SafestHires as a First Advantage alternative
First Advantage alternatives tend to be shortlisted by teams that like the breadth of a global program but want simpler commercial terms: no annual commitment, no platform fee, and a quote they can model against their real search mix before signing anything.
Short answer
Is SafestHires a good First Advantage alternative?
SafestHires is a veteran-owned screening provider evaluated as a First Advantage alternative by mid-market and multi-site employers that want global-capable coverage without an enterprise contract. Both cover criminal, verification, MVR/DOT, drug testing, and healthcare exclusion categories; SafestHires prices per check with no minimum and staffs every account with a named U.S.-based manager.
Where SafestHires fits
SafestHires delivers enterprise-category coverage on mid-market commercial terms — per check, no minimum, with a named U.S.-based account manager on every account.
The comparison below is intended to help you shortlist, not to rank providers. Score both against the same criteria — pricing model, turnaround by search type, court coverage in your hiring counties, dispute rate, escalation path, and integrations.
Side by side
| Consideration | SafestHires | First Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per check, à la carte, with a live estimator and a written quote inside one business day. | Enterprise pricing quoted by program, commonly with volume commitments. |
| Accuracy signal | Reported dispute rate under 0.02%; findings confirmed at the source court. | Comparable national coverage; ask for published dispute and reinvestigation metrics. |
| Coverage | 3,000+ digital courts, national database, verifications, MVR/DOT, drug testing, healthcare exclusions, international. | Global program breadth across the same categories. |
| Support | Named U.S.-based account manager on every account, with live escalation on stalled jurisdictions. | Account management generally scaled to program size. |
First Advantage details reflect publicly published information at the time of writing and can change. Confirm current terms directly with each provider before making a decision.
What to check before you switch
- Model annual spend on your actual search mix rather than a headline per-report price.
- Ask which searches are fulfilled by direct court access versus database-only, and how database hits are confirmed.
- Request dispute rate and reinvestigation turnaround in writing — it is the clearest accuracy signal a vendor can give you.
- Confirm who owns escalation when a county or an international verification stalls.
Frequently asked questions
How does SafestHires compare to First Advantage on accuracy?
SafestHires confirms criminal findings at the source court rather than reporting database hits alone and reports a dispute rate under 0.02%. Ask any provider you are considering for its dispute rate and reinvestigation turnaround in writing, and compare on the same definition.
Do we lose global coverage by switching to SafestHires?
International criminal records, education, and employment verifications are available by country. Send the list of countries you actually hire in and you will get country-level availability and turnaround before you commit.
How fast can we switch providers?
Most teams are ordering within a few business days. Account setup, user provisioning, and package configuration are handled by a named account manager, and existing ATS integrations are re-pointed rather than rebuilt.
Is there a minimum volume or annual contract?
No. SafestHires prices per check with no platform fee, no seat license, and no annual minimum. You can estimate your spend on the pricing page before talking to anyone.