Editorial standards · Verified 17 June 2026
Methodology: How We Verify Identity Verification Pricing
Every numeric claim on this site cites a primary source URL with a verification date. Quote-only vendors are explicitly labelled; we never republish inferred rates from third-party listings.
The four rules we apply to every claim
- One. Every dollar figure must trace to either (a) the vendor's own published pricing page, fetched in the verification window, or (b) a named authoritative dataset (FTC, EEOC, NIST, government register). If neither is true, the claim is removed.
- Two. Quote-only vendors are shown with a Quote badge and no synthetic number. We do not infer per-check rates from third-party listing sites because those numbers cannot be cited to the vendor itself.
- Three. Verification dates are honest. The footer stamp and the per-page Last verified stamp reflect the actual day a vendor's pricing was fetched. Quarterly re-verification is enforced; if a price stamp is older than three months, the data is treated as suspect until refreshed.
- Four. Source URLs are durable. Where a vendor changes pricing-page URL structure (Checkr did in 2026), we redirect to the new URL on next refresh and note the change in the vendor dossier.
Verification log (17 June 2026)
The table below lists every vendor source URL we fetched during the most recent verification cycle on 17 June 2026.
| Vendor | Source URL | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkr | checkr.com/pricing | Verified Basic $29.99, Essential $54.99, Complete $89.99 per report. Add-ons: MVR $9.50/check, drug $60 clinic / $37 onsite. | 2026-06-17 |
| GoodHire | www.goodhire.com/pricing/ | Verified Basic $29.99, Essential $54.99, Complete $89.99 per check. Pass-through fees apply. | 2026-06-17 |
| Sterling | www.sterlingcheck.com/pricing/ | Confirmed quote-only. Page now states 'Sterling is now a First Advantage company'. No public per-check rates or escalator terms published. | 2026-06-17 |
| HireRight | www.hireright.com/pricing | Page returned title only, no rates published. Treated as quote-only. Third-party listings cite $39.95-$79.95 per check plus setup fees; not republished as not vendor-authoritative. | 2026-06-17 |
| Accurate Background | www.accurate.com/ | Homepage confirms quote-only model. Sales line 888.316.2110. Self-reported 60M+ annual searches across 16,000+ customers. | 2026-06-17 |
| First Advantage | fadv.com/ | Homepage confirms quote-only. Sales line 844.718.0087. Sterling acquisition completed; combined entity revenue reported above $1B. | 2026-06-17 |
| RentSpree | www.rentspree.com/pricing | Rental application free. Credit + background + eviction report $39.99 per applicant. PRO $19.99/user/mo. ACH rent $3/txn, card 3%. | 2026-06-17 |
| TransUnion SmartMove | www.mysmartmove.com/ | SmartCheck Basic $25, Plus $40, Premium $48 (plus tax). Individual landlord product. | 2026-06-17 |
| TransUnion ShareAble | www.transunion.com/landlord/tenant-screening-services | HTTP 403 Forbidden to automated verification. Enterprise / multifamily product; pricing not published. | 2026-06-17 |
| ID.me | www.id.me/business | HTTP 403 Forbidden to automated verification. Quote-only. | 2026-06-17 |
| Yoti | www.yoti.com/business/identity-verification/ | HTTP 403 Forbidden to automated verification. Quote-only for identity verification. Yoti Sign starts GBP 0.40/document (separate product). | 2026-06-17 |
Regulatory and standards anchors
These authoritative sources frame the regulatory backdrop for the categories on this site.
| FCRA disclosure and authorisation requirement for employment background checks | www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/background-checks-what-employers-need-know | 2026-06-17 |
| EEOC guidance on consideration of arrest and conviction records in employment | www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/consideration-arrest-and-conviction-records-employment-decisions | 2026-06-17 |
| NIST SP 800-63-3 Digital Identity Guidelines (IAL2 / AAL2) | pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/ | 2026-06-17 |
| NIST SP 800-63A Enrollment and Identity Proofing (IAL technical detail) | pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/sp800-63a.html | 2026-06-17 |
| NIST SP 800-63B Authentication and Lifecycle Management (AAL technical detail) | pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/sp800-63b.html | 2026-06-17 |
| CFPB FCRA implementing regulations (Regulation V, 12 CFR 1022) | www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1022/ | 2026-06-17 |
| Checkr acquisition of GoodHire (announced 12 April 2022, closed April 2022) | checkr.com/blog/checkr-acquires-goodhire-inflection | 2026-06-17 |
| First Advantage completes acquisition of Sterling Check (31 October 2024, $2.2B) | investors.fadv.com/news-releases/news-release-details/first-advantage-completes-acquisition-sterling-check-22-billion | 2026-06-17 |
Editorial notes
- Six of eleven vendors covered on this site are quote-only or pricing-blocked from automated verification. We do not republish third-party inferred rates for those vendors; instead, we link to the vendor's own sales contact.
- Checkr / GoodHire tier names migrated from Basic / Pro / Premier to Basic / Essential / Complete at some point before 17 June 2026. Per-check prices unchanged.
- TransUnion SmartMove (individual landlord) and TransUnion ShareAble (enterprise / multifamily) are separate products. SmartMove publishes per-report pricing; ShareAble does not.
- Pass-through county-court and state-record access fees are billed at cost by Checkr and GoodHire (no markup) and add $5 to $40 per check depending on jurisdiction. Vendor invoices break these out per candidate; for an authoritative per-county fee schedule the source is the county clerk's office.
- Stage 2 added 14 new pages covering vendor comparisons (Checkr-vs-GoodHire, Checkr-vs-Sterling, RentSpree-vs-SmartMove, SmartMove-vs-ShareAble, ID.me-vs-Yoti), vertical guides (SMB hiring, enterprise HR, solo landlord, gig-economy platforms), hidden-cost editorials (pass-through court fees, MVR / drug add-ons), regulatory anchors (FCRA compliance, NIST 800-63-3 IAL2), the 2026 pricing trends essay, and a cross-site glossary.
- Acquisition dates: Checkr acquired GoodHire in April 2022 (Checkr blog and PR Newswire). First Advantage completed its acquisition of Sterling Check on 31 October 2024 (First Advantage investor relations).
- Sterling escalator: previous drafts referenced a '2% general price increase effective March 2026' attributed to a Sterling pricing-notice page. We could not re-verify that claim against a primary Sterling source as of 17 June 2026 and have removed it across the site. Sterling does not publicly disclose its enterprise pricing or annual escalator terms.
- Trust-and-safety budget ratio: previous drafts cited a planning ratio of '10 to 25 percent' for background checks as a share of trust-and-safety spend on consumer-marketplace platforms. We could not cite this to a named industry report (Online Trust Alliance, an ARPU benchmark report, or equivalent) and removed it from the gig-economy guide on 17 June 2026.
What we do not do
- We do not accept vendor sponsorship in exchange for calculator placement or pricing position.
- We do not link to vendor affiliate programmes. Vendor links go to the vendor's pricing page or sales contact, not a referral URL.
- We do not capture email addresses on this site.
- We do not republish per-check rates we cannot cite to the vendor. Six of eleven vendors covered here are quote-only as a result.
How to flag an error
Email [email protected] with the source URL and a screenshot. Corrections are committed within a week and the verification date on the affected page is updated.
Last verified 17 June 2026