Checkr vs HireRight (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HireRight grades higher than Checkr: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
HireRight grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Checkr if
- Fits if you hire a handful of people a year and want to pay per report
- Makes sense if your applicant tracking system is one of the 200+ it connects to
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try it first, as there is no free plan or trial
- Watch out: court and database access fees are added at cost on top of every package
- Watch out: Basic has no county or state criminal search, and federal search is only on Complete
- Pricey if you add drug, driving, education or employment checks, because each is billed on top of the package
- Not for you if you need a published price at volume, since Enterprise is quoted
Pick HireRight if
- Fits if you screen many people a year, across several countries
- Works for HR teams that already run an applicant tracking system HireRight connects to
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before talking to anyone, as none is published
- Not for you if you want to sign up and run one check today, because there is no self-serve route
- Skip it if you hire only a few people a year, as the vendor pitches volume
- Watch out: no free plan or trial is shown anywhere on the pages we read
How we grade them
| 1.8GPACheckrWeak | 2.0GPAHireRightFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$29.99 to $94.99 a report is not a monthly price, so it cannot be set against this category's $95 middle subscription. Pass-through fees and add-ons come on top, so we leave it at the ordinary grade. | CThe pricing page publishes no figure at all, only a customized quote, so there is nothing to set against this category's $95 middle price. We leave it at the ordinary grade and say so. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free and no trial on the pricing page. The free profile it mentions is for candidates, not for the employer who is paying. | FNo free plan and no trial is shown. Everything starts with a sales request. |
| Features | CTiered criminal searches plus add-ons for driving records, drug tests, identity, education and employment. Basic has no county or state criminal search, and a federal search is only on Complete. | BCriminal, employment, ID, drug and alcohol, I-9 and E-Verify and extended workforce screening, with global coverage. The listing shows no gap in the core work of screening. |
| Ease of use | CAn employer account, candidate consent flows and often an applicant tracking system link to set up. No store rating is on record. | CBought through sales and wired into an HR or applicant tracking system, so there is setup before it works. No store rating is on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with links to 200+ applicant tracking systems and an enterprise tier. There is no app to install. | BWeb only, with the vendor listing 70 integrations across 45+ HCM and ATS providers. |
| Best for | background checks sold per report | large-company screening, quoted on request |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Checkr and HireRight. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonWebWorkflow automationApplicant trackingEmployee records
At a glance
| Checkr | HireRight | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $29.99 per report, plus pass-through fees | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Checkr | HireRight |
| Price read from | checkr.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Checkr
- Prices exclude pass-through court and database access fees, passed on at cost.
- Basic has no county or state criminal search; federal search is only on Complete.
- Drug screening, MVR, education and other checks are billed on top of the package price.
- Enterprise pricing is not published; the other tiers are sold per report.
HireRight
- No prices are published; the pricing page only offers a customized quote.
- Sold through sales (Talk to Sales); no self-serve sign-up or free trial is shown.
- The vendor says it screens over 85M people a year, so it is built for larger programs.
Key features
Checkr
- Tiered criminal searches
- Packages step up from a national criminal search to unlimited county and state searches and a federal search on the Complete package.
- Add-on verifications
- Priced separately: motor vehicle records ($9.50 per check plus state fees), identity verification ($4.99), education from $12.50 and drug screening from $10.
- Continuous monitoring
- Continuous MVR monitoring is $2.50 per enrolled driver per month and alerts the employer to new violations or license status changes.
- Automated adjudication and ATS links
- Enterprise customers get rule-based adjudication, customized workflows and 200+ applicant tracking system integrations, per the pricing page.
- Other screening lines
- Separate tenant, mortgage income and employment, insurance and platform-trust products are listed on the same pricing page.
HireRight
- Criminal searches
- County criminal, felony and misdemeanor searches, a healthcare statewide criminal check and a global criminal search of government record sources.
- Employment verification
- Confirms a candidate's stated employment history with employers or their authorized agents, in the US and in other countries.
- Global ID check
- Validates a candidate's passport or national identity document to determine whether it is authentic.
- Drug and alcohol testing
- Instant and lab-based testing options for pre-employment and ongoing screening.
- I-9 and E-Verify
- An online service for managing US employment eligibility verification, listed alongside the screening products.
- Extended workforce screening
- A separate online solution for managing background screening of contractors and other extended workforce.
Plans
Checkr
Basic$29.99
per report, plus pass-through fees
SSN trace, sex offender registry, global watchlist and national criminal search. No county or state searches.
Essential$59.99
per report, plus pass-through fees
Adds identity verification and unlimited county criminal searches to the Basic checks.
Complete$94.99
per report, plus pass-through fees
Adds unlimited state and federal criminal searches to the Essential checks.
EnterpriseCustom
Quote from sales: automated adjudication, 200+ ATS integrations and customized workflows.
HireRight
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hireright.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Checkr or HireRight?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Checkr starts at $29.99 per report, plus pass-through fees, and HireRight has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Checkr or HireRight?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Checkr nor HireRight has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.