Prices, terms and pages checked October 19, 2026 · Research-based comparison, not hands-on testing: we did not open an account or order a check with Checkr, First Advantage (Sterling), HireRight or BackgroundChecks.com · This is not legal advice
Checkr vs Sterling vs HireRight looks like a three-way contest, but a small business shopping in October 2026 meets three very different storefronts. Checkr posts its full price list and lets you open an account online. Sterling's website now says "Sterling is now a First Advantage company", so its small-business route is a First Advantage self-serve account that lists no prices. HireRight's own pricing page is a quote form, and the small-business link on HireRight's site sends you to BackgroundChecks.com, "a HireRight company", which advertises checks from $29.99.
So the useful Checkr vs Sterling question for a company hiring a handful of people a year is not "which brand is biggest". It is which of these doors you can walk through today, what you can price before talking to sales, and what you agree to when you sign up. This page compares exactly that, from each company's own pages. For Checkr's fee-by-fee cost of a hire, see our Checkr pricing breakdown; for a market-wide view of screening budgets, see the background check cost guide for small businesses.
Checkr vs Sterling vs HireRight: the short answer
If you hire a few people a month and want to know the price before you commit, Checkr and BackgroundChecks.com (HireRight's self-serve brand) are the two with public numbers, and Checkr publishes far more of them. First Advantage's small business account is also pay-as-you-go with no setup fees or minimums, but its small business page lists no prices and sends you to create a free account. HireRight itself is built around custom quotes, which makes more sense once you screen in many countries or at high volume.
| Checkr | Sterling (First Advantage) | HireRight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns it | Checkr itself (it also owns GoodHire); founded in 2014 by Daniel Yanisse and Jonathan Perichon; 140,000+ customers | First Advantage, which completed its acquisition of Sterling on October 31, 2024 | Private since June 28, 2024 (General Atlantic and Stone Point Capital) |
| Small-business route | Checkr's own online signup | First Advantage small business account (online) | BackgroundChecks.com, "a HireRight company" |
| Public package prices | Yes: $29.99, $59.99, $94.99 starting prices | None found | HireRight: none ("customized pricing quote"). BackgroundChecks.com: "starts at $29.99 per check" |
| Contracts and minimums (marketing wording) | "no contracts or minimums" | "no setup fees or minimums" | BackgroundChecks.com: "No contracts. No minimums." |
| Best fit, in our reading | Owners who want to price every add-on before signing up | Teams already using First Advantage elsewhere, or comparing a second self-serve quote | Multi-country or high-volume programs (HireRight); budget US checks (BackgroundChecks.com) |
From each company's pricing, small business, company and press pages, checked October 19, 2026. "Best fit" is Saazora's reading of those pages, not a test result.
Sterling and HireRight are not the brands you will actually sign up with
Two ownership changes in 2024 reshaped this comparison, and comparison pages often still treat Sterling as a standalone company.
- Sterling became First Advantage. First Advantage's third-quarter 2024 results say it "Completed Acquisition of Sterling on October 31". Today sterlingcheck.com carries the banner "Sterling Background Check Solutions is now First Advantage", and its links point to fadv.com. First Advantage says it was founded in 2003.
- HireRight went private. HireRight's newsroom says that on June 28, 2024 it completed its sale to funds affiliated with General Atlantic and Stone Point Capital, at an enterprise value of "approximately $1.7 billion", and that its stock "will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange".
- HireRight's small-business door is a different brand. HireRight's short link for small businesses (hireright.com/bgc) redirects to a page titled "Self-Service / BackgroundChecks.com", which says small businesses get its self-service platform "With backgroundchecks.com, a HireRight company". BackgroundChecks.com's own company page confirms it: "As a HireRight company".
This matters for two reasons. First, the account you open, the terms you accept and the support team you call belong to the brand on the signup page, not the one you searched for. Second, comparing Checkr with "HireRight" on price is impossible from public pages, but comparing it with BackgroundChecks.com is not.
Checkr has its own family tie: it owns GoodHire, which sells the same three packages at the same prices. We cover that pairing in our Checkr vs GoodHire comparison.
What each company lets you see before you talk to anyone
We went through the public pricing, small business, FAQ and terms pages of all four storefronts and listed what a buyer can confirm without creating an account or filling in a sales form.
| Visible before signup | Checkr | First Advantage (Sterling) | HireRight | BackgroundChecks.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package prices | 3 packages from $29.99 to $94.99 | No | No | Starting price only ($29.99) |
| Individually priced add-ons | More than 30, from $4.99 identity verification to DOT and international checks | No | No | Not in public page text |
| Court and DMV fee policy | "passed through at cost with no markup" | Not stated on the small business page | Not stated | "We do no mark-up or make a penny on these charges" |
| Setup fee | "no sign-up fees" (Checkr's Square signup page) | "no account setup fees" | Not stated | "no setup fees" |
| Minimum volume | None ("no contracts or minimums") | None ("no minimum screening volume") | Not stated | None ("We don't ask about volume") |
| Volume discount rule | Enterprise quote | Not stated | Quote | Automatic from 100 reports in a month |
| Account terms readable online | Yes: Services Agreement (last modified August 12, 2026) | Not found for small business accounts | Not found | Yes: Terms of Service (effective November 25, 2020) |
| Integrations named or claimed | Named partners include Gusto, QuickBooks, Rippling, BambooHR, Greenhouse and Workday | "100+" integration options | "70+" integrations | 5 named ATS partners |
Checkr has also moved identity verification to the front of its Essential and Complete packages: an ID document and liveness selfie are checked before the searches begin, and per its identity verification page "failed or incomplete verifications prevent a background check from starting" (up to three resubmission attempts). Checked October 22, 2026.
