Identity Verification Pricing Comparison and Alternatives

In 2024, identity verification software has expanded across industries, and more companies are utilizing these services. Around five years ago, many solutions did not exist, and there were only a few options on the market to verify an ID. Even worse, they were manual, slow, costly, and challenging to implement. That paradigm has changed significantly, with plenty of identity software solutions to choose from online. An important factor when selecting a solution usually falls on your budget. The ROI of identity verification solutions is complex, and some companies will claim it can even boost revenue. However, we see it as a friction force that is prioritized for security purposes. There are a few online comparison sites and pricing details, but none are too in-depth and take a biased approach. Review sites alone can be gamified through paying for the services or additional means that make them only show half the picture. For example, Seon is not an identity verification software, but AI and searches make it appear to be one when it’s a fraud detection tool. Doing a complete analysis and comparison of all features would require a whole book, so instead, we will stick to pricing for a simple ID and Selfie verification base case. Currently, most businesses are interested in identity documents and facial checks, so that will be our scope. In the end, many companies put pricing as their top priority when selecting vendors; therefore, it is essential to have transparency between solutions.

Trust Swiftly will not claim to be the number one solution in the market because it is such a dynamic and fast-moving industry that your decision should be multifaceted. Most of the focus of this analysis and research will be done on competitor products. Choosing the wrong solution now can lead to costly switching fees or non-inventive solutions that are targeted by fraudsters. Even worse, you may select a non-sustainable solution that either jacks up prices or goes out of business. There has been consolidation in the industry over the past year, which usually leads to more price control. When companies get acquired, we more often than not find their product stagnate or price increases happen with much of the talent that initially built the product gone. This is why you should pay attention when a tool you use gets acquired or has a new funding round or anything around their finances.

We will also further consolidate our comparison to public or semi-public pricing only. Typically, during software procurement, if a business does not list its prices and requires multiple demos or sales meetings to determine the cost, it prioritizes enterprise or has costly contracts. We contacted some solutions and found the pricing per verification reasonable, but the minimums were highly unfeasible. It is also essential to research their old marketing and posts to see historical pricing and crawl websites to review their pricing over time. Another pricing strategy some companies started doing was only charging for successful verifications. This is a no-brainer; all companies should be doing it, but do not believe you are getting a great deal. In our observation across hundreds of thousands of verifications, this saves only a few percent in volume. Most people who do verifications complete the process or get approved; not all are bad actors.

 Another thing to note is the frequency of price raises and hidden cost changes. Solutions like Stripe Identity and Persona were essentially free a while back, but the model has turned, resulting in 50%+ pricing increases. We expect the trend to continue as more venture-backed and high-growth companies instead require sustainable growth. Another factor to look out for is solutions that take advantage of recent AI developments, allowing them to lower prices further. We do not see generative AI being able to create an all-in-one KYC solution at this point. Still, the playing field will level further when significant platforms such as AWS, Azure, and GCP develop simple solutions. They are already in the infancy stages with facial, ID, and liveness solutions. The one major problem we have seen with these solutions is that they do not focus enough on improving or changing their solutions, so they become dated once released as the investment dries up or slows down the adoption of change. AI forces software, especially in the security and identity industry, to rapidly advance. This is just one of the many reasons why price alone should not be the only factor, as many other aspects should weigh your decision.

Below are our results from the pricing research for identity verification software. We used industry knowledge, demos, search engines, questionnaires, AI chatbots, and more to find the prices. If there are any discrepancies or you would like to add a solution, leave a comment.

In review, the pricing for ID checks and selfies varies across the board, with minimums being a significant factor in the total price. Unclear or hidden pricing structures are something to beware of during initial vendor selection. One solution, ID.me, made us jump through hoops to get their pricing, immediately telling you their priorities. If you choose a particular solution, ensure a clear understanding of the pricing and future pricing changes in case they affect your decision. The last piece of advice is for businesses that build their own KYC program with minimal costs if they have significant volumes of over a million. At this point, it is a feasible route and can result in substantial savings for high volumes. Instead of paying $1 to $0.30 a verification, you can reduce the costs to less than $0.01 per verification. Many open-source and closed-sourced models and SDKs can meet many solution requirements, resulting in a high upfront development cost but low long-term fixed costs. Predictive pricing is vital for businesses to remain profitable, and using this research should aid in price discovery and negotiations. The list price and initial quotes can almost always be lowered if you have done the work to back up the request. As a final reminder, price should not be the only deciding factor, but the overall long-term quality of a solution is where you will see the most value.