# Xref Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Xref the right Reference Check solution for you? Explore 95 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/157672/xref/reviews --- Xref 4.7 (95) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Xref Ease of use 4.7 Customer Service 4.7 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews DN Dorothy N HR/Admin CoordinatorHuman Resources, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Xref also helps to authenticate the references because it give you the opportunity to know everything that happened around the reference, by tracking every action done on the link.“ August 4, 2022 BG Bhawana G Head of APAC Talent Acquisition Insurance, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The credit is lost if recepient doesn't fill the details in 2 weeks time which is quite a loss for company.“ September 4, 2023 DN Dorothy N HR/Admin CoordinatorHuman Resources, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It also saves on time because it gives referees automatic reminders to complete the reference.“ August 4, 2022 AG Astha G Talent AdvisorGovernment Administration, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “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.“ August 16, 2022 JB John B Talent RecruiterEducation Management, 501 - 1,000 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “I've had a positive experience with Xref; it's allowed me to track references and background checks“ August 9, 2022 DG Deborah G HR GeneralistEnvironmental Services, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The only con I could foresee is if someone is not computer literate.“ August 9, 2022 JB John B Talent RecruiterEducation Management, 501 - 1,000 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Using Xref allows my team to hire candidates daily.“ August 9, 2022 RT Rebecca T Senior People Attraction AdvisorInsurance, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The ability to customise it per reference, yet after chatting to Customer Services I understand why this can't be done.“ August 4, 2020 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 95 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use VR Verified Reviewer TA specialist Media Production Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Save time and get in-depth responses " July 28, 2020 5.0 Fantastic! It's easy to use and the staff are lovely. Always happy to help :) Pros It saves me so much time. I also get a lot more information than I would over the phone. It's easier than trying to write down what someone is telling you. It can be done in the reference's own time which can be over the weekend or out of hours which means they can focus and put time into their responses. It's such a wonderful product I can't imagine not having it! Cons Ability to self load credit Ability to alter email addresses or edit the references Review Source Response from Xref August 6, 2020 Thanks so much for this lovely review. We appreciate your feedback and will take it into consideration for future process updates. AT Anthony T. Recruitment Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Why go anywhere else " January 13, 2020 5.0 The systems solves the problem of reaching referees outside of our business hours more so when we need to do an international reference check. The referee can do it when they have time. You will never regret using XREF. Wow amazing ! Pros I have nothing but good things to say, the ease of using this system, so easy to use, nothing is ever too hard for anyone that works at XREF, you can truly see that people love working at XREF and it shows in their customer service. The product is second to none and i will never use another system. As a recruiter for many years , we never like constantly calling referees who might say they are too busy to talk or just not answer for days. XREF takes away the pressure of trying to call referees and gives that time back to do other things. I just dont understand why you would not want to use XREF. You really feel like you are part of the team. Amazing system/Product and people! Cons I cant say anything bad about the system. Review Source Response from Xref January 20, 2020 Thanks, Anthony! We're so glad you continue to benefit from the ease of the platform and the support of the team. We know how difficult it can be to manage calls with international or busy references, so it's great to hear how the automated approach is helping. We love having you as part of the Xref family! AM Amanda M. HR Generalist Government Administration Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Xref" January 9, 2020 3.0 Positive! customer service has been awesome and the company has shown openness to input and enhanced their platform. Pros Easy to use and creates an efficiency in my work flow to avoid the back and forth with references. Cons While it's a fairly straight forward platform there is alot of individual windows that require me to go in and out for each reference on each candidate. Review Source Response from Xref April 2, 2020 Thank you for your review, Amanda. We're happy to hear you're benefiting from the time saved through the ease and efficiency of the Xref platform. We are always looking to improve our platform and appreciate the feedback. Thanks again for the great review. KC Kerryn C. Talent Acquisition Manager Biotechnology Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Xref - review" November 17, 2020 5.0 The experience is positive and one that I would not give up given the many benefits it allows for all stakeholders. It definitely reduces our time to fill given the timeliness of submitting all information. Pros The software is extremely easy to navigate for all parties; employer, referee and candidates. It provides updates/reminders/customization and visibility on when the references