Certn vs GoodHire (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Certn if

• Fits if you want to order a basic US criminal check online at a published price
• Works for small firms that need identity or reference checks one at a time

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to try before paying, as there is no free plan or trial
• Watch out: the $13.99 core check excludes $9.99 county searches and pass-through fees
• Watch out: employment, education and credential checks show Price Varies, not a figure
• Skip it if you hire outside the US, since Canada, UK and other regions have separate pages and prices
• Tight if you need the API or ATS links, because those sit with enterprise buying

Pick GoodHire if

• Fits if you run fewer than 50 checks a year and want to order online
• Works for small firms that want fixed per-check packages rather than a quote

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to try before paying, because there is no free plan or trial
• Watch out: court and state pass-through fees come on top of every package price
• Watch out: drug, driving, education and employment checks are not in the three packages
• Tight if you grow past 50 checks a year, since the self-serve pricing stops there
• Skip it if you need a named list of integrations, as the pages we read give none

Certn

• Pricing is separate for the US, Canada, UK and other regions; this entry reads the US page.
• The US Core price excludes county searches, charged at $9.99 where applicable, plus pass-through fees.
• Employment, education and credential verification show Price Varies on the US page.
• The Canada-region page shows CAD prices and an expired promotion; this entry uses only the US page.

GoodHire

• Package prices exclude third-party pass-through fees such as court and state access fees.
• The self-serve pricing is for under 50 checks a year; above that the vendor offers a custom quote.
• Drug tests, MVR, education and employment checks are not in the three packages' listed contents.
• The pages read do not name specific ATS integrations.

Certn

US criminal packages

Three US packages combine an SSN trace, national database, sex offender registry and watchlist search with county searches.

Identity verification

OneID compares a live selfie with a government ID and is listed at $3.50 on the US pricing page.

Verification checks

Employment, education and credential checks are quoted per request; reference checks are $29.99 and run by phone, email or SMS.

Other check types

Credit report ($9.50), social media check ($42.99) and motor vehicle records ($25.99) are sold as single checks.

API and integrations

The site lists a background screening API, ATS and HR tool integrations with no or low code, and continuous monitoring.

GoodHire

Tiered packages

Three preset packages step up from a national criminal search to county, state and federal searches with identity verification.

100+ screening services

Criminal, driving record (MVR), drug test, education and employment verification checks can be added to a custom package.

Custom packages by role

Larger employers can design screening packages by job role or client and manage checks across locations from one dashboard.

API and ATS integrations

The vendor says it offers an API and pre-built integrations with ATS and HRIS tools, though the pages read name none of them.

Compliance support

Provides FCRA-related guidance from an in-house compliance team, plus employer forms and state-by-state background check pages.

Certn

• US Core Criminal Check$13.99

  per check, plus county and pass-through fees

  SSN trace, national criminal database, sex offender registry, watchlist and contingent county search.

• US Complete Criminal Check$49.99

  per check, plus pass-through fees

  The same searches with a county criminal search across 7 years of addresses.

• US Complete+ Criminal Check$79.99

  per check, plus pass-through fees

  Listed with the same components as Complete; the page does not say what the extra $30 adds.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Larger-scale implementation, bundled packages and tailored solutions, arranged through the sales team.

GoodHire

• Basic$29.99

  per check, plus pass-through fees

  SSN trace, sex offender registry, global watchlist and national criminal search.

• Essential$59.99

  per check, plus pass-through fees

  Adds identity verification and unlimited county criminal searches to the Basic checks.

• Complete$94.99

  per check, plus pass-through fees

  Adds unlimited state criminal searches and a federal criminal search to the Essential checks.