TruthFinder vs. Spokeo people search
Spokeo is cheaper ($19.95 a month) and fine for finding contact details. TruthFinder costs more and adds criminal and court records. Neither can be used for hiring or renting.
TruthfinderBestGuide Score: 4.3 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner.
SpokeoBestGuide Score: 4.4 out of 5. Set by our editorial team from published factors such as cost, credentials, reputation, customer experience, services and guarantees. Verified partners are scored on our partner verification program and can be listed first; they are always labeled BestGuide Partner.Quick verdict
For most personal lookups, such as finding a current address, phone number or relatives, Spokeo does the job for less: $19.95 a month or $44.85 for three months, with up to 100 reports a month and an option to pause. TruthFinder costs $29.99 a month and is built around fuller background style reports that include criminal and court records, which matters if you are checking out a date or a seller. Both are data brokers, not consumer reporting agencies, so neither may be used for hiring, renting, credit or insurance decisions, and both renew automatically until you cancel. TruthFinder also carries a 2023 FTC settlement over misleading accuracy and criminal record claims, so verify anything serious with the court that holds the record.
On this page11 sections
Truthfinder vs. Spokeo side by side
"Edge" marks the better option on that line for most people. Truthfinder leads on 2, Spokeo on 3.
Ratings and complaint records
Our score and sub-scores from each company's review, with the facts both reviews list.
Price and billing
Spokeo is the cheaper membership. Its purchase page, captured in late September 2026, lists $19.95 for one month or $44.85 every three months, which works out to $14.95 a month. The checkout terms say the membership includes up to 100 reports a month and renews for the same term until you cancel.
TruthFinder’s pricing page, dated September 27, 2026, lists people search at $29.99 a month, $70.99 for three months or $124.99 for six months. It also sells a reverse phone plan at $4.99 a month, a reverse email plan at $29.73 a month and a PDF and report monitoring add-on at $4.99 a month. Charges appear as TRTHFDR*TRUTHFINDER.COM.
Both renew automatically. Cancelling TruthFinder stops the next charge but does not refund the current period, and refunds are handled case by case. Spokeo lets members pause instead of cancelling and offers an email reminder two days before the next billing date.
If you only need one or two searches, set a reminder to cancel the day you sign up. If you need many searches over a few months, Spokeo’s three-month plan or TruthFinder’s six-month plan lowers the monthly cost.
What the reports include
The two sites overlap on contact data. Both search by name, phone, email and address, and both pull from public records and commercial data sources.
Spokeo’s purchase page lists full address, birth month and year, email address, phone number, family members and location history. It is built for finding and confirming how to reach someone. Spokeo says it searches billions of records, and its help center says its data is not guaranteed to be accurate.
TruthFinder’s person reports go further into background style data, including criminal and court records, along with contact details and report monitoring. That depth is why people use it to check out a date or someone they are about to do business with.
Be careful with criminal results from either site. In 2023 the FTC said TruthFinder and its sister site Instant Checkmate overstated report accuracy and labeled some records, such as traffic tickets, as criminal records. Treat any record as a lead, then look it up on the county or state court website that holds it. For sex offender checks, the Justice Department’s free NSOPW.gov is the primary source.
What you cannot use them for
Neither TruthFinder nor Spokeo is a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Spokeo’s checkout requires you to agree not to use it to decide anyone’s eligibility for credit, insurance, employment or housing, and TruthFinder’s terms carry the same limit.
That means you cannot use either one to screen a job applicant, a tenant or a borrower. A business that does so can face FCRA liability. For those uses, choose a screening company that sells reports for FCRA purposes, gets the person’s consent and lets them dispute errors.
Both companies have been tested on this line. Spokeo paid $800,000 in 2012 to settle FTC charges that it marketed profiles to employers and recruiters without following FCRA rules. TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate paid $5.8 million in 2023, and the FTC order requires an FCRA compliance monitoring program and bars accuracy misrepresentations.
For personal uses, such as reconnecting with someone, checking a phone number or confirming an address, both are legal to use.
How to remove yourself
Both sites list people who have never used them, and both offer free opt-outs.
Spokeo: find your listing, copy its URL, then paste it into the form on Spokeo’s opt-out page, add an email address and click the confirmation link Spokeo sends. Spokeo also runs other people search sites, including AnyWho, That’s Them and FreePeopleDirectory, according to California’s data broker registry, so check those too. Spokeo reported about 3.8 million California opt-out requests in its latest registry filing, with a median response of one day.
