The three kinds of skip tracing service
When you look for a skip tracing service, you are choosing between three arrangements. Location rarely matters, because almost all of this work happens online against national data. What matters is who does the work and who carries the checking.
Done-for-you services
You send a spreadsheet to a person or a small firm. They tidy the columns, run the names through one or more data sources, sometimes compare the sources by hand, and send a finished file back. Some also add phone type or Do Not Call flags. You pay for their time and judgment as well as the data. Prices are usually quoted per record or per job rather than printed, so you ask before you send anything.
Self-serve software
You open an account, upload the file, map the columns and press run. The software searches its data and gives you a result file, usually within minutes. You pay a published rate per record, per match or per hit, sometimes on top of a monthly plan. You do the reviewing yourself.
Investigator platforms
TLOxp and idiCORE are people-search platforms aimed at businesses such as investigators, collectors and legal teams. They are generally used for one detailed person report at a time, and access usually starts with an account application rather than instant checkout, so confirm eligibility with the vendor. IDI’s home page showed no price on November 5, 2026, only Try Now and Contact us links, and says its services may not be used to decide credit eligibility [11]. We could not load TLOxp’s site that day, so we state no terms for it. Neither is set up as a bulk marketing-list product.
Side by side
The self-serve rows below come from each vendor’s own pages, read November 5, 2026. Done-for-you and investigator rows describe the arrangement in general because those prices are quoted privately.
| Kind | Who runs it | Typical pricing | Turnaround | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Done-for-you service | A person or firm, on your file | Quoted per record or per job; rarely printed | Set by the service; ask for a date before sending | You have no time to clean or review, and want a person to answer questions |
| Self-serve: Tracerfy | You, in their web app, API or MCP connector | 2 cents a hit pay as you go; monthly blocks from $700 lower it [1] | About 10 to 30 minutes per 1,000 records, per its pricing page [1] | You want the lowest published per-hit rate and an API |
| Self-serve: Skipmatch | You, in their web app | 3 cents a matched record, 50-record minimum, no subscription [2] | Not stated on the pages read | You already have the list and will scrub DNC elsewhere |
| Self-serve: REISkip | You, in their web app | 15 cents a match, marked introductory, minimum 50 matches [3] | “Minutes”, per its FAQ [4] | You want pay per match with a basic built-in CRM |
| Self-serve: SkipGenie | You, in their member dashboard | $58 a month with 100 credits, then 17 cents a credit [5] | “Typically within minutes” for bulk [6] | You trace a steady amount every month |
| Self-serve: BatchData | You or your developers, by API, file or MCP | Plans needing an annual agreement, from $2,000 a month for 100,000 traces (about 2 cents each, our arithmetic) [7] | Not stated on the pages read | You trace at high volume or inside your own software |
| Self-serve: Locate Next | You, in the web app or from an AI app | $49 a month plus $0.17 per search with results from a prepaid balance | Not published as a figure | You have an owner file, want the maximum cost shown first and a CRM-ready export |
| Investigator: TLOxp, idiCORE | An approved business user, usually one search at a time | IDI showed no public price on November 5, 2026 [11]; TLOxp not checked | Per search, once your account is open | Your business qualifies and needs detailed single-person reports |
Where another tool is cheaper, the table says so. Tracerfy and Skipmatch print per-result rates well below $0.17, BatchData’s plan totals work out far lower per trace, and REISkip’s introductory rate is a little lower too. Locate Next charges more per search and adds a monthly fee; what it offers in return is described further down, so you can judge whether that is worth it for your list.
What a skip tracing service costs per record
The unit of charge matters as much as the number. On the pages read November 5, 2026:
- Per hit or per match. Tracerfy, Skipmatch and REISkip say misses are not charged. Skipmatch defines a match as a record with at least one phone or email [2]. REISkip does not define one. Tracerfy’s FAQ says web uploads are charged per uploaded row, which conflicts with its pricing page [8], so ask which rule applies.
- Per credit. SkipGenie sells credits but does not say whether a search with no result uses one [9].
- Per plan. BatchData prices skip tracing in annual plans and did not publish a per-record pay-as-you-go price on November 5, 2026 [10].
- Per quote. Done-for-you services usually price your specific file. Ask whether blank rows, duplicates and records with no result are billed.
For worked arithmetic on a real list size, see skip tracing cost per record or try the cost calculator. The rules behind per-hit billing are covered in pay per hit skip tracing.
What you send and what you get back
Every kind of service needs the same core input: the owner’s name and the property address, and ideally the owner’s mailing address when it differs. Split columns (street, city, state, ZIP) cut errors. Keep your own record ID on every row so the results line up with your CRM later.
What comes back varies. Self-serve tools on the pages read return phones, often with line type, plus emails, and some add relatives, ages or address history. Skipmatch lists up to 10 phones per owner [2]. BatchData returns up to 3 people per property with DNC, TCPA, litigator and deceased flags, and says your team decides how to act on them [10]. A done-for-you firm may hand back fewer numbers with notes on which ones it checked. Whatever arrives, treat each phone as a lead to confirm, not proof you have reached the owner. What a skip trace match proves goes into this.
