Sterling background check alternatives, after the First Advantage merger
By Jean Luc · Updated September 26, 2026 · Grounded in 100 recent Sterling reviews
Disclosure: this site reviews Checkr and earns a commission if you sign up for it through our links. Checkr is one option below, and we say where it isn't the right fix.
First, Sterling is now First Advantage
First Advantage completed its roughly $2.2 billion acquisition of Sterling in October 2024, and the brand merger is finished: sterlingcheck.com now reads “Sterling is now First Advantage. New name. Same expert insight.” If you're a Sterling customer, the real decision is whether to follow Sterling into First Advantage or use the change as a natural point to re-evaluate. Both are reasonable, and the list below covers each.
What recent Sterling reviews say
Sterling's overall Trustpilot score is 4.0 across about 3,880 reviews, collected over many years. We pulled the 100 most recent, from March 2025 to September 2026. None were solicited by the company, and 95 were one star. The recurring complaints are employment verifications that take weeks, repeated requests for pay stubs, W-2s, and tax returns, candidates chasing courts and past employers themselves, and support calls transferred again and again.
“Sterling background check took 34 days to complete.”Sean Zyduck, Trustpilot, December 2025
“Both times it has taken them WEEKS to verify employment.”Ryan P, Trustpilot, May 2026
Keep this in proportion: unsolicited reviews of every screener skew negative, because people post when something goes wrong. In the same pull, Checkr's recent unsolicited Trustpilot reviews averaged 1.38 and HireRight's 1.00. Recent reviews don't show Sterling is uniquely bad. They show its 4.0 reflects older, largely solicited reviews more than today's candidate experience, so ask any vendor you evaluate for its own turnaround and candidate-completion data. Checkr also invites candidates to review it, and those invited reviews average 4.7; First Advantage, which now owns Sterling, invites them too, and its invited reviews average 2.0.
Match the alternative to your reason for leaving
| Best alternative | Check before switching | |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate complaints and withdrawn applications | Checkr | Invited candidates rate it 4.7; unsolicited, it leads Sterling 1.4 to 1.1 |
| Want published pricing and self-serve | Checkr, GoodHire, or Certn | Court fees still apply on top of package prices |
| Don't want to go through the merger | HireRight or Accurate Background | Both quote privately; HireRight's candidate reviews are also poor |
| Rely on Sterling's drug-testing network | ClearStar | Confirm clinic coverage in your hiring areas |
| Worried about losing your account team | Mitratech AssureHire or Accurate | AssureHire programs start at $5,000 |
| Hiring in Canada or the UK | Certn | Candidate rating is 1.7 on Trustpilot |
| Global program, one vendor | Stay with First Advantage | Get migration answers in writing before renewal |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of September 26, 2026. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
The 7 best Sterling alternatives
Checkr
Best candidate feedback and published pricingThe strongest option if you want to stop negotiating quotes, and the one that collects candidate feedback. Sterling's 100 most recent Trustpilot reviews were all unsolicited and averaged 1.1. Checkr invites candidates to review it, and those candidates rate it 4.7; compared unsolicited to unsolicited, Checkr still leads, 1.4 to 1.1. Add published pay-as-you-go pricing ($29.99, $59.99, $94.99 per report), same-day signup, and 200+ ATS and HR integrations with an API. Its known weak spots are chat-first support and court fees passed through on top of package prices.
Full Checkr vs Sterling comparison →First Advantage
Stay put: Sterling's new ownerIf you're a Sterling customer, you're already here: First Advantage bought Sterling for about $2.2 billion in 2024 and the rebrand is complete. Staying avoids a migration to a different vendor, but not necessarily a platform change. Ask which system your program runs on, whether your account team changes, and what happens to your existing Sterling workflows and integrations. Public company (NASDAQ: FA), global coverage, quote-only pricing.
