Finding long-lost loved ones, reconnecting with old classmates, and even performing routine background checks often means relying on people search engines and public records aggregators. Sites like Intelius seem to have these searches cornered, with their extensive databases of personal information. But high subscription costs and strict search limitations have many seeking alternatives to open up their options.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore 11 top alternatives to Intelius for people searches, both free and paid. Whether you need to look up old contacts, vet potential dates, or responsibly investigate new hires, alternatives exist to meet your needs at friendlier price points. Let’s compare the key features, search accuracy, database reliability, and ideal use cases to select the best fit.
Overview of Key Intelius Features
First, let‘s briefly recap what Intelius offers. Founded in 2003, Intelius provides subscribers access to public records aggregator services useful for personal and professional background checks. Some of the key features include:
Reverse Phone Lookups: Enter a phone number to uncover the owner‘s name and other personal details.
Public Records Searches: Access databases with billions of records including criminal offenses, bankruptcies, marriages, divorces, properties owned, professional licenses, and more.
Email Lookups: Identify names, alternate contact info, and social media profiles associated with an email address.
People Search: Input a name, username, or street address to access contact details, relatives, criminal records, current/past addresses, and other intelligence.
While Intelius touts access to over 20 billion public records, its basic search functionalities come with frustrating limitations for many users.
Searches return limited information for free users, requiring paid plans to unlock full reports.
Monthly subscriptions can cost $19.95-$29.95 for unlimited searches.
With these limitations in mind, let’s explore 11 alternatives that aim to open up robust people search tools to users across budgets.
11 Top Intelius Alternatives for People Searches
Based on expert testing and verified customer reviews, these leading alternatives provide expansive databases, innovative search capabilities, transparent pricing, and practical results to outshine Intelius.
1. Truthfinder – Best All-Around Alternative
Truthfinder earns top marks as the best overall Intelius alternative thanks to its combination of affordability, high accuracy rate, and user-friendly interface.
This people search site provides instant unlimited access to public records once registered. You can input a name, phone number, username, email, or address to pull up useful background check intel like:
Criminal Records: Felony and misdemeanor offenses from county, state, and federal databases covering over 650 million records.
Contact Details: Current and past addresses and phone numbers associated with an individual.
Marriages & Divorces: Marriage and divorce records sourced from official databases.
Personal Profiles: Social media profiles and photos, education history, genealogy details, and other biographical info aggregated into reports.
Sex Offender Listings: Cross-checks names against official sex offender registries.
Truthfinder offers top-rated accuracy thanks to their compilation of public records from thousands of sources. Their advanced matching algorithms also unite disparate records to provide comprehensive reports on individuals.
For affordability, Truthfinder offers straightforward pricing starting at just $28.05 per month when billed annually. Savvy users praise the absence of sneaky renewal fees or surprise upcharges.
With over 1 million downloads and top ratings across app stores, Truthfinder proves itself a worthy Intelius alternative. The intuitive interface also makes it easy for beginners to start searching.
Best for: Comprehensive and accurate people searches, criminal background checks, finding old contacts.
👉 Start your TruthFinder free trial
2. Instant Checkmate – Top for Criminal Records
With hundreds of millions of criminal records in its database, Instant Checkmate excels at uncovering felony and misdemeanor offenses across counties, states, and federal districts. Their records span well over 650 million entries, according to the company.
Searches compile criminal offenses, arrest details, incarcerations, upcoming court dates, relatives, contact information, and more. Users praise the ability to uncover criminal histories even when only a first name or city is known about the search subject.
Subscribers can perform as many searches as needed; a helpful perk for legal teams and anyone needing heavy search volume. 24/7 customer support and professional research assistance further makes it a leading choice for public records access.
Pricing starts at $26.78 per month when billed annually. While higher than some competitors, users emphasize its value for criminal and arrest record reliability.
Best for: Finding criminal records, legal investigations, public records access.
3. BeenVerified – Best Reverse Phone Lookup
The aptly named BeenVerified reports accessing over 12 billion public records, plus proprietary sources, to power their people search reports. But their reverse phone lookup capability is arguably their most popular and reliable tool.
In seconds, you can input a phone number to uncover the owner‘s name, age, current address, previous addresses, criminal offenses, bankruptcies, marriage/divorce details, extended relatives, and other useful background intel. Their reverse phone lookup pulls from one of the most robust databases available outside of law enforcement.
Beyond phone searches, users can lookup by name, username, or email to access property records, court judgments, contact details, and more. Real-time access to public records helps identify fraud risks, spot potential dates with violent criminal pasts, or simply reconnect with old friends who you only have a number for.
