Intelius is an online public data source that makes it easy for anyone to find and look up information about people. The platform provides services for background checks, public records searches, reverse phone lookups, reverse address lookups, and criminal records searches.

The average person can use Intelius to find information about a friend, old classmate, or learn more about someone they’re dating. It can also be used by business professionals and hiring managers for pre-screening applicants before a comprehensive check. 

Intelius Compared

Intelius ranks high on our list of the best background check companies. It’s the best option on the market for running unlimited background checks. Start your five-day unlimited trial for just $1.99 today.

• Intelius — Best for unlimited background checks
• GoodHire — Best for flexible pricing and intermittent use
• B&B Reporting — Best for next-day background check results
• Accurate — Most affordable background checks for small businesses
• Verifirst — Best background check service for property management companies

To see how Intelius stacks up against similar services on the market, check out our reviews of the best background check companies. 

About Intelius

Intelius is a public records search platform with services for background checks and criminal records searches. It can also be used for reverse phone number lookups, reverse address lookups, and basic people searches. 

• Intelius Background Checks Review
• Intelius Public Records Search Review
• Intelius Criminal Records Search Review
• Intelius Reverse Lookups Review

Individuals can use these services to find more information about people in their lives. Maybe you want to connect with an old friend or make sure someone you met on a dating site doesn’t have a criminal history. Intelius can also be used as a pre-screening step for businesses before running an in-depth employment background check on new hires.

Intelius Health and Stability

Intelius has been around for nearly 20 years. Over the past two decades, it’s been part of multiple acquisitions—helping Intelius expand its service offerings into new spaces. 

Overall, Intelius is a solid and legitimate company that can be mostly trusted for the foreseeable future. With that said, it’s certainly not bulletproof. The company has been involved with some class action lawsuits for violations in California and Washington and paid millions of dollars to plaintiffs in multiple scenarios. 

Intelius clearly states that information obtained through the site may not be 100% accurate or up to date. So while the platform can still be used for a wide range of basic background checks and people searches, you need to take the information with a grain of salt.

Intelius Pricing

Intelius does not have pricing information on its website. You’re typically presented with different purchase options and subscription details while you’re in the process of using one of the services. At some point during the process, Intelius will ask you to create an account and provide billing details. 

With that said, we’ve been able to uncover some pricing details for different Intelius services through our research.

Intelius Pricing Structure

Intelius offers multiple pricing structures for different services. People searches, background checks, and reverse phone lookups can be obtained for a fixed price per report. These range from $3.95 to $49.95 per report based on the information you want to obtain.

For example, if you just want to find someone’s age, address history, and phone number, it will cost less than a report containing their email address, social networks, criminal records, divorce history, and bankruptcies. 

Intelius also offers unlimited report subscriptions that automatically renew every 30 or 60 days, depending on the plan you select. For high-volume users, the subscription structure is the best value offering from Intelius. But those plans usually aren’t worth it for basic one-off searches. 

Intelius Pricing Comparison

Intelius is an affordable option when compared to similar services on the market today. The unlimited checks membership starts at $24.86 per month, and you can save a few dollars per month by getting billed every two months at $42.25.

In comparison, GoodHire starts at $29.99 per background check, with rates ranging up to $79.99 per report. The information in a GoodHire report will be a bit more in-depth than a report obtained from Intelius. GoodHire’s reports include a sex offender registry search, education verification, employment verification, global watchlist, social security number trace, and more.

But that’s only because GoodHire is intended for business employment screening. If you’re just an average person looking to obtain basic reports about someone in your personal life, Intelius is a bargain. 

Similarly, Accurate searches range from $29.95 to $74.95 per report. These rates are more aligned with GoodHire, as this service is also intended for business use. But they’re significantly more expensive than the basic Intelius reports that can be obtained for less than $10.

Intelius Trials and Guarantees

Intelius does not offer any free trials. But for just $1.99 today, you can get unlimited standard reports for the next five days. This is the best value and an easy way to try Intelius without any restrictions. 

Just be aware that if you don’t cancel your membership within the five-day trial period, you’ll automatically be renewed at $29.63 per month until you cancel. 

Intelius offers a 100% no-hassle cancellation. You can manage your account online or call Intelius directly at (888) 245-1655. Phone operators are available Monday to Friday, 9 am to 10 pm EST.

Intelius Background Check Review

Like any background check service, Intelius definitely has its fair share of strengths and weaknesses. Continue below to see where Intelius shines and discover situations when Intelius should be a top consideration. We’ll also cover some potential drawbacks of Intelius and when another service should be considered.

If you think that Intelius won’t accommodate your needs based on the pros and cons below, you can always refer to our in-depth reviews of the best background check companies for more information. 