Saazora tally of each company's public pages, October 19, 2026. "No" and "Not stated" mean we did not find it on the pages we read; a sales rep or the in-app order flow may show more.
The count is the clearest difference between the three. You can work out a Checkr order for a driver, a nurse or a warehouse hire from the pricing page alone, before court and DMV fees. With First Advantage you start by creating a free account, and with HireRight you either fill in the quote form or go through BackgroundChecks.com, where only the starting price is public text.
Checkr's posted prices, and what the starting price buys
Checkr's pricing page, checked October 19, 2026, lists three employment packages, all "starting from" and all before court and database fees:
- Basic, $29.99: SSN trace, sex offender registry, global watchlist and national criminal search.
- Essential, $59.99 (labelled most popular): Basic plus identity verification and unlimited county criminal search.
- Complete, $94.99: Essential plus unlimited state criminal and federal criminal searches.
Common add-ons are an MVR at $9.50, identity verification at $4.99, drug tests from $10 and employment verification from $12.50. All four prices are unchanged from our October 10 baseline.
BackgroundChecks.com's $29.99 floor matches Checkr's Basic number, but the two are not proven equal. Its FAQ says county searches "are not automatically conducted with the basic search", and its package contents above the floor are not in its public page text. Before you treat the two as the same price, compare the searches listed in each package. Our Checkr pricing breakdown, linked above, prices four hires fee by fee.
Contract and refund terms, side by side
"No contracts" on a marketing page and the document you accept at signup are two different things, so we read the terms that are public.
| Term | Checkr Services Agreement | BackgroundChecks.com Terms of Service | First Advantage / HireRight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | "effective for one (1) year from the Effective Date", then "automatically renews for additional one (1) year periods" unless either side gives 30 days' notice before the term ends | No term length stated; you pay per report | Small-business terms not public on the pages we read |
| Leaving early | Either party can end it on "ninety (90) days' written notice"; minimums apply only if your Order has them | No exit clause needed for pay-per-report use | Not public |
| When you pay | Card or ACH on file before your first order; "charge Your payment method on a per-Report basis" | "in full at the time of ordering", with surcharges billed when the candidate completes the application | Not public |
| If the candidate never fills in the form | Not addressed in the clauses we read | Refund or reassign the fee if you ask "within 120 days of paying the Fees" | Not public |
Quotes from checkr.com/legal/customer-agreement (last modified August 12, 2026) and backgroundchecks.com/terms-of-service (effective November 25, 2020), read October 19, 2026. Plain-language summary, not legal advice.
None of this is a trap for a pay-as-you-go Checkr customer: without an Order that sets minimums, the clauses we read add no charge for a year in which you order nothing. It is still worth knowing, and our Checkr review for small businesses walks through the rest of the agreement. BackgroundChecks.com's 120-day refund rule is a real plus for employers whose candidates sometimes drop out before consenting.
Turnaround: each company's own wording and its conditions
No provider can promise a date, because county courts set the pace. Here is what each one says, with the conditions it attaches.
- Checkr: county criminal searches "usually take 1-5 business days but can take longer in jurisdictions with slower processing times or manual record-keeping systems" (Checkr small business page).
- BackgroundChecks.com: "Most reports return in under 48 hours", but its FAQ adds that it "cannot begin compiling a consumer report until the candidate submits the application link", and that where a court clerk must run the search "the average turn around is 3-5 business days".
- First Advantage (Sterling): the small business page gives no small-business turnaround figure. Its speed statistics are company-wide, dated "as of 12/31/2025", so we left them out.
- HireRight: the pricing page mentions "Fast and Streamlined Results" but gives no figure.
In practice the clock starts when your candidate finishes the consent form, at every provider. Sending the invitation the same day you make a conditional offer saves more time than any vendor choice.
Integrations a small team is likely to use
Big integration counts mostly matter to companies on enterprise HR suites. A small business usually needs one link: payroll or a simple applicant tracker.
- Checkr's partner page names payroll and HR tools small companies already use: Gusto, Intuit QuickBooks, Rippling and BambooHR, plus applicant trackers such as Greenhouse and Workday.
- First Advantage lists "100+ flexible integration options including Workday, iCIMS, Bullhorn". Its small business page does not say which of them work with a small business account.
- HireRight advertises "70+ Integrations", with partner pages for ADP, Greenhouse, iCIMS, Lever, UKG and Workday, which are mostly mid-market and enterprise systems.
- BackgroundChecks.com names Greenhouse, Lever, JazzHR, JobVite and Workable, and offers an API and widgets.