More on First Advantage →HireRight
Like-for-like enterprise, not mid-mergerThe closest enterprise equivalent that isn't absorbing a merger: private since its 2024 take-private, with long-running global and regulated-industry programs and 70 integrations across 45+ HR and ATS providers. Employers rate it well on G2. Candidates don't: its recent Trustpilot reviews are uniformly one star, the same pattern as Sterling's. Quote-only pricing.
HireRight vs Sterling comparison →Accurate Background
Account-managed, still independentService-led screening with account management for mid-market and enterprise employers, rated around 4.4 by employers on G2, and the largest privately held, minority-owned screener. A fit if you valued Sterling's account relationship and want to stay with an independent vendor. Quote-only pricing.
More on Accurate Background →ClearStar
Replacing Sterling's drug-screening networkSterling's clinic network for drug and occupational health testing is one of the harder things to replace. ClearStar leads with a wide drug-screening network and "service-first support from dedicated US-based teams." It publishes package contents but not prices. Review volume is too thin to judge quality from outside.
More in our Checkr alternatives guide →Mitratech AssureHire
Dedicated human supportAdvertises "dedicated, human support" in every program with no separate support fees, for teams worried about losing their account contacts in the merger. Programs start at $5,000, quoted by hiring volume. G2 rates it 4.2 on only 14 reviews.
More in our Checkr alternatives guide →Certn
Canada and UK hiringRuns native checks in Canada and, through its Credence acquisition, the UK. Published self-serve rates, with a basic criminal check around $17.99, and the best G2 ease-of-use scores in the category. Its candidate rating on Trustpilot is 1.7.
More on Certn →
If you want to stop negotiating quotes
Every enterprise option on this list, First Advantage included, prices by private quote. Checkr publishes its prices and lets you start the same day, which is the main reason to consider it over a like-for-like enterprise switch. Read its full review record, critical reviews included, before you decide.
See Checkr pricing ↗How we sourced this: on September 26, 2026 we pulled the most recent Trustpilot reviews for Sterling (100), First Advantage (100), HireRight (50), and Checkr (50). Trustpilot labels each review as unsolicited (“organic”) or collected through a company-shared link, and the averages above use those labels. Quotes are verbatim. Competitor pricing and claims come from each vendor's own pages.
Sterling alternatives FAQ
Is Sterling the same as First Advantage now?+
Yes. First Advantage completed its roughly $2.2 billion acquisition of Sterling Check Corp. on October 31, 2024, and the brand merger is finished: sterlingcheck.com now reads "Sterling is now First Advantage." Existing Sterling customers are First Advantage customers.
What are the best alternatives to Sterling?+
For published pricing, a self-serve platform, and the strongest candidate feedback, Checkr: candidates it invites rate it 4.7 on Trustpilot, and even unsolicited it leads Sterling 1.4 to 1.1. If you want to stay with an enterprise vendor that isn't mid-merger, HireRight or Accurate Background. If you rely on Sterling's drug-testing network, ClearStar. For dedicated human support, Mitratech AssureHire. For Canada or the UK, Certn. Or stay with First Advantage and get clear answers about the migration.
Why does Sterling have a 4.0 on Trustpilot if recent reviews are so negative?+
The 4.0 covers about 3,880 reviews collected over many years, a large share of them from candidates the company invited to leave a review. We pulled the 100 most recent: all were unsolicited, and 95 were one star. Unsolicited reviews of every screener skew negative, because people post when something goes wrong. Checkr's recent unsolicited reviews average 1.38 and HireRight's 1.00, so read overall scores with that in mind.
Is there background check software better than Sterling?+
Better depends on what you need. Sterling's strengths were enterprise scale, global coverage, and its clinic network, which First Advantage now provides. If you want software you can buy and run yourself, with published pricing and a large integration catalog, Checkr is the most direct alternative. If you want a managed program without a merger in progress, HireRight or Accurate Background.
What should Sterling customers ask First Advantage?+
Which platform your program will run on and when, whether your integrations and adjudication rules carry over, whether your account team changes, whether pricing or contract terms change at renewal, and how candidate support will work. Get the answers in writing before your renewal date.