TruthFinder: use the removal tool in its help center. Its registry filing shows 61,672 California deletion requests in 2024, with 58,324 completed and a median response of one day. TruthFinder’s sister sites, including Instant Checkmate, are separate listings, so opt out of each.
California residents can also use the state’s Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) to send one deletion request to registered data brokers. Opting out removes the public listing, but the data can reappear from new records, so check again every few months.
Pros and cons
Truthfinder
Pros
- Unlimited person, phone and email reports on the people search plan
- Longer plans bring the cost down to about $21 a month
- Cancel online or by phone
- A+ BBB rating and accredited since 2018
Cons
- Auto-renewing membership with refunds only case by case
- Paid $5.8 million to settle FTC charges about accuracy and FCRA compliance
- Can't be used for hiring, renting or other FCRA decisions
- Reports may be outdated or wrong, by its own disclaimer
Spokeo
Pros
- One of the lower membership prices among major people search sites
- Up to 100 reports a month, with PDF downloads
- Option to pause instead of cancelling, plus a renewal reminder email
- Free opt-out, usually processed in 24 to 48 hours
Cons
- Renews automatically and all sales are final, with no prorated refunds
- No guarantee the data is accurate or current
- Cannot be used for hiring, renting, credit or insurance decisions
- Some types of information cost extra beyond the membership
Also consider
-
PeopleLooker 4.3 People who need several personal lookups in a short period, such as reconnecting with someone or checking unknown callers, and will cancel on time. -
BeenVerified 4.3 People who need several personal lookups in a short window, such as tracing a relative or checking callers, and will cancel on time.Visit site
Frequently asked questions
Is Spokeo cheaper than TruthFinder?
Yes. Spokeo costs $19.95 for one month or $44.85 for three months. TruthFinder costs $29.99 a month, $70.99 for three months or $124.99 for six months.
Which is more accurate?
Neither guarantees accuracy. Both pull from public and commercial records that can be outdated. Confirm anything important, especially criminal records, with the court that holds it.
Does Spokeo show criminal records?
Spokeo's purchase page lists contact details, addresses, family members and location history, not criminal records. TruthFinder includes criminal and court records in person reports.
Can I use TruthFinder or Spokeo to screen a tenant or employee?
No. Neither is a consumer reporting agency, and both prohibit use for credit, insurance, employment or housing decisions under the FCRA.
Do they auto-renew?
Yes. Both memberships renew until you cancel. Spokeo also lets members pause, and TruthFinder handles refunds case by case.
Will the person know I searched them?
Spokeo says no one is notified about your search. We did not find the same statement on the TruthFinder pages we checked, so read its privacy policy before you search.
Is TruthFinder the same company as Instant Checkmate?
They are separate brands in the same PeopleConnect group, share an office address in San Diego and were named together in the FTC's 2023 settlement.
How do I get removed from Spokeo?
Copy your listing's URL into Spokeo's opt-out form, enter an email address and click the confirmation link. Repeat on its other sites such as AnyWho.
Sources (14)
Facts on this page come from company websites, government agencies and regulators, checked on the dates shown. Editorial standards
- TruthFinder, Pricing (Internet Archive, Sep 28, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Spokeo, Membership purchase page (Internet Archive, Sep 25, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- TruthFinder Help, Billing policy and refunds (Internet Archive, May 11, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Spokeo Help, How do I cancel? (Internet Archive, Apr 21, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Spokeo Help, How do I remove my information from Spokeo? (Internet Archive, May 1, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- FTC, TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate deceived users about background report accuracy (Sep 11, 2023) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Mintz, Spokeo agrees to $800,000 FTC settlement (Jun 13, 2012) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- BBB, TruthFinder profile (accessed Oct 12, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- BBB, Spokeo, Inc. profile (accessed Oct 12, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Trustpilot, TruthFinder reviews (accessed Oct 12, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Trustpilot, Spokeo reviews (Internet Archive, Feb 17, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- California Privacy Protection Agency, Data broker registry (accessed Oct 12, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- California DROP, Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (accessed Oct 12, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
- U.S. Department of Justice, National Sex Offender Public Website (accessed Oct 12, 2026) (accessed October 12, 2026)
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