Do you want to be able to know instantly about whether a person is who they say they are? Background check services allow you to find the personal information of individuals in your life. You can check criminal history, relatives, work history, and even email and social media accounts.
Different services have different information available. There are also different searches that can compile different facts.
Two popular choices today are Peoplefinders and Intelius. Both have a reputation for compiling accurate information. What features does each of these services have, and which is best when you're doing your next background check?
Overview of Peoplefinders and Intelius
Shared Features
Unique Peoplefinders Features
Unique Intelius Features
Types of Searches
Peoplefinders
Peoplefinders has search types including:
➼ People searches find information about individual people, while address searches find information about physical addresses. Background checks compile data about a person's background.
➼ Criminal records include all data regarding a person's criminal history. The public records search goes through more than 43 billion records available to compile information.
➼ The reverse phone lookup tool is used to give you information about who's calling on the phone.
Intelius
Intelius has a number of search types available. They're sorted into six categories:
➼ People Search is used to find people through their name, location, phone number, or address.
➼ See Who's Calling is a reverse phone lookup feature that lets you search a phone number and find out who owns the number that's calling.
➼ The Criminal Records check can search for a criminal history through a specific state or throughout the entire nation.
➼ The Reverse Address Lookup search lets you find out information regarding a physical address.
➼ A Background Check gives you general information about a person's spousal history, any civil lawsuits they've been involved in, and financial information.
➼ Public Records reports offer data regarding all of the publicly available information about a person, so you don't have to track it down.
Winner: Peoplefinders
Both of these services have the same core search functions available. However, Peoplefinders pulls ahead because it compiles data from 43 billion records. This means that the information tends to be more complete and easy to verify.
Available Information
I've compiled the information on each report by the type of search to help you compare which service you'd want to use.
Peoplefinders
➦ Basic Person Search
➦ Public Records
➦ Background Check
➦ Criminal Records
➦ Address Lookup
➦ Reverse Phone Lookup
Intelius
➦Basic People Search
➦ Public Records
➦ Background Check
➦ Criminal Records
➦ Address Lookup
➦ Reverse Phone Lookup
Winner: Intelius
Though Intelius doesn't always guarantee that all of this information will be available, they have much more comprehensive details regarding what facts you'll be able to find in different reports.
Pricing
Peoplefinders
Peoplefinders has one of the cheapest pricing structures for people who only want to run one or two searches.
The pricing structure is:
If you're going to invest, a premium membership is significantly more worth your money.
Intelius
You can purchase single searches:
Unfortunately, the service will also set you up for a free trial, and canceling that trial comes with a credit card fee.
Winner: Peoplefinders
Peoplefinders wins because even though it doesn't allow one-off searches as easily outside the trial period, it also doesn't have secret credit card charges.
See Full Review of - Peoplefinders | Intelius
Pros and Cons of Peoplefinders
Pros
Cons
Pros and Cons of Intelius
Pros
Cons
Final Thoughts: Which is Better?
Both services provide ideal information for a certain price. The right one for you is most determined by the information you're looking for and the price you're willing to pay. If you're seeking information that both services can provide, though:
Peoplefinders is the best option for those who want to do single background checks. You don't have to pay for monthly access if you only want to complete a single search. For multiple searches, the software tends to be relatively inexpensive, but the information is sometimes incomplete.
On the other hand, Intelius is among the best options if you want an affordable ongoing background check service. There are a ton of different report types that can be compiled. The information may be more difficult to verify than with some other services, though, and the fee structure can sometimes be confusing.
