Comparisons · Updated July 31, 2026
TruthFinder vs BeenVerified: criminal and court records or phone, email, and vehicle lookups? Compare pricing, the $1 trial, and TruthFinder's FTC settlement.
The real fork is record emphasis. TruthFinder's app-store copy leans into criminal, arrest, court, and sex-offender lookups, while BeenVerified spreads across phone, email, address, property, and vehicle searches. Two more factors will shape your pick: pricing structure (BeenVerified publishes subscription tiers and a $1 trial that renews monthly; TruthFinder's iOS listing omits billing periods for some purchases) and the 2023 FTC stipulated order involving TruthFinder's operators.
Start with the question you care about, then compare what each service offers.
Features and prices can change. Check each service for the latest details.
The table shows what each service lists. These four factors explain what those listings mean once real money and a real decision are involved.
TruthFinder's official app copy leans into record history: court and criminal records, arrests, property and address history, marriage and death records, reverse phone, and a sex-offender locator. BeenVerified's listings spread across more starting points instead: name, phone, email, address, property, vehicle or VIN, and username searches, with dating-context checks named as one use case. That is a broader stated input list for BeenVerified and a more record-focused category list for TruthFinder, not proof of deeper or more complete data on either side.
Why it matters: Match the service to your actual question. A record-history question maps to TruthFinder's stated categories. BeenVerified clearly lists email and username searches among its supported starting points, and it is the only one of the two with documented vehicle or VIN lookups; TruthFinder's iOS listing includes an email-report purchase, but the listing does not describe that report's precise scope.
BeenVerified publishes its terms: $36.89 per month or $71.94 every three months, each covering up to 100 reports monthly, plus a $1 seven-day offer that renews at $32.89 per month unless canceled. Reviewers mention price increases and billing friction. TruthFinder's US iOS listing shows in-app purchases from $2.99 to $67.99, including unlimited report options at $27.99, but does not state the billing period or renewal terms for every option.
Why it matters: BeenVerified's renewal terms are published but easy to skim past; TruthFinder's are not fully stated in the listing at all. On both, the real commitment only becomes clear at checkout, so confirm it there before paying.
In 2023 the FTC charged TruthFinder's operators over marketing that allegedly implied people had criminal records when the underlying record was sometimes a traffic ticket, accuracy claims resting on unverified data, and FCRA violations. A federal court entered a stipulated order on October 11, 2023 requiring the settling defendants to pay a $5.8 million civil penalty; they neither admitted nor denied the allegations, which were never adjudicated, and the FTC case page still labels the matter Pending. That history is specific to TruthFinder's operators. Separately, public-record and third-party data on either service can be incomplete, stale, unavailable, or matched to the wrong person.
Why it matters: Treat findings from either report as leads, and check anything serious against the original court, county, or registry source before acting on it. Understanding what these reports can and cannot establish helps set expectations before paying for either service.
Both companies explain what these services can and cannot be used for in their official listings: they are not consumer reporting agencies and prohibit FCRA-covered uses. FCRA is the federal law governing background checks for regulated decisions like hiring, housing, credit, and insurance. In practice, that limits both services to personal questions: identifying an unknown caller, checking details about someone met online before a date, or researching a property.
Why it matters: If the real question involves an employee, tenant, borrower, or applicant, neither service is the right tool, and using one that way violates both companies' stated terms. Choose between them based on a personal-lookup need, not a screening need.
TruthFinder fits a search centered on criminal, court, property, address, and sex-offender records, with name, phone, and address search options.
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BeenVerified fits a broader lookup task, especially when you want to search by phone or email alongside people, property, vehicle, family, or username details.
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Where this leaves you
Choose TruthFinder when your question centers on the record categories its listings emphasize, including criminal and court records, arrests, property and address history, marriage and death records, and the sex-offender locator. Choose BeenVerified when you need more ways to start, such as an email, username, vehicle or VIN, phone number, or address. Its wider stated input list helps when one contact detail is all you have. Neither list proves more complete or accurate results.
Before paying, check the final billing terms: BeenVerified publishes recurring monthly and three-month plans, while TruthFinder’s listing does not clearly state every option’s billing period or renewal terms. Also weigh the 2023 FTC settlement involving TruthFinder’s operators when assessing accuracy claims, and verify serious findings at the original source. If your goal is researching one person for your own decision before meeting or trusting them, start a $15 one-time TheTeaReport report as a narrower option than keeping a general-search subscription.
BeenVerified says it does not notify people when someone looks them up. TruthFinder's notification policy is not established in this comparison, so verify it directly with the company if that detail matters to you.
Do not use either service to decide whether someone gets a job, housing, credit, or insurance. For a decision that affects someone's livelihood or access to housing, confirm the provider's current terms and use a service intended for that purpose.
Criminal records, marriage history, and sex-offender registry checks. All the tea you deserve before you invest your time, energy, and trust.