# Xref Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about Xref Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Reference Check products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/157672/xref/alternatives --- # Xref Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on March 13, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Xref ## What is Xref? Xref is a best-in-class solution that offers automated reference, pulse and exit surveys. Xref gathers data-driven feedback and actionable insights for confident people management - from candidate to departing employee. Our user-friendly technology is backed by local support teams, offers multi-language capabilities and meets the highest global compliance standards (ISO27001). Xref is accessible from any device and integrates with leading HR tools and ATS platforms for seamless workflows. ## What is Xref used for? [Reference Check](https://www.capterra.com/reference-check-software/)[Background Check](https://www.capterra.com/background-check-software/)[HR Analytics](https://www.capterra.com/hr-analytics-software/) Overall rating Based on 95 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 97% Neutral 3% Negative 0% Contact vendor for pricing Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Xref?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://xref.com&name=Xref) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Xref 4.7 (95) VS. [4.6 (125)](https://www.capterra.com/p/127883/VidCruiter/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Starting Price $5000 Usage Based, Per Year Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.7 (95) Ease Of Use 4.4 (239) Value For Money 4.5 (69) Value For Money 4.7 (217) Customer Service 4.7 (70) Customer Service 4.9 (225) ## Xref alternatives Highest Rated [4.9 (4,263)](https://www.capterra.com/p/205015/Deel/reviews/) Starting price $5.00 Per User, Per Month [4.3 (1,820)](https://www.capterra.com/p/86714/WebPay/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing [4.5 (1,729)](https://www.capterra.com/p/66908/Workday-HCM/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing [4.3 (3,033)](https://www.capterra.com/p/133745/Paycor-Perform/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. Reference Request Automation 4.7 (19) 78.95% of 19 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Ability of the software to take the manual effort out of the process of requesting and collecting references Email/Online 4.5 (13) 69.23% of 13 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important The method of requesting and completing tasks or providing/accessing information Alerts/Notifications 4.5 (11) 54.55% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges Compliance Management 4.5 (11) 54.55% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier Status Tracking 4.5 (11) 63.64% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track the status over time for a request, process, asset, or transaction Background Screening 4.4 (9) 66.67% of 9 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Researching and validating a person's criminal, educational, job or financial records Xref 49 features Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases Researching and validating a person's criminal, educational, job or financial records Compare key metrics for the business against prominent players in the industry Ability to request multiple references in the same batch Assign a qualitative score to a candidate Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier Add customized logos and colors to align with company branding Tailored or customizable questions for more targeted and relevant data collection Alter the layout and content of reports Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements Import and export data to and from software applications Process of checking different types of data for accuracy to avoid errors or inconsistencies Verify an individual's educational past, including degree, training, or certification claims, among others Reminders sent via email The method of requesting and completing tasks or providing/accessing information Electronic storage of staff/employee contact information and job status in a centralized repository Tools to improve and measure employee satisfaction and involvement Collecting, analyzing, and utilizing feedback from users or customers to improve a product or service Identify and prevent suspicious activity Automates core HR functions such as talent management, employee evaluation and learning management Validating the identity of an individual or entity through verification of personal information or credentials Access software remotely via mobile devices Closing out contracts by reviewing contract/project completion, finalizing payments, and ensuring terms and compliance as been achieved Process of familiarizing new clients, stakeholders or employees with the company, a new location, or a service Ability to fill out and submit application forms on the web Organize and manage the accomplishments and development of employees or performance of applications or systems A set of indicators that tracks the performance of networks, applications, systems, teams, etc. Pre-written repository of questions that can be reused within a course or for assessment or interviews Notifications that are delivered to users as soon as an event occurs Active reporting of data and metrics Ability to record, store, update, and retrieve information Tools to find, assess, and hire suitable candidates for a job within an organization Process used by hiring managers to get more information about a candidate by contacting previous employers Ability of the software to take the manual effort out of the process of requesting and collecting references Timed notification for any upcoming task, deadline, appointment, or activity Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data Screening performed by employees working for the vendor. Software functionality is offered on top of these services. Securely stores data to prevent data loss or breaches Online portal through which end users can access the system, manage tasks, or obtain information Security protocol that ensures secure, encrypted communication over the internet, safeguarding sensitive data from unauthorized access Track the status over time for a request, process, asset, or transaction Create and manage surveys Repository of pre-built questionnaires that can be used as is Gauge