The Best People Search Sites in 2023

Written by

Nick Galov

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Want an efficient tool to search for old acquaintances or check potential professional relations?

Our reviews of the best people search sites will help you find exactly what you need.

This is how we ranked the search engines for finding people:

  1. We started by finding all the relevant sites.
  2. We checked what search features and prices they offer.
  3. We tested them to find real people and evaluated their effectiveness.

Ready to start exploring? Find the best people search site for you in the list below!

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Top 8 People Search Sites at a Glance

Intelius is the best people search engine for those who want granular, fully customizable reports. Use its advanced reverse phone lookup for gun licenses, criminal records, bankruptcies, and more. No membership required. Full Review

  • Education records
  • Detailed and accurate background check on criminal and court records
  • Reverse phone and address lookup

Free plan
7-day trial
Global people search
US only
Downloadable reports
No
Mobile app
Yes

With extremely detailed reports stretching back in time, Truthfinder tops most people search websites. Use its free mobile app to get a PDF copy of its accurate reports on lost family members or college friends. Full Review

  • Recent correct data
  • Free mobile app
  • Affordable pricing

Free Plan
No
Global people search
US and Australia
Downloadable reports
Charged extra
Mobile app
Yes

InstantCheckmate is the site with the most detailed information about law violations. Its exhaustive reports and intuitive mobile apps make it the best choice for criminal record searches. See for only $1 reports on warrants, convictions, court, arrest and inmate records, and traffic infringements. Full Review

  • 5-day trial for only $1
  • Unlimited reports
  • Simple and easy to use

Free Plan
$1 trial
Global people search
US only
Downloadable reports
Charged extra
Mobile app
Yes, for Android

PeopleFinders is best for running in-depth background checks. The search goes way back and delivers an abundance of information. PeopleFinders is available on all devices, with a simple and intuitive interface. You can download its accurate reports for a small fee. Full Review

  • Rich information search
  • Good historic data
  • Simple and easy to use interface

Free Plan
$1 trial
Global people search
Yes
Downloadable reports
$0.50 to download
Mobile app
Yes

US Search is one of the first search engines for people ever created. Reliable and practical, it will offer you a US-based search, with the option to run the check in a specific state only. The reports are precise and detailed, and the design practical and easy. Full Review

  • Very low prices for basic searches
  • Accurate address finder
  • Up-to-date telephone information

Free Plan
No
Global people search
US Only
Downloadable reports
No
Mobile app
No

Spokeo is one of the best people lookup sites for social media and location info. It’s a US-only service that provides in-depth reports that offer even personal interest insight. Basic searches are free and you can receive reports in PDF format. There is a free Spokeo app for Android users. Full Review

  • Mobile app
  • Easy-to-use, uncluttered interface
  • Elegant and straightforward search

Free Plan
Free for basic results
Global people search
US only
Downloadable reports
Yes
Mobile app
Yes

Pipl is top of the list of free people search engines. This global service gathers the data internationally and directs you to other people finding services. One of the fastest and easiest people search engines, it delivers an abundance of basic data. It’s web-based, and you can use it on Windows and Mac. Full Review

  • Great accuracy
  • Super fast and easy search
  • Large amount of easy to obtain data

Free Plan
Trial by request
Global people search
Yes
Downloadable reports
No
Mobile app
No

Zoominfo internet people search is best for B2B people searches. Its business database is unparalleled, and the UI is seamless and elegant. It’s a global contact data vendor with a free trial, free Community edition, and Android and iOS mobile apps. Its Pro version is one of the best options out there! Full Review

  • Global database
  • Provides accurate locations of businesses
  • Works on mobile devices, the Web, cloud, and as SaaS

Free Plan
Trial
Global people search
Yes
Downloadable reports
Yes
Mobile app
Yes

The Best People Search Websites – Detailed Reviews & Comparison

People search sites help you reconnect with family members, old friends, or classmates and find out vital information about people you don’t know. They’re also a valuable tool for avoiding fraud and staying safe.

Imagine how time-consuming it would be to find your long-lost cousin’s current address. Or to run a real-life, non-digital background check on someone you have just met and are unsure if they are truthful about who they are. It would take days or weeks to gather information yourself. Perhaps you would end up finding nothing at all.

