Recruitment · head to head
Checkr vs Indeed
Checkr
Recruitment
Background check platform priced per report, with third-party court fees passed through separately
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Indeed
Recruitment
Job search app aggregating listings, owned by Recruit Holdings, the same parent as Glassdoor
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Indeed has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Checkr advertised per-report prices exclude court and database access fees, so the real cost per candidate varies by jurisdiction and is higher than the sticker in many counties; Indeed search ranking is influenced by which employers pay for sponsored placement, so prominent listings are not purely a match to relevance or seeker preference.
- They diverge on capability: Checkr covers Package pricing, Indeed covers Aggregated job search.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Checkr and Indeed actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Recruitment).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Checkr
- Package pricing
- API and dashboard
- Adjudication tools
- Continuous checks
- Candidate portal
Only in Indeed
- Aggregated job search
- One-click apply
- Job alerts
- Salary and company info
- Skills assessments
- Application tracking
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Checkr
- A company running high-volume hourly or gig hiring that needs API-driven checks integrated into an existing ATSnot Indeed
- A startup or mid-size employer wanting self-service ordering through a dashboard without a dedicated screening account managernot Indeed
- An employer that needs continuous rescreening for driving-related roles rather than a one-time check at hirenot Indeed
- A company budgeting screening costs that needs to model court fee variance across the states it hires innot Indeed
Indeed
- Searching and filtering job listings across many employers and other job boards in one placenot Checkr
- Applying to multiple jobs quickly using a saved Indeed resume via one-click applynot Checkr
- Setting alerts for new postings matching a specific role, location or salary rangenot Checkr
- Checking aggregated salary estimates for a role before an interview or negotiationnot Checkr
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Checkr
- Advertised per-report prices exclude court and database access fees, so the real cost per candidate varies by jurisdiction and is higher than the sticker in many counties
- Turnaround time depends on how fast individual courts process requests, which Checkr does not control and which can stretch well past the advertised average in rural or backlogged counties
- Add-on checks such as MVR, drug screening and education verification are priced separately, so a full pre-employment package can cost significantly more than the base package price suggests
- Enterprise-scale volume requires a custom Enterprise contract rather than the published per-report rates, so large employers cannot rely on the public pricing page to budget
- Compliance obligations under the FCRA and state ban-the-box laws remain the employer's responsibility even though Checkr provides tooling, so legal review is still needed rather than assumed away by the platform
- Candidate disputes and re-adjudication can add days to a hiring timeline, which matters for roles filled under time pressure
Indeed
- Search ranking is influenced by which employers pay for sponsored placement, so prominent listings are not purely a match to relevance or seeker preference.
- It shares the same parent company, Recruit Holdings, as Glassdoor, so treating the two as fully independent sources of employer information overstates their independence from each other.
- Listing quality varies widely since postings are aggregated from many sources, and duplicate, expired or low-quality listings are a common complaint.
- One-click apply can encourage high volume, low-tailoring applications, which employers increasingly filter out with their own screening tools regardless of Indeed's reach.
- Resume and application data uploaded to Indeed is used across its own products and shared with employers a user applies to, which is the trade for the free service.
Pricing, plan by plan
Checkr
On request- Basic$29.99/report
- SSN trace
- Sex offender registry
- Global watchlist
- Essential$59.99/report
- Everything in Basic
- Identity verification
- Unlimited county criminal search
- Complete$94.99/report
- Everything in Essential
- Unlimited state criminal search
- Federal criminal search
Indeed
Free- Job seeker accountFree
- Free search, application and alerts
Which should you pick?
Choose Checkr if
- You need package pricing.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want api and dashboard.
Choose Indeed if
- You need aggregated job search.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android, Web.
- You also want one-click apply.
Questions people ask
- Is Checkr or Indeed better?
- Neither clearly leads. Checkr starts at On request and Indeed at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Checkr or Indeed?
- Indeed has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Checkr and Free for Indeed.
- Does Checkr or Indeed run on more platforms?
- Checkr runs on Web, API. Indeed runs on iOS, Android, Web.
- Can I use Indeed for free?
- Yes. Indeed has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Checkr starts at On request.
- What is Checkr best used for?
- Checkr is most often used for a company running high-volume hourly or gig hiring that needs api-driven checks integrated into an existing ats, a startup or mid-size employer wanting self-service ordering through a dashboard without a dedicated screening account manager, an employer that needs continuous rescreening for driving-related roles rather than a one-time check at hire, a company budgeting screening costs that needs to model court fee variance across the states it hires in. Of those, a company running high-volume hourly or gig hiring that needs api-driven checks integrated into an existing ats and a startup or mid-size employer wanting self-service ordering through a dashboard without a dedicated screening account manager are not what Indeed is typically brought in for.
- What can Checkr do that Indeed cannot?
- Checkr covers Package pricing, API and dashboard, Adjudication tools, Continuous checks. Indeed covers Aggregated job search, One-click apply, Job alerts, Salary and company info.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Checkr: Does the per-report price include court fees?
No. Checkr states that standard third-party court and database access fees are passed through at cost on top of the package price, and these vary by jurisdiction.
Indeed: Is Indeed free for job seekers?
Yes, searching, applying and setting alerts are all free; only employers pay, for sponsored placement.
Checkr: Can Checkr be used without an ATS integration?
Yes, checks can be ordered manually through the Checkr dashboard as well as programmatically through the API.
Indeed: Are Indeed and Glassdoor connected?
Yes, both are owned by Recruit Holdings, the Japanese company that also owns Recruit staffing businesses in Japan.
Checkr: Is pricing different for enterprise volume?
Yes, high-volume employers negotiate an Enterprise contract rather than paying the published per-report rates.
Indeed: Does paying for a sponsored listing guarantee more qualified applicants?
No, sponsorship affects visibility and volume of applications, not their quality.
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