# First Advantage review (2026): is it worth it? > Background screening and identity checks for employers Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. First Advantage is a background screening provider covering criminal checks, verifications, identity solutions, drug and occupational health screening, and I-9 and E-Verify. It offers an API, integrations with HR systems and tools for contractors and students. Sterling's site now says Sterling is a First Advantage company. No prices are published. - **Category:** Hiring & Applicant Tracking - **Made by:** First Advantage - **Website:** https://fadv.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a price on the page, as every purchase goes through Contact Us. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing First Advantage's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Employers screening candidates in several countries - Transportation and healthcare hirers with driver or occupational health needs - Companies that want screening wired into an HR system ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. First Advantage covers criminal checks, verifications, identity, drug and occupational health, and I-9 and E-Verify, with an API and HR system links. No price is published, there is no self-serve sign-up, and Sterling customers now deal with the same company. - **Value for money: C.** No price is published; every purchase goes through Contact Us, so there is no figure to set against this category's $95 middle price. - **Free plan and trial: F.** No free plan, trial or self-serve sign-up on the site. - **Features: B.** Background checks, identity, verifications, drug and occupational health, I-9, E-Verify and monitoring. The listing shows no gap in the core work of screening. - **Ease of use: C.** Sold through sales and tied into your HR or applicant tracking system, so setup comes first. No store rating is on record. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, with an API and integrations with HR systems. We found no desktop or phone app listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from First Advantage'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 - First Advantage's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 54 of the 101 other hiring and applicant tracking tools we grade, and level with 21. - It stands best on features (B, above 75 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 First Advantage 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. - 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. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Applicant tracking, Employee records, Public API, Workflow automation ## Alternatives - [Checkr](https://toolgpa.com/tools/checkr): Pay-per-report background checks for hiring, with an API. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/checkr-vs-first-advantage) - [HireRight](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hireright): Global employment background screening, sold by quote. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/first-advantage-vs-hireright) - [GoodHire](https://toolgpa.com/tools/goodhire): Employment background checks priced per check, with custom quotes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/first-advantage-vs-goodhire) - [Accurate](https://toolgpa.com/tools/accurate-background): Global employment background screening, sold through sales. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/accurate-background-vs-first-advantage) - [Certn](https://toolgpa.com/tools/certn): Self-serve background checks billed per check, US and Canada. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/certn-vs-first-advantage) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://fadv.com - https://www.sterlingcheck.com Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/first-advantage Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).