That’s why we at Web Tribunal decided to review and rate the best people search sites, which gather the publicly available data from government agencies and databases and compile it for you for a fee.

Here’s what we found.

Disclaimer: The services work better in certain countries. Make sure to check whether yours is part of their coverage before purchasing a product.

Legal Disclaimer – The sites on this page are NOT Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA) according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The services listed below can’t be used for employment, credit or tenant screening, or related purposes.

How We Ranked the Best People Search Sites – Our Research Process

Looking at search sites is a bit different than doing our usual VPS reviews, but we didn’t let that dent our thoroughness. When ranking these services, we took the following into account:

  • Ease of use – We examined the layout and ease of using the website, as well as being mobile-friendly (usually by offering an app).
  • Pricing – We compared the prices of people finder sites. Does a service offer good value for money?
  • Database – We considered the wealth of information. What does a service provide and what does it not?
  • Features – We checked if a service actually delivered what it had promised.
  • Accuracy – We checked if reports on the accuracy of the data that is provided.
  • User reviews – We read user reviews and complaints.

The 8 Best People Search Sites in 2022—Detailed Reviews

Best for: DETAILED BACKGROUND CHECK REPORTS

1. Intelius

Starting at $3.95/month
Visit Website
FREE PLAN

7-day trial

GLOBAL PEOPLE SEARCH

US only

DOWNLOADABLE REPORTS

No

MOBILE APP

Yes

Pricing model

Subscription

Hidden costs

No

Strengths
  • Includes education records
  • Detailed and accurate criminal and court results
  • Address lookup
Weaknesses
  • US search only
  • No report downloads
  • Inaccuracy on marriages

What Is Intelius?

Intelius is a public records search service and one of the easiest tools to use to acquire information about individuals. Intelius serves 300 million requests a month, gathering public records from government and numerous other databases.

As a result, it’s one of the most reliable background check companies out there and is well-designed, overall. Many think of it as the best people search engine available today.

Intelius Pricing

Intelius offers monthly subscriptions, and its prices are standard and quite affordable.

Naturally, they vary from one type of check to another. Background check costs $39.95, whereas a Criminal Record search costs $14.95 statewide or $29.95 nationwide.

The use of its reverse address search engines comes in the price range from $4.95 to $14.95.

A report without a criminal record is available for $6.95, and you can purchase the most basic plan for only $3.95.

Monthly Premier and Premier Plus plans are $19.95 and $29.95, respectively, and they might be a better option if you plan on running multiple checks on more individuals. There is a seven-day free trial period.

Intelius User Reviews

The main advantages users listed were the affordable plans and the options to choose subscriptions that best suit your needs. Users gave mixed feedback about the accuracy of the service. One of the main complaints that kept coming up was a large number of hidden fees.

We Recommend Intelius For…

Intelius is great for investigative searches, as it includes criminal records search in the background check.

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Best for: MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION

2. Truthfinder

Starting at $26/month
Visit Website
FREE PLAN

No

GLOBAL PEOPLE SEARCH

US and Australia

DOWNLOADABLE REPORTS

Charged extra

MOBILE APP

Yes

Pricing model

Subscription

Hidden costs

No

Strengths
  • Free mobile app
  • Affordable pricing
  • Recent correct data
  • Unlimited checks with monthly subscription
  • Long timeline for reports
Weaknesses
  • No trial period
  • Only monthly subscriptions
  • Can’t buy individual reports

What Is Truthfinder?

Truthfinder is a top people search finding service to trace down and connect with family members or college friends. It allows you to perform background checks on individuals and get the most recent contact info.

In its reports, Truthfinder includes a phone number, email address, property ownership information, criminal and job history, and educational background. You can also see social media accounts, names of coworkers and associates, family members, and friends. Even roommates or former romantic partners feature in certain reports.

Consumers like Truthfinder for its intuitive design and accurate detailed reports. It is highly ranked and easily one of the best person finder options out there.

Truthfinder Pricing

In terms of payment, the only option is monthly. A one-month plan with TruthFinder costs just under $30 per month. If you decide to go for the three-month subscription, the monthly price drops to $26. If you were to do one check a day, it would mean you would be paying around 99 cents per report.

