TruthFinder Review: Cost, Features and More

TLDR: TruthFinder is one of the most popular personal background checks because it offers unlimited searches and reports for a monthly subscription. Results come fast and information is usually accurate, but we disliked some of the extra fees for things like downloading a PDF report.

For our TruthFinder review, we purchased a TruthFinder “Most Popular” package subscription and conducted more than a dozen searches by name and address, testing for speed, accuracy and more. You can use TruthFinder to search for friends and family members you’ve lost touch with, verify someone’s identity or simply see what information is circulating on your own name online, including the dark web. We’ll help you decide if TruthFinder is right for you.

Since 2015, TruthFinder has allowed anyone to search online records and check any U.S. citizen’s background information. TruthFinder says search sessions conducted each month exceed 9.5 million.

What we like: TruthFinder is accredited by The Better Business Bureau (BBB), which gave TruthFinder an A+ rating. You can also reach TruthFinder by phone at 800-699-8081 during business hours if you have questions.

Most people know about background checks from a professional standpoint. At some point during your career, you’ve most likely gone through the job-hiring process, and a company ran a background check on you. Business-level background checks are subject to strict laws about what employers can and can’t check, depending on the type. 

Some background check services are categorized as Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs), which provide consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

TruthFinder is not a CRA. That means, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it can’t be used for business or credit-related purposes. But TruthFinder can be used for a myriad of personal uses.

Only a CRA may run reports for:

• Checking someone’s education qualifications
• Hiring employees and domestic workers
• Screening rental tenants or professional service providers
• Verifying eligibility credit and property and casualty insurance

You cannot use TruthFinder for the reasons listed above, but the background check service can be used for other reasons including researching: 

• Family members
• Friends
• Neighbors
• Online sellers
• Social media connections
• Unknown phone numbers
• Yourself

If you’re concerned about your or your family’s safety around a particular individual, for example, you could search that person by name and possibly find any associated public or criminal records. TruthFinder has also been used in the search for lost friends or family members in the U.S. You never know who you might be able to reconnect with.

It’s free to search anyone using TruthFinder, but you can’t read a report until purchasing a TruthFinder package. The background check service offers two packages, and both include unlimited searches and reports, as long as you know the person’s full name. The only difference is the price.

TruthFinder automatically renews your subscription at the end of its term, so if you don’t want to be rebilled, you will need to cancel your subscription before the renewal date.

With a subscription, you can run as many background checks as you’d like. But you’ll most likely want additional information that costs more — we’ll talk about extra reports in a minute.

Unless you’re sure you want to use TruthFinder for more than 30 days, we recommend sticking with the Most Popular package. If you add all the extra reports together, you’re looking at another $19.96 a month, bringing your monthly total to $48.01. 

TruthFinder accepts payment in the form of a credit or debit card, as well as PayPal. If you remain on the payment page long enough, you may see a pop-up ad that advertises a $1 trial for TruthFinder’s unlimited reporting for a specific time.

TruthFinder Extra Reports

TruthFinder charges extra fees  if you want to: 

• Search for people by phone number or email address
• Run a dark web report for your personal Social Security number, passport number or bank account
• Download PDF files of reports. You may read the report on your computer or mobile app without paying the fee, but you won’t be able to download it. 

You’ll also need to pay more if you want to monitor — and not just run a report of — the dark web for leaks of your sensitive information, including Social Security numbers, passport numbers, credit cards, driver’s licenses and more. 

These extra costs from TruthFinder are too expensive for our liking. We don’t believe you should have to pay $3.99 to download a PDF version of a report.

Standard TruthFinder searches reveal many major events, places and more in people’s lives: births, residential address history, companies they have worked for, who their parents are and other information.

You will access detailed work and education history, possible relatives, potential social media accounts and contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses. You’ll also see: 

• Detailed location history
• Criminal history
• Any nearby sex offenders
• Owned assets and businesses
• Certifications and licenses
• Financial information, such as bankruptcies, liens, evictions and more

If you wish to run an address report, you’ll find possible current residents, neighbors, ownership history, neighborhood demographics and more.

Are TruthFinder Reports Accurate?

In our tests, we found several items in TruthFinder’s reports that we knew to be false information. Either TruthFinder crossed the name with another person, or its reporting was wrong. Examples of incorrect information included dates of employment, possible relatives, phone carriers and email addresses. 

Most of the details TruthFinder delivers in its reports, however, are accurate. Due to the complicated nature of public records and names, some information on a person’s report can be false or outdated.

On TruthFinder, you will have four scan options to choose from. Three of these options — People Search, Public Records and Background Check — are the same search. You will see the same results despite choosing a different report option. The fourth option, Dark Web Search, is its own feature with a separate cost.

Step 1: Enter a Name

Once you enter someone’s name, TruthFinder shows a progress bar as it compiles search results. The webpage will occasionally ask you questions, such as “Does this person have a criminal history?” or “What is this person’s age range?” to keep you engaged.

Step 2: Make a Payment and Log In

Once TruthFinder finishes loading — typically about five minutes — you’ll reach the payment screen. Once on the payment page, you will choose your desired subscription package and enter your payment information. Then, you’ll create an account. We had to supply an email address and a password, as well as a phone number. Plus, we had to verify our email address before we could access any reports. Once you verify, you’ll be able to log in to TruthFinder.

Step 3: Run Additional Reports

Once you’re through the initial search and signup, however, you can access subsequent search results and reports much faster. 

From the main TruthFinder webpage, you can find previously accessed reports, a handy feature that saves you from having to run the same reports multiple times. You can also purchase additional reports from the main webpage or start a new search.

TruthFinder carries a positive reputation for its background check services. On Trustpilot, TruthFinder has a 4.1 out of 5-star rating, based on more than 1,000 reviews. Positive reviews mentioned the helpfulness of report information and how easy it was to cancel subscriptions. TruthFinder complaints include requiring too much information to create an account, poor customer service and information inaccuracy. Reviewers mentioned some of the same negatives on BBB where users gave it an average 2.71 stars out of 5 based on nearly 600 reviews.

The initial signup is slow, but once you’re in, it’s easy to search for anyone in seconds. A fee for searching by email address or phone number or downloading a PDF seems like unnecessary nickel-and-diming, but besides that, TruthFinder’s packages allow unlimited name and address searches for a relatively low monthly cost.

What we don’t like: Potential users researching TruthFinder often ask: “Is TruthFinder legit?” It’s a fair question when some of the language on TruthFinder’s website language comes off as salesy and fear-mongering. TruthFinder regularly says that what you find out about someone could be shocking, and you may never look at them the same way again. TruthFinder mentions several times that its reports could be graphic, and you have to enter your birth year to comply with this warning. This kind of language can make TruthFinder look and read like a scam, even though it isn’t.

Once you sign up for a TruthFinder account, you’ll be pleased with TruthFinder’s thorough and detailed reports, especially compared with competitors like BeenVerified, which has a cleaner website but produces more outdated and confusing reports.