OffenderSearch vs offenders.io
Two sex offender registry APIs, compared on what each one publishes. OffenderSearch searches 58 US registries; every result names its registry and carries lastCheckedAt, with a match score, per-source status and a drop-in compatibility endpoint for existing offenders.io integrations. Where offenders.io is stronger, the table says so.
25 free calls · no card · $0.15 a call, $0.11 past 2,000 a month
| OffenderSearch | offenders.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per call | $0.15 → $0.11 | $0.20 → $0.15 |
| Free calls | 25 at sign-up | 50 a month |
| Match score | Every record | Not documented |
| Per-source status | Every response | errors array |
| Report | +$0.02 | $7.99 |
offenders.io vs OffenderSearch, feature by feature. Every offenders.io cell states what offenders.io publishes about itself.
| Feature | OffenderSearch | offenders.io |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdictions | Searches 58 US registries — the 50 states, DC and the territories; every result names its registry | Publishes 184 state, territory and tribal registry jurisdictions |
| Free usage | 25 free calls when you sign up, no card | First 50 requests free every month |
| Base price | $0.15 a call for the first 2,000 each month, then $0.11 | $0.20 a call for the next 2,000 after the free 50, then $0.15 |
| Name tolerance | strict / balanced / broad matching, nicknames and aliases, at the base price | Fuzzy matching as a +$0.02 a call add-on |
| Live check at the registry | Live re-verification of the registries you name, +$0.02 per registry, capped at $2.00 a search | Extensive Mode live registry lookups where available, +$0.05 a call |
| Match score | matchConfidence, matchBasis and matchState on every record | Not in their public API documentation |
| Per-source status | sourceStatus names each registry that answered and each that did not | An errors array flags incomplete results |
| Freshness on the record | lastCheckedAt on every result | Record timestamps; see their documentation |
| Housing status | Homeless, incarcerated or housed, in one field, where the registry states it | Not in their public API documentation |
| Radius search | Up to 100 miles, at the base price | 1 to 100 miles; GIS add-on plans listed from $99 a month |
| Verification report | PDF or HTML report, +$0.02 each | $7.99 per completed report |
| Batch | POST /v1/batch, up to 1,000 people per request, or a CSV in the dashboard | A CSV batch web tool, 10,000+ records per session |
| Webhooks | Async searches notify your URL; monitoring alerts are signed | Not in their public API documentation |
| Monitoring | Person ($3/mo) and address ($10/mo) watches with alerts | A createdAtStart filter for building your own new-record alerts |
| MCP server | Hosted MCP server on the same key | MCP server offered |
| FCRA programs | FCRA Partner Access under a written agreement: orders with consent, the check, dispute and adverse action. See FCRA Partner Access | Separate written agreements for FCRA programs |
| Facial search | Not offered | Controlled-access facial recognition |
| Availability SLA | Enterprise terms on request | Publishes a 99.9% availability SLA |
| Switching cost | A compatibility endpoint accepts the offenders.io request shape and returns its envelope — see the migration page | Native to its own schema |
offenders.io vs OffenderSearch pricing at 1,000 to 100,000 calls a month
Base calls only, computed from each company's published per-call tiers. Add-ons are where the totals move: offenders.io lists fuzzy matching at +$0.02 a call, Extensive Mode at +$0.05, GIS add-on plans from $99 a month and verification reports at $7.99 each. Here, match tolerance and radius search are part of the base call, live re-verification is +$0.02 per registry you name and a verification PDF is +$0.02.
Full pricing ›| Calls a month | OffenderSearch | offenders.io | How offenders.io's figure is built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $150 | $190 | 950 billable at $0.20 |
| 5,000 | $630 | $842.50 | 2,000 at $0.20, 2,950 at $0.15 |
| 20,000 | $2,280 | $3,092.50 | 2,000 at $0.20, 17,950 at $0.15 |
| 100,000 | $11,080 | $15,092.50 | 2,000 at $0.20, 97,950 at $0.15 |
OffenderSearch: $0.15 for each of the first 2,000 calls in a calendar month, $0.11 after, no setup fee, seats, search minimum or contract. The 25 free calls are a one-time trial and are not deducted above. offenders.io: the first 50 requests each month free, the next 2,000 at $0.20 and every request after at $0.15, as its pricing page lists them; enterprise pricing is custom. The full schedule is on pricing.
Why teams choose OffenderSearch over offenders.io
A reason on every match
matchConfidence, matchBasis and matchState tell you how much identity evidence a record carries and why it matched, so routing a weak match to review is one branch in your code. See matching ›
Partial answers you can see
sourceStatus names each registry that answered in full and each that did not, so an incomplete search is never read as a clean result. See result completeness ›
Freshness on the record
lastCheckedAt on every result, and optional live re-verification of the registries you name in the same request.
Lower cost at volume
$0.11 past 2,000 calls a month against a published $0.15, with match tolerance and radius included in the base call.