Truthfinder User Reviews

A good contender for the title of the best people search engine, Truthfinder gets excellent reviews when it comes to reliability and providing the most recent data.

Although they rarely complain about the accuracy, users comment negatively on the number of promotional emails they get.

We Recommend Truthfinder For…

Truthfinder is perfect for checking your own data and connecting with old friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and classmates. This tool can be one of the best solutions when looking for a relative you have lost contact with.

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Best for: CRIMINAL RECORD SEARCH

3. InstantCheckmate

Starting at $1/Trial
Visit Website
FREE PLAN

$1 trial

GLOBAL PEOPLE SEARCH

US only

DOWNLOADABLE REPORTS

Charged extra

MOBILE APP

Mobile app

Pricing model

Subscription

Hidden costs

Yes

Strengths
  • Unlimited reports
  • 5-day trial for only $1
  • Simple and easy to use
  • Detailed and accurate criminal records search
  • Remove your own records
Weaknesses
  • Pricey
  • Hidden costs
  • No consumer, tenant or employment screenings

What Is InstantCheckmate?

InstantCheckmate is a simple and reliable people-finding service tool with an easy-to-use interface.

The data is compiled from public data using federal, state, and county records. You can search for phone numbers, emails, birthdays, addresses, and criminal records, as well as voter registration or sex offenders registry.

You can even find things like bankruptcy information and social media handles. It is the best website to investigate someone you suspect of having a criminal record.

InstantCheckmate Pricing

For a 5-day trial offer, you will need only $1, and you can test the service yourself.  It is a great deal if you don’t need multiple reports.

A one-month membership price will set you back $34.78.

The three-month plan comes at a regularly discounted price of $27.82 per month.

You will need to pay $19.99 per report for Premium reports and an additional $1.99 per PDF.

Watch out for the end of your subscription period, as the membership will renew automatically.

InstantCheckmate User Reviews

Most users complain about the billing practices. Automatic renewal at the end of the billing cycle, along with the confusing or unclear pricing, and additional costs for in-depth reports draw ire.

People searches reviews show users who are unhappy with customer support. All the same, the tool is portrayed as very decent in most reviews on functionality.

We Recommend InstantCheckmate For…

InstantCheckmate is superb for detailed criminal records search and background check.

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Best for: LEGAL DATA

4. PeopleFinders

Starting at $24.95/month
Visit Website
FREE PLAN

$1 trial

GLOBAL PEOPLE SEARCH

Yes

DOWNLOADABLE REPORTS

$0.50 to download

MOBILE APP

Yes

Pricing model

Subscription

Hidden costs

No

Strengths
  • Rich information search
  • Good historic data
  • Free mobile app
  • Low prices
  • Accurate data
  • Simple and easy-to-use interface
Weaknesses
  • No marriage records
  • Poor report design
  • United States searches only
  • Social media handles and work history excluded
  • Records are sometimes lacking

What Is PeopleFinders?

PeopleFinders is a background check tool that gathers information from public data and is one of the best people search sites. It’s available on all devices (mobile, laptop, and desktop), which gives you the ability to perform a background check at any time. It is very affordable and offers a great amount of data.

PeopleFinders Pricing

A basic monthly subscription comes at $24.95. There are initial $1 trials that may last for a week or three days.

One report is available for $39.95 each, which is about average. Scaled-down people search reports, which don’t include legal information, cost $1.95 each. It costs $0.50 to download the reports you buy.

PeopleFinders User Reviews

People Finders reviews report cancellation issues. Customers were unable to cancel the service without performing many steps and were often unsuccessful even if they were under the impression that they had managed to cancel the subscription. In many cases, this has led to subsequent billing issues and unwanted costs.

Some users were not pleased by the fact that the initial process looks like it leads to a completely free trial when it is actually $1 for the first week.

We Recommend PeopleFinders For…

PeopleFinders is the best match for those looking for the lowest prices and a basic report.