satisfaction and receive information for improvement and success Integrate with Talent Managment software to better track learners progress and training sessions Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.6 (95) 4.6 Based on 95 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.5 (69) ### Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Free trial available Value for money 4.5 (69) 4.5 Based on 69 reviews ## Integrations [ Bullhorn ATS & CRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/140531/Bullhorn-Recruiting-Software/)[ iCIMS Hire](https://www.capterra.com/p/93248/iCIMS-Recruit/)[ JobAdder](https://www.capterra.com/p/135918/JobAdder/)[ SmartRecruiters](https://www.capterra.com/p/123833/SmartRecruiters/)[ Avature](https://www.capterra.com/p/188984/Avature/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.7 (70) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.7 (70) 4.7 Based on 70 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.7 Based on 95 reviews Filter by rating 5(68) 4(24) 3(3) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent HD Henrietta D. Business Analyst Telecommunications ### "XRef has been a great tool for reference checks!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 March 1, 2024 Pros I've used Xref for completing reference checks, the service is quick, and easy to set up. and ensures that good quality, reliable references are received! Cons Xref is a bit pricey for a reference tool soley, but is worth the price if you are using it for multiple features Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor April 3, 2024 Thanks for you review, Henrietta We're thrilled to hear that Xref has been a valuable tool for your reference checks. At Xref, we prioritise providing a service that is not only quick and easy to set up but also ensures the receipt of high-quality, reliable references. We're also proud to share that in our 2023 Customer Satisfaction Survey, 93% of our users expressed satisfaction with our platform and service. Our platform's comprehensive features and the peace of mind it provides in terms of security and reliability is a testament to our commitment to delivering a top-notch experience for our customers. Thanks again for sharing your positive feedback. BG Bhawana G. Head of APAC Talent Acquisition Insurance ### "Best platform to use for Professional Reference Check!!! " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 4, 2023 Overall i would highly recommend this platform for mid size companies who only wants to do professional reference checks.It's convenient, value for money and faster. Pros Very easy platform to use..Easy to put references in system and for recipient to put details of referrers , if any referrer decline to provide the recommendation, recipient can add more referrers details without back & forth.Instant email goes to candidate after details are entered. Not like other products where internal teams has SLA of 48 hours to approve and then Reference check initiated.They highlight if referrers and referee has been on same IP... which helps to detect false recommendation. Cons The credit is lost if recepient doesn't fill the details in 2 weeks time which is quite a loss for company. They should credit it back to the account in such case. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor September 25, 2023 Hi Bhawana, Thank you for giving us a 5-star rating. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the many benefits of our user-friendly Xref platform. Regarding your feedback on recipients not responding to requests, you could use the 'replace' button on the platform. The 'Replace' button in Xref allows you to ask your candidate to submit the details of another reference provider. The replace feature is available for 21 days from when a request has been sent but is still awaiting completion. Please contact our dedicated Customer Success team at support@xref.com for assistance. Once again, thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. MS Malvika S. People Attraction Advisor Staffing and Recruiting ### "Xref Review" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 December 20, 2022 The software is amazing. Gives you regular updates on at what stage the reference is at for example if the referee has opened the reference and started the reference, etc. Pros It's very easy to set up candidates. Although it only uses emails to collect the references, it keeps you posted on what stages is the reference at like candidate has agreed to the privacy statement, submitted refs, referees have started doing reference, etc. Cons Because it only allows references to be completed by email. Its takes time to get it completed by referees. Reasons for choosing Xref Regular updates. Proper stats on where everything is at. Detection of Ip Matches. Easy to use. Gives negative and positive aspects of references. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. CC Chloe C. Managing Consultant Human Resources ### "Saves time and very good features " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 7, 2022 Really good, happy with the ease of using it, saves a lot of time for me and I have a very positive experience. Pros \*Alerts for fraudulent activity, being able to review and discuss \*Reminders automatically sent to the candidate and the referee \*Able to send a request and the rest of the information is compiled by the candidate and requested by Xref depending on our needs Cons \*Not alerted when a reference bounces back/failed to send Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JG Jacob G. Talent Acquisition Lead Information Technology and Services ### "Great Referencing Tool " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 17, 2022 Pros Xref is an excellent choice for speeding up the reference process. Not only is it quick, but it saves a lot of admin time with it's smart automation. Cons No real cons at this point. It's fraud detection tools are very good at alerting possible suspicious behaviour Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor August 19, 2022 Thanks for taking the time to share such an excellent review, Jacob. