Checkr review (2026): is it worth paying for?
Pay-per-report background checks for hiring, with an API
Black Friday: is there a Checkr sale?
Checkr report card
Weak · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for background checks sold per report
Checkr bills per report in three packages, from $29.99 to $94.99, with extras like drug tests and driving records on top. Court and database fees are passed on at cost, the cheapest package has no county or state criminal search, and there is no free way to try it.
Who Checkr is for
- 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
Who Checkr is not for
- 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
Why Checkr gets a 1.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for money$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.
- FFree plan and trialNothing free and no trial on the pricing page. The free profile it mentions is for candidates, not for the employer who is paying.
- CFeaturesTiered 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.
- CEase of useAn employer account, candidate consent flows and often an applicant tracking system link to set up. No store rating is on record.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, with links to 200+ applicant tracking systems and an enterprise tier. There is no app to install.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Checkr's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/checkr#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/checkr.svg" alt="Checkr: 1.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Checkr stands among hiring and applicant tracking tools
Checkr's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 30 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 23.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 39 of 101) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 102 hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Checkr’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 12 of 101, level with 78
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 101, level with 63
- CFeaturesAbove 3 of 101, level with 71
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 101, level with 99
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 39 of 101, level with 62
Keep Checkr, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Checkr you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 48 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools grade higher.
What you could make
- Applicant tracking and employee records: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
What this rests on. Checkr’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Checkr?
Checkr runs background checks on job candidates and bills per report, with three packages that differ in how deep the criminal search goes. Add-ons cover motor vehicle records, drug screening, identity, education and employment verification. Larger employers get custom pricing and ATS integrations, and the vendor also sells tenant, mortgage and insurance screening.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
Checkr pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Checkr is a paid product, starting at $29.99 per report, plus pass-through fees.
- Starts at
- $29.99 per report, plus pass-through fees
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29.99per report, plus pass-through fees | SSN trace, sex offender registry, global watchlist and national criminal search. No county or state searches. |
| Essential | $59.99per report, plus pass-through fees | Adds identity verification and unlimited county criminal searches to the Basic checks. |
| Complete | $94.99per report, plus pass-through fees | Adds unlimited state and federal criminal searches to the Essential checks. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Quote from sales: automated adjudication, 200+ ATS integrations and customized workflows. |
Read from checkr.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Checkr before you buy.
Works with
- 200+ ATS platforms
Checkr alternatives
- Checkr vs GoodHire
From $29.99
Common questions
Does Checkr have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Checkr is listed for Web.
Does Checkr have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Checkr is listed for Web.
Is Checkr open source?
Checkr is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does Checkr have an API?
Yes. Checkr offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.