HiPeople vs RefNow
HiPeople
hipeople.ioRefNow
refnow.comSide by side
| Figure | HiPeople | RefNow |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 5 |
| Spec score · Reference Check Software | 7.5 (#15) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Headquarters | HiPeople GmbH lists its headquarters in Berlin, Germany. | London, England, UK |
| Integrations | HiPeople integrates with ATS, HRIS, and worksuite tools; named examples include SAP, Greenhouse, Workday, Oracle, and iCIMS. | The maker lists more than 65 ATS and HRIS integrations and offers an Open API for custom integrations. |
| Reference verification | It uses professional-network authentication, shared-experience checks, and job-title matching to verify references. | RefNow says it partners with LinkedIn and YOTI to verify reference authenticity and provide additional candidate insights. |
| Support | The company says it handles candidate and reference questions, changes, and special requests directly as part of its reference-check service. | Basic packages include email support; additional support options include email and phone support, with optional specialist training. |
| What it does | HiPeople automates reference checks for hiring teams, including referee outreach, scheduling, follow-ups, and report creation. | RefNow is a cloud reference-checking service connecting employers, candidates and referees to collect employment references online. |
Plans
RefNow
- Free accountFree
- Paid version£12.99, paid once
- Digital ID/DBS ChecksPriced on request
- RefNow ReferencePriced on request
- RefNow RespondPriced on request
In their own words
HiPeople
HiPeople is paid web software that automates reference checks for hiring teams. It handles referee outreach, scheduling, reminders, follow-ups, and report creation, with custom questionnaires, mixed reference channels, a reporting dashboard, and API access. Its agents ask follow-up questions when answers are unclear or contradictory. HiPeople says it detects overly positive, negative, or inconsistent references and verifies identities through professional-network authentication, shared-experience checks, and job-title matching. It can flag participant similarities and suspicious IP or phone-number signals. Integrations connect ATS, HRIS, and worksuite systems, including SAP, Greenhouse, Workday, Oracle, and iCIMS. Connected systems can exchange data both ways, trigger agents from hiring stages, and receive scores, notes, or PDF reports. HiPeople states SOC 2 Type II certification and ISO 27001 compliance, encryption in transit and at rest, US or EU hosting, and that customer data is never used to train other models. Pricing is on request.
RefNow
RefNow automates employment reference checks for hiring teams, from collecting referee details to delivering reports. Candidates provide referee details, and referees respond through a secure, mobile-friendly questionnaire. The platform tracks requests and automation attempts in real time, sends reminders, and uses algorithms to identify potentially fraudulent references. RefNow says its LinkedIn and YOTI partnerships help verify reference authenticity and provide additional candidate insights. Teams can download PDF reports and manage users with permission groups. The service also offers Right to Work checks and Basic, Standard, and Enhanced DBS checks. The maker lists more than 65 ATS and HRIS integrations and an Open API for custom connections. RefNow Respond automates incoming references for former employees after candidate consent, then generates and sends a PDF report to the requester. One reference credit covers up to 10 references from one candidate; bulk discounts and subscriptions are available, but no plan price is listed. RefNow is available on the web and through an API, and is based in London, England.