If you run payroll in Gusto or QuickBooks, note that of the partner pages we read, only Checkr's named those tools.
Which one to price first
- You want to know the full cost before you sign up: start with Checkr. It is the only one of the three with a public add-on price list.
- You hire across many countries, or at volume large enough for a negotiated contract: ask HireRight and First Advantage for quotes. HireRight says its platform "spans over 200 countries and territories".
- Your company already uses First Advantage for drug testing, I-9 or another program: open a free First Advantage small business account, get its prices for the checks you need and compare them with Checkr's posted ones.
- You only need a basic US database check at the lowest posted floor: compare Checkr Basic and BackgroundChecks.com line by line. Both start at $29.99, so the searches included decide it.
Disclosure: Saazora may earn a commission if you sign up through links on this page. It does not change what we report. If Checkr is your first stop, you can open a free Checkr account and price one role (affiliate link). Setup is free and you pay per report. Choose the smallest package the role really needs; that is the main way to save, since Checkr does not publish a coupon code. First Advantage, HireRight and BackgroundChecks.com are not affiliate partners of Saazora, and this page has no affiliate links to them.
What the law asks of you, whichever vendor runs the check
Switching vendors does not move your legal duties. The Fair Credit Reporting Act puts these steps on the employer, according to the joint EEOC and FTC guide "Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know" and the FTC's employer guide:
- Disclosure and written consent. Tell the candidate in writing that you may use a background report; "This notice must be in writing and in a stand-alone format." Then get their written permission. The CFPB's Summary of Rights tells consumers the same: "You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers."
- Permissible purpose and certification. A screening company may share a report only with someone who has a "valid need", and hiring is one (CFPB Summary of Rights). You certify to the screening company that you notified the person, got permission, complied with the FCRA and will not misuse the information.
- Pre-adverse action. Before rejecting someone because of the report, send "a notice that includes a copy of the consumer report you relied on" and a copy of "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act", so they can explain or correct it.
- Adverse action notice. After the decision, tell them it was based on the report, give the screening company's contact details, say the company "didn't make the hiring decision", and explain their right to dispute and to a free report within 60 days.
The EEOC adds a rule no software handles for you: "Apply the same standards to everyone". Many states and cities also have fair-chance or ban-the-box rules on when you may ask about criminal history; check the rules where you hire. Checkr makes "template disclosure, authorization, and adverse action forms" available, First Advantage describes a process for "candidate disclosures and authorization", and BackgroundChecks.com says it "can sends pre-adverse and adverse action notices" (its wording). Tools help, but the decision and the duties stay with you at every one of them. This is not legal advice. For your own policy, talk to an employment lawyer.
Quick answers on Checkr, Sterling and HireRight
Is Sterling still a separate company?
No. First Advantage completed its acquisition of Sterling on October 31, 2024, and sterlingcheck.com now says "Sterling is now a First Advantage company".
Does HireRight have a self-serve option for small businesses?
Yes, through BackgroundChecks.com, which HireRight's site calls "a HireRight company". HireRight itself prices by quote.
Is Checkr cheaper than Sterling or HireRight?
That cannot be answered from public pages, because neither First Advantage nor HireRight publishes prices. Checkr's packages start at $29.99, $59.99 and $94.99 before court fees, and BackgroundChecks.com also starts at $29.99.
Which one has no long-term contract?
Checkr, First Advantage's small business account and BackgroundChecks.com all advertise no minimums. Checkr's online Services Agreement still runs for a renewing one-year term, without a spending commitment unless you sign an Order that has one.
More screening and hiring guides are on the Saazora HR and hiring tools hub, and Checkr's current packages are summarised on the Checkr store page.
Sources and method
This is a research-based comparison. On October 19, 2026 we saved and read Checkr's pricing, small business, Square signup, company and partner pages and its Services Agreement; sterlingcheck.com, First Advantage's small business, integrations and about pages, and its third-quarter 2024 results release; HireRight's pricing, small business, BackgroundChecks.com, company and partner pages and its June 28, 2024 newsroom release; and BackgroundChecks.com's homepage, FAQ, order page, company, integrations and Terms of Service. We did not open an account, request a quote or order a check from any of them, so nothing here is a test result. We did not use user-review scores. First Advantage's company-wide performance statistics were left out because they do not describe small business accounts. Read how Saazora researches and reviews software.
Sources (checked October 19, 2026): checkr.com/pricing, checkr.com/use-cases/small-business, checkr.com/signup/square, checkr.com/company, checkr.com/company/partners, Checkr Services Agreement; sterlingcheck.com; fadv.com small business background checks, integrations and about pages; First Advantage Q3 2024 results (SEC exhibit 99.1); hireright.com pricing, small business, self-service/BackgroundChecks.com, company and partners pages; HireRight newsroom, June 28, 2024; backgroundchecks.com homepage, FAQs, new order page, company, integrations and Terms of Service; EEOC and FTC, "Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know"; FTC, "Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know"; CFPB, "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act". Checkr company facts from Checkr's 2026 affiliate guide. Not legal advice.
