Checkr vs. HireRight vs. iprospectcheck: Which Background Check Service is Right for You?

When you’re hiring, you want a background check partner that knows your industry’s needs, helps you maintain compliance, and is there to help every step of the way.

Checkr, HireRight, and iprospectcheck are three well-recognized background check companies that have established themselves as leading providers.

In this guide, we compare all three and help you understand which one is best for your company.

iprospectcheck: Best Overall

Overview

iprospectcheck is a family-owned background check company founded in California in 2009 by Matt and Andrea Rodgers. This full-service background check provider offers an extensive menu of searches and clinical services for employers across industries in every US state.

This company focuses on legal compliance, speed, and accuracy for US businesses in every industry and is especially good for companies operating in regulated industries. iprospectcheck stays up-to-date with federal, state, and local laws to help employers maintain compliance.

It is completely US-based and never offshores its services. While iprospectcheck is smaller than its competitors, its service focus, 100% US-based personnel, and flexibility make it the best choice.

Industries Served

iprospectcheck serves employers in all industries, and includes industry-specific background checks for employers in:

• Healthcare
• Finance
• Transportation
• Staffing
• Higher education
• Hospitality
• Construction & manufacturing
• Technology
• Energy
• Nonprofit
• Retail
• Gig economy
• Small business
• Enterprise

It also offers tenant screening for landlords.

Pricing

iprospectcheck offers a range of packages at varying prices, including:

• Basic – $24.95 each
• Standard – $49.95 each
• Standard + Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) – $55.95 each
• Premium – $79.95 each
• Healthcare – $89.95 each

Employers that need more than 50 background checks per year can get volume discounts.

The company also offers a broad menu of add-on searches for increased customizability at affordable prices.

Pros:

• Fast results (1–3 business days)
• Excellent U.S.-based support and direct communication
• API integrations with numerous ATS and HRIS systems
• Tailored screening solutions for specific industries (e.g., healthcare, finance, transportation, etc.)
• 100% USA-based with no offshoring
• SwiftHire Mobile app provides a seamless process for applicants

Cons:

• Specializes in background checks for companies operating in the US and US territories
• No fingerprinting option

Best For:

iprospectcheck is the best choice for small and mid-sized businesses and those operating in regulated industries that want reliable, legally compliant, and up-to-date screens. A good fit for enterprise clients that value a high level of service and support.

Checkr: Best for Companies

Overview

Checkr was founded in 2014 by two engineers who previously worked at a startup operating in the gig economy. Based in San Francisco, California, Checkr focuses on automated background checks and technology. Checkr’s API platform integrates with more than 100 ATS and HRIS. On its website, Checkr boasts that its platform has an uptime rate of 99.95%.

With its focus on automation, Checkr is geared toward very large-volume hiring and companies operating in the gig economy. It’s less well-suited for companies operating in regulated sectors that must constantly work to maintain compliance.

Industries Served

Checkr primarily serves the gig economy and claims it runs more than 95% of background checks for companies operating within it.

Other industries Checkr serves as listed on its website include:

• Staffing
• Retail
• Hospitality
• Healthcare
• Manufacturing
• Technology
• Food service
• Nonprofits and volunteers

Pricing

Checkr offers three packages with pricing as follows:

• Basic+ – $29.99 each
• Essential – $54.99 each
• Advanced – $89.99 each

It also offers three international packages at the following prices:

• International Basic+ – $32 per check
• International Professional – $102 per check
• International Professional+ – $124 per check

Checkr offers several add-on searches and verifications that range in price from $6 to $40 each.

Pros:

• Fast turnaround times (1–5 days)
• More than 100 API integrations with modern HRIS
• Strong automation and an easy-to-use dashboard

Cons:

• Limited customer support (mostly automated or ticket-based)
• Not built for deep compliance in regulated industries

Best For:

Checkr is best for companies with extremely high-volume hiring needs, especially those operating in the gig economy or tech.

HireRight: Best for Multinational Corporations

Overview

HireRight was founded in 1995 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Over the past three decades, it has grown to become one of the biggest background check companies in the US and the world, primarily through mergers over the years.

HireRight is a global background check provider and serves companies around the world with its screening and clinical services. It is tailored for large enterprises that have complex hiring needs. It reports an accuracy rate of 99.98% and offers more than 70 ATS integrations.

Industries Served:

HireRight serves businesses in any industry, ranging from small companies to large, multinational corporations. Some industries the company highlights on its website include:

• Transportation
• Marketplace & gig
• Healthcare and life sciences
• Staffing
• Education
• Retail
• Technology
• Financial services and banking

Pricing

HireRight doesn’t display its pricing information on its website. Instead, customers are directed to contact its sales team for a quote.

For small businesses, HireRight directs them to an associated provider, which is backgroundchecks.com or ClearChecks. Price information for small businesses on its website includes:

• ClearHire Basic – $24.95 per check
• ClearHire Complete Standard – $39.99 per check
• ClearHire Professional – $69.99 per check

Pros:

• Offers global screening services
• Robust compliance tools and regulatory support
• Strong enterprise-level feature set

Cons:

• Slower processing times (2–10 business days)
• Complicated user interface
• Inconsistent customer service for smaller clients

Best For:

HireRight is best for large enterprises and organizations with global hiring needs.

