TruthFinder vs BeenVerified: Which Background Check Service Is Right for You?

The Real Difference Between TruthFinder and BeenVerified

If you're researching background check services, you've probably narrowed your options down to TruthFinder and BeenVerified—the two most popular consumer-facing people search platforms. Both promise comprehensive reports, but they serve different needs and come with different trade-offs.

After digging into both platforms, here's what actually matters: TruthFinder tends to deliver more detailed, narrative-style reports with extras like dark web monitoring, while BeenVerified focuses on simplicity, speed, and slightly lower pricing. Neither is perfect, and neither is cheap.

Let's break down exactly what you're getting with each service so you can make an informed decision—or discover whether you need a paid service at all.

Pricing Comparison: What You'll Actually Pay

Both services use subscription models, which means you can't just pay for a single report. Here's the current pricing breakdown:

TruthFinder Pricing

• People Search Membership: $28.05/month for unlimited background reports
• Reverse Phone Lookup: $4.99/month for unlimited phone reports only
• Reverse Email Lookup: $29.73/month for unlimited email and personal reports
• Dark Web Monitoring Add-on: $2.99/month
• PDF Downloads: $3.99/month additional

TruthFinder offers discounts for multi-month commitments. A two-month prepayment drops the People Search plan to approximately $23.28/month. They also occasionally offer a $1 trial promotion.

BeenVerified Pricing

• Monthly Plan: $26.89-$36.89/month for 100 reports
• 3-Month Plan: $17.48-$23.98/month (billed quarterly)
• Trial Offer: $1 for 7 days

Important distinction: BeenVerified caps you at 100 reports per month, while TruthFinder offers truly unlimited searches on their main plans. If you need to run many searches, TruthFinder provides better value despite the slightly higher price.

Feature Comparison: What Each Service Actually Does

TruthFinder Key Features

• Comprehensive Background Reports: Criminal records, court documents, address history, relatives, and associates
• Dark Web Monitoring: Alerts when your personal information appears on the dark web
• Social Media Discovery: Finds and links social profiles associated with a person
• Property Records: Useful for real estate research or investigating neighborhood safety
• Narrative-Style Reports: Information presented in context, not just raw data dumps

BeenVerified Key Features

• People Search: Name, addresses, phone numbers, relatives, and social profiles
• Reverse Phone Lookup: Identify unknown callers
• Email Lookup: Find information connected to an email address
• Criminal Records: Access to conviction and charge history
• Property and Vehicle Records: Track assets linked to individuals
• Mobile Apps: Available on iOS, Android, and even Apple Watch

The feature sets are similar on paper, but users consistently report that TruthFinder delivers more thorough reports with better context. BeenVerified excels at quick, straightforward lookups where you just need basic information fast.

Accuracy and Report Quality

Here's where things get complicated. Neither service is perfectly accurate—and legally, neither can be used for official purposes like employment screening or tenant verification (they're not FCRA-compliant consumer reporting agencies).

Based on user reviews and industry analysis:

• TruthFinder is generally praised for producing more comprehensive, detailed reports. The narrative presentation makes complex data easier to understand, and the depth of information tends to be greater.
• BeenVerified is praised for ease of use and speed, but some users report encountering outdated or incomplete information. It's better suited for quick checks rather than deep investigations.

Both services pull from public records, which are only as accurate as the government databases they source from. Expect some outdated addresses, former phone numbers, and occasional errors in any background check service.

The Cancellation Problem

Both TruthFinder and BeenVerified have drawn complaints about their cancellation processes. Auto-renewal is standard for both services, and users frequently report:

• Surprise charges after forgetting about renewals
• Difficulty finding cancellation options on the website
• Long hold times when calling to cancel

Pro tip: If you sign up for either service, set a calendar reminder a few days before your renewal date. Both services technically allow online cancellation through your account dashboard, but some users find it easier to call customer support.

What These Services Can't Do

Before you subscribe to either TruthFinder or BeenVerified, understand their legal limitations:

• Not for employment screening: You cannot use these reports to make hiring decisions
• Not for tenant screening: Landlords cannot legally use these for rental applications
• Not for credit decisions: Insurance companies and lenders cannot use this data
• Not for stalking or harassment: Terms of service prohibit using reports to harm others

These are personal research tools only. If you need official background checks for business purposes, you'll need an FCRA-compliant service like GoodHire, Checkr, or HireRight.

Which Service Should You Choose?

Choose TruthFinder If:

• You need detailed, comprehensive reports with context
• You want dark web monitoring included
• You'll be running many searches (unlimited vs. 100/month)
• Report quality matters more than getting the lowest price

Choose BeenVerified If:

• You need quick, simple lookups
• You want the lowest monthly cost
• You prefer mobile app access (Apple Watch support, etc.)
• You only need basic information about a few people

Consider Alternatives If:

• You only need to verify someone's identity occasionally
• You're trying to find contact information for sales or recruiting
• You don't want to commit to a monthly subscription

Free and Affordable Alternatives

Before paying $25-30/month for a background check subscription, consider whether you actually need that level of service. Many people searching for "TruthFinder vs BeenVerified" are really looking for simpler solutions.

For basic people searches, try these free options first:

• County court websites: Many courts offer free online access to case records
• State sex offender registries: Free and publicly accessible
• Social media searches: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram often reveal more than you'd expect
• Google searching: Put the person's name in quotes along with their city or employer

If you're in sales, recruiting, or marketing and need to verify contact information or run background checks on potential business partners, our free Background Checker tool provides comprehensive reports with trust scores—without the monthly subscription commitment. You can verify someone's background, check for red flags, and make informed decisions before important meetings or deals.

How B2B Professionals Actually Use Background Checks

While TruthFinder and BeenVerified market primarily to consumers checking on dates, neighbors, and lost relatives, business professionals have different needs:

• Sales teams research prospects before calls to personalize outreach
• Recruiters verify candidate backgrounds before extending offers
• Marketers confirm that influencer partners are who they claim to be
• Business developers vet potential partners before signing agreements

For these use cases, you typically need a combination of tools. Start with our Email Finder to locate the right contact, verify the address with our Email Verifier, and then run background verification when the relationship gets serious.

This workflow often delivers better results than consumer background check services because you're combining verified contact data with reputation research—not just pulling whoever happens to share a name in public records.

The Bottom Line

TruthFinder and BeenVerified both deliver on their core promise: aggregating public records into searchable reports. TruthFinder offers more depth and unlimited searches for slightly more money. BeenVerified offers simplicity and lower prices with a 100-report cap.

Neither service is perfect. Both have billing practices that frustrate users, and accuracy depends heavily on which public records happen to be available for your search target.

For occasional personal use, either service works. For professional applications, you'll likely need a more comprehensive approach that combines identity verification, contact discovery, and background research—which is exactly why we built our free Background Checker as part of a broader toolkit for sales and recruiting professionals.

Whatever you choose, go in with realistic expectations. Background check services can reveal useful information, but they're not magic. Public records have gaps, data gets outdated, and people with common names get confused constantly. Use these tools as one input among many when forming opinions about someone—not as the final word.