Pricing is affordable at $19.99 per month, especially for their industry-leading reverse phone lookups. Bulk plans are also available. BeenVerified emphasizes responsible, legal use cases on their site.
Best for: Reverse phone number lookups, due diligence searches, identity verification.
4. Spokeo – Best for Comprehensive Contact Details
With data sourced from thousands of public directories, social networks, marketing lists, business sites, and other sources, Spokeo offers extensive contact details, biographical information, and online profiles on search subjects.
Users praise the ability to input names, usernames, phone numbers, emails, or street addresses to then access a wealth of data points, including:
- Current and past addresses
- Associated phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Social media accounts
- Criminal records
- Bankruptcies
- Age, aliases, and family members
Spokeo‘s strength lies in uncovering robust contact information useful for finding old friends, identifying anonymous digital harassers, or researching potential dates or employees.
Starting at just $14.85 per month when billed annually, Spokeo offers top value. For high-volume searches, corporate plans are available.
Best for: In-depth contact details, email/username searches, finding people.
5. Peoplefinders – Most Flexible Price Plans
PeopleFinders stands out for offering highly flexible pricing tailored to varied use cases. Users can choose from:
Basic Search: Free to access limited data like names, cities, and ages.
Premium Search: $24.95 per month for comprehensive reports.
Pro Search: $44.95 monthly for professional investigations.
Searches compile criminal and arrest records, marriages/divorces, contact information, bankruptcies, judgments, relatives, and other details on individuals.
Ideal for individuals, private eyes, legal teams, or HR professionals based on selected plan. Toggling between free and paid plans as needed makes PeopleFinders a top Intelius alternative when it comes to budget-friendly flexibility.
Best for: Adaptable pricing, professional investigations, flexible search volume.
6. ZabaSearch – Best Free Alternative
As a completely free people search engine, ZabaSearch makes basic contact information accessible to everyone. No need to enter credit card details.
While advanced paid plans unlock added data, the free searches provide names, locations, ages, potential relatives, and email addresses associated with a given name. Free reverse phone lookups are also available.
As long as you have a name or phone number, you can uncover basic intel helpful for reconnecting with old friends, identifying unknown callers, finding relatives, or narrowing in on a search subject.
With over 12 billion public records cited, ZabaSearch still provides expansive reach – especially considering the free access. Just note search accuracy and comprehensiveness may be below paid alternatives. But for basic lookups it remains a top free option.
Best for: Completely free searches, basic contact details, reverse phone lookups.
7. Intelius – Alternative Services Worth Noting
Beyond their main people search databases, Intelius also offers some niche ‘spin-off‘ sites that provide helpful alternatives for specific use cases. These include:
US Search – For professional investigations and due diligence.
People Search Now – Focusing on finding friends and family.
Public Records 360 – Specialized in criminal records.
TruthFinder – General people searches and background checks.
These Intelius-affiliated sites often provide some basic access for free before requiring subscriptions to unlock full reports. They can serve as handy options.
But our comparisons found they lag behind leading alternatives that have outpaced Intelius‘s tools in recent years through innovative tech integrations, more ethical practices, and responsive customer service. Still, for occasional basic searches, they provide helpful options in the Intelius ecosystem.
Best for: Limited or occasional searches within the Intelius environment.
8. PeekYou – Top for Social Media Integration
PeekYou sets itself apart with deep integration of social media activity into its people search reports. So beyond just compiling the usual public records, criminal records, contact details, and demographic info, PeekYou surfaces potentially years‘ worth of social content associated with an individual.
This can include photos, posts, comments, tweets, blog entries, YouTube videos, Amazon reviews, Reddit chatter, and more traced back to a search subject. The ability to dive into these digital breadcrumbs offers unique context into a person‘s interests, views, habits, and relationships across social platforms.
Expect plenty of false positives and irrelevant content as well given common names and limited profile verification. But for simply learning more about a person‘s potential digital footprint, PeekYou offers intriguing capabilities other bare-bones sites lack.
Tiered pricing starts at $2.95 for 5 days of access up to $29.95 per month for professional accounts.
Best for: Social media integration and insights.
9. That‘s Them – Top for Accuracy
That‘s Them earns strong marks for search accuracy thanks to their layered verification processes before surfacing records on individuals. This aims to avoid false positives from users with common names.
By double-confirming info points like addresses, aliases, ages, relatives against multiple databases, That‘s Them reports higher reliability. Useful identity confirmation tools are also provided to further validate you have the correct records for your search subject before acting.
