We earn commissions from brands listed on this site, which influences how listings are presented.
Advertising Disclosure
Last Updated: Nov 2024

Best People Search Services of 2024

Search people, social media posts, public records and the deep web
to arm yourself with information—quickly and easily.

Best People Search
We Recommend
BeenVerified
BeenVerified
exceptional
9.8
Find up-to-date results instantly
Search Now
TruthFinder
TruthFinder
excellent
9.4
Get information in minutes
Search Now
Intelius
Intelius
excellent
9.1
Encrypted searches
Search Now

27,310 people

visited a background check site this month

social-proof

Note: Some or all background search services featured on this site are not subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681 et seq., ("FCRA") In order to make decisions about consumer credit, employment, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purpose that would require FCRA compliance, make sure you choose the appropriate service for you. Be advised that only consumer reporting agencies may provide consumer reports. This is applicable, but not limited to, a background search, credit background check, criminal background check, and/or driving record.

The Benefits of Using a People Search

Personal safety should always come first. Maybe you are moving into a new neighborhood and you want more information on whoever is living next door. Or perhaps you're just looking for old-school buddies to reconnect with. Whatever your reason, using a background search service is the safest way to find information on someone, an address, or a phone number. 

What is a People Search?

It is a comprehensive search engine that has a large database with the records of thousands of people. Search people using a name, an address, or a number and find all kinds of information linked to it. 

Basically, it does all the detective work for you with high accuracy. The information is gathered from a wide variety of places, from both governmental and non-governmental places. These sources might include:

• birth certificates

• death certificates

• voter registrations

• drivers licenses

• trademark filings

• census statistics

• utility companies 

• unsealed lawsuits or legal actions

• political campaign contributions

• sex offender registrations

• professional and business licenses

• criminal records

• real estate transactions

• marriage licenses

• online account registrations and profiles

• forum posts

• government spending reports

• business and entity filings

• credit bureaus

All of this information is legally obtained and is safe for you to view. Background searches protect privacy rights. People can choose to opt out of the search engine if they want to. Often times, contact information is not offered directly but you can contact the person through the providing website. 

Benefits of using People Search Engines

Using a background check service is the safest way to find information on someone, an address, or a phone number. It can help you:

• Reconnect with old friends or lost family

• Check the history of an address

• Find out who has been calling you

• See the background history of your neighbors

• Find hidden social media accounts

Search services are much safer to use than trying to do your own detective work. It is far less invasive and completely legal. It can help you restore your peace of mind without compromising your personal safety. 

While other search engines like Google may work, the information they offer will be incomplete and harder to compile. You may only find a couple of social media accounts instead of the vast amount of information a people-specific search engine can provide.

What Kinds of People Use It?

All kinds of individuals utilize this kind of tool, for both professional and personal reasons. Often times, people are just trying to verify their knowledge of someone they know. It may be used to check on a daughter's new boyfriend or to see how an old co-worker is doing. Though it can be used in a professional setting, people search engines may not be used for pre-employment screening. 

Using a people search gives you access to useful public information. It is a safe, secure way to find people and can help you reconnect with loved ones. Search people, find people, and find your peace of mind.

Our Top 3 Picks

    1
    BeenVerified
    Millions of data points scoured instantlyVisit Site
    • Best for - Social media username searches
    • Pricing - From $26.89/month
    • Reports Offered - People lookup, phone search, unclaimed money
    Millions of data points scoured instantly
    Visit Site

    BeenVerified's web search is extensive and delivers results within minutes. It scours billions of records from public data sources and the deep web, turning up a wealth of information that may include address history, phone numbers, education and employment history.

    While most background search services require consumers to enter search terms like a name, phone number, or address, BeenVerified includes an additional social media search option (which looks at more than 120 social media networks). This allows customers who only have a person's username to run a background check.

    This is especially helpful for anyone conducting business transactions via social media who wants to avoid falling victim to scams, which, according to the Federal Trade Commission, are rising. In 2021, more than 95,000 people reported losing nearly $770 million to social media fraud—up from $258 million in 2020.

    Why we chose BeenVerified: BeenVerified offers affordable access to public record information with seven different search options for a single monthly subscription fee. It also has a satisfaction guarantee, which promises users one-on-one assistance or a refund if they're unhappy with the results.

