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Comparisons · Updated July 31, 2026

TruthFinder vs BeenVerified: Records, Cost & FTC Case

TruthFinder vs BeenVerified: criminal and court records or phone, email, and vehicle lookups? Compare pricing, the $1 trial, and TruthFinder's FTC settlement.

TruthFinder emphasizes criminal, court, property, and sex-offender lookups. BeenVerified supports more starting clues, including email, username, and vehicle or VIN. BeenVerified also publishes plan prices and a $1 trial renewal, while TruthFinder's iOS listing leaves some billing periods unstated. TruthFinder's operators were covered by a 2023 FTC stipulated order.

Feature comparison

Checkmarks show documented availability. Limited, paid, add-on, and unverified access are labeled separately.

TruthFinder

Right-person matching
Limited

People and reverse-phone searches can connect a subject or number owner with addresses and possible relatives, but no dedicated right-person confirmation workflow is documented.

Criminal records
Not confirmed

Criminal-record searches and criminal history are documented as possible report categories, but the current app listings do not map them to a specific purchase; results remain conditional on available public records.

Sex-offender registry
Not confirmed

A sex-offender locator is documented as a possible report category, but the current app listings do not map it to a specific purchase.

Reverse phone lookup
Add-onUnlimited Phone Reports

Reverse-phone lookup is a primary documented feature and can identify a possible number owner and lead to an available background report.

Reverse email lookup
LimitedUnlimited Email Reports

Apple lists a separately priced Unlimited Email Reports purchase, but the current listing does not describe the report scope.

Social profiles
Yes

TruthFinder says a people-search report may include social-media profiles when available. Access is through the paid people-search report, and profile availability varies by subject.

BeenVerified

Right-person matching
Limited

Email and phone searches return potential identity matches, and the phone product applies confidence levels, but no dedicated human-assisted match confirmation is documented.

Criminal records
Yes

Criminal and traffic records are included with any paid plan, subject to available records and the plan's report limit.

Sex-offender registry
Limited

Reverse-address reports may show possible locations of nearby registered sex offenders; a dedicated person-level registry search is not documented.

Reverse phone lookup
Yes

Reverse-phone lookup is explicitly included with any paid plan.

Reverse email lookup
Yes

Email lookup is explicitly included with any paid plan and can return potential owner, contact, social, work, education, and court information.

Social profiles
Yes

Email, username, phone, and address searches can return social networks or profiles, and all paid plans receive the full feature set.

Features and access terms can change. Confirm current details with each product.

Key differences at a glance

Start with the question you care about, then compare what each service offers.

Published website pricing

TruthFinder
Website memberships are listed from $4.99 to $29.73 per month, with automatic billing until canceled; confirm which report type the displayed price includes.
BeenVerified
$36.89 monthly or $71.94 every three months, equal to $23.98 per month; both plans include up to 100 reports per month.

Short trial and first renewal

TruthFinder
The reviewed sources do not establish a comparable seven-day full-report trial.
BeenVerified
The $1 seven-day offer renews at $32.89 per month unless canceled; paying through the first renewal totals $33.89 before tax.

App-store price labels

TruthFinder
The US iOS listing shows purchases from $2.99 to $67.99 but does not state the billing period or renewal terms for every option.
BeenVerified
The reviewed official website publishes the standard plan terms; app-store purchases follow the billing details shown for the selected store item.

Cancellation and remaining access

TruthFinder
Web memberships can be canceled online or through Customer Care; an app-store purchase uses the cancellation route attached to that purchase.
BeenVerified
Cancel online, by chat, form, email, phone, or app-store settings; access continues through the term already paid for.

Notification statement

TruthFinder
The current official app listings reviewed for this comparison do not say whether a searched person is notified.
BeenVerified
The pricing page says searches and purchases are confidential and that BeenVerified does not notify the person searched.

