Compare/Alternatives

ClearStar alternatives

4 tools our write-ups put next to ClearStar, with starting price, free tier, MCP and API side by side.

ClearStar from Sales-quoted

Closest alternatives

See the ClearStar listing

The short answer

DISA : DOT-heavy screening and occ-health if transportation regulation is the centre. From Sales-quoted
First Advantage : Enterprise CRA, now the owner of Sterling, if Clearstar is too occ-health-led for your mix. From Sales-quoted
Asurint : Employment and government screening without the occ-health SKU. From Sales-quoted
Checkr : Productised US criminal and drug checks if you want an API and a dashboard, not a CRA project. From $29.99/report

Why people look past ClearStar

Quote-only. Office-only employers will over-buy occ-health they do not use.

What we noted

Quote-only
No public per-check card
Integration list is not published in detail

Not the right fit for

SMBs that want a $29.99 criminal package
Pure SaaS office hiring
Teams that only need an API wrapper

Worth keeping in mind: Screening plus occ-health (ClearMD) in one CRA family, which matters when drug and physicals sit beside the criminal package.

ClearStar alternatives compared

Tool	Free tier	From	MCP	API	Head to head
ClearStar (the one you are on)	–No	Sales-quoted	–No	–No
DISA DOT-heavy screening and occ-health if transportation regulation is the centre.	–No	Sales-quoted	–No	✓Yes	Head to head
First Advantage Enterprise CRA, now the owner of Sterling, if Clearstar is too occ-health-led for your mix.	–No	Sales-quoted	–No	✓Yes	Head to head
Asurint Employment and government screening without the occ-health SKU.	–No	Sales-quoted	–No	–No	Head to head
Checkr Productised US criminal and drug checks if you want an API and a dashboard, not a CRA project.	–No	$29.99/report	✓Yes	✓Yes	Head to head

What each one does differently

DISA

Sales-quoted API

Why it comes up: DOT-heavy screening and occ-health if transportation regulation is the centre.

Stands out: Screening built around DOT, drugs, and occupational health, not a generic nationwide criminal package for office hires.

Watch out: If you do not have DOT or safety-sensitive roles, you are buying the wrong CRA. Pricing is quoted.

Best for

Transportation and logistics employers
DOT-regulated workforces
Safety-sensitive hiring that needs drug and occ-health in one vendor

Read the DISA write-up ClearStar vs DISA

First Advantage

Sales-quoted API

Why it comes up: Enterprise CRA, now the owner of Sterling, if Clearstar is too occ-health-led for your mix.

Stands out: Background and identity checks across more than 200 countries and territories, with ATS integrations and REST APIs.

Watch out: No published per-check price. Former Sterling customers are moving onto First Advantage, so confirm which platform your contract runs on.

Best for

Global employers screening at scale
Teams that also need I-9 and E-Verify
Former Sterling customers

Read the First Advantage write-up ClearStar vs First Advantage

Asurint

Sales-quoted

Why it comes up: Employment and government screening without the occ-health SKU.

Stands out: A CRA that still does employment, tenant, and government work, not a startup API wrapper.

Watch out: Quote-only. There is no self-serve $29.99 package.

Best for

HR teams buying employment screening and drug tests
Property and tenant screening adjacent to HR
Government-related screening programmes

Read the Asurint write-up ClearStar vs Asurint

Checkr

$29.99/report MCP API

Why it comes up: Productised US criminal and drug checks if you want an API and a dashboard, not a CRA project.

Stands out: Self-serve packages plus MCP at mcp.checkr.com so hiring agents can read reports.

Watch out: Court and database access fees are billed on top, at cost. Essential and Complete cost more. International checks are priced by country.

Best for

US employers running criminal packages at hire
Teams that want candidate self-entry and ATS hooks
Platforms ordering checks through the Checkr API

4.5 on Capterra from 303 reviews

Read the Checkr write-up ClearStar vs Checkr

Common questions

What is the best ClearStar alternative?

It depends on what sent you looking. We compare 4 alternatives to ClearStar: DISA, First Advantage, Asurint and Checkr. Each one's "Why it comes up" line says what it does differently, and the table above shows all 4 on price, free tier, MCP and API.

What is the cheapest ClearStar alternative?

Of the published starting prices here, Checkr is lowest at $29.99/report. Starting price is the entry plan, not the seat count you will end up on, so read the plan table on each listing.

Which ClearStar alternatives have an MCP server?

Checkr ships a first party MCP server, so you can drive it from Claude or ChatGPT without building against the API yourself.

Keep looking

Back to the ClearStar write-up Every Background check tool we list Search the whole directory

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 17 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?