Employment background check companies ensure the person you’re hiring is who they say they are and safe to hire. The best background check companies verify resumes, identity, and personal backgrounds and provide credit checks, drug screens, and even healthcare checks for positions that require that degree of review.
To find the top background screening companies for small businesses, we evaluated 13 leading solutions and narrowed our list to four. Here are our recommendations:
- Checkr: Best overall, especially for recruiters wanting AI and additional hiring tools
- Trusted Employees: Best for industry-specific background checks
- ShareAble for Hires: Best for finance and bookkeeping services wanting financial and credit history of their hires
- Backgroundchecks.com: Best for small companies needing customizable screening packages
Best Background Check Companies Compared
All the providers on our list adhere to the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). They also offer solutions for tracking background check orders and viewing reports online. Below are some of the features.
Starter Pricing | Volume Discount | Setup Fees | Turnaround Time* | Integration with HR or ATS Tools | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
$29.99–$79.99 per check | For 300+ checks per year** | None | 3–7 business days | ✓ | |
$29.95–$69.95 per check | ✕ | None | 1–3 business days | ✓ | |
$25–$60 | ✕ | None | A few minutes to 3 business days | ✕ | |
$33.15–$69.95 | For 50+ checks per year** | $19.95*** | A few minutes to 3 business days | ✓ | |
*Note that some background checks may take longer depending on the complexity of the report. To learn more about report timelines, contact the provider or visit the company’s website.
**For volume discounts, contact the provider for a quote.
***Charges a one-time registration fee to most clients. If a fee applies, this will appear in your online shopping cart during checkout.
Need help in creating a background check policy? Read our guide and download our customizable background check policy template.
Checkr: Best Overall for Recruiters Wanting AI & Additional Hiring Tools
Pros
- Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered background checking
- APIs and automations
- Easy and intuitive interface
- Checkr Chrome extension lets you access its dashboard from any Google web page
- International background services cover 200+ countries
- Offers volume discounts
Cons
- Some users complain of having experienced drug screening results taking longer than Checkr’s turnaround time (3-7 business days)
- Occasional glitches in the system
- Federal criminal records check, drug testing, and previous employment verifications are paid add-ons
- Customer support is only via chat and ticket requests raised through its website
- Volume discounts isn’t ideal for SMBs; requires at 300+ checks per year
Key Features
- Lets you place single and multiple background check requests and view reports online
- AI and machine learning tools categorize criminal charges from jurisdictions, making charges or findings easier to understand
- Its online adverse action tools helps generate candidate notifications and manage mandatory waiting periods automatically
- When hiring employees, employers or HR managers can add tags to reports and download it in PDF file formats
- Candidate portal provides real-time visibility into background check statuses and forms (like authorization and disclosure forms)
- “Candidate Story” feature allows you to ask applicants to submit additional context about their records and send supporting documents online
- Integrates with HRIS, ATS, and payroll solutions, such as Alliance Payroll, Bamboo HR, Breezy HR, EPAY Systems, FreshTeam, and LinkedIn Talent Hub
Checkr offers services tailored to employers and small businesses needing background checks. Its screenings focus on residence and employment history, identity verification, and criminal and driving records. With its advanced machine learning and AI tools, recruiters can find qualified candidates through reliable background checks. Its screening options are designed to help assess applicants easily while providing continuous monitoring of candidates and employees.
Scoring 4.79 out of 5 in our evaluation, this provider earned perfect marks for pricing, popularity, and reporting. Its solid compliance features, which include AI and machine learning tools to help strengthen your hiring and screening processes, also contributed to its high overall scores. However, its standard turnaround time of 3–7 business days (longer than the other providers on our list) and the lack of phone support cost it some points.
Did You Know?
Checkr acquired GoodHire in April 2022. GoodHire, which previously topped our list of best background check services for small businesses, will soon be incorporated into Checkr’s portfolio. The company also plans to move all GoodHire clients to its platform. If you’re a GoodHire customer, Checkr will notify you via email when it’s time to transition your account.
When to Use Something Else
While Checkr offers a wide range of screening services, the turnaround isn’t as fast as the other background checking companies in this guide. For fast results of basic criminal checks, consider Backgroundchecks.com or ShareAble for Hires—these providers attest that you can get criminal reports instantly online.
