Checkr vs Sterling: Published $29.99 vs Enterprise Quote Only
Checkr publishes self-serve per-check rates. Sterling is enterprise quote-only and now part of First Advantage. Different buyer, different commercial motion, different cost structure.
Side-by-side
| Dimension | Checkr | Sterling (a First Advantage company) |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest published | $29.99 per check (Basic) | Quote only - contact Sterling sales |
| Contract | None required | Annual commitment with setup fee |
| Sales cycle | Self-serve, minutes | 4 to 8 weeks, multi-stakeholder |
| International | From $32 per check, 200+ countries | 15+ countries, customised packages |
| Customer profile | Tech, gig-economy, SMB | Fortune 500 |
| Ownership | Standalone (acquired GoodHire 2022) | First Advantage (acquired Sterling Oct 2024) |
| Procurement gate | Self-serve credit card OK | Procurement approval typically required |
How to choose
- You hire under 1,000/year and want to start tomorrow. Pick Checkr.
- You hire 5,000+/year and your procurement team requires an enterprise master service agreement. Pick Sterling.
- You need API-first integration and global per-check transparency. Pick Checkr.
- You need adjudication-as-a-service, dedicated CSM, industry-specific compliance modules out of the box. Sterling (or First Advantage / HireRight / Cisive depending on industry).
The hidden delta
Enterprise quote-only vendors land in a price band that depends on volume, contract length, and the depth of bundled services. Industry chatter suggests Sterling, HireRight, and First Advantage routinely come in below Checkr's published per-check rate at multi-thousand-hire scale because the customer accepts an annual commitment and a setup fee. We do not have a citable source for that delta and do not publish a synthetic number. If you are evaluating both, request a Sterling quote at your actual volume and benchmark against Checkr's published rate plus the pass-through court fees you have already incurred.