Webhooks and monitoring built in
Async searches call your URL when they finish; person and address monitors send signed alerts. See async and webhooks ›
Criminal records on the same key
County court, jail, prison and warrant records through the criminal records API and the criminal records API, priced the same.
Is OffenderSearch the right offenders.io alternative for you? Start with what both APIs share, then the cases where offenders.io fits better.
Where offenders.io and OffenderSearch are the same
Parity stated plainly, because a buyer will find it in an afternoon anyway.
- Both are REST APIs returning JSON, with an API key
- Both offer radius search up to 100 miles
- Both offer a live check at the registry for an extra charge
- Both offer verification reports
- Both offer CSV batch screening
- Both offer an MCP server for AI agents
- Both are pay-as-you-go with no setup fee
- Both offer FCRA-regulated programs under a separate agreement
When offenders.io is the better choice
Choose OffenderSearch if…
- You want a match score and a reason on every record
- You need to know which registries answered on every call
- Your volume is past 2,000 calls a month
- You want webhooks and monitoring without building them
- You also need criminal records on the same key
Choose offenders.io if…
- You need tribal registry jurisdictions
- You need facial search
- A recurring 50 free requests a month covers your volume
- A published 99.9% availability SLA is a procurement requirement
We would rather you pick the right tool than switch twice.
How to evaluate offenders.io and OffenderSearch on your own traffic
An afternoon is enough. Test on the names your product actually sends, not a demo list.
Get both keys. 25 free calls here, no card. Use their monthly free requests on the other side.
Send the same names. Point the compat endpoint at your existing calls, or send /v1/search natively.
Diff record sets. Compare each result's official registry link and jurisdiction. A count can match while the people differ.
Price your month. Multiply your volume and add-ons by each published price list, as in the table above.
What an OffenderSearch response includes that you can test against offenders.io
POST /v1/compat/sexoffender · same parameters, same envelope // native /v1/search, one record { "status": "complete", "elapsedMs": 142, "records": [ { "name": { "full": "Jordan A. Sample" }, "dob": "1980-04-12", "dobPrecision": "exact", "matchState": "dob_match", "matchConfidence": 0.98, "matchBasis": ["lastName:exact", "firstName", "dob"], "housingStatus": "housed", "sources": [ { "jurisdiction": "NJ", "recordUrl": "https://…", "lastCheckedAt": "2026-10-09T07:50:12Z" } ] } ], "sourceStatus": [ { "source": "NJ", "status": "ok", "incomplete": false }, … ] }
One normalized record per person, merged across states: names and aliases, date of birth or age with its precision, typed addresses with coordinates where the registry publishes one, statute-level offenses with every conviction, risk level, physical description, photographs and the official registry link, in a 76-field schema. Around the records, sourceStatus, elapsedMs and a partial status rather than a silent timeout. Record object reference › · Sex offender API endpoints › · Freshness ›
Sex offender search tools compared side by side. Every kind of tool a reader might be replacing, on the rows that decide the choice.
| OffenderSearch | offenders.io | NSOPW | Family Watchdog | People-search memberships | Checkr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Registry checks, rosters and software | A registry data API | Free public lookups | Browsing a free map | Broad reports on one person | End-to-end hiring screens |
| Price | $0.15 a search, $0.11 past 2,000/mo | $0.20 then $0.15 a call; 50 free a month | Free | Free | Membership | Packages from $29.99 a report |
| State registries in one search | 58 US registries | 184 jurisdictions incl. tribal | Incl. participating tribes | On a map | Inside a person report | Inside a candidate report |
| Match labels on each record | Score, basis and DOB match state | Not in public API docs | Review results yourself | Review results yourself | Within the report | Adjudicated in workflow |
| Which registries answered | Per-source status, every response | errors array | Grouped by jurisdiction | — | — | Within the report |
| Roster or batch | CSV or 1,000 per API request | CSV batch tool | One search at a time | Batch via its sales team | One report at a time | Per-candidate orders |
| Self-serve API | Key at sign-up, plus MCP | Yes, plus MCP | Website and mobile app | API via its sales team | Mostly consumer apps | API for platforms |
| Monitoring and alerts | Person $3/mo, address $10/mo | Build it with a date filter | Varies by jurisdiction | Free neighborhood alerts | Varies by service | Continuous monitoring |
| FCRA consumer report | Via FCRA Partner Access | Separate written agreement | Not a consumer report | Not a consumer report | State they are not CRAs | Its core product |
"People-search memberships" covers BeenVerified, TruthFinder, Intelius, Instant Checkmate and Spokeo's consumer product. All names are trademarks of their respective owners; this comparison is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. NSOPW is a public resource of the US Department of Justice, named here only as a place to double-check a record. Competitor cells reflect each company's public website, October 2026. Standard OffenderSearch results are not a consumer report. All ten comparisons on the alternatives hub ›
How to choose a sex offender search tool. The right tool depends on the job. Sometimes the honest answer is not us.
