The 11 Best People Search Providers
Which People Search Platform is the Best?
There are plenty of reasons you might want to use a people search service. Maybe you're trying to reconnect with an old friend or family member you've lost touch with, and these services can help you find their current contact info. Or perhaps you want to quietly peek into the background of someone who has recently come into your life (Tinder, anyone?).
People search services can be super helpful when you're trying to find out more about someone. These services pull together information from all sorts of places to give you a detailed report about the person you're looking for. Let's break down how they work, what kinds of records they find, what it might cost you, and how you can choose which one to use.
Wednesday, January 22nd
2025 People Search Provider Reviews
SpyFly
SpyFly is the #1 pick for doing a people search. You'll find out in just a minute or two if their databases contain records that match the person you're trying to find, without having to click through a bunch of questions to get there. Although there's no low-cost trial, SpyFly's monthly subscription is affordable and easy to cancel through the company's 24/7 customer service phone number. This people search platform is "A” rated and accredited by the BBB and has earned over 1,000 5-star reviews. When it comes to tracking someone down, SpyFly deserves to be the first website you turn to, and it earns 5 stars from us.
US Search
US Search is one of your best options for finding people: search by their name, phone, or email address, and in only a minute or two, you just might find them here. This is one of the most accurate search platforms we've found, and affordable as well at $19.86 per month and a 5-day trial for $1.99. The company has an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau (under its sister site, Intelius) and a 4.7-star rating average from very happy users. We're glad to give this people search service our own well-deserved rating as well.
Intelius
For accuracy and affordability, it's tough to beat Intelius. It's one of the top options in the PeopleConnect portfolio of sites and just a great service overall, having no trouble finding our test case person under both known aliases. You'll pay a bit more month-to-month if you do the $1.99 trial first, but either way it's less than $30/month for unlimited searches here. And, Intelius has an "A+” rating and accreditation from the BBB, showing that there's nothing scammy going on behind the scenes. Intelius should be one of your go-to choices the next time you do a search for someone.
PeopleWhiz
PeopleWhiz can be a little rough around the edges: you may even spot some typos on the website. But, there are some things to like about this people search service, such as getting a preview for each person that might match who you're looking for and no sneaky "trial subscription” that morphs into months of unwanted billing (like some rivals do). PeopleWhiz' reputation is a bit mixed, but we're impressed that over 18,000 people have given the company a 5-star rating. Although PeopleWhiz failed to find the person we looked for, you might have more success.
PeopleLooker
PeopleLooker is a decent option among people search websites. Not only can you try to find people by name, address, and phone number, but this service also gives you the ability to search by someone's online username. You can try it out for a week ($1 for regular access, $5 for access to PDF reports), and then monthly plans are about $25 for up to 100 searches. PeopleLooker has a satisfaction guarantee and a "B” rating from the Better Business Bureau, but they're missing report previews that would let you know if they've got the right person in your initial search.
Truthfinder
TruthFinder joins Intelius, US Search, and Instant Checkmate as part of the PeopleConnect group of search services. It matches its "sister sites” in accuracy, with absolutely no problem in correctly locating the person we searched for as a test across all of the sites on our list. However, this particular platform has some serious problems with customer service, making it hard to cancel once you've started a trial or a subscription. We give TruthFinder an average rating for being accurate, but we'd still recommend using a higher-ranked people search platform first.
Instant Checkmate
We have a love/hate relationship with Instant Checkmate. As one of four options offered by PeopleConnect, this people search platform gets points for accuracy: not every service we evaluated was able to hit the target on the individual we used as a test case, but that was no problem here. On the other hand, Instant Checkmate is more expensive than most rivals and has thousands of 1-star reviews from people largely unhappy with some less-than-scrupulous billing tactics they encountered. It all combines to earn Instant Checkmate a below-average rating from us.
InfoTracer
InfoTracer has a lot of positive features, from 24/7 customer support to thousands of 4- and 5-star ratings from satisfied users and an "A” rating from the BBB. You can try it out for $2.95 and get full access for a week, then $24.95/month afterwards if you choose to subscribe. However, InfoTracer wasn't able to correctly identify the test subject in our people search, leading to a lower rating from us.
Spokeo
Spokeo isn't going to pressure you into a costly subscription when you use its people search platform. Instead, you can try it for a full week for less than a dollar, to see how it works for you, and then decide if you'd like a monthly subscription at $29.95. The company earns an "A-” from the BBB and has a solid reputation overall. Unfortunately, Spokeo completely missed the target for the person we were searching for as a test case, falling behind rival services who succeeded.
People Finders
PeopleFinders starts out strong: this people search service has been around for more than 25 years and has billions of records dating back 40+ years. And, some of its features are a little more robust than rivals', with results lists including last-name-first-initial matches to make it more likely that you'll find who you're looking for. However, that didn't work in our test case; PeopleFinders didn't track down anything about our known individual. Beyond that, people have huge complaints about the sketchy billing practices here, leading to an "F” from the BBB. We suggest using a more reputable (and accurate) people search platform instead.
CheckPeople
There's nothing overly novel about CheckPeople: this search platform can track down people through their name, address, and/or phone number, scanning for criminal records, social media profiles, property records, and so forth. It takes less than 10 minutes for the search to run, but you'll have to pay $1 for a 5-day trial to even see if CheckPeople came close to the target. We'd say "don't bother” because CheckPeople got an "F” from the BBB for shady billing practices and hundreds of complaints. Try a more reputable people search service instead.
Continued from above...
Using a people search service is pretty straightforward. You start by typing in some basic info about the person you're trying to find, like their name, phone number, email address, or home address. The service then digs through a bunch of databases and public records to find matches. It's like a digital detective, piecing together bits of information to create a complete picture of the person.
What kinds of information might you see in a people search report? Most draw upon public records databases, sparing you the hassle of doing the dirty work bit by bit. You might find vital records like marriage and divorce documents, criminal/traffic records, past and current addresses, known associates and relatives, and sometimes even social media profiles and email addresses.
You're probably wondering what it'll cost to do a basic people search. Most platforms charge around $25 to $30 per month, usually for unlimited reports, though some cap the monthly total at 100. The good news is that most people search companies give you some kind of discounted trial access, usually a dollar or so for 3-7 days of full access. Just keep an eye out for extra fees for more in-depth reports, usually the kind that are a deep dive into someone's background (like extensive criminal/arrest records).
Ready to start searching? Here are some factors that you should keep in mind as you choose which people search site to use:
- Accuracy. This is the most important one: it doesn't do you any good to do a people search if it can't find who you're looking for. We recommend using yourself as a test case, to see how accurate the site you're considering is going to be for your search.
- Cost and billing practices. We lump these two together because they're connected: if you sign up for a low-cost trial, which most people search sites offer, how much will you be charged if it switches to a subscription? Does the site make it easy to cancel when you don't need the service anymore?
- Reputation. Look at what other users have to say about the people search experience. Did they get the information they needed? Were the reports comprehensive, with plenty of current info? Have there been any issues with sneaky charges that continued on after cancellation?
To help you find that long-lost someone, the super-sleuths at Top Consumer Reviews have tested and ranked some of today's most popular people search platforms. Use our research to choose the best option for what you're trying to accomplish in your search, and happy "hunting”!
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