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the benefits of an efficient and automated reference checking process. We agree that one of the significant advantages of using Xref is the ability to flag suspicious candidate activity. We're all about offering teams a better and faster way to conduct reference checks, so we're happy to know that Xref has reduced your recruitment workload and helped speed things up. Thanks again! AG Astha G. Talent Advisor Government Administration ### "Great Product" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 16, 2022 Pros Very easy to use. Great tracking and get notifications if there is suspicious activity, which is a very good feature. Makes life so much easy as a recruiter for me as I don't need to chase the referees. Cons Too many notifications if a candidate has not responded. Sometimes candidates are contacting their referees to check if they will be okay to provide references before providing their details. I, as recruiter would get uncountable emails saying candidate has not responded. The alerts should be delayed for at least 48 hours and then send them if candidate still has not responded for 2 days or more. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor August 18, 2022 Thanks for sharing your review, Astha. It's wonderful to hear that you're making the most of all that the Xref platform has to offer. We agree that one of the significant advantages of using Xref is the ability to flag suspicious candidate activity. With regard to your feedback about notifications, our Customer Success would be able to help you adjust the frequency of the alerts. Please reach out to our dedicated Customer Success team at support@xref.com if you would like assistance. Thanks again for sharing your feedback. KD Kristin D. Recruiter Health, Wellness and Fitness ### "User friendly and uncomplicated" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 August 16, 2022 Pros Xref makes collecting references easy. It also makes it very easy to weed out bogus responses. Cons I do not like the meter at the top that categorizes negative and positive reviews. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor August 19, 2022 Thanks for sharing your review, Kristin. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the many benefits of our user-friendly Xref platform. Regarding your comment on the sentiment analysis, we have heard from many clients about the usefulness of the tool. The sentiment tool has an algorithm that measures a referee's 'tone of voice'. It picks up on the positive, neutral, and negative language used by the referee to give you an indication of the candidate's performance, reducing the chance for a reference to be misinterpreted. Xref is passionate about ensuring the right people are recruited into the right roles, so we strive to make it as efficient and intuitive as possible to help professionals like yourself focus on the other important areas of your role. Thanks again for your positive review. MH Mike H. Recruiter Staffing and Recruiting ### "My experience with Xref" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 12, 2022 I use Xref to find good quality candidates to hire. It helps me weed out the good from bad and exposes a lot of red flags for me. Pros The feature i like most about Xref is that it will automatically send you potentially fraudulent references Cons In the beginning steps, after sending the Xref out, I wish it would tell me if had been accessed by the candidate. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor August 19, 2022 Thanks for leaving us such a wonderful review, Mike. Like you, many of our customers also love our suspicious activity feature. It enables them to dive deeper into the validity of a reference and feel confident in their hiring choices. Xref is passionate about ensuring the right people are recruited into the right roles so we strive to make it as efficient and intuitive as possible to help professionals like yourself focus on the other important areas of your role. Thanks again for your review. AH Abby H. Talent Acquisition specialist Biotechnology ### "XREF makes Reference checks easy " 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 12, 2022 Pros Easy for employer and candidates and reliable Cons More questions from references and/or different "rating" system Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor August 19, 2022 Thanks for leaving us a review, Abby. We're glad to hear that you and your candidates find Xref simple to use. With regard to your feedback about adding questions and the rating scale. We'd like to understand this more so we can help you customise your questionnaire where possible. Please contact our dedicated Customer Success team on support@xref.com if you would like assistance. Thanks again for your review. KM Keira M. Human Resources Business Partner Non-Profit Organization Management ### "Easy to use product " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 August 9, 2022 Easy to use, and well integrated with my recruitment software. Pros Love the API connection with my recruitment software program, it means initiating a reference check is as quick as pressing a button! Cons Lots of email workflow to the admin user, If I am doing bulk recruitment (20 employees) all undertaking references checking the email workflows are high. Perhaps workflow for candidates who haven't responded and when the total of reference checks requested have been completed only? Reasons for choosing Xref unable to answer General feedback: When an account manager changes it would be good to be informed. I was experiencing issues and calling my account manager, I called the head office for three days to finally get a call back letting me know my previous account manager had moved from the business and I had a new account manager. No communication was sent to me to introduce me to the new account manager. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor August 23, 2022 Hi Keira, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're glad to know that you find our online reference checking tool easy to use. Our aim in automating references is to save time and simplify the tedious parts of a recruiter's job. With regard to your feedback about notifications, you can adjust the frequency of those in your settings. Please reach out to our dedicated Customer Success team at support@xref.com if you would like assistance. We understand how important it is for account management updates to be shared; thanks for your feedback. We hope to give you the best experience possible for online reference checking. Thanks again for your review. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/157672/xref/reviews/) Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. 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