Neither publishes prices. First Advantage, a NASDAQ-listed company based in Atlanta, offers drug and occupational health screening, fingerprinting, tax credits and monitoring, 100+ integrations, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001.
LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.
Scorecard
First Advantage wins 2Accurate Background wins 12 ties
First Advantage vs Accurate Background by dimension
Dimension
First Advantage
Accurate Background
PricingNeither lists prices: First Advantage shows none before sign-in and charges small businesses per screen with no setup fee; Accurate sells through contracted agreements. Quote only1
Quote only
Quote only
CapabilitiesAccurate adds credit checks, sanctions, global searches and a rules-based adjudication engine. First Advantage adds fingerprinting, tax credits and due diligence investigations. Criminal Background Checks, Verifications, Driving History, Drug & Health Screening, Form I-9 & E-Verify, Credit Checks, Identity verification, Monitoring Services, Sanctions, Social Media Searches, Global Searches, Business Intelligence2
10 of 13 core capabilities
13 of 13 core capabilities
IntegrationsFirst Advantage lists 100+ integrations and RESTful APIs. Accurate lists more than 60. 100+3
10 documented (vendor says 100+)
9 documented (vendor says 60+)
Fit and supportFirst Advantage runs a small business offer and serves enterprises, with a support portal and chat. Accurate serves small businesses through enterprises with 24/7 support. Small businesses, enterprises4
Small businesses, enterprises
Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises
SecurityFirst Advantage holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. Both are PBSA accredited; Accurate Background names no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification on the pages we reviewed. Yes5
SOC 2, ISO 27001
None verified
Key differences
Where First Advantage and Accurate Background differ (6)
Pricing. Neither lists prices: First Advantage shows none before sign-in and charges small businesses per screen with no setup fee; Accurate sells through contracted agreements.
Capabilities. Accurate adds credit checks, sanctions, global searches and a rules-based adjudication engine. First Advantage adds fingerprinting, tax credits and due diligence investigations.
Integrations. First Advantage lists 100+ integrations and RESTful APIs. Accurate lists more than 60.
Fit and support. First Advantage runs a small business offer and serves enterprises, with a support portal and chat. Accurate serves small businesses through enterprises with 24/7 support.
Security. First Advantage holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. Both are PBSA accredited; Accurate Background names no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification on the pages we reviewed.
Neither one?
Checkr
Checkr has the highest LeadChange Score in Background Check Services after excluding these two (8.4/10).
Which is better, First Advantage or Accurate Background?
First Advantage suits an employer that wants tax credits, fingerprinting and named security certifications; Accurate suits one that wants 24/7 support and credit checks in the same service list.
What kind of background check does First Advantage run?
Criminal checks, drug and occupational health screening, financial checks, fingerprinting, identity verification, employment and education verification, motor vehicle records and ongoing monitoring.
How fast is First Advantage?
First Advantage reports that 90% of US criminal screens close in one day, with automation on about 90% of US criminal searches.
Is Accurate Background a private company?
Yes. It is privately held and describes itself as the largest minority-owned global provider of employment background screening.
Do First Advantage and Accurate Background integrate with Workday?
Yes. First Advantage names Workday among its integrations, and Accurate lists Workday as a premiere partner.
What are First Advantage alternatives?
Accurate Background is one among quoted screeners, with 24/7 support. HireRight, Checkr and GoodHire are other providers we compare.
Is First Advantage or Accurate Background more secure?
First Advantage states SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 (unverified for Accurate Background).
How this page was made
What it is built from
23 verified facts, each checked against the vendor's own pages or another primary source, most recently on Nov 10, 2026.
Method
Scored and compared with the LeadChange methodology, version 1.5. Read the methodology
Independent review
Not reviewed yet by our independent reviewer. How we review
Hands-on testing
We have not tested either product hands-on: this page uses public information only.
Who made it
The LeadChange Research Team, following a written research process. No named expert has reviewed this page. About us
Independence and errors
Who pays us never changes a score or a rank. If something here is wrong, tell us and we correct it publicly. Request a correction
First Advantage or Accurate Background? Your answer in 3 questions
Your team size, what matters most and your role: see which one fits more of your answers, from verified facts. Then you can ask a provider that takes requests through us for a quote.
LeadChange may earn a fee when you request pricing through our site or follow a sponsored link. Rankings never depend on whether a vendor pays us.We may earn a fee.
How we make money
LeadChange may earn a fee when you request pricing through our site or follow a sponsored link. Rankings never depend on whether a vendor pays us.
The 13 pages this page's facts come from, with the day we last checked each one. The numbers beside the figures above link here.
Quotes from the sources
First Advantage fadv.com/solutions/small-business-background-checks“Pay Only When You Screen With pay-as-you-go pricing, no account setup fees, and no minimum screening volume, you can order checks when you need them.”
Accurate Background accurate.com“Driving History Drug & Health Screening” “1997 Accurate Background founded (July 31) by Dave Dickerson”
First Advantage fadv.com/integrations“Integration Partner Ecosystem: 100+ flexible integration options including Workday, iCIMS, Bullhorn, and more.”
First Advantage trust.fadv.com“Compliance SOC 2 Type 2 ISO/IEC 27001:2022” “ISO/IEC 27001:2022 ISO/IEC 27701:2025 ISO 9001:2015”
Accurate Background accurate.com/about-us/company-facts“Business Model: Enterprise and mid-market background screening services delivered through contracted business agreements” “Number of Integration Solutions and Partners: More than 60 integrated solutions”
First Advantage fadv.com/about-us“Founded in 2003, We Aim to Deliver”
First Advantage (SEC filing) sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1210677/000095017024119269/fa-ex99_1.htm“Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, First Advantage performs screens in over 200 countries and territories” “First Advantage (NASDAQ: FA) is a leading global provider of employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions”
First Advantage fadv.com/api“Our Background Check API Makes Connecting Easy”
Accurate Background accurate.com/solutions/background-check-api“Connect your web or mobile application to an easy-to-use background check API your IT team will love and your HR department won’t want to live without.”
First Advantage (SEC Form 10-K) sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1210677/000119312526076740/fa-20251231.htm“In addition, under the FCRA in the United States, both our customers and we are required to comply with many requirements under the FCRA as well as state-level laws regarding the use and delivery of consumer reports.”
Accurate Background accurate.com/privacy-policy“Most of the personal information we collect is for the purpose of providing a background report under the FCRA.”
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What the LeadChange Score means
A 0–10 editorial assessment built only from verified facts, across six weighted dimensions: capabilities, pricing, integrations, security, fit and support, and data confidence.
High confidence: at least 80% of the critical facts are verified on primary sources.
Medium confidence: at least 50% are; the rest are missing or rely on secondary sources.
Payments, commissions and lead fees are never inputs.