Best People Search Sites in 2024
What are the leading cyber people search websites in 2024? Our top picks include Pipl. It is not one of the free people search sites, but some basic details can be looked up at no cost.
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Whether you’re looking to reconnect with an old high school buddy or you just want to know if your next-door neighbor has a criminal record, people search sites can provide you with quick and accurate information. Thanks to our ever-growing digital footprints, information about the people you’re trying to reach becomes discoverable by these platforms.
These people-focused search engines protect your anonymity while providing you with the information you need to make the right decisions. While some offer limited information at no cost, none is completely free. Read on to find out more about the top names in the business.
Our list of people search sites is topped by Pipl, a platform containing information on more than three billion people from more than 150 countries. Its advanced features can help you discover the people behind email addresses, connect them to mobile phones, or find out the identity behind a specific social media account. The site has a database of more than 1.9 billion unique mobile phone numbers and allows search by username as well.
Search by:
Name, address, email, or username
Trial:
Five days
Criminal & sex offender searches:
No
PRICE
$148/month for 10 users
If you’re looking for free people search sites, you might want to check further, as BeenVerified only offers paid subscription plans. You can choose between a monthly membership and a three-month one; whichever you choose, you will get access to unlimited lookups, searches, and background check features. This search site uses public records to aggregate all the necessary data and provide its users with comprehensive reports.
Search by:
Name, phone, address, email
Trial:
Yes
Criminal & sex offender searches:
Yes
PRICE:
$17.48/month
Spokeo is another people search engine that has a lot to offer. Its directory includes over 130 million property records, 3.9 billion historical records, six billion consumer records, and more. You can use it to inspect other people’s personal information, court and criminal records, and social media accounts in just a few clicks. One thing that makes Spokeo stand out among the competitors is its geographically categorized algorithm, which helps classify search results based on location.
Search by:
Name, phone, address, email, username
Trial:
Yes
Criminal & sex offender searches:
Yes
Price:
$14.95/month
How Can You Use People Search Sites?
Most users refer to free people search engines and paid sites when they seek to reconnect with old friends, find relatives, or find out where someone lives. But people search sites have a variety of other functions. They are a great asset if you’re planning to move to a new house and want to find out more about the neighbors or the previous residents.
To be the best people search site, a service has to provide criminal and court records.
However, it’s illegal to use the information provided by the service to make decisions about tenant screening, consumer credit, insurance, hiring people, or anything that requires compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The FCRA was enacted in 1970 and is designed to protect consumers and regulate how businesses and institutions use their personal information. It essentially governs the collection and reporting of consumers’ credit information.
People finder apps provide reports based on publicly available data, which isn’t always up to date, complete, and fully accurate. That’s why you have to consult other services for employment screening needs and similar requirements. The most accurate information comes from reports compiled by accredited consumer reporting agencies like Experian or TransUnion.
Top 3 Trust-Worthy People Search Sites
- Pipl
- BeenVerified
- Spokeo
Reviews
1. Pipl
Variety of Reports:
Good
Accuracy:
Excellent
Customer Support:
Good
- CRM compatibility
- Unlimited searches
- Well-organized results
Pipl prides itself on having the world’s largest online identity database with more than three billion identity profiles. This unmatched global index makes Pipl our top recommendation for consumers looking for a reliable people search engine. Although it’s widely used by businesses to detect and prevent fraud, many users turn to Pipl to retrieve contact details and other information.
Pipl’s database is built on numerous sources, including public records, directories, and internet archives. You can request a free trial before signing up for one of the company’s paid plans.
To start your search, just type in the name of the person you’re looking for. But even if you don’t have the person’s full name, you can use an email address or a social media username. The people search engine allows you to conduct both direct and flexible searches, meaning that you can enter an entire address or a single data point.
The UI is intuitive, and all the necessary information is neatly organized. On the top of the page, you’ll find the name of the person you’re searching for with additional details like their birth date and the language they speak. Other information includes addresses, education, and relatives. Most of the data is hyperlinked, so if you click on a family member’s name, you’ll get his or her personal details.
An annual subscription for this person search engine is $298 per month for a single user. But Pipl is primarily designed for teams rather than individual users. For a team of five, you’ll save more than 30% and pay only $198 per month per user. An annual subscription for 10 users will cost you $148 per month.
Although Pipl’s powerful search engine is good for international people search, it doesn’t offer very detailed reports. If you need websites to find people, this is a perfectly suitable option. But other sites on our list perform far more comprehensive background checks.
2. BeenVerified
Variety of Reports:
Good
Accuracy:
Excellent
Customer Support:
Good
- Regularly updated reports
- Map with sex offenders in your area
- Seven search options
It’s always good to trust people, but it’s better to verify the information you’re given. BeenVerified, as the name implies, is the perfect place for verifying information about people in your life, but it’s also one of the best sites to find people.
