The best background check companies for employers, ranked
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Checkr Reviews · Updated November 1, 2026 · Ranked from review data and published pricing
Disclosure: this site earns a commission if you sign up for Checkr through our links, at no cost to you. That relationship does not change the data: every rating below is the platform's published figure, and the competitor wins are stated in each comparison.
- #1
Checkr
Best overall / best self-servePublished pay-as-you-go pricing ($29.99 to $94.99 per report), same-day self-serve signup, 200+ ATS integrations, and the strongest employer ratings in the category (G2 4.5 across 457 reviews; Capterra 4.5 across 305). Unlike HireRight and Sterling, it has collected candidate feedback on Trustpilot: candidates it has invited rate it 4.6, and even its unprompted reviews edge out both. Known trade-offs, straight from its review corpus: chat-first support, county-court delays on some checks, and court/DMV pass-through fees on top of sticker prices.
See Checkr pricing Read 650+ aggregated Checkr reviews →Checkr pricing and pass-through fees → - #2
GoodHire
Best preset packages for small businessOwned by Checkr since 2022 but sold as its own simpler storefront: three preset packages ($29.99 / $59.99 / $94.99) that match Checkr's tiers and prices. It is the shortest path for small teams without an ATS, and it shares a parent company with our #1, which we disclose.
Read the full Checkr vs GoodHire comparison → - #3
Certn
Best for Canada and UK hiringThe Canada-born challenger (Victoria, BC; ~$139M raised): published self-serve rates with a US Core Criminal check at $13.99, Canadian criminal checks in minutes, native UK screening via its Credence acquisition, and the category's best G2 ease-of-use scores (4.8 across ~203 reviews). The caveat that keeps it out of the top two: a 1.9 candidate score on Trustpilot and a smaller US integration catalog.
Read the full Checkr vs Certn comparison → - #4
Sterling (First Advantage)
Best clinic network among incumbentsEnterprise-only, quote-based pricing, with a strong clinic and occupational health network. Its Trustpilot score is 2.3, and its 100 most recent reviews are all unprompted and average 1.1. Acquired by First Advantage for ~$2.2B in October 2024, so ask about platform migration before signing.
Read the full Checkr vs Sterling comparison → - #5
First Advantage
Best for global enterprise consolidationThe public-company giant (NASDAQ: FA) and, after absorbing Sterling, the biggest screener. It gives multinational programs a single vendor, sells verticalized enterprise solutions, and is procurement-friendly. It has no published pricing, no self-serve, and candidate feedback is poor: even the reviews it invites candidates to leave on Trustpilot average 1.4, against Checkr's 4.6.
Read the full Checkr vs First Advantage comparison → - #6
HireRight
Enterprise alternative with global depthDecades of global screening operations and regulated-industry programs, taken private in 2024 ($1.7B, General Atlantic and Stone Point). Quote-based only. Its Trustpilot score, 1.1 across ~772 reviews with ~97% one-star, is the lowest on this list, and its 50 most recent reviews are all unprompted and 49 are one star.
Read the full Checkr vs HireRight comparison → - #7
Accurate Background
Best service-led mid-market optionService-led screening with account management, close to Checkr on employer satisfaction (G2 ~4.4), and the largest privately held minority-owned screener, a real supplier-diversity credential. No published pricing, and its 50 most recent Trustpilot reviews are all unprompted, average 1.1, and describe delays and poor communication.
Read the full Checkr vs Accurate Background comparison →
Background check services FAQ
How did you rank these services?+
From published review data (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, BBB, TrustRadius, Gartner Peer Insights), published pricing where it exists, and documented company facts like ownership and acquisitions. Services that publish pricing and support self-serve buying rank higher for the small and mid-size employers this site serves. We did not test enterprise contracts firsthand.
Why is Checkr ranked first if this is a Checkr review site?+
The affiliate relationship is disclosed on this page, and the ranking logic is shown: Checkr has the highest employer ratings at the largest self-serve review volume, published pricing, and the broadest integration catalog. Where competitors beat it, our comparison pages say so explicitly, including Certn's cheaper basic check and higher G2 ease-of-use score.
What's the cheapest way to run one background check?+
Among vendors with published pricing, Certn's US Core Criminal check costs $13.99 on its own pricing page, while Checkr and GoodHire both start at $29.99 per report. All three add court pass-through fees, and Certn's US employment-verification access fees can exceed the check itself. The enterprise vendors don't publish prices and generally don't serve one-off checks.
What's the best background check software?+
If by software you mean a self-serve platform your team operates, the ranking compresses to three: Checkr (deepest US platform, 200+ integrations, G2 4.5), GoodHire (simplest storefront, same owner), and Certn (best for Canada/UK, G2 4.8). The enterprise vendors sell managed services around their platforms rather than software you buy off the shelf.
Are these rankings different for enterprise buyers?+
Yes, materially. At thousands of checks a year with global coverage needs, First Advantage, Sterling, and HireRight compete on negotiated terms we can't evaluate from published data, and Checkr's enterprise tier joins that conversation. Our ranking optimizes for buyers who can't get a quote without a sales cycle.