Checkr vs Hireright vs iprospectcheck: Side-by-Side Comparison

How to Choose the Right Background Check Provider

To choose the right background check provider for your company, take these steps:

1. Identify Industry Requirements

Some industries have specific regulatory requirements they must meet, including the performance of specific background checks.

If you operate in a regulated industry such as transportation, finance, or healthcare, you must understand your legal requirements for conducting industry-specific background checks and clinical screens.

For example, if you are a trucking carrier regulated by the US Department of Transportation that hires commercial drivers, you must comply with all of the background check requirements outlined by the DOT, including the performance of DOT background checks, DOT physicals, and DOT drug tests.

Make sure the background check company that you choose has extensive experience in your industry and keeps up with regulatory changes as they occur.

At iprospectcheck, we work with companies in all industries, including those operating in regulated sectors, and serve clients in transportation, healthcare, finance, retail, staffing, education, construction, manufacturing, technology, energy, and more.

On the other hand, Checkr primarily focuses on companies operating in the gig & marketplace economy and may be less able to meet the extensive, in-depth compliance needs for companies in regulated industries.

2. Determine Your Hiring Volume

Your choice of a background check company can be affected by your hiring volume.

For example, if you’re a small to mid-sized business hiring less than 1,000 people a year it might not make sense to go with a provider like HireRight that specializes in providing services to large, multi-national corporations and has a complex system that might be unwieldy for you.

Working with an agile, flexible provider that offers personalized services like iprospectcheck might be a better option.

At iprospectcheck, we also offer volume discounts to companies that have high-volume needs and can offer skilled services regardless of your hiring volume.

3. Define Your Turnaround Time Needs

Because of stiff competition in the current labor market, you must take steps to reduce your time to hire.

One way to do this is to choose a background check provider that offers fast turnaround times.

When applicants have to wait for an extended period for their results to come back, they might move on to a competitor.

Long background check times can also mean a slower onboarding process and productivity losses.

You want to make sure your background check provider has the resources and staff needed to return accurate, up-to-date, and compliant information quickly.

Out of the three background check companies compared above, iprospectcheck has the fastest turnaround times at an average of one to three days because of our advanced research methodologies and extensive technology resources.

4. Evaluate Customer Support Expectations

Consider what you expect from customer support from your provider. Most companies want answers when they need them, rather than waiting for a response in a ticket-based system.

Think about whether you’d be satisfied by reading through a list of articles to find answers, such as those provided by HireRight and Checkr, or whether a chatbot from Checkr is responsive enough.

If you’d rather speak to someone partnered with you who has a deep understanding of your industry and needs, iprospectcheck offers robust, 100% US-based customer support and is available by phone, email, or online request.

5. Check Available Integrations with HR Tools

Integration with your HR tools makes the background check process smooth and seamless.

API integrations with your ATS or HRIS allow you to see everything within your candidates’ profiles as it arrives, and they also help to reduce data-entry errors.

Verify the provider offers API integrations that work with your company’s ATS or HRIS.

At iprospectcheck, we offer API integrations with most modern ATS and HRIS to make the background check process seamless.

6. Assess Compliance and Legal Expertise

When you conduct background checks, you must comply with federal, state, and local laws. If you’re in a regulated industry, you must also comply with administrative regulations.

It’s critical that your background check provider stays up-to-date with all legal and regulatory changes at the federal, state, and local levels to help you maintain compliance.

These laws include the FCRA, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, and relevant state and local laws, including ban-the-box laws, credit check laws, social media privacy laws, state expungement laws, and more.

Violating background check laws or industry regulations can expose you to liability risks and civil penalties.

Your provider should be able to explain the safeguards they have in place to maintain compliance and how they can help you avoid potential legal or regulatory violations.

At iprospectcheck, you can also benefit from the work of our FCRA-certified experts who regularly review our screening services to help maintain compliance at all times.

7. Compare Pricing Models and Flexibility

Evaluate the pricing models offered by each company based on your volume and industry requirements.

Flexible background check models, like those offered by iprospectcheck, allow you to create customized checks without paying for unnecessary information.

Transparent pricing can also help you understand how much money to allocate to background checks in your company’s budget.

8. Evaluate the Provider’s Data Security and Privacy Protection Measures

You must ensure each candidate’s personally identifiable information (PII) is protected at all times. Similarly, your company’s information should be protected from potential data breaches and cyberattacks.

A candidate’s PII includes sensitive information tied to their identity that could be stolen by identity thieves, including their Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, names, financial account numbers, license numbers, and passport numbers. You must safeguard this information from unauthorized access to prevent significant harm.

While Checkr, HireRight, and iprospectcheck all have strong data security and encryption tools, iprospectcheck also doesn’t offshore any of its services.

This is important because transmitting information overseas for tasks like data storage or search processing can place your company at a higher risk of being the victim of hacking and data breaches.

iprospectcheck: Your Best Choice for a Background Check Partner

As an employer, you must choose the right background check provider to get the most accurate and compliant results.

While HireRight, Checkr, and iprospectcheck are all recognized as reputable, established providers, iprospectcheck stands out for its customizability, flexibility, compliance, and personalized support.

To learn more about our background checks and clinical services and obtain a free quote, contact us today: (888) 509-1979.

DISCLAIMER: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.