| If you need | A good fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A broad personal report on one person | A people-search membership | Contacts, relatives and history beyond the registry |
| A free, one-off public lookup | NSOPW, the national public website | Free, government-run, one search at a time |
| A map of your neighborhood | A free registry map | Visual pins and free alerts for an area |
| Registry checks on people or rosters, with official links | OffenderSearch | Labelled matches across 58 registries, per search |
| Registry search inside your own software | OffenderSearch API | REST API, batch, monitoring and webhooks |
| Tribal registries or facial search in an API | offenders.io | Both are on its published feature list |
| Hiring or tenant screening | An FCRA-regulated screening company | Consumer reports with notice and dispute rights; ours run through FCRA Partner Access |
Sex offender search pricing without a subscription
No subscription, no seats and no minimum on search. Your first 25 searches free; $0.15 a search, $0.11 past 2,000 a month; live re-verification +$0.02 per registry; a verification PDF +$0.02. Pricing ›
Sex offender monitoring: a standing watch, not a one-time search
A search answers once, the moment you look. Monitoring watches a person by name and date of birth ($3 a month) or an address and radius ($10 a month) and alerts you when the registry changes. Sex offender monitoring ›
Questions to ask any sex offender search provider
Whichever tool you choose, these answers tell you whether a result can be relied on.
Which registries does a search cover?
Ask for the list by name. A search that covers some states can return "no match" for a person registered in another.
How do I know if a registry did not answer?
Registries go offline. A good result says which ones answered; otherwise an outage looks like a clean record.
Why did this record match?
Look for the match basis: full date of birth, birth year, age or name only. A name alone is not an identification.
Can I see the official record?
Each record should link to the registry entry that published it, so a person can confirm before acting.
What may I use the result for?
Awareness and safety checks are one thing. Hiring and tenant decisions need an FCRA-regulated consumer report.
What does it cost at my volume?
Compare a per-search price, a membership and a contract at the number of searches you actually run.
Switching from offenders.io: the migration path. Switching to OffenderSearch from another sex offender search follows the same route.
The /v1/compat/sexoffender endpoint accepts offenders.io's parameters and returns its { offenders, page, totalPages } envelope, so you switch by changing the base URL and API key. The parameter map and a week-by-week cut-over plan live on the offenders.io migration page; the native endpoint's additions are in the migration guide.
The offenders.io API alternative cut-over, week by week: keep your integration, change the base URL and key.
| Week | Step | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Add the key, point the compat endpoint at staging, diff on real names | None in prod |
| 2 | Shadow traffic in prod, compare registry links and counts | Read-only |
| 3 | Cut over by base URL and key; keep the old key one more week | Reversible |
| 4 | Move to native /v1/search for matchState, sourceStatus and webhooks | Your pace |
Every vendor is compared in the best sex offender APIs of 2026, and the other comparisons are on the alternatives hub.
OffenderSearch vs offenders.io: frequently asked questions
Is OffenderSearch a drop-in replacement for offenders.io?
Yes. The /v1/compat/sexoffender endpoint accepts offenders.io’s parameters and returns its { offenders, page, totalPages } envelope, so you switch by changing the base URL and API key. The step-by-step plan is on the offenders.io alternative migration page.
How does OffenderSearch pricing compare with offenders.io?
OffenderSearch is $0.15 a call, $0.11 past 2,000 a month. offenders.io's pricing page lists the first 50 requests free each month, then $0.20 a call for the next 2,000 and $0.15 after that. Add-ons differ too: offenders.io lists fuzzy matching at +$0.02 a call and Extensive Mode at +$0.05; here match tolerance is a request parameter at the base price and live re-verification is +$0.02 per registry, capped at $2.00.
What does OffenderSearch return that offenders.io does not document?
A match score with its basis on every record, a per-source status block naming each registry that answered, normalized housing status, webhooks on async searches and built-in person and address monitoring. Each is in our public API reference; none appears in their public API documentation as of October 2026.
Where is offenders.io stronger?
offenders.io publishes 184 jurisdictions including tribal registries, a recurring 50 free requests a month, a 99.9% availability SLA and controlled-access facial search. If those decide it, offenders.io is the better fit.
Does OffenderSearch have more records than offenders.io?
We do not claim that. Record counts move daily and depend on how duplicates are counted. Compare record sets on your own names: diff the official registry link and jurisdiction of each result, not a headline total.
How fresh is an OffenderSearch result?
Every result carries lastCheckedAt, and you can ask for live re-verification at the registry in the same request. See freshness in the docs.
Can we use either for hiring or tenant decisions?
Only through an FCRA-regulated program. offenders.io describes separate written agreements for FCRA programs; here it is FCRA Partner Access. Standard results on either are not a consumer report.
How should a buyer evaluate an offender-data API?
Run the same names through both. Check whether each record carries its own freshness stamp, whether the response says which sources answered, whether a match tells you why it matched, whether the fields you need are populated on real records, and what the total cost is at your monthly volume.
Run offenders.io and OffenderSearch side by side — free
25 free calls, no card. Point the compat endpoint at your existing integration and diff the answers on real traffic.