Where Locate Next sits
Locate Next is self-serve software for US real estate teams. You search one property address, or upload a CSV or .xlsx owner list as it is, up to 25,000 rows, 20 MB and 500 columns. It lines up the columns, merges duplicate properties and shows the maximum cost before anything runs. You review who was found, then export Contacts CSV, your sheet plus contacts, Phone 1 to 10 fields, or numbered phones plus DNC. Your record IDs and columns stay on each row. See bulk skip tracing and CRM export.
If you have no list yet, Find homeowners searches a ZIP code, city or county for the owner of record, property address and separate mailing address, which you can save as a list and then trace. You can also connect Locate to Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor through its MCP server and ask in plain words; searches that cost money run only after you say yes. Tracerfy and BatchData offer MCP connections too. The skip tracing MCP server guide compares them.
Do Not Call checks run in Export against the DNC dataset currently active on this site, and each number keeps its own result. A number with no current answer stays Not checked and is never treated as clear. The check compares phone numbers with the dataset currently active on this site. It does not promise a live connection to government records, identify the owner of a number, or establish consent to contact someone. DNC checks are included at no extra charge.
Locate Next publishes no match rate, has no public API and does not offer a done-for-you service. Get started at $49 a month.
Which fits your job
- If you need someone else to handle the file end to end, a done-for-you service fits. Get the price, the charge rule and the delivery date in writing first.
- If you need the lowest published rate and can handle DNC yourself, Tracerfy or Skipmatch fits.
- If you need tracing inside your own product at very high volume, BatchData fits.
- If you trace a steady monthly amount and like a membership, SkipGenie fits.
- If you need the maximum cost before a run, per-number DNC results and an export that keeps your columns, Locate Next fits.
- If your business qualifies for an investigator account and needs one detailed report at a time, TLOxp or idiCORE fits.
Whichever way you lean, run the same 50 owners you have already confirmed through two options and compare who each one matched. The step-by-step test is in how to choose a skip tracing service.
Common questions
What is a done for you skip tracing service?
A person or firm takes your spreadsheet, prepares it, runs the searches and sends back a finished file. You pay for their labor as well as the data, and prices are usually quoted for your file rather than published.
Is there a skip tracing service near me?
Probably, but location rarely matters. Skip tracing runs against national data online, so a service in another state can trace your local list just as well. Compare price rules, turnaround and what comes back instead.
How much do skip tracing services charge per record?
On vendor pages read November 5, 2026, self-serve rates ran from 2 cents a hit at Tracerfy (less on its monthly plans) to 17 cents a credit at SkipGenie, with Locate Next at $0.17 per search with results plus $49 a month. Done-for-you services usually quote per job.
How long does skip tracing take?
Self-serve tools usually return a bulk file in minutes; Tracerfy states about 10 to 30 minutes per 1,000 records. A done-for-you service sets its own delivery date, so ask before you send the file.
Can I use TLOxp or IDI for real estate marketing lists?
They are aimed at investigative work, one detailed report at a time, and access usually starts with an account application. Check eligibility and permitted uses with the vendor. For a marketing list of owners, a self-serve skip tracing tool is usually the practical route.
Does Locate Next offer done-for-you skip tracing?
No. Locate Next is self-serve software: you upload or search, see the maximum cost, review who was found and export the file yourself. Locate is $49 a month to get started.
Sources
- Tracerfy, pricing. Pay-as-you-go and monthly rates, misses free, turnaround per 1,000 records. Read November 5, 2026.
- Skipmatch, pricing. Per matched record rate, match definition, up to 10 phones, no subscription. Read November 5, 2026.
- REISkip, pricing. Introductory per match rate and 50-match minimum. Read November 5, 2026.
- REISkip, FAQ. Turnaround in minutes, charge per match. Read November 5, 2026.
- SkipGenie, join. $58 monthly plan, 100 credits, price per extra credit. Read November 5, 2026.
- SkipGenie, bulk search. Spreadsheet upload and turnaround. Read November 5, 2026.
- BatchData, pricing. Skip tracing plan tiers; per-trace figure derived from plan totals. Read November 5, 2026.
- Tracerfy, FAQ. Web uploads charged per uploaded row, which differs from the pricing page. Read November 5, 2026.
- SkipGenie, FAQ. Bulk record price and membership terms; credit definition not stated. Read November 5, 2026.
- BatchData, FAQ. Annual agreement, up to 3 people per property, flags left to the customer. Read November 5, 2026.
- IDI, home page. No public price shown, Try Now and Contact us links, credit-eligibility use restriction. Read November 5, 2026.
- Locate Next, pricing. Monthly fee and per-search charge. Read November 5, 2026.
This page is general information, not legal advice.