have been completed or if there are delays the candidate can follow up with the referee. The document is easy to read and provides "norms" which is extremely helpful when comparing other candidates responses to the market. The template allows enough room for those who want to respond with extensive answers and provides follow up details of the referee if needed. Given the ease of use the references are produced in a timely way and allows us to progress to offers quickly reducing our time to fill. Cons There could be the opportunity for further customization however this does not cause any issues for our organsiation. Review Source Response from Xref December 7, 2020 Thanks for your review, Kerryn. We are glad to hear that you have benefited from the time saved and the ease of using the Xref platform for your reference checks. We understand how important it is to have a great experience through this vital stage of the hiring process. We would love to discuss your thoughts of further customisation throughout the referencing process. Please feel free to reach out to us at a convenient time and we will take on any feedback regarding this via our customer success team. Thanks again for your great review. MH Mike H. Recruiter Staffing and Recruiting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My experience with Xref" August 12, 2022 5.0 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 Response from Xref 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. AC Andy C. Head of Talent Acquisition and Mobility Civil Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Ease of use is the best!" August 4, 2022 5.0 Pros We have always been happy with the services of Xref. The ease of use, the automation and customisation are just a few of the many benefits of this platform. Cons I don't feel there is anything we're missing in the software and we are very happy with all the features. The only potential negative is that the product isn't the cheapest. Review Source Response from Xref August 19, 2022 Thanks for leaving us such a wonderful review, Andy. Like you, many of our customers find that using Xref to automate their reference checking process enables them to become more efficient and focus on other areas of their role that are of more interest or more value for your organisation. Thanks again for your review. DN Dorothy N. HR/Admin Coordinator Human Resources Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My Experience using Xref" August 4, 2022 5.0 In a summarised way, It is a good software to use for references. I have even recommended to my HR friends. Pros It is easy to use and to teach, its is very effective and user friendly. Xref also helps to authenticate the references because it give you the opportunity to know everything that happened around the reference, by tracking every action done on the link. It also saves on time because it gives referees automatic reminders to complete the reference. Cons Non that I can mention for now because to be honest, I really like using the software. Review Source Response from Xref August 19, 2022 Thanks for such a wonderful review and for being an advocate for Xref, Dorothy. We are happy to hear that you're enjoying the many benefits of the Xref automated platform, especially real-time updates. We strive to make it as efficient and intuitive as possible so that professionals like yourself can focus on the other important areas of your role, as you've mentioned. Thanks again for sharing your review! jM jason M. nurse recruiter Staffing and Recruiting Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "great tool" August 4, 2022 5.0 overall i love the tool and would recomend it to everyone Pros makes it easy to get info back quickly. i would recommend this product Cons interface confuses some older users. maybe some work could be done to make it easier for odler users Review Source Response from Xref August 21, 2022 Thanks for taking the time to share your review, Jason. It's good to hear that you're enjoying the simplicity and time-saving benefits of using the Xref platform. Like you, many of our customers find that using Xref to automate their reference checking process enables them to become more efficient and focus on other areas of their role that are of more interest or more value for your organisation. We are always looking for ways to improve the service to our customers, you can expect some updates to the platform soon that will make it easier to use across age groups. Thanks again for the review. KD Kristin D. Recruiter Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "User friendly and uncomplicated" August 16, 2022 5.0 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 Response from Xref 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. PH Paul H. CEO Staffing and Recruiting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "You cant afford NOT to use XRef" January 15, 2020 5.0 I took time for us to get uptake from the consultants, and we do not use XRef every time, but it is essential tool for us when we are refencing contractors, and high volume roles, not as relevant for our executive search business. Pros 1\. Saving consultants time (and hence us money) 2. Turnaround of references 3. Quality of references 4. Pricing model (not Saas) Cons 1\. Getting consultants to change the way they work, which was helped by XRef hiring a customer success manager 2. Not having the opportunity to business develop when reference checking Review Source Response from Xref April 2, 2020 Thank you for your great feedback, Paul. We are happy to hear that you are experiencing the benefits of automated referencing and that it has saved valuable time for your company. We also offer a service called People Search which can be used as a powerful business development tool. Please reach out to your dedicated account manager to learn more or to have People