Best People Search Sites: Overview & Handy Guide

Gone are the days when reconnecting with past friends, colleagues, or relatives proved a genuine challenge. Today, with the help of some of the best people search sites, you can find all the information you need concerning people and their current state of affairs.

Still, name-based Google searches usually fail to highlight more in-depth information. Specialized websites designed to look up people are a lot more efficient when it comes to providing relevant, accurate, and updated information — hence why this article provides readers with all they need to know regarding the market’s top-ranking people search options.

Affiliate Disclosure

About Pipl — Pipl helps companies solve the global identity crisis by granting users access to accurate data on individuals within the US.

Services and areas of expertise — The brand’s services are suitable primarily for investigation, research, identity verification, and fraud detection purposes. Upon using this people search engine, users can uncover associations between individuals, locate people of interest or find out someone’s professional, social, and personal information like personal finance statistics, legal disputes, or place of employment. 

Pricing overview — Since the service is designed specifically for business applications, Pipl’s pricing plan entails monthly and annual subscriptions. The cheapest plan entails only one user and is priced at $298/month and can be used to conduct unlimited searches. Those who are looking for a cheap background check service should know that more advantageous plans exist for teams with multiple users and for enterprise applications. 

Pros:

• Excellent for business purposes
• Includes an enterprise API
• Exceptional source of knowledge

Cons:

• Not suitable for personal checks

About Spokeo — Spokeo markets itself as the market’s most wanted background check service. Luckily, there’s quite a bit of truth to this claim. The company provides industry-leading reports generated by browsing billions of public records.

Services and areas of expertise — When conducting a people search, Spokeo pulls information from 130 million property records, 3.9 billion historical records, 89 million business records, 6 billion consumer records, and 600 million court records. Similarly, it has access to 120+ social networks — hence why it’s capable of providing one of the most reliable people search services out there. 

Overall, their services are well-suited for healthcare, legal, real estate, debt collection, non-profit, and e-commerce sectors.

Pricing overview — Spokeo’s pricing plans vary between $4.95 a month, up to $13.95 per month. Custom quotes are given for enterprise needs.

Pros:

• Extensive record database
• Generates quick reports
• Excellent customer service team

Cons:

• Not straightforward about prices

About PeopleLooker — PeopleLooker is one of the best sites for people searching, and for good reason too! So far, the company has processed over 1 million reports while actively expanding its user base. 

Services and areas of expertise — At the moment, PeopleLooker’s platform facilitates mostly people searching and background checks. The instantly-generated reports include information on names, phone numbers, relatives, criminal records, addresses, emails, court records, and more. Public data is pulled from dozens of reliable sources. Meaning, this top background check service is suitable for both personal and business use. 

Searches can be done via email, name, phone number, or property. 

Pricing overview — Currently, the service is available through a 1-month or a 3-month membership. One month costs $18.28/mo, whereas 3 months cost $14.62/mo, with the added benefit of unlimited searches. With this in mind, PeopleLooker is definitely one of the more affordable people finder websites. 

Pros:

• Generates quick reports
• Leverages multiple reliable sources
• Affordable pricing plan

Cons:

• Not upfront about prices

About PeekYou — Despite its unsatisfactory BBB rating, PeekYou remains a relatively popular provider of people look-up services. Regarding people searches, our inspection shows that this platform offers an easy-to-use interface and solid record research. 

Services and areas of expertise — The platform is well suited for multiple purposes, including finding family, reconnecting with old friends or classmates, and finding contact information. PeekYou does not offer adequate services for business and employment purposes. Nevertheless, it’s still one of the top people search sites on our list, and in general.

The company has recently launched a Twitter analytics platform, suitable for brands and marketing agencies in particular.

Pricing overview — PeekYou lacks pricing transparency, as costs are only displayed once the search is already complete. Prices also depend on the type of record that you wish to access. As such, users can expect to pay anywhere between $7–$20 per month, which is similar to most other good people search sites. 