    Our experience: We like that BeenVerified lets users monitor any changes on previously run reports. But while this service provides mostly accurate results, our report did contain a few addresses, emails, and academic institutions that weren't associated with the subject of our search.

    Read BeenVerified Review

    BeenVerified Pros & Cons

    PROS

    Provides seven search options in one
    Offers a seven-day trial period for $1
    Searches billions of records

    CONS

    Reports per month are capped at 100 
    Search results are not always completely accurate
    beenverified logo
    BeenVerified
    Visit Site
    2
    TruthFinder
    Finding the truth is a few clicks awayVisit Site
    • Best for - Reconnecting with friends and family
    • Pricing - From $28.05/month ($4.99/month for reverse phone lookups)
    • Reports Offered - Social networks, Dark Web, public records
    Finding the truth is a few clicks away

    TruthFinder is one of the most popular background check services for people searches. It's an invaluable resource for consumers looking to reconnect with a friend, family member, or colleague as it supports multiple search methods and provides thorough checks. Depending on the membership level, TruthFinder allows users to search by name, address, phone number, or email address.

    Like other services we evaluated, TruthFinder's full background check report includes contact information, address history, social media usernames, academic records, employment history, information on associates, dating profiles, personal assets, criminal history, business information, and licenses.

    A monthly membership gives you access to unlimited background searches. However, some services cost extra, like unlimited phone and email searches, printable PDF reports, report monitoring, and dark web searches.

    Why we chose TruthFinder: TruthFinder offers dark web monitoring services, which scour the darker parts of the web to see if your personal information is being sold there. According to the Dark Web Price Index 2022, more than 9,000 vendors are actively selling personal information products on the deep web. This includes approximately 4.5 million credit cards, sold at $120 each.

    Our experience: We liked the convenient "timeline" feature that showcases report highlights in chronological order and the "report quality score," which let us gauge the accuracy of the information included in our report. Our test report, for example, had a few stray email addresses, phone numbers, and photos that weren't associated with the subject of our search. 

    Read TruthFinder Review

    TruthFinder Pros & Cons

    PROS

    Variety in search options
    Delivers well-organized, chronological reports
    Allows unlimited background searches

    CONS

    Some add-on services require additional payments
    No trial period
    truthfinder logo
    TruthFinder
    3
    Intelius
    Intelligent background checking Visit Site
    • Best for - A variety of pricing options and trial periods
    • Pricing - From $24.86/month
    • Reports Offered - Background checks, criminal records
    Intelligent background checking

    Intelius has a variety of search term options and pricing plans, which makes it a perfect fit if you know exactly what kind of information you're looking for. While many other background check providers require a flat monthly fee for all services, Intelius allows users to choose a monthly plan specific to the type of search they're most interested in.

    For example, someone using the service to look up details about homes in their neighborhood could choose Intelius's unlimited reverse address lookup plan. With it, they can find property history, ownership information, property tax details, property value, and contact information. 

    In contrast, someone interested in conducting background checks could choose the site's unlimited people search plan. For the price of the plan, they get criminal history, social media, address history, photos, relatives and associates, lawsuits and civil judgments, traffic violations, and financial history.

    These search options, including the criminal records search, public records search, and people search, are all available directly from the site's homepage. But because the pricing structure varies according to search type, knowing how much you'll need to pay for a particular service can become confusing. 

    Why we chose Intelius: Intelius regularly updates its search engine to ensure it consistently delivers quick, confidential, and detailed results. It is one of the most thorough background check services available and has access to over 20 billion public records. 

    Our experience: We were impressed by the various types of unlimited searches and different pricing plan options offered by Intelius. But we encountered several "special offers" during the pre-billing process, which made it difficult to determine each service's monthly cost. For example, the unlimited address search plan was initially advertised as $29 a month but was later reduced to a special price of $4.99 during checkout.

    Read Intelius Review

    Intelius Pros & Cons

    PROS

    Provides multiple search options
    Offers various trial periods
    Has access to 20 billion public records

    CONS

    Confusing pricing structure
    Subscription cancellation can be lengthy
    intelius logo
    Intelius

27,310 people

visited a background check site this month

social-proof
Our ReviewsRead all reviews
BeenVerified
BeenVerified
BeenVerified
Read Review
TruthFinder
TruthFinder
TruthFinder
Read Review
Intelius
Intelius
Intelius
Read Review
Read all reviews