# Checkr review (2026): is it worth paying for? > Pay-per-report background checks for hiring, with an API Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. 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. - **Category:** Hiring & Applicant Tracking - **Made by:** Checkr - **Website:** https://checkr.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want to try it first, as there is no free plan or trial. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Checkr is a paid product, starting at $29.99 per report, plus pass-through fees. - **Pricing model:** Paid - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | | Enterprise | Custom | Quote from sales: automated adjudication, 200+ ATS integrations and customized workflows. | Read from https://checkr.com/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Checkr before buying. ## 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. ## Good for - Employers that run background checks in small volumes without a contract - Companies that need driver checks and ongoing MVR monitoring - Large employers that want ATS-connected screening on a custom quote ## 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. 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. - **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. - **Free plan and trial: F.** Nothing free and no trial on the pricing page. The free profile it mentions is for candidates, not for the employer who is paying. - **Features: C.** Tiered 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. - **Ease of use: C.** An employer account, candidate consent flows and often an applicant tracking system link to set up. No store rating is on record. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, with links to 200+ applicant tracking systems and an enterprise tier. There is no app to install. These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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. ## Where it 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). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/hiring ## Keep it, 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. - You could make: Applicant tracking and employee records: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with 200+ ATS platforms **Tags:** Applicant tracking, Employee records, Public API, Workflow automation ## Alternatives - [HireRight](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hireright): Global employment background screening, sold by quote. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/checkr-vs-hireright) - [GoodHire](https://toolgpa.com/tools/goodhire): Employment background checks priced per check, with custom quotes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/checkr-vs-goodhire) - [First Advantage](https://toolgpa.com/tools/first-advantage): Background screening and identity checks for employers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/checkr-vs-first-advantage) - [Accurate](https://toolgpa.com/tools/accurate-background): Global employment background screening, sold through sales. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/accurate-background-vs-checkr) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://checkr.com/pricing - https://checkr.com Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/checkr Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).