Search turned on. Thanks again for your feedback, Paul. DG Deborah G. HR Generalist Environmental Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "The ease of Xref" August 9, 2022 5.0 It has been great to see the responses/recommendations from the reference. Not having to make phone calls to references has been awesome. Pros The best thing that Xref offers is that it is simple and fast. As a user, it takes just a moment to set up my candidate for entering in their references. When I get a response, I am emailed promptly. The questions are great. We are using the recommendations of past employers for goal setting Cons The only con I could foresee is if someone is not computer literate. Review Source Response from Xref August 16, 2022 Thank you for providing such a great review, Deborah It's awesome to hear you're experiencing the full benefits of an automated approach, especially the advantages of getting real-time progress updates. We agree that it can be difficult and frustrating to contact references by phone. Thanks again for leaving us a review. WB Wendy B. Head of the Customer Centre of Excellence Telecommunications Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Has made my life so much easier!" July 24, 2020 5.0 Always been extremely helpful and accommodating Pros It's user friendly, quick and easy to use. I like that if applicants or referees do not respond they get automatic reminders so I don't have to keep following up. As I manage all of the recruitment for the business, I could have 8 new starters at one time - the process of requesting and following up references used to take me the best part of a day, now it takes just a few minutes. Cons There is very little I don't like about the software. Reason for choosing Xref I was sent a reference request to complete and liked it so much that I followed up with X-ref, the price was good and the person I spoke to was very helpful so I just made a decision there and then Review Source Response from Xref August 6, 2020 Thank you for taking the time to write this great review. We really appreciate your feedback. We are so happy that you have been able to benefit from the ease of online referencing! RM Ruzanna M. Talent Acquisition Specialist Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Saves time for the team" November 23, 2020 5.0 Pros Reference automation is a great way to save your team valuable time. It's user friendly, easy to use from both candidate and HR perspective. You can create a customized questionnaire for your company. Cons No real cons that I can think of. Maybe look into integrating it with our ATS (applicant tracking system) Breezy HR. It would be great to save all the data in one spot, rather than 2 different software. Review Source Response from Xref December 7, 2020 Thanks for your review, Ruzanna. It is great to hear that you are benefiting from the time saved through online reference checks through Xref. We know how important it is to have a user friendly and time saving process to help through the busy hiring times. We are always looking to increase our reach and would love to discuss the potential of integrating our systems. Please contact us via our customer success team and we can look into the possibilities moving forward. Thanks again for your review. CB Chase B. Recruiter / Client Manager Staffing and Recruiting Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Xref" November 22, 2020 5.0 Very good when filled out correctly Pros The ease of use, fast and user friendly Cons No being able to see the details of the references that are filled out, some clientele are old and will just delete without help Review Source Response from Xref December 7, 2020 Thanks for your review, Chase. We are glad to hear that you have seen the benefits that come through using Xref for online reference checks. We are always looking to improve our service and we appreciate your feedback regarding the visibility of references. I will make sure that this feedback is passed to the relevant team. Thanks again for your review. PS PUSHKAR S. candidate Manager Human Resources Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Very easy to use and user friendly " December 2, 2020 5.0 Excellent Pros User friendly and never had any issue to run reference checks on my candidates. Cons Nothing so far. Can add more categories in file attachment section like driving license. Review Source Response from Xref December 7, 2020 Thanks for your review, Pushkar. We are happy to hear that you have had an excellent experience through using the Xref platform for your reference checks so far. We understand how important it is to have a user friendly and efficient system in place for reference checks and we appreciate your feedback. Please feel free to contact our customer success team if you have any concerns or thoughts for potential improvements. Thanks again for your review. JG Jacob G. Talent Acquisition Lead Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great Referencing Tool " August 17, 2022 5.0 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 Response from Xref 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! AM Anne M. Recruiter Staffing and Recruiting Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Fusion Medical " January 9, 2020 4.0 great company and product Pros very easy to use and the fact that the reference is automatically uploaded once completed Cons cant think of anything at this time keep up the god work Review Source Response from Xref January 20, 2020 Hi Anne, thanks for the great review. We know it's helpful to receive references as they're completed, so we're glad you're benefiting from that and the ease of use the platform offers. Thanks again! SL Shaun L. Partner / Account Executive Staffing and Recruiting Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Best Money we've spent" January 9, 2020 5.0 Xref has