Trusted Employees: Best for Industry-specific Background Checks
Pros
- Simple and intuitive interface
- Streamlined reporting and analytics
- Offers background check packages for individuals and businesses
Cons
- Limited integration options
- Lacks international background check services
- Website’s chatbot can be annoying (pops up frequently while you’re browsing the site)
Features
- Reporting insights include customizable scoring models and intuitive color coding tools to help screen applicants faster
- Simplified adverse action compliance processes and notifications
- Risk assessment reporting provides comprehensive employee background check information to help you know whether or not an applicant is qualified based on the risk thresholds you set
- Trusted Employees integrates only with Workable but has flexible APIs to help integrate with your software of choice
Trusted Employees is a pre-employment screening platform that’s been around for the last 20 years. What’s great about this company is its flexible background check services, which cater to businesses of all sizes and in several industries, like retail, technology, education, staffing, financial services, healthcare, insurance, transportation, and manufacturing. It can even handle the screening requirements of nonprofits and volunteer organizations. None of the pre-employment background check companies on our list cover such a wide array of industries.
In our evaluation, this provider received perfect marks for pricing, reporting, background check functionalities, and compliance features, earning a total score of 4.33 out of 5. It got the lowest score on popularity, as it lacked reviews from third-party websites. While its online solutions are user-friendly, it also didn’t get a high score in ease of use because, unlike Checkr, it doesn’t offer an easy way to place bulk screening orders.
When to Use Something Else
Trusted Employees lacks built-in integration with ATS and HR software. If you plan to integrate the platform with your recruiting software, you have to contact the company to provide an API key. We recommend Checkr if you’re looking for background check organizations with solid integration options. And, in case you need pre-employment screening services that extend outside of the US, Checkr is also a good choice, as it offers international background checks.
ShareAble for Hires: Best Background Check Company for Financial Firms
Pros
- Straightforward and reasonably priced plans
- Self-service candidate portal
- Offers instant criminal reports
Cons
- Doesn’t offer specialized screenings like drug testing and driver records
- Can get expensive for volume checking
- Instant criminal results not available in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, and Washington DC.
Features
- Reports sent directly from TransUnion, providing you access to a database with 230+ million credit histories and 370 million criminal records
- Criminal screening and report delivery is done entirely online
- ShareAble for Hires attests that it can deliver background check reports minutes after applicants verify their identities
- Criminal screening and report delivery is done entirely online
- Utilizes record matching logic to compare, check, and match records, including identity verifications
ShareAble for Hires offers all the basic candidate background, identity, resume verification, and employment screening, as well as credit checks. It’s part of the TransUnion system, so it provides these services fast and entirely online. It’s great at ensuring your finance and accounting new hires aren’t arriving with burdensome financial debt and credit issues.
The provider earned a total score of 4.19 out of 5, with perfect marks in pricing and reporting. While it has different pre-employment screening options, it lacks the specialty checks (like driver records and drug testing) offered by the other background screening companies in this guide. It also lost points because it doesn’t support integration with HR software, and it has very few up-to-date user reviews (as of this writing). However, it’s worth noting that Shareable for Hires and Backgroundchecks.com are the only providers in this list that offer instant background checks. This is great for those with urgent criminal record screening requirements.
Plans & Pricing
ShareAble for Hires offers three background check packages.
- Basic: $25
- Federal watch lists, national sex offender registry check, national most wanted check, FCRA and state filters, Transunion instant match, and instant state and county check
- Plus: $40
- Basic, plus fraud alerts check, name and SSN match report, and deceased person’s SSN check
- Pro: $60
- Plus plan, with reported prior employment, current and previous addresses, and detailed credit reports
When to Use Something Else
ShareAble for Hires’ options don’t include drug testing and screenings for driver records, licenses, and educational backgrounds. Other background check companies on our list will allow you to add specialty tests to your screening orders. Plus, due to the online process and speed of the background checks, ShareAble for Hires doesn’t provide any software integrations. The workaround is to save a printed (or PDF) copy of the report and then attach it to your HR or payroll system, or add it to a secure employee personnel file. If you want integration capabilities, we recommend Checkr (for built-in integrations) or Trusted Employees (for an API).
Backgroundchecks.com: Best for Small Companies That Want Custom Screening Packages
Pros
- ”Instant” criminal record checks
- Volume discounts for 50+ background check orders per year
- Offers a customizable landing page for your self-service portal
Cons
- Starter plan is expensive compared to the other providers on our list
- Multi-county background searches available only in its highest tier
- Lacks international screening services
- Charges a one-time registration fee
Features
- Background check ordering and report tracking are completely online
- Access to an online database with 650+ million records and 20 million photos
- Aside from candidates, vendors and sub-contractors are granted access to self-service portals that allow them to manage their screening processes but following your standards
- Customizable pre-adverse and adverse processes, enabling you to use custom notices and change the notification timelines
Most companies that do background checks typically offer standard pre-employee screening packages with specialized check services you can add to it. With Backgroundchecks.com, you can combine its screening options to create your own package with the searches, checks, and verifications you need. Similar to Trusted Employees, it caters to businesses in different industries (although, the selection isn’t as wide), such as staffing, construction, manufacturing, and retail, including volunteer organizations.