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Best for: CONTACT INFORMATION

6. Spokeo

Starting at $7.95/month
Visit Website
FREE PLAN

Free for basic results

GLOBAL PEOPLE SEARCH

US only

DOWNLOADABLE REPORTS

Yes

MOBILE APP

Yes

Pricing model

Subscription

Hidden costs

No

Strengths
  • Mobile app
  • PDF reports
  • Easy to use UI
  • Straightforward search
  • Extra info contains interesting facts
Weaknesses
  • Searches require narrowing down
  • Search limit hidden
  • 200 profile views is an extra $21 per month
  • Marriage data often inaccurate/incomplete

What Is Spokeo?

Spokeo is one of the best people search sites that will provide you with basic background data through its easy to navigate and pleasant to use layout.

The prices are affordable, and the extra nuggets of information are interesting.

What’s more, it has a large amount of data pulled from publicly available services and 12 billion online records.

Spokeo Pricing

The price of one-month membership at Spokeo is $13.95, and the three-month plan is $7.95 a month, which is quite affordable.

Spokeo for business service is there to provide business owners with information that will prevent fraud. The services are only available in the US.

Spokeo User Reviews

As many other people search engines, Spokeo receives negative reviews about hidden costs and misleading advertising. Issues with billing after cancellation are mentioned frequently enough for it to affect the ratings.

What’s more, even though it’s pleasant and easy to use, the number of errors made multiple users go for the option on Spokeo to delete your information.

We Recommend Spokeo For…

Spokeo is good for basic searches of location, address, or phone ownership, as well as reconnecting with friends and family.

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Best for: GLOBAL SEARCH

7. Pipl

Starting at $0.05/match
Visit Website
FREE PLAN

Trial by request

GLOBAL PEOPLE SEARCH

Yes

DOWNLOADABLE REPORTS

No

MOBILE APP

No

Pricing model

Per match

Hidden costs

No

Strengths
  • Great accuracy
  • Global coverage
  • Super fast and easy search
  • Pro plans have awesome value
  • Large amount of easy to obtain data
Weaknesses
  • A bit pricey
  • The free trial is limited

What Is Pipl?

Pipl is the best people search engine for global search. It helps verify identities and prevent financial fraud and offers excellent social media data search. It is one of the most popular people search engines because of the ease of use and the wide search net with accurate results. The Pipl search engine is a global tool used in financial and insurance industries, as well as for private searches.

Pipl Pricing

As it does not offer reports, pricing is based on matches.

Here are are the price categories:

  • Contact $0.05 per match or $0.10 per match with Premium Data Coverage. You’ll get a name, age, gender, address, and landline phone number.
  • Social $0.10 per match or $0.20 per match with Premium Data Coverage. You’ll get contact info as well as images, associates, and social handles.
  • Business $0.20 per match or $0.40 per match with Premium Data Coverage. You’ll get everything from contact and social info plus job, education, cell number, and email address.

There are complaints about unclear pricing and misleading offers. Some users report that too many searches block their IP address. Additionally, there are time-consuming verification protocols and too much proving you’re not a robot.

Pipl User Reviews

There are complaints about unclear pricing and misleading offers. Some users report that too many searches block their IP address. Additionally, there are time-consuming verification protocols and too much proving you’re not a robot.

We Recommend Pipl For…

Pipl is great if you need to check the identity of someone you’ve just met. It is used by small businesses and large companies alike, especially in the insurance and finance sectors.

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Best for: BUSINESS SEARCHES AND SALES TEAMS

8. Zoominfo

FREE PLAN

Trial

GLOBAL PEOPLE SEARCH

Yes

DOWNLOADABLE REPORTS

Yes

MOBILE APP

Yes

Pricing model

Subscription

Hidden costs

Obscure pricing

Strengths
  • Global database
  • Clean, fast, easy to use UI
  • Unmatched business contact database
  • Works on mobile devices, the Web, cloud, and as SaaS
  • Integrations
Weaknesses
  • Unclear pricing
  • Most expensive option

What Is Zoominfo?

Zoominfo is an intelligence platform currently hosting 202,000 paid users from 15,000 companies, providing analytics from 14 million businesses.

It offers an online record from its database about people, businesses, and companies to other sales, marketing, and recruiting teams.

The focus falls on business people worldwide and in the US and conducts an international people search.

It comes with a superb database and leading tech solutions.

On top of that, Zoominfo integrates with a number of enterprise-grade software, including CRM systems like Salesforce and some of the leading autoresponders.

