Your first check is free — one per company
Run a real reference check on a real candidate, keep the report, and pay nothing. After that it is £9 a check — one candidate, up to ten referees, one report. No subscription, no minimum, no sales call.
Using Gmail, Outlook, BT or another personal address? You still get one free check.
Buy as many as you need, up to 50 at once. No pack, no commitment.
Start a checkA pack is the same check at a lower unit price — nothing else changes.
PreHire is not VAT-registered, so there is no VAT to add. The price you see is the price you pay.
How paying works
Pay per check
The first one is free and takes no card. After that you pay by card — one check at a time, or a pack up front. No subscription, no minimum, no contract to come out of.
Credits never expire
A pack sits on your account as credits and stays there — use them this quarter or next year. If nobody replies to any of your referees, we still send the report and return your credit.
What a check buys, next to a quote you have to ask for
Row by row against the two UK services an SME is most likely to be shown. Everything in the PreHire column is on this page; everything in theirs is what their own website says, or does not say.
| PreHire | RefNow | Zinc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price on the website | £9 | Not on their website | Not on their website |
| Buy without talking to sales | Yes | Yes, 5-credit minimum | Yes, for small teams |
| Checks references against records | Companies House, email domain | Says it checks references are genuine | Employment dates from HMRC |
| Credit back if no referee replies | Yes, automatic | Not on their website | Not on their website |
| Minimum commitment | One check | Credit packs | Pay as you go |
Compiled from public websites and self-serve signups, September 2026. Every RefNow and Zinc cell is from that company’s own public website or its self-serve signup — not a claim about what their product actually does. Neither publishes a price; RefNow sells self-serve from a 5-credit minimum, and Zinc only sells self-serve to smaller teams. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Skip the demo — start a checkIncluded in every check
- Candidate consent handled for you
- Up to 10 referees
- The report minutes after the references you asked for are in, or the closing date has passed
- Up to five verification checks, with evidence
- Referee insight, in their own words
- Full activity trail
- PDF report
- A report either way — credit back if no referee replies
You are not charged for a check nobody answered. If nobody replies to any of your referees, we still send the report and return your credit. Every non-response is recorded either way.
Still deciding? Read the questions we get asked most, or see the full sample report before you spend anything.