It offers a self-service portal where candidates can input basic information needed for background checks, as well as track and view screening reports. Online documents (such as authorization and disclosure forms) are available, including pre-adverse and adverse action tools. You also have a wide range of background checks to choose from—from standard SSN verifications to drug screenings and credit checks.
All of these features contributed to Backgroundchecks.com scoring 4.11 out of 5 in our evaluation. It would have ranked higher on our list if it had bulk order capabilities for multiple screening requirements, offered a more reasonably-priced plan (with starter pricing at $30 or less per report), and didn’t charge setup/registration fees.
When to Use Something Else
While Backgroundchecks.com offers instant criminal reports, its basic screening package (costing $33.15) isn’t as affordable as ShareAble for Hires, which only charges $25 for its starter plan. Its platform also doesn’t have Checkr’s AI and machine learning tools to help make tracking and understanding pre-employment screening reports easier for employers and recruiters.
To find the right background check company, it’s important to take a look at several factors—from pricing to offered services. Here are some of the things you should know before selecting a company to help you screen candidates:
- Know your employment screening needs: Businesses have different employment screening needs, depending on which industry it belongs to. Finding a company that can handle the company’s background check requirements can help mitigate hiring risks and potential legal issues. For example, finance-related companies may require credit history checks and professional license verifications for their new hires, while retail businesses may need employee drug tests and criminal history searches.
- FCRA compliance: Be sure to look for background screening companies that have FCRA-compliant databases. Note that you can be subject to potential lawsuits in case you make a hiring decision based on candidate data that isn’t FCRA compliant.
- Pricing: Apart from transparent and affordable pricing, you should consider the number of background checks you need. A pay-as-you-go package is great for those that don’t hire often, while a fixed monthly plan is ideal for companies that need to run around 50 checks a year. Having access to volume discounts is also optimal, as it can help you negotiate for better rates based on your background check orders.
- Report submission timelines: Those requiring fast turnaround times will benefit from having reports available to them either instantly or within 1–3 days.
- Online tools: Consider whether or not you want an entirely online experience, from placing and tracking pre-employment screening orders to candidates digitally signing off required authorization forms for conducting background checks. Having access to compliance solutions that can handle pre-adverse and adverse action notices is also helpful. Some background check providers even have AI tools to assist you in understanding reports with confusing legal jargon.
- Check user reviews: When looking for the best background check for employers, it’s important to read the feedback that users post on online review sites. These will help you determine the quality of service that providers offer, including whether there are trends of report submission delays and other complaints.
Methodology: How We Evaluated Employee Background Check Companies
Background checking should be a part of onboarding plans (if background checking is a standard practice) and employment termination (if there is a concern of substance use). Assuming that a small business would prefer to work with one employee background check company than several, we prioritized employment background check companies that include most of the services an employer would need.
The ones we chose are affordable and allow you to choose either packages of background checks or one type of test, like a pre-employment drug screen. Click through the tabs below for a more detailed breakdown of our evaluation criteria.
15% of Overall Score
We looked at pricing and gave higher points for providers with plans starting at less than $30 per search and those with transparent pricing. Providers with no setup or membership fees also score higher in our evaluation.
25% of Overall Score
In our evaluation, we looked at providers with fast turnaround times, robust employee screening options, and niche background check services (such as motor vehicle records, drug screening, credit checks, and licensure checks). Extra points were also given to providers with communication tools for both applicants and employers.
20% of Overall Score
FCRA compliance means a provider must perform background checks that are transparent, accurate, and fair to applicants. This means getting the applicants’ consent before the screening tests, allowing candidates to dispute inaccuracies in reports, and providing tools for handling pre-adverse and adverse action notices.
15% of Overall Score
For this criterion, we gave points to providers that allow easy tracking of a background check status for both applicants and employers. To get a perfect score in this criterion, a platform should be easy to use and mobile-friendly, allow integration with HR software, offer bulk ordering tools, and have live support via chat and phone.
10% of Overall Score
We gave higher points for companies that have more than 100 user reviews, without complaints of report inaccuracies, and more than 4.5 out of 5 scores on review sites (like G2 and Capterra).
15% of Overall Score
In our evaluation, we gave points to providers that offer FCRA-compliant reports and allow both employers and candidates to access their background check reports online.
Bottom Line
Background check companies provide assurance that the people you’re hiring don’t have red flags that could affect your business. The best employment background check companies provide an all-in-one background screening service with online report storage and a dashboard that can share data with your other HR software, making your overall employee hiring experience easier and more consistent, while also ensuring compliance to the law.