Independent · sourced · Updated November 2026
Best Background Checks (2026)
7 background checks options compared on price, free tier, compliance and fit — ranked by entry price. Every figure links to the public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it; where a vendor publishes no monthly price we name the kind of pricing it uses, never a guess.
The cheapest background checks is Certn at $13.99/mo. All 7 compared below on price, free tier and compliance — every figure sourced and dated, updated November 2026.
As of Nov 1, 2026 · figures linked to their source in the table below
Cite this comparison
Per The Front Desk Review, the cheapest background checks is Certn at $13.99/mo; across 4 with published pricing the median is $29.99/mo ($13.99–$29.99/mo), every figure sourced and dated, as of 2026-11-01. https://frontdeskreview.com/best/background-checks/ Key takeaways
- Typical paid price: from $13.99/mo, median $29.99/mo, up to $29.99/mo — across 4 with published pricing.
- Tracked: 7 vendors, data current through 2026-11-01. STALE · 2026-09-02
Comparison
| # | Background Check | Entry price | Free | HIPAA | SOC 2 | Best for | Source | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Certn | $13.99/mo US Core Criminal Check | No | — | Yes | Companies hiring globally or across 200+ countries | certn.co | Visit → |
| 2 | Checkr | $29.99/mo Basic | No | — | Yes | High-volume tech and gig-economy employers | checkr.com | Visit → |
| 3 | GoodHire | $29.99/mo Basic | No | — | Yes | SMBs wanting FCRA-compliant self-serve screening | goodhire.com | Visit → |
| 4 | Verified First | $29.99/mo Basic | No | — | Yes | HR teams needing NIST 800-53 and SOC 2 compliance documentation | verifiedfirst.com | Visit → |
| 5 | Accurate Background STALE · 2026-09-02 | quote-only | No | — | — | Fortune 500 enterprises needing global screening at scale | accurate.com | Visit → |
| 6 | HireRight STALE · 2026-09-26 | quote-only | No | — | — | Multinational enterprises requiring EMEA/APAC screening with local compliance | hireright.com | Visit → |
| 7 | Sterling (First Advantage) STALE · 2026-09-02 | quote-only | No | — | Yes | Large enterprises needing enterprise-grade SLAs and global reach | sterlingcheck.com | Visit → |
Prices are the lowest published self-serve rate, with the period it is charged on, as captured on the linked source. Annual-billing and usage details are on each vendor's record in our open dataset.
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What is the cheapest background checks?
Certn has the lowest published entry price at $13.99/mo (US Core Criminal Check), as of 2026-11-01.
How much does background checks cost per month?
Across the 4 background checks with published paid pricing, the median starting price is $29.99/mo, ranging from $13.99/mo to $29.99/mo, as of 2026-11-01. 3 are quote-only.
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