If you’re trying to search for a specific person on the internet, you’ll see many people search websites. It’s the most popular and easy way to search for someone online. If you’re considering whether you should pay for a people search engine or wondering how to search for someone free of charge, this post would help.

Search People

Should I pay for people search engines?

The most convenient and easiest way to find someone online is using a people search engine. There are plenty of search directories that are focused on finding someone’s background information, tracking who owns a phone number, looking for more records to fill out their family tree, etc.

So here’s the question: Should I pay for the service? Can I run a free people search?

The answer is clear, there are lots of free people search engines on the market. But, are free people search sites accurate? Can you trust the information you get from a free people search engine?

Not really. There is one user who was trying to help a friend to find a lost family member. Because of financial issues, they can’t afford to pay, but the sites they’ve tried were asking paying money to get information.¹ So the most free sites are not free at all. Also, these sites may not update data sources regularly, the result may be outdated or wrong.

Searching for public records yourself to gather information is better than running a free people search. Read on to find out how.

How to find someone free of charge

1. Google search online
2. Search on social media

Method 1. Free search on Google

Google is the largest search engine in the world. If you’re trying to find someone free of charge, do a Google search.

Just type the person’s name with quotation marks around it into the search engine and see what comes up in the results. For example, “Harry Potter”. If you know where the person lives or works or which organizations the person has been associated with, include those in your search strings.

Or you can use Google Images search to upload your photo and search for matches. Click on a matching image to see where it originated – photos often come from the person’s social media account or a website that contains additional information.

If you’re greeted with “It looks like there aren’t many great matches for your search“, it means that Google cannot find a result. You could either try other combinations or switch to the people search engines. 

Google offers several options to help you find people free of charge. Most people nowadays have left their trail online, a Google search may lead you up to it.

Method 2: Free search on social media platforms

Social media has collected so much personal information that not many people realize it yet. Therefore, you can use name/phone number/email address to search on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

If you’re looking for old friends, some long-lost pals from certain regions, like the user seeking help in a forum², then Facebook, classmates.com would be a good starting point. As other commenters suggested, some of the classmates may started a group for classes. You can search for alumni groups on Facebook first.

Also, searching for people’s names on Facebook and LinkedIn gives you more chances to find the right person. These 2 platforms are widely used around the world with photos, phone numbers, and other information. In case, if the person has a Facebook account or LinkedIn account, then it’s a bingo! You can get the location and other info of that person by viewing his profile.

If you’re searching for a common name, you’ll find many profiles on these websites, it will take you some time to find the right person. If not, there is a website called ‘KnowEm’, where you can search their profile.

If you don’t have the patience or don’t want to spend time searching, we recommend you use paid people search engines.

Recommend paid people search engines

Why do these sites ask you to pay? It’s because they’ve paid for a huge number of data sources. Some data is not freely available to the public. These sites are easier to use, have faster search than the free version, etc.

Below are reliable and legit people search engines we would like to recommend:

Truthfinder

If you’re looking for a reputable tool to find someone you’ve lost contact, with and you’re willing to pay for services, then TruthFinder would be a good choice. For example, this user was looking for a family member who has lost contact, the user has a name, used phone number, emails, etc.³ TruthFinder is a good tool to start a search because it provides possible relative searches. By searching the name, the user can find ages, possible locations, and more to locate the person. With the fee you pay, you can get more checks than other services.

1. Go to Truthfinder.
2. Enter the name, city, and state. Check This is me and click the Search button.
   
3. Follow the on-screen instructions then wait for a while, you can get a detailed background report including criminal records.
   

BeenVerified

BeenVerified is one of the most popular and experienced people search engines in the market. It helps you dig deep into information related to the person you want to search online, including criminal and sexual predator history, past relationships, places lived, and more. The information is gathered from a wide variety of places, both governmental and non-governmental places. BeenVerified is known for updating its database regularly, so you’ll usually get quick, accurate, and detailed information about the person.

1) Go to the BeenVerified.

2) Select a search engine according to the information you have. If you have the person’s phone number, click Phone Lookup, then enter the phone number and click SEARCH.
You can click People Search if you have the person’s name.

3) You’ll acquire a complete report that contains the information you need.

Intelius

Intelius is one of the most powerful people search engines that you can find on the market. It is a comprehensive search engine with an extensive database that contains billions of records of people. Search people using a name, an address, or a phone number and find all kinds of information linked to it. 

1) Go to the Intelius official page.

2) Choose the search engine according to the information you have.

3) You’ll get a report that contains a huge amount of information associated with the entered information.

PeopleFinders

PeopleFinders is another well-reputed people search engine that allows you to find people online easily and quickly. It would help you dig out in-depth information about the person. The lookup address won’t require you to sign up (which means no logs of your search), and the process is quick – all it takes is just a couple of minutes.

1) Go to PeopleFinders.

2) Choose the search option and enter the information you have.

Hint: You can also click Advanced Search to narrow down your search and get more accurate results.

3) Wait a while as PeopleFinders generates a report of all up-to-date information about the people you’re looking for.

That’s all about how to find someone free of charge. Yes, there’re ways to find people for free if you don’t mind spending some time on it. If you want to save some time, it’s better to use a paid people search rather than a free one.

Hope this post will help, if you have suggestions or questions, you’re welcome to leave a comment below.

1. People Search [AtsfMike559]. (2013, August 15). Is there any Free Search Sites for finding people? [Online forum post]. City-Data. https://www.city-data.com/forum/people-search/89241-there-any-free-search-sites-finding-2.html ↩︎
2. People Search [mtnblondy]. (2008, March 6). finding old friends (lost, address, person, how to find) [Online forum post]. City-Data. https://www.city-data.com/forum/people-search/320490-finding-old-friends.html ↩︎
3. Off-Topic Discussion [SVreX]. (2021, September 26). Is there a reputable site for searching for someone? [Online forum post]. grassrootsmotorsports. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/is-there-a-reputable-site-for-searching-for-someone/186833/page1/ ↩︎