Pros:

• Reliable reports with sound record depth
• Quick findings
• Offers Twitter customer analysis for brands and marketers

Cons:

• No pricing transparency on its products

About Instant Checkmate — Instant Checkmate prides itself on being one of the market’s most detailed criminal background check services. Nevertheless, the platform is not a suitable choice for employers as it’s designed specifically for personal use in mind. 

Services and areas of expertise — Automatic people searches and background checks are conducted via an easy-to-use interface. Likewise, people can find relevant information concerning acquaintances, such as criminal records, legal disputes, addresses, emails, and more. 

Pricing overview — With its $1 trial, Instant Checkmate is one of the cheapest background check services on the market. After the trial, membership costs between $27 and $34 per month, depending on the monthly plan.

Pros:

• Offers affordable reports
• In-depth people searches
• Suitable for numerous purposes

Cons:

• Slow loading speed for reports

About PeopleFinders — PeopleFinders is a very popular provider of people searches and background checks. It is not to be confused with PeopleFinder (no -s), another search platform that has its spot in the best online background check sites review.

Services and areas of expertise — The company claims to have direct access to over a billion public records, which it utilizes to generate high-quality reports. So far, the platform has served tens of thousands of Americans. When conducting a search via PeopleFinders, you can expect to find information concerning criminal records, photos, licenses, email addresses, legal disputes, and vehicle data amongst others (but not marriage certificates). PeopleFinders is a highly recommendable online background check for people who wish to go through a simple process of people searching.

Pricing overview — Unfortunately, PeopleFinders has also opted for a non-transparent pricing scheme. This isn’t a bad thing per se, judging how the service is quite affordable anyway, but it’s worth noting nonetheless. There’s also a 3-day free trial on offer. Once it expires, unlimited reports can be generated for $7.95 per month. Thus, if you’re looking for an affordable criminal background check provider, look no further than PeopleFinders. 

Pros:

• Access to high-quality reports
• Ability to pull traffic fines and mugshots from public records
• Highly affordable monthly price

Cons:

• Pricing scheme not transparent (industry standard)

About BeenVerified — When it comes to websites for tracking people down,  BeenVerified is a well-known provider of niche services. The platform is actively used by US citizens looking to reconnect with relatives, friends, and work colleagues. 

Services and areas of expertise — Although background checks are provided, these are not suitable for legal compliance or employment purposes. Nevertheless, users can expect useful findings, seeing how the platform offers access to millions of records, thereby making it one of the top background check sites on our list for personal use. Furthermore, BeenVerified also provides vehicle identity number (VIN) checks, revealing past ownership data and potential accidents. 

Pricing overview — From a pricing standpoint, the 1-month membership is available at $26.89/mo. However, if users choose to commit to the 3-month membership, the Been Verified’s monthly rate drops to just $17.48. It’s also worth noting that unlimited background checks are available with both pricing plans.

Pros:

• Superb deal on the 3-month plan
• Features a checker for vehicle VINs
• Reports are generated instantly

Cons:

• Not suitable for employment purposes

About TruthFinder — This individual background check platform was founded in 2015. Since then, TruthFinder has processed thousands of people searches, while generating an equal number of background checks. 

Services and areas of expertise — TruthFinder users can expect well-designed and in-depth reports for every search they make; the website has access to millions of public records. Furthermore, it also provides a dark web scan service, meant to find information that’s hidden from plain sight. TruthFinder definitely stands out among websites to investigate someone. 

Pricing overview — There are two payment plans depending on the type of information that’s needed — namely, $26 or $30 per month.

Pros:

• Instant report generation
• Features a handy dark web scan tool
• Relatively affordable pricing plan

Cons:

• Intentionally designed to make cancellation difficult

About Facebook — Facebook needs no introduction. Without a doubt, it’s the ultimate people search website in the social media niche. With billions of users, searchers can find relevant information concerning anyone in the world.