What Makes Intelius Background Checks Great

• Fast Results: Most background check services on the market take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to generate a report. Some even take a week or more. But with Intelius, you can run background checks and get the results within the same day. The entire process is completed during your browsing session and usually takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. 
• Run Checks With Minimal Information: You don’t need a ton of personal details about someone to run a background check on Intelius. You can get started with a person’s name, phone number, or address. To verify the report is pulling details about the right person, Intelius may ask you to verify certain details about that individual during the process. Examples might include a relative or previous address. But if you don’t know the answer, you can still continue and generate a report. 
• Versatile Use Cases: You can use Intelius for something simple like finding the phone number or address of an old friend or estranged relative. The platform can also be used for something more advanced, such as viewing the criminal history of a new neighbor. Whether you want to quickly check on a person’s history before going on a date or pre-screen candidates before an interview, Intelius has you covered.
• Phone Support: Surprisingly, other background check platforms on the market aren’t easy to get ahold of. But with Intelius, you have access to phone support five days a week from 9 am to 10 pm EST. While the jury is still out on the helpfulness of that support, it’s still nice knowing you can get a real person on the phone if you have questions or need assistance with your account. 
• Affordable: Intelius is one of the cheapest background check services that you can find from a reputable provider. With reports starting at less than $10 each, it undercuts the competition by up to 70%. You can also take advantage of an unlimited five-day trial for just $1.99—which is arguably the best deal in the background check industry. 

Where Intelius Background Checks Fall Short

• Pricing is not transparent: You won’t find any plan information or pricing openly displayed on the Intelius website. There is some membership information buried deep in the terms of use page, but that doesn’t include any of the per-report fees. While some background check companies are similar in the sense that you need to reach out for pricing information, there are plenty of reputable companies that have pricing clearly displayed on their sites. 
• Inaccurate reports: This isn’t something that Intelius tries to hide. It clearly states that the information on reports may not be 100% accurate. So while that’s fine for basic personal use, you can’t use the information to make definitive decisions about hiring someone, extending credit, or anything official. 
• Difficult to cancel or get refunded: Some users report problems when trying to cancel their Intelius membership. Other reviewers complain about customer support reps being unhelpful for refunds and cancellations. In some cases, customers say they were unable to get a refund—even if they didn’t authorize a membership.
• Deceptive billing tactics: There are several complaints online about Intelius using deceptive billing methods to trick people into a recurring subscription. Some users thought they were paying for a single report, only to discover they were being charged monthly for a service. So just make sure you read the fine print before you authorize a payment. For example, if you sign up for the $1.99 five-day trial, your membership will automatically renew at $29.63 if you don’t cancel within the trial period. 
• Limited background checks: Intelius background checks are for personal use. They can’t be used for insurance, credit eligibility, employment, housing, or anything else covered in the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). You can use a public record search from Intelius to get some basic background information on someone, but you’d need to obtain a report from another service for certain use cases. 

Intelius Background Check Services Compared

Intelius ranks first on our list of the best background check services due to its ease of use, versatility, and unlimited background check memberships. 

• Intelius — Best for unlimited background checks
• GoodHire — Best for flexible pricing and intermittent use
• B&B Reporting — Best for next-day background check results
• Accurate — Most affordable background checks for small businesses
• Verifirst — Best background check service for property management companies

Intelius Public Records Search Review

The public records search service and background check service are nearly identical. These reports contain information like phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, ages, email addresses, marriage records, divorce records, and more. 

Rather than trying to obtain each piece of information separately from multiple sources, you can use Intelius to get everything in a single report.

Intelius Criminal Records Search Review

Intelius provides criminal record information within its background check reports. If a criminal history is found, the reports contain the type of offense, date of offense, court name, and case number. You’ll also be able to see the outcome of the charges. 

If you visit the Intelius website and navigate to the criminal records page, you’ll be prompted to go through the same steps as the background check. So it’s essentially the exact same service. 

Intelius Reverse Lookups Review

You can also use Intelius for reverse address lookups and reverse phone lookups. Both of these services are exactly what they sound like.

Start by inputting an address or phone number, and Intelius will tell you who lives at the location or who the number belongs to.

For reverse address lookups, reports may contain information like:

• Ownership history
• Census information
• Previous residents
• Neighbors
• Crime statistics
• Location type (residential or commercial)

The phone lookups contain the business or owner’s name, phone carrier, phone type, and location associated with the number. You can even find out whether the number is tied to a landline or cell carrier. 

Final Verdict

Intelius is a solid option for anyone looking for basic public information. You can use it for background checks, criminal records, reverse phone and address lookups, and public records searches. 

We recommend Intelius for personal use. Since the information is not 100% accurate, it can’t be used for complete employment screenings or credit checks. But you can use it as a pre-screening step for applicants before running them through a thorough background check for purposes related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Source: quicksprout

Intelius Review