How Background Check Vendors Price
Four pricing models split 15 vendors: tiered package, per-check composable, quote-only enterprise, quote-only specialist. The map and the buyer fit for each.
Model 1: Tiered package (4 vendors)
The dominant SMB-friendly model. Three published per-check tiers, typically labelled Basic / Standard / Premium or Basic / Essential / Complete. Each tier adds depth of criminal search and verification scope to the tier below.
- Checkr: $29.99 / $54.99 / $89.99
- GoodHire: $29.99 / $54.99 / $89.99
- Verified First: $29.99 / $49.99 / $79.99
- TransUnion ShareAble for Hires: $25 / $35 / $45
Buyer fit: SMB and mid-market employers hiring under ~1,000 per year, self-serve credit card billing acceptable, no annual commitment required. Strong fit for technology and gig-economy hiring where the volume curve is unpredictable.
Model 2: Per-check composable (1 vendor)
Buyers select individual checks from a menu and compose a package. More granular than tiered package; more buyer effort.
- Certn: OneID CAD 4.99, Canadian criminal CAD 24.99, US county criminal CAD 19.99, etc.
Buyer fit: global hiring with country-specific compliance requirements. The composable menu lets you build a country-by-country package precisely. Higher effort per requisition but tighter cost-to-scope mapping.
Model 3: Quote-only enterprise (8 vendors)
Annual contracts with a setup fee, minimum volume commitments, and per-check rates negotiated per buyer. Standard for Fortune 500 and large-enterprise HR.
- Sterling (now a First Advantage company)
- HireRight
- Accurate Background
- First Advantage
- Cisive (regulated-industry specialism)
- Asurint (data-aggregator specialism)
- Onfido (Entrust, identity verification)
- Crimcheck (DISA)
Buyer fit: enterprise employers with annual hiring above ~5,000, requiring dedicated CSM, adjudication-as-a-service, industry-specific configurations, and procurement-grade master service agreements. Negotiate volume commitment, escalator caps, and bundle depth.
Model 4: Quote-only specialist (2 vendors)
Niche segments priced per use case rather than per-check.
- Truework: employment and income verification only, subscription plus per-verification.
- Zinc: UK candidate-driven, per country (DBS, EU country-specific, ANZ).
Buyer fit: bolt-on vendors used alongside a primary background-check vendor. Truework typically sits inside a lending or HR-tech stack; Zinc handles UK / EU local compliance for global hiring stacks where the primary vendor is US-anchored.
Which model wins for which buyer
| Buyer profile | Best model | Default vendor |
|---|---|---|
| Solo owner-operator, <10 hires/yr | Tiered package | GoodHire |
| SMB, 10-100 hires/yr | Tiered package | Checkr or GoodHire |
| Mid-market, 100-1,000 hires/yr | Tiered package + add-ons | Checkr or Verified First |
| Mid-market with strong ATS dependency | Tiered package | Verified First |
| Enterprise, 1,000-5,000 hires/yr | Tiered package Enterprise tier OR quote-only | Checkr Enterprise OR Sterling / First Advantage |
| Fortune 500, 5,000+ hires/yr | Quote-only enterprise | Sterling / First Advantage / HireRight / Accurate |
| Healthcare, regulated | Quote-only enterprise (regulated specialism) | Cisive (PreCheck) or HireRight |
| Global hiring, country-specific | Per-check composable OR quote-only | Certn OR Zinc (UK origin) OR Checkr international |
| Bolt-on employment verification | Quote-only specialist | Truework |
The price gap by model
At 1,000 hires/year on the cheapest published tier:
- Tiered package (ShareAble Basic $25): $25,000 + ~$15,000 pass-through court fees = $40,000.
- Tiered package (Checkr / GoodHire / Verified First Basic $29.99): $29,990 + ~$15,000 = $44,990.
- Per-check composable (Certn OneID CAD 4.99): identity only, not directly comparable; add Canadian criminal CAD 24.99 = USD ~$22/check effective, $22,000 / year for identity + Canadian criminal.
- Quote-only enterprise: unknown without a quote. No vendor or named published dataset (SHRM Talent Acquisition Benchmarking Report, SIA Background Check Industry Report, Bureau of Justice Statistics) publishes a benchmarked enterprise discount versus published rates, so we do not assert one. Procurement-checklist question: ask each shortlisted vendor for an explicit per-check rate card at your committed annual volume, plus the price at half and double that commitment, before comparing.
See the calculator to model your actual volume and segment.