FDIC refunds, and much more.

The Vehicle Search allows you to find an individual’s personal details from the vehicle’s registered license plate number.

Pricing Plans

• One-week trial = $1
• One-month plan = $26.89
• Three-month plan = $52.44

Pros

• Provides various unique search options and in-depth background check services
• Is easy and convenient to use
• Good customer support overall

Cons

• You always need to use a VPN to avoid being blocked on the website

ZabaSearch

Next on this list is a free background check service called ZabaSearch. Just like the services mentioned above, ZabaSearch gathers data from various online databases and from consumer reporting agencies to give you all the information you may need about an individual.

It offers a people search function that gives you basic details about an individual and allows you to perform a reverse phone or address lookup. However, it also provides free background checks for US citizens. Moreover, it has received approval under the FCRA to aggregate user data, making it a trusted source for free background checks.

While it has a free plan, purchasing a subscription will offer users access to extensive features and more detailed information from various public sources, including criminal and traffic violation records, court records, and a whole lot more. It also comes with quick and reliable customer support services, making it a breeze.

Pricing Plans

• 1-month unlimited reports = $24.86
• 2-month unlimited reports = $42.25

Pros

• Comes with a robust free plan
• Transparent pricing plans

Cons

• The one-month plan can be costly for some

PeopleLooker

Last but not least, we have PeopleLooker, another reliable tool to get background information on an individual. This subscription-based background check service has generated more than 1 million background reports so far. It offers information about contact details, addresses, criminal records, and more.

The website offers detailed reports about an individual’s criminal records, relatives, addresses, email IDs, court records, photos, and more. It also provides an unclaimed money search function unavailable on many other free background checks. Moreover, such websites can be useful if you want to find someone you met on dating platforms.

Additionally, the website also offers a username search function that one can use to find out who a specific username or social media handle belongs to.

Pricing Plans

• One-month plan = $22.86/month
• Three-month plan = $18.28/month

Pros

• Provides unlimited searches
• Offers a mobile app for Android devices
• Easy to use

Cons

• The information can be outdated at times
• Poor customer service
• Doesn’t offer dark web scanning

What Are the Best Free Background Check Apps?

Some of the best free background check websites available are:

• Spokeo: Offers a 30-day free trial
• WhitePages: Offers a free plan with basic features
• Instant Checkmate: Offers a five-day trial at just $1

Final Verdict

If you’re looking to perform background checks for free online, you’ll come across various tools that claim to offer the most comprehensive information possible. However, not all of these are reliable and can often take your money only to offer outdated or inaccurate information. However, according to our experience, all the services in this list are reliable and legitimate, and some even offer completely free background check services.

Our top recommendation would undoubtedly be Spokeo. While this is a paid background check service, it also offers a 30-day free trial as soon as you sign up on the website. It offers you the most comprehensive and updated details on an individual’s background, including arrests, criminal records, addresses, property details, contact information, and much more.

Other reliable tools that we’d happily recommend include Searqle, BeenVerified, and TruthFinder.

FAQ

What Is the Most Accurate Online Background Check?

The most accurate and reliable online background check service available is Spokeo. It offers data such as criminal records, property records, addresses, email IDs, contact details, employment history, and more from various sources. It also comes with a 30-day free trial once you sign up on the website.

What Is the Best Free Website for Public Records?

Spokeo is one of the best free websites for public records. It offers a host of information from various public and government sources that give you comprehensive information as a part of its free background checks.

Is TruthFinder Really Free?

TruthFinder is one of the most comprehensive services for background checks you can find online, and it comes with a five-day trial at just $1, making it virtually free. Aside from its free test, it offers a one- and two-month plan and comprehensive and updated reports on any individual’s background.