Short answer: BeenVerified vs Spokeo mostly comes down to the clue you start from. Both sell people-search memberships to consumers, and both say they are not consumer reporting agencies. Spokeo accepts a username in its email search and lets you start a search for free before you unlock a profile. BeenVerified lists a vehicle and VIN lookup and a property search that returns deed, mortgage and value details for an address. For a name, a phone number or an email address, both list a search — so try each on your own name before paying.
Each point below comes from the companies’ own material, read on September 30, 2026: Spokeo’s website, help center, opt-out page and Android app listing, and BeenVerified’s FAQ, opt-out page and app store listings. There are no scores, prices or winner badges.
BeenVerified and Spokeo, side by side
| Question | BeenVerified | Spokeo |
|---|---|---|
| Searches it lists | People search, phone lookup, email search, property search by address, vehicle and VIN lookup and social media search, plus a dark web scan and an unclaimed money lookup | Name, phone number, email, address and username |
| Social profiles | A social media search that finds “additional social media accounts and contact information where available”; its email search returns linked social details | Public profiles tied mainly to an email address or username, including dating sites; private profiles may not appear |
| Starting without paying | Not described on the pages we could read | Search free, then choose “Unlock Profile” or a membership plan |
| How access is sold | Subscriptions; its App Store listing shows several report plans, some covering both app and web | Membership; court and historical record searches are add-ons to the standard plan |
| Mobile apps | iPhone and iPad (App Store) and Android (Google Play) | Spokeo Mobile on Google Play (Android), for existing members only; sign-up and purchases happen on the website |
| Cancelling | From your account, by email with your membership ID, or by phone | Cancel button under Manage Account, or the contact form’s “Terminate Now” option; a confirmation email follows, and pausing is an alternative |
| Removing your listing | Opt-out page: search for your listing and request removal; other listings may need their own opt-out | Paste each listing’s web address into the opt-out form, then click the emailed link; 24–48 hours |
| FCRA status | Not a consumer reporting agency; says its information isn’t collected or provided for consumer reports | Not a consumer reporting agency; don’t use it for credit, employment, tenant screening or other FCRA purposes |
Two differences matter in practice. Spokeo accepts a username, which none of BeenVerified’s listed searches mention; BeenVerified covers vehicles, which Spokeo’s don’t. The rest — names, numbers, emails and addresses — overlaps, so the choice turns on the membership terms and on how cleanly each report separates people who share a name.
Which clue do you have?
A report is only as good as the clue it starts from. Line up what you know with what each company lists:
| Your clue | BeenVerified | Spokeo | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| First and last name | People search | Name search | Namesakes; confirm with an age range and a city |
| Phone number | Reverse phone lookup: owners, locations and user comments | Reverse phone: the owner’s name, the address the phone is registered to, the carrier | Reassigned numbers still point to former owners |
| Email address | Email search: the owner’s name, contact details and social media | Reverse email lookup, including social profiles | Shared, recycled or abandoned addresses |
| Username or handle | No username search listed | Type it into the email search | Strangers reuse the same handles |
| Street address | Property search: deed, mortgage and property value | Reverse address: current and past residents, owner information | People move; read the dates |
| Vehicle or VIN | Vehicle and VIN lookup | No vehicle search listed | A car’s history isn’t a person’s identity |
| A photo | No photo search listed | No photo search listed | Use a reverse image search instead |
Run the same test on both: your own name
Your own name is the one search where you already know every right answer, which makes it the fairest way to compare the two. Spokeo’s help center even warns that outdated or incorrect details can end up in a report next to current ones — so see what each service gets wrong about you before you trust it with anyone else.
- Search your full name with your current state on both sites, on the same day.
- Count how many candidates share your name, then open the one that should be you.
- Compare the addresses, age range, relatives and phone numbers with what you know.
- Look for anything that belongs to a namesake: a case, a license or an address you never had.
- Note whether each report admits what it couldn’t find, instead of implying nothing is there.
Then mark each report against this list:
- Every address is a place you really lived, and the current one is marked as current.
- Your real age falls inside the age range shown.
- Listed relatives are family, not strangers who happen to share your surname.
- Nothing in the court or licensing sections is a namesake’s.
- Phone numbers you gave up years ago are labeled as old.