Expect robust public records access, reverse phone lookups, email address searches, and criminal record checks with extra assurance in accuracy.
Use cases span finding old contacts, vetting potential hires/dates, and accountable personal investigations. Subscription plans start at $28.86 per month when billed annually.
Best for: Reliable accuracy ratings, identity verification tools.
10. Radaris – Real-Time Updates
While many people search sites can suffer from outdated or stale data, Radaris emphasizes real-time updating of its public records. This aims to provide the timeliest information on your search subjects as records change.
Expect standard inputs like names, usernames, addresses, phone numbers, and emails to return fresh criminal offenses, contact details, marital status records, relatives, bankruptcies, licenses, traffic citations, and more.
Radaris also cites partnerships across thousands of premium data sources, from marketing databases to social networks, to access expansive information beyond just public record aggregations. Bulk plans available for high-volume users.
Best for: Real-time updated records, expanding data sources.
11. FastPeopleSearch.com – Speedy Searches
As the name indicates, FastPeopleSearch aims to provide rapid results for basic people lookups using a stripped-down, lightweight site. No lengthy questionnaires or cumbersome registration – just start typing in names or numbers.
Within seconds, recent addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, ages, and family member names associated with individuals pop up. Information tends to be more limited compared to fuller-featured alternatives, lacking expansive criminal records or social profiles.
But for ultra-fast searches just to verify contact details on old friends or associates, it delivers admirably. Completely free, making it one of the most accessible basic search tools available.
Best for: Ultra-fast basic searches, free access.
4 Tips for Selecting the Best Intelius Alternative
With so many options to choose from, keep these tips in mind when selecting an Intelius alternative tailored for you:
Compare Core Search Features
Do you primarily need simple contact details and addresses or more in-depth criminal history checks? Define the types of public records access critical for your use case.
Look for Innovative Capabilities
Consider unique features like cross-platform social media linking, real-time public records, or proprietary data sources that enhance traditional people search sites.
Calculate Total Cost of Use
Watch for hidden fees, strict search limits, or confusing pricing tiers that can inflate costs. Favor transparent subscriptions over microcharges that quickly add up.
Check Reliability and Responsible Practices
Scrutinize accuracy claims, source transparency, legal compliance assurances, and ethical guidelines to avoid disreputable services. Trusted alternatives openly address responsible data use.
Public Records Reliability and Regulation
Public records underpin these people search services by providing official data points like criminal offenses, marriages, divorces, bankruptcies, licenses, voter details, and more. But important limitations exist.
Outdated Records: Databases can lag weeks or months behind real-time changes. Double-check info.
Data Entry Errors: Mistakes in public documents can propagate across aggregators. Verify accuracy.
Context Gaps: Crime offenses lack case context. Divorces omit circumstances. Be cautious interpreting records.
Regulations: The Fair Credit Reporting Act and state laws govern background check procedures and fair use of public data like criminal records.
Responsible services provide guidance for complying with regulations and safely interpreting public records. Ultimately though, the onus falls on individuals to verify info and avoid misuse that could violate privacy rights.
People Search Ethics 101
People search tools grant unparalleled access to information useful for finding old connections and gaining insights into new ones. However, without ethics guiding usage, these services risk enabling stalking, harassment, and other troubling privacy violations. Always remember:
Obtain consent where possible before running intensive background checks on friends, dates, colleagues, caregivers or others with whom trust exists. Be transparent.
Confirm records match the right individual to avoid harming innocents. Sites themselves can make mistakes.
Consider context around criminal offenses, divorces, bankruptcies. Don‘t rush to judge.
Verify info using multiple sources. Reports aren‘t perfect.
Respect privacy boundaries set by individuals. Don‘t intrude without permission.
Report harmful behavior like cyberstalking you encounter.
Comply with regulations around credit checks, employment checks, and public records access.
Responsible practices preserve relationships and avoid unjustly harming others. People search tools work best when guided by empathy.
The Bottom Line
Intelius established itself by aggregating billions of public records into powerful people search reports. But high costs and search limitations have consumers seeking alternatives that are both affordable and transparent.
As our comparisons show, excellent options exist like Truthfinder, Instant Checkmate, Spokeo, and PeopleFinders that unlock robust contact details, criminal checks, reverse lookups, and public records access at fair prices.
Take time to align desired features to your specific use case to select the best option. And remember, upholding ethics and individual privacy should remain priorities when using anyone‘s personal information.