Employment, housing, credit, or insurance decisions

TruthFinder
Not permitted. TruthFinder says its reports cannot be used for these FCRA-covered eligibility decisions.
BeenVerified
Not permitted. BeenVerified says its reports cannot be used for these FCRA-covered eligibility decisions.

Features and prices can change. Check each service for the latest details.

Four questions that settle this choice

Start with the task, then calculate the first renewal and decide what proof you need before trusting a match. That sequence separates these services more clearly than counting feature labels.

A vehicle or VIN question belongs on the BeenVerified path

BeenVerified explicitly lists vehicle and VIN searches. TruthFinder's reviewed material names people, phone, address, property, court and criminal records, reverse phone, and a sex-offender locator, but it does not name a vehicle or VIN lookup.

Why it matters: Do not buy a broad person report for a vehicle-specific question. Use BeenVerified when the task begins with a vehicle or VIN question. Use TruthFinder only when the person is already identified and the question maps to one of its named record categories.

The $1 trial becomes a $32.89 decision on day eight

BeenVerified's seven-day offer costs $1, then renews at $32.89 per month unless canceled. Its separately published standard plans are $36.89 monthly or $71.94 every three months, with up to 100 reports per month. TruthFinder's US iOS listing shows purchases from $2.99 to $67.99 but does not state the billing period and renewal terms for every item.

Why it matters: A low entry price is not the ongoing price. If the BeenVerified trial is only for one lookup, set the cancellation reminder before day eight. If the task will last longer, compare the standard monthly and three-month totals deliberately. For TruthFinder, do not infer duration from the item price; read the charge screen first.

A record-category label is not proof of the right-person match

In 2023 the FTC alleged that TruthFinder's operators used marketing that could imply a criminal record when the underlying item was sometimes a traffic ticket, made accuracy claims using unverified third-party data, and violated the FCRA. A federal court entered a stipulated order on October 11, 2023 and required the settling defendants to pay a $5.8 million civil penalty. The defendants neither admitted nor denied the allegations, and a court did not decide that the allegations were true. The FTC case page still displays Pending.

Why it matters: Use the regulatory record as a reason to inspect the match, not as a shortcut to a conclusion about a current report. Compare name, age, location, and record date, then open the original court, county, or registry source before a serious finding affects a personal decision. Apply that same source check to BeenVerified results.

Only BeenVerified makes a reviewed notification statement

BeenVerified's pricing page says searches and purchases are confidential and that it does not notify the person searched. TruthFinder's current official app listings do not address notification either way. Silence is not evidence that notification occurs, and it is not a confidentiality promise.

Why it matters: If written non-notification language is part of the purchase decision, BeenVerified supplies it. If considering TruthFinder, ask the company for the applicable policy before searching instead of assuming the brands handle notification the same way.

A closer look at each service

TruthFinder

TruthFinder fits a record-history question after you already have a reliable identity. Its reviewed listings name court, criminal, property, address-history, reverse-phone, and sex-offender searches, but not vehicle or VIN search.

Pros

  • Names court, criminal, property, address-history, reverse-phone, and sex-offender-locator categories.
  • Provides web, iOS, and Android routes for a search that starts with a known name, phone number, or address.

Cons

  • The reviewed listings do not name vehicle or VIN search, so that task points to BeenVerified instead.
  • Several in-app options omit the applicable billing period, renewal terms, and included content.
  • The current app listings do not provide a non-notification statement comparable to BeenVerified's published language.
TruthFinder landing page
TruthFinder landing page · Captured

BeenVerified

BeenVerified fits a vehicle-specific search because its listings explicitly name vehicle and VIN inputs. It also publishes the trial conversion, standard renewal totals, and a written non-notification statement.

Pros

  • Explicitly accepts vehicle and VIN inputs that TruthFinder's reviewed listings do not name.
  • Publishes the $1 seven-day offer's $32.89 monthly conversion and the $71.94 three-month plan total.
  • States that searches and purchases are confidential and that the person searched is not notified.