- The renewal date and the cancellation route are written down before any charge.
A report that confuses you with a namesake will confuse other people the same way. Before relying on any record, confirm it with the office that holds the original — the right-person checklist walks through how.
Removing yourself from BeenVerified and Spokeo
These are separate companies, so a request to one does nothing at the other. Keep the date of each request.
BeenVerified. On its opt-out page, search for the listing that describes you and ask for it to be removed. BeenVerified says other listings about you may need their own opt-out, so repeat the search with name variations and old cities.
Spokeo. Copy the web address of each Spokeo listing about you, paste it into the form on its opt-out page and click the link in the confirmation email. Spokeo says requests are processed within 24–48 hours and that each listing must be opted out on its own.
Afterwards. Spokeo warns that information may reappear without notice, so search both sites again in a few months. The guide to getting off people-search sites covers the rest, and Recordwell’s removal form is free if you want to be off Recordwell as well.
Not for screening tenants, employees or borrowers
Both companies rule out the same uses. Spokeo tells visitors not to use its site for decisions about credit, employment, tenant screening or any other purpose covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. BeenVerified says it isn’t a consumer reporting agency because its information isn’t collected or provided for consumer reports.
A rental, hiring or lending decision needs a consumer reporting agency instead. The CFPB’s list of consumer reporting companies includes tenant-screening and employment-screening firms, and the FTC’s guidance for landlords sets out what an applicant must be told when a report leads to a refusal.
Recordwell sits under the same limit. Its FCRA notice lists the uses it rules out, and the article on how a people search differs from a background check explains why.
Where Recordwell fits
Recordwell answers a narrower question than either service: of the people who share a first and last name, which one do you mean? You can also enter an @username or a supported public-profile link. There is no phone, email, VIN or photo search. It keeps namesakes apart and presents possible matches for review; no fixed number of agreeing details establishes identity, and uncertain connections should stay unresolved.
So if your clue is a username, Spokeo lists a way in, and if it’s a VIN, BeenVerified does. A full Recordwell report requires a plan, including when you search your own name. Removing yourself is free. For wider comparisons, see sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified alternatives and BeenVerified vs TruthFinder.
How we compared them
On September 30, 2026 we read Spokeo’s home page, its help center articles on subscriptions, purchases, cancellation, search privacy and accuracy, its opt-out page and its Google Play listing. BeenVerified’s entries rest on its FAQ and opt-out page as checked that day and on its App Store and Google Play listings. Nothing here is a test result, a score or a price, and either company can change its terms without notice.
BeenVerified vs Spokeo: common questions
Is BeenVerified better than Spokeo?
Neither wins across the board. Spokeo takes a username and lets you start a search free; BeenVerified lists vehicle, VIN and property searches. For names, phone numbers and emails both list a search, so compare the membership terms and test each with your own name.
Can BeenVerified or Spokeo search by username?
Spokeo can: its reverse email lookup accepts a username and returns matching public profiles. BeenVerified lists a social media search and an email search, but its listings don’t mention a username as a starting point.
Do BeenVerified and Spokeo have mobile apps?
BeenVerified has apps for iPhone and iPad and for Android. Spokeo Mobile is on Google Play for existing members only; you sign up and pay on Spokeo’s website.
How do I cancel BeenVerified or Spokeo?
On Spokeo, open your account page, go to Manage Account and press Cancel, or use the contact form’s Terminate Now option; Spokeo emails a confirmation and the membership stops renewing. BeenVerified says you can cancel from your account, by email with your membership ID, or by phone.
How do I remove myself from BeenVerified and Spokeo?
Send a separate request to each. On BeenVerified’s opt-out page, find your listing and request removal. On Spokeo, paste each listing’s web address into the opt-out form and click the emailed link. Check both again after a few months.
Can I use BeenVerified or Spokeo to screen a tenant or an employee?
No. Both say they are not consumer reporting agencies, and Spokeo names tenant screening and employment among the uses it rules out. Use an FCRA-compliant screening company that gets the applicant’s consent and sends the required notices.
Why do BeenVerified and Spokeo show different details about the same person?
Each builds its reports separately and updates them on its own schedule, and either can merge people who share a name. Spokeo says outdated or incorrect details can appear alongside current ones. Confirm anything important with the office that keeps the original record.