allowed us to free up the time of our recruitment coordinator, who up until then, spent the majority of her day chasing down references through phone calls and emails. Using Xref allows us to assign other important tasks and projects to that resource now. Xref was easy to implement, is easy to use and our clients love the final product once the references are complete. Pros What interested me most about Xref was automating the entire reference process, allowing the technology to do the work for us. What I liked most about the product is its overall simplicity and user friendly workflow. Cons I honestly cant think of anything, we're huge fans Review Source Response from Xref January 20, 2020 Hi Shaun, thanks for your fantastic feedback. It's great to hear that Xref has been able to help free up time for your team. We're glad that you're finding the platform easy to use and that you and your clients are enjoying the benefits of automating the reference checking process. Thanks again! RG Rachel G. Recruiter Staffing and Recruiting Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Staffing/Recruiting review" August 9, 2022 5.0 Pros It's super easy to use! I do like the reminders the come to my email if a user has not completed. Cons I wish the XRef timed out because of credits. Review Source Response from Xref August 16, 2022 Thanks for sharing your positive review, Rachel. We love to hear our customers sharing their experiences of the Xref automated platform, so we're glad to hear you find the Xref platform easy to use. Thanks again for leaving us a review. SM Sharon M. Talent Acquisition Manager Mining & Metals Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Positive " July 28, 2020 4.0 positive Pros It has saved me a lot of time. was doing manually Cons would like to be able to amend details in the back end, ie if put in a wrong email address Review Source Response from Xref August 6, 2020 Thanks for this review and for your feedback! We will take your comments into consideration. AZ Adrianna Z. Associate Recruitment Consultant Human Resources Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Overall really convenient software" July 28, 2020 5.0 Pros I really like the convenience and user friendly dashboard. It's easy to use. Overall is very useful tool which we often use to get an overseas references or contact the managers outside of the working hours or on the weekends. Cons I don't really like that we cannot edit grammar mistakes in the final file as the report is available in the pdf file only. I understand the compliance reasoning, but it doesn't look professional and our clients don't understand the reason behind it. Review Source Response from Xref August 6, 2020 Thanks so much for this lovely and thoughtful review. We understand where you are coming from about making grammatical edits to the report, however, as you know we take security very seriously and wouldn't want to run the risk of losing integrity. We will take your comment into consideration though as there is always room for improvement. DW Daniel W. Financial Controller Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Keeping it simple and professional" December 9, 2020 5.0 It ensures this critical part of the process is not skipped or handled in an unprofessional manner. Pros A very efficient way of completing the reference checking part of recruitment. Analyses comments and responses to give them an overall rating. Cons Relies solely on written medium. Sometimes you can pick up keys to an employees past performance when discussing and leads to other exploratory questions. Review Source AY Aimee Y. HR Advisor Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Support is wonderful" July 23, 2020 4.0 Amazing, have been in constant contact with my reps, they are informative, friendly and helpful! This has saved me a lot of time, especially since we have been busy. The time turnaround for completed references has been amazing as well. Pros Visibility is great, one screen which shows the status of every candidate and where what stage their reference is at. Cons Ability for multiple users to see up to date information. E.g. If I open a reference on the other persons login it shows that the reference hasn't been opened. Review Source Response from Xref July 27, 2020 Thanks for the review and for your feedback, it's helpful for us to know. We're glad to hear the platform is helping you to save time! SW Stephen W. People and Culture/Payroll Specialist Financial Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Xref is awesome!" July 30, 2020 5.0 Overall it's a greats system and takes away the 'tooing' and 'froing' that can happen chasing referees. Pros Very easy to use, references are driven by candidate and results delivered electronically. Reminders are not received in set time. Cons It is easy to forget how to set up the requests if you haven't requested for a while but a couple of seconds of reflection and it's all go. Reason for choosing Xref Seemed to deliver best result for cost. Review Source Response from Xref August 6, 2020 Thanks so much for your review. We're glad to hear you find the platform easy to use. CL Carmen L. Executive Talent Specialist Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Executive Talent" November 17, 2020 5.0 Pros Easy to use and easy to navigate, been using this for years. Love XREF. Cons Customer service or technical support some room for improvement. Review Source Response from Xref December 7, 2020 Thanks for your review, Carmen. We are so happy to hear that you love using Xref. We understand how important it is to have a simple and easy reference checking process readily available. We appreciate your feedback regarding our customer service. We are always striving to be better and we will continue to do so. Thanks again for your review. 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