Whether you are looking for old classmates or former colleagues, BeenVerified can help. The New York-based team is constantly improving its search engine and updating its database with the latest records.
BeenVerified offers seven search options: reverse phone search, address lookup, email lookup, unclaimed money search, social media username search, vehicle lookup, and finally, people search.
Like the other people search sites on our list, BeenVerified can be used for various purposes. You can search for people from your past or use this people locator to learn more about someone you met online. You can also use it to monitor your own public records and the information being circulated about you online.
Bear in mind that BeenVerified is not a consumer reporting agency and, just like with other people search engines on our list, cannot be used for purposes that require FCRA compliance.
One of the great things about BeenVerified is the level of transparency with its subscription plans. It’s one of the few sites on our list that displays pricing details before you sign up and offers criminal-record searches as a part of its standard subscription.
A one-month subscription is $26.89, and gives you an unlimited number of reports. A three-month plan costs $17.48 per month. In addition to unlimited searches of criminal records, this online people search platform provides everything from unlimited background reports to unlimited email lookups.
3. Spokeo
Variety of Reports:
EXCELLENT
Accuracy:
EXCELLENT
Customer Support:
GOOD
- Affordable pricing
- Billions of records
- Free basic checks
Spokeo has billions of individual and business records gathered from a massive pool of sources, making it one of the best people search sites around. The company started its mission when four graduates from Stanford University founded the website in 2006. Today, there are over 20 million regular users on Spokeo.
The company has an A+ on the BBB rating scale but not particularly stellar customer reviews, to put it mildly. In terms of features, you can request reverse email, address, phone, and record search. The search engine can sift through criminal records in great detail. It also provides identity protection searches, goes through the dark web and social media, and even offers reverse background checks.
Some people search websites might have issues showing relevant search results based on the geographical position. However, that is not the case with Spokeo, which has a geographically categorized algorithm. You’ll get more accurate and relevant search results if you run a check using a name along with the geo-positioning.
This people search site supports traditional search requests such as looking for someone by email, first and last name, usernames on dating and social networks, or landline/cell phone numbers. You’ll receive results regarding the individual’s full contact info, financial status, family background, personal data, and history of current and previous locations.
You can run the social media people search to obtain detailed information about the person’s Facebook or Instagram accounts. Suppose the person you’re inquiring about has any criminal history, including DUIs, sex offender background, or criminal charges of other nature. Spokeo will find such information on them in no time.
All of this comes at an affordable price. If you only want to extract one full name report, it’ll cost you a mere $0.95. The company also has monthly plans. The Basic Business plan is $35.95 per month and includes up to 200 background reports. The Professional plan has 500 reports per month for $69.95.
As with other search sites for people, higher-tiered plans offer more value. The Enterprise business plan has the best deal, with 1,000 background reports on all topic searches that previous plans include, for a price of $119.95 a month. The real question, though, is who would need that many searches each month and why.
Besides these plans, you can get a cheaper monthly subscription for $23.76 with 100 search reports on birth records, locations, and family members. A quarterly membership will set you back $13.95 every month. For these prices, you won’t get searches of criminal records, however. For all the available background options, Spokeo is an affordable people search site.
Our Methodology for Reviewing People Search Engines
To identify the best people search sites, we evaluated dozens using clear criteria. Here’s how we did it:
Ease of Use
Regardless of whether you’re interested in finding people online or performing another type of search, the platform you choose should be easy to use. You should be able to type in the name or other information about the person in a search bar, click the search button, and wait for the results.
The site layout and UI are also important. We felt far more comfortable with sites that display the entire search process. The best people finder dashboard shows various databases and generates well-organized reports.
Platform Compatibility
What do you do when you need to run a quick check on someone you’ve just met? The site you choose should have a mobile app. In most cases, you can download the app for Android or iOS and conduct your search on the move.
Accuracy of Information
Although these people search sites are not consumer reporting agencies, the information they provide should be accurate. It depends on which databases the engine can access and check. In addition to social media accounts, the site should also be able to check federal and state records.
Search Options
Regardless of how much information you possess, the best search engine for people has to produce results. Even if you only have an address or an email, the best people search sites will find the person you’re looking for.
Reports
Most people search for family members, school friends, or someone else from their past. The most basic reports usually contain a person’s location, real age, and marital status. More comprehensive reports include criminal records, court documents, and bankruptcies.
Additional Services
Almost all of the top people search sites can perform a reverse phone lookup. Moreover, some enable you to access sex offender databases and get a map of their locations in your area.
Pricing
The price is also an important factor when choosing a people finder site. Costs vary depending on the extent of your search. For example, you might get basic information free of charge. But if you are looking for more comprehensive reports, the price tends to hover around $30 per month. Some sites offer one-time searches for a fee. We don’t recommend free person search options because of the very limited information provided.