If you type your name in Google, you won’t find much. Sure, you might see your Facebook profile picture and your blog posts, but you won’t learn much more. There are cases in life when you need to know more than just that. Regular website search engines won’t inform you where a person of interest lives, with whom, how many criminal records he or she has, or if any bankruptcies were filed by that person. If those facts are important, you need people search engines and background check companies.
There are quite a few choices of such people finding companies, but not all of them are equally good. Some will tell you where the person works, but not what his education is. Some will include social media platforms by default, others won’t. All those data finding services are for personal use only and should not be relied upon when approving somebody for employment, credit issue, or tenancy.
Here are 5 best companies you should use for all people search needs:
People Finders
Price:
- $1.95 for a single report
- $24.95 for monthly subscription
- $39.95 for background check
The website is easy to use, provides accurate reports, includes business data, but doesn’t cover social media platforms.
The company has access to over 43 billion public records and can find information on most Americans. The most popular and useful service is background checking, but if you just want to find some address history or do a reverse phone number lookup, you can purchase a onetime report for just $1.95.
More in depth reports can show criminal records, court cases, arrests, DUIs, and traffic tickets. This information can sometimes be vital. It can also be nice to get a name of and data about a persistent unknown caller and be able to block that number with a piece of mind. All of that and more are available with PeopleFinders.
US Search
Price:
- $2.45 for a single report
- $19.95 for monthly subscription
- $39.95 for background check
The service provides good value, website is easy to navigate, and data is up to date. Most of the findings you can get with US Search are basic, but keep in mind that marital status records are available from a dozen states only.
While the service and information depth is definitely not the best, total value for the money is quite good. Single reports are very affordable, but there are also cheap plans for expanded data that will include social media profiles and public records.
Monthly membership offers unlimited searches, but if you need the service for a longer period of time, you can get a quarterly plan for just $49.85, which is $10 off monthly plan.
Instant Checkmate
Price:
- $34.78 for a monthly membership
- No single reports
The company is subscription based only, but for that you will get accurate results fast, great extra search tools, lots of different searches, and favorable value.
There is a reason why this service is subscription based only – they provide some of the most comprehensive report and covers all bases. You can find sex offenders living close by, somebody’s criminal history, material possessions, and marriage information. The site can frustrate its users with slow progress and warnings about information to be uncovered.
Instant Checkmate offers 2 different plans – $34.78 for a month and $83.47 for a quarter. Both sport unlimited comprehensive searches and wide array of information, but the later one offers $20 savings per month. It would not be easy to find a more thorough report on people of interest that would include not only standard information, but also bankruptcies, gun permits, and more.
BeenVerified
Price:
- $22.86 per month subscription
BeenVerified is mostly known for employment history, good value, and accurate information.
You can check just about anybody’s work related history, including your own, which might come very handy while working on a resume. If you are interested in more details about other life aspects, keep in mind that you will have to spend a little extra for address report and business data.
Monthly membership offers unlimited searches, background checks, personal basic info, and other popular services. You can also get a plan for 3 months for $44.58 and save $30 each month.
Intelius
Price:
- $3.95 for people search report
- $29.95 for monthly subscription
- $39.95 for background check
This company provides some of the best visual data out there and includes education, which is rare. It’s not the cheapest option, but a good one nonetheless.
Visual data display is superb here – you will see a spidery graph, which makes it easy to see connections and relations. Most data is comprehensive and standard, except for an extra bonus of educational records. Resume checkers love this!
If you are interested in unlimited background checks, consider Intelius Premier Plus. It costs $29.95 per month and enables searches by name and phone number as many times as you like. First month is 50% off, so it’s a nice way to test the service without spending too much.