Services and areas of expertise — Facebook is designed to serve as an entertaining social media platform that’s meant to connect people. Thus, it offers vast quantities of content. However, it does not access public databases and their respective records. Despite that, Facebook still remains the best people finder app on the internet that’s free of charge. In essence, the platform only displays information that people have marked as public. Nevertheless, some people share quite a lot of data. So, chances are users can find updated and in-depth information on anyone, especially if they’re friends on Facebook. 

Pricing overview — Facebook is free and always will be, as the company likes to say. Particular services such as advertising or in-platform gaming entail costs, but these are not related to the background search service we just discussed.

Pros:

• High probability of finding people
• Superb features for a social network
• Offers insightful information that’s willingly shared

Cons:

• Huge privacy concerns due to constant tracking

About LinkedIn — LinkedIn is also one of the most famous search engines for personal information. It was developed with the explicit purpose of facilitating connections between employees and employers. Professionals use this platform to publicly display their skillset and past experience, in hopes of landing new opportunities. 

Services and areas of expertise — A quick LinkedIn search for a specific user will highlight relevant information concerning their professional experience. Thus, the platform is perfect for job hunters and human resource managers. LinkedIn also serves as a social network as people can share pictures or opinions regarding different topics. As such, LinkedIn is not one of the more traditional top people finder and background search sites.

Pricing overview — Standard LinkedIn usage is free of charge. Pricing plans exist and provide access to extra features, like inMail messages, learning courses, interview preparation, and information on who has viewed your profile. 

Pros:

• Amazing people search engine for professional purposes
• Lists places of employment and skills
• Excellent for job hunting and hiring

Cons:

• Complicated user interface

The people search market features a plethora of options, many of which are quite promising — hence why the choosing process may be somewhat difficult. This buyer guide will highlight everything you ought to know when picking the right people search platform.

Understand What to Expect 

Top search platforms should be able to pull information from multiple public data sources. People search websites should then cross-check, categorize, and verify the data for accuracy. Moreover, they should provide relevant information that’s suitable for both personal and business use. 

More often than not, personal use includes reconnecting with old friends, relatives, work colleagues, and acquaintances. On the other hand, common business-related purposes include dealing with insurance fraud, investigative journalism, debt recovery, cybercrime, ecommerce manual reviews, and more. 

A top background check site should provide well-organized reports that include information concerning names, ages, addresses, employers, social networks, phone numbers, court decisions, property records, and wealth data, as well as family members and associates. 

Of course, such data is only generatable as long as public records regarding specific individuals actually exist. If one has been extremely careful with their private and public data, such search engines may only provide general information. 

3 Main Tips for Deciding on the People Search Engine

To find the most suitable one for your specific needs, just keep the following factors in mind:

• Stick to reputable platforms

First and foremost, always consider the user reviews, licensing, and the overall reputation of websites used for finding people. Likewise, it’s never a bad idea to check whether the provider has received any awards or grades from ranking companies (such as the Better Business Bureau, or BBB). Additionally, reputable platforms will always offer top-notch customer service. 

• Make sure that your desired service is offered

Some people search engines create manual in-depth reports, whereas others place a higher focus on carrying out background checks, such as verifying whether a person has a criminal record or not. Figure out what you need and direct your search accordingly. Also, make sure to check the service catalog prior to making a purchase. Landlords, for instance, always look for sites specializing in tenant screening.

• Consider your budget

Depending on what you need, the market’s prime people finder may be free of charge or may entail a hefty monthly rate. 

With this in mind, it’s wise to consider your budget and requirements before looking for an appropriate provider.  The reason being — if you’re in need of a single report, it makes little to no sense to pay a monthly rate. Similarly, if you’re a business that’s actively using search engines to find people, a monthly plan may, in fact, be a better option. 

Bottom Line

We hope that the platforms we provided on our top 10 list will help you on your quest of finding long-lost friends, relatives, acquaintances, or colleagues. Most of these companies are known for their highly accurate and up-to-date results — hence why they are some of the most reliable search sites for friends, family or colleagues on the market.