A Spokeo alternative for registry and criminal checks: Spokeo vs OffenderSearch, feature by feature.
Spokeo is a broad people-data platform. OffenderSearch is a self-serve registry search. Here is how they compare for that one job.
| What matters | OffenderSearch | Spokeo |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A focused search of the 58 US sex offender registries, plus criminal records on the same key | A broad people-data platform: contact details, addresses, social profiles and public records |
| API access | Self-serve: the key is issued at sign-up, with public docs and an OpenAPI file | A business API, arranged through Spokeo’s team |
| Price | $0.15 a search, $0.11 past 2,000 a month, published on the pricing page | Consumer membership; business pricing arranged with Spokeo |
| Free evaluation | 25 searches, no card | See Spokeo for current trial terms |
| Registry search | The whole product: 58 registries per search, the registry named on each match | Part of a broad person profile |
| Which registries answered | A per-source status on every response | See Spokeo’s documentation |
| Match evidence | matchConfidence, matchBasis and matchState on every record | See Spokeo’s documentation |
| Bulk | Up to 1,000 people per batch request, or a CSV in the dashboard | Batch append for contact enrichment |
| AI agents | A hosted MCP server on the same key | Markets an MCP integration |
| Contact enrichment and skip tracing | Not offered | Offered |
| FCRA status | Standard results are not a consumer report; FCRA-regulated use via FCRA Partner Access | States it is not a consumer reporting agency |
Spokeo is a trademark of its respective owner; this comparison is for informational purposes and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Spokeo. Statements about Spokeo reflect its own public website. Standard OffenderSearch results are public-record data, not a consumer report; employment, tenancy and other FCRA-covered decisions run through FCRA Partner Access.
Why people switch from Spokeo for registry checks. The registry question, asked on its own and priced on its own.
Self-serve from the first minute
Sign up and the key works. There is no test key to request, no call to book and no contract to sign before your first search.
Registries are the product
Every search is built around the registry question: 58 jurisdictions, scored matches, duplicates merged and the official record linked.
The price is on the page
$0.15 a search, $0.11 past 2,000 a month, 25 free. No seats and no minimum on search. See pricing.
Partial answers are visible
If a registry does not answer, the response says so by name, so a gap is never read as a clean result.
A dashboard for non-developers
Trust and safety or HR staff can search names and upload rosters with no code, on the same account as the API.
Criminal records on the same key
County court, jail, prison and warrant records through the criminal records API, at the same price per search.
What Spokeo and OffenderSearch have in common
Parity stated plainly. These are not reasons to switch, and we do not pretend they are.
- Both offer an API for software teams
- Both support batch requests
- Both market an MCP integration for AI agents
- Both offer a web app for single lookups
- Neither standard product is an FCRA consumer report
- Both include public-record data
When to choose Spokeo instead of OffenderSearch. We would rather you pick the right tool than switch twice.
Choose OffenderSearch if…
- You need a registry check inside your product, starting today
- You want a published per-search price with no contract
- You need to know which registries answered on every search
- Non-developers on your team need a dashboard on the same account
- You also need criminal records on the same key
Choose Spokeo if…
- You need contact enrichment, reverse lookup or skip tracing
- You want a broad person profile rather than a registry answer
- You already have a Spokeo business agreement that covers your use
We would rather you pick the right tool than switch twice. If that is Spokeo, this page did its job.
For the registry question — is this person registered, and who is registered near here — OffenderSearch gives a self-serve, per-search answer across the 58 US registries with the official record attached. For broad people data, Spokeo is the wider platform.
How to switch from Spokeo to OffenderSearch. A key, a first search, then your list.
There is no schema to migrate from a people-data API for this job. Add the registry call beside what you already run.
- 1
Get a key
Sign up; the key works immediately with 25 free searches.
X-API-Key - 2
Send one search
A name and date of birth return scored matches across 58 registries.
POST /v1/search - 3
Branch on the match
Clear a no-match, route year- or age-only matches to a reviewer, act on a full date-of-birth match.
matchState - 4
Go to volume
Batch up to 1,000 people per request, with webhooks on async jobs.
POST /v1/batch
Spokeo API vs OffenderSearch API for a registry check
What an integrator needs from a registry call, and where each one lives in our response.
| You need | OffenderSearch field or endpoint |
|---|---|
| How the date of birth was checked | matchState: dob_match, year_match, age_match and more |
| Why it matched | matchBasis: each field and how it matched — exact, nickname, alias, fuzzy |
| How much identity evidence | matchConfidence, a score from 0 to 1 |
| Which registries answered | sourceStatus on every response |
| The official record | A registry link on every record |
| Volume | POST /v1/batch, up to 1,000 people |
| Async with callback | POST /v1/searches with a webhook URL |
Full reference in the API docs.
curl https://api.offendersearch.app/v1/search \
-H "X-API-Key: $OFFENDERSEARCH_KEY" \
-d '{"query":{"firstName":"Jordan",
"lastName":"Sample","dob":"1980-04-12"}}'
{ "status": "complete",
"counts": { "sourcesQueried": 58,
"sourcesComplete": 58,
"records": 1 },
"records": [ { "matchState": "dob_match",
"matchConfidence": 0.98 } ] }Teams that use a Spokeo alternative for registry screening
Marketplaces and apps
Check providers or hosts at sign-up with one API call, and re-check on a schedule with monitoring.
Youth and volunteer programs
Upload a roster and get one scored result per person. See bulk screening.
Property teams
Check who is registered near a property by address and radius. See sex offenders near me.
Making a hiring or tenant decision? Use an FCRA workflow.
FCRA workflows are built primarily for tenant screening and hiring decisions. If a result will help decide whether to hire someone or rent to them, the check has to run as an FCRA-regulated consumer report, with a permissible purpose, consent, accuracy controls and a dispute path for the person. Our standard search and API are not a consumer report. FCRA workflows run through FCRA Partner Access, for background check companies and screening platforms under a written FCRA agreement.
FCRA pricing is quoted per partner, so contact us for pricing.
Contact us for FCRA pricingHow FCRA workflows workSpokeo alternative FAQ: what people ask before switching
Is OffenderSearch a Spokeo alternative?
Does OffenderSearch have an API like Spokeo?
How much does a registry search cost?
Can I enrich contacts or skip trace with OffenderSearch?
Can I use results to screen employees or tenants?
What does a search cover?
Can an AI agent run the search?
How do I test it against what I use now?
Beyond Spokeo: what else OffenderSearch searches
Try a Spokeo alternative free — 25 searches, no card
No subscription. Your API key and the no-code dashboard both work the moment you sign up.