First Advantage vs GoodHire (2026): which should you pick?

Pick First Advantage if

• Fits if you screen at volume and want identity, drug and criminal checks from one vendor
• Makes sense if you already use Sterling, which now sits under First Advantage

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a price on the page, as every purchase goes through Contact Us
• Not for you if you want to sign up and order one check today, because there is no self-serve route
• Skip it if you hire a few people a year, since the vendor pitches volume
• Watch out: Sterling's old site now redirects here, so those customers deal with this vendor

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

First Advantage

• No prices are published; every purchase goes through Contact Us.
• The site has no self-serve sign-up or free trial.
• Sterling's old site now redirects to First Advantage messaging, so Sterling customers deal with this vendor.

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.

First Advantage

Background checks

Criminal background checks, sanctions and compliance searches, fingerprinting and investigative research, offered globally.

Identity solutions

Identity checks aimed at catching candidate fraud at hiring, onboarding and after hire.

Verifications

Confirmation of job history, skills and credentials, plus social media and media checks as separate services.

Drug and occupational health

Drug-free, safety and compliance screening, with random program management for drug and alcohol testing.

I-9, E-Verify and monitoring

Handles US employment eligibility paperwork and ongoing post-hire monitoring.

Integrations and API

Lists integrations with HR systems and hiring workflows, and an API for building and automating screening workflows.

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.

First Advantage

Pricing could not be confirmed. See fadv.com.

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.