Cons

  • The $1 entry price lasts only seven days before the $32.89 monthly renewal unless canceled.
  • The three-month plan renews for another three months, so an unused subscription can create a $71.94 repeat charge.
  • App Store reviewers report paywall problems, billing friction, price increases, or blocked report access; these are individual experiences, not measured rates.
BeenVerified landing page
BeenVerified landing page · Captured

Three purchase scenarios that produce different answers

Sign 1: The only hard identifier is a VIN

Use the service that documents that exact input: BeenVerified. Its listings name vehicle and VIN searches; the reviewed TruthFinder listings do not. Starting with a general person search would add cost without answering the vehicle-specific question.

Build a vehicle-match card before searching. Copy the VIN from an independent document or from the vehicle itself, then note any year, make, model, or location already known. Compare the returned identifier and vehicle details with that card. If the VIN or basic vehicle facts conflict, stop instead of attaching the result to the person or vehicle you meant to research. A vehicle lookup can organize vehicle-centered leads; it does not by itself prove who currently owns, drives, or has used the vehicle.

Sign 2: You need one week, not an open-ended membership

BeenVerified's offer is $1 for seven days and then $32.89 per month unless canceled. If the first renewal occurs, the documented charges total $33.89 before taxes: the $1 entry charge plus one $32.89 monthly charge. Put the cancellation decision on the calendar before day eight rather than treating $1 as the lasting price.

Use a four-line cost ledger before checkout:

  • Trial only: $1 if canceled before the first renewal.
  • Trial plus first renewal: $33.89 paid in total before tax.
  • Standard monthly plan: $36.89 for one month.
  • Standard three-month plan: $71.94 paid upfront, equal to $23.98 per month.

The $1 offer and the $36.89 standard monthly plan are separate published purchase paths. Compare the total charge for the path actually shown at checkout, not the trial's entry price against another plan's recurring price.

Sign 3: You already know the person and need a named record category

Both services document overlapping people, property, phone, and public-record categories. TruthFinder's narrower pair-specific distinction is that it explicitly advertises a sex-offender locator; BeenVerified's broader stated starting points include email, username, vehicle, and VIN. If TruthFinder's named locator matches the task, confirm that the exact purchase includes it and shows a billing period before authorizing the charge.

Where this leaves you

Which option is right for you?

Choose BeenVerified when the task starts with a vehicle or VIN, when an email or username is your best starting point, or when you want a published non-notification statement and explicit monthly or three-month renewal terms. Choose TruthFinder when the person is already identified and its specifically advertised sex-offender locator or stated public-record menu matches the task, after confirming what the exact purchase includes. Both services advertise overlapping people, property, phone, and record categories, so those shared labels alone do not settle the choice.

Before buying BeenVerified's $1 seven-day offer, decide whether the intended total is $1 or $33.89 after the first renewal. Before buying TruthFinder, write down the exact item, billing period, and renewal shown on the charge screen. The 2023 FTC stipulated order involving TruthFinder's operators is a reason to scrutinize marketing and match identifiers; the defendants did not admit the allegations, and a court did not rule that they were true. Verify a serious finding at the original court or registry.

For a one-person dating decision, TheTeaReport's $15 single report offers a different billing shape: one purchase instead of an ongoing general-search membership. Compare that fixed total with the subscription path you would otherwise keep.

Common questions about TruthFinder and BeenVerified

Will someone know if I search for them?

BeenVerified's pricing page says searches and purchases are confidential and that it does not notify people when someone looks them up. That is a notification statement, not a promise of broader anonymity. TruthFinder's official app listings do not address notification, so ask the company directly if that detail matters to you.

Can I use TruthFinder or BeenVerified for employment, housing, credit, or insurance decisions?

No. Both companies' current materials say their reports cannot be used to decide employment, housing or tenancy, credit, insurance, or similar eligibility questions. Use an FCRA-compliant screening service built for that purpose instead.

Sources and further reading

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