Zoominfo Pricing

Zoominfo pricing is around $4900 a year per 5000 leads. That means a lead is just under a dollar if you commit to this number of searches.

There is a free trial available and a free Community Edition. When you subscribe to it, you agree for business info to be added to the database, so it doesn’t come with no strings attached.

The Free edition offers ten contacts a month, which drops somewhat due to errors. Still, it’s perfect for sporadic use.

Zoominfo User Reviews

Zoominfo gets excellent reviews across the board with the expected number of errors. It’s the best search engine for finding people if you opt for the pro edition.

Reviews say it’s not easy to find data for people in small companies, though. While the engine provides very reliable results for big and well-known businesses, there’s a bigger margin for error when it comes to smaller companies.

We Recommend Zoominfo For…

Zoominfo is ideal for B2B sales and marketing teams for large volume searches. On the other hand, the free edition is the best free people search if you need to conduct only a couple of searches a month.

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Great People Search Sites that Didn’t Make the Cut

Companies that come up most often as good resources for people lookup are Whitepages, PeekYou, ZabaSearch, and the classic Google search engine.

  • Whitepages allows you to conduct a simple search even before you subscribe, and will provide you with an address and a phone number right away, its strength lies in criminal records search which comes at an affordable price.
  • PeekYou is completely free, and best used for social and casual searches, and it uses the information accessible to the public and it will not reveal financial or health information.
  • Zaba Search offers aggregated public records reports and with one of the options they offer you can even see if anyone is searching for you online. In a group of their own, you have the searches on social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, which will often yield more than reliable and sufficient with a bit of additional typing effort. Keep in mind this is the case with some people search services when you have to navigate through their offers and popups.

What Are People Search Engines?

The amount of data grows exponentially, but how do the people search sites function exactly?

How People Search Sites Collect Info

People search engines collect data available to the public from public records. This is data that you could try to gather yourself, but it would be hard and time-consuming. Instead, the services gather this data for you and provide a compiled report.

How to Use People Search Engines

You will need the name, address, or phone number of the person you are looking up. The more data you can provide to the people finder tool, the more narrow the search will be. A middle name is often very useful in avoiding too many duplicate results. Some services will offer a free trial. Others will request a small fee for one search, while still others will be available only with full membership.

How to Delist from People Search Sites

Once you have performed a background check on yourself, most services will offer an option to erase your information from their database for a fee. In some cases, the process will be automated. In others, you will be required to contact customer service. The typical procedure involves finding the opt-out page, entering your name and email address, and waiting for confirmation.

Wrap Up

It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Whether it is your daughter’s new boyfriend or a new coworker whose story does not check out, you’ll feel better after confirming they are who they claim to be. And the best people search sites are there to help you.

The thing is: There are plenty of options for searching or checking up on someone, but not all are reliable or affordable. Once you have found the one that suits your needs, read the fine print, find out the duration of trial periods, and don’t wait until the last minute to cancel a subscription. This way, you’ll be able to avoid the downsides of using people finder websites.

FAQ
What is the best website to find someone?

As best people search sites for 2022 and those that are often mentioned as the best people search on Reddit include Whitepages, Pipl, Intelius, Instant Checkmate, BeenVerified, Find People Search, True People Search, That’s Them, US Search, and, finally, job search sites and platforms like Linkedin and Facebook search engines.

Make sure you check out our in-depth reviews to choose the one that’s right for you.

How can I trace someone for free?

You can find a person for free on some of the search websites such as Pipl. Other people search service providers have free trials. Some services like Intelius will offer a free preliminary search before providing a full paid report.

Additionally, you can trace someone through Google News Archives or the Social Security Death Index in case the person is deceased. Totally free people search sites often provide limited data, so consider ones with affordable fees.

What is the best way to search for a person?

Companies like Facebook and LinkedIn provide a good amount of data through their persons’ search engine. But if you need more than just the basic info, the best way to find people is to invest in a report with one of the best people search sites and background check companies on our list.

This way, you won’t have to go through phone books, birth certificates, or death records. These platforms will do the work for you, gathering data from the people search free public records available to them.

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Nick Galov
Nick Galov

Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.