Identity graph
Pipl says it connects 1 trillion fragments of identity data into 5 billion resolved identities, with 2 billion signal updates a day.
Pipl OSINT Review: Pipl Search, Pricing and Alternatives
Pipl OSINT use today means an enterprise identity product: Pipl Search queries an identity graph of emails, phones, addresses and social profiles for fraud, trust and safety, compliance and investigation teams. There is no public free search. This review is based on Pipl's product pages, terms and reputable coverage, checked on 10 October 2026.
- Pipl Search API and Search Insights
- Identity graph of 5B+ identities (vendor)
- No free tier; demo and sales only
- FCRA-restricted uses
Short answer
Pipl OSINT research now runs through Pipl Search, an enterprise product that resolves emails, phone numbers and other identifiers against an identity graph the vendor puts at more than 5 billion identities. It is sold by demo and quote, with no free tier. Customers must identify themselves and their purpose, and US uses governed by the FCRA, such as hiring, are prohibited.
What Is Pipl and What Is Its Current Status?
Pipl began as an identity search engine with a free public version and is now an enterprise fraud and identity intelligence company; the free public search is no longer offered on its website.
In 2018, Globes described Pipl as "a focused identities search engine" that kept a public version with basic profiles while earning over 95% of its revenue from business customers (Globes, January 2018). That year it raised $19 million in growth funding, according to Calcalist, with founder Matthew Hertz as CEO (Calcalist).
The company has since repositioned around fraud prevention. Its website now presents three suites: Pipl Trust (risk assessment for payment and authorization workflows), Pipl Search (identity resolution for investigators) and Pipl Elements (phone and email identity signals for existing risk models), all powered by a risk model it calls Elephant (Pipl).
For OSINT researchers, the practical answer to "is Pipl still available?" is: yes, as Pipl Search, but only through enterprise sales. The site offers "Request a demo" and "Contact us"; we found no free tier, self-serve plan or public search box on 10 October 2026.
Pipl Search Key Features
An API and a browser-based tool that query Pipl's identity graph and return linked identifiers, with evidence traceable to source data.
Search API
Query the graph in real time or in batch from case management, CRM or risk systems, and receive cross-referenced person profiles.
Search Insights
A browser-based visual investigation tool and Chrome extension for analysts who do not write code.
Linked identifiers
Results can include emails, phones, addresses, social profiles and employment history, plus relationships between identifiers.
Explainability
Identity evidence is traceable to source data, which Pipl positions as support for escalation, disputes and audit review.
Who it is built for
Fraud operations, compliance, trust and safety, financial crime teams, law enforcement and OSINT investigators.
Data Sources and Coverage
Pipl builds its graph by crawling the public web and licensing publicly available information such as directories and professional listings; it claims coverage across more than 150 countries.
Pipl's data collection notice says its "deep search robot continuously crawls the web," extracting names, locations and other details from pages such as personal profiles, and that it licenses publicly available information such as phone directories and professional listings (Pipl data collection practices). The home page claims "5B+ identities across 150+ countries" (Pipl).
Two cautions follow. First, a graph built over many years holds old data: a phone number or address can be accurate for a past period and wrong today. Second, identity resolution merges fragments into one profile, and merges can be wrong. Treat every returned identifier as a lead with a date, not a current fact.
FCRA and Permissible Use Restrictions
Pipl vets every customer, bars uses such as entrapment and political campaigns, and prohibits FCRA-governed uses like credit, insurance, employment and licensing decisions involving US persons.
Pipl's product terms (section 2.4.3) apply where the customer or its end user is a US entity, or the person searched is a US person. In those cases, results may not be used to decide a consumer's eligibility for credit or insurance for personal, family or household purposes, for employment, or for a government license or benefit, or for "any other purpose governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)." Section 2.1.1(v) also bars automated decision-making where the law does not permit it (Pipl product terms).
The permissible use policy adds that "every customer who wishes to access Pipl services must identify themselves and the purpose," and bans uses that infringe fundamental rights, entrapment, political campaigns, spam, and access by anyone who hides their identity (Pipl permissible use). Employers who want background information for hiring need an FCRA process with a consumer reporting agency (FTC). Under the GDPR, searching people in scope also requires a lawful basis and data minimization (GDPR).
Pipl Pricing and Plans
There is no free tier or public price list; Pipl sells by quote, and buyer-reported contracts have a median of about $10,000 a year.
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier or self-serve plan | None found; demo and contact only | Pipl |
| Pricing model | Per suite; the vendor says customers "pay once, only for the decisions made" | Pipl product comparison |
| Buyer-reported median | $10,000 a year | Vendr |
| Buyer-reported range | $8,000 to $55,635 a year | Vendr |
Checked 10 October 2026. Vendr figures are reported by buyers, not by Pipl, and the page does not state how many contracts they cover.
Who Should Use Pipl for OSINT?
Organizations that resolve identities at volume, such as fraud, trust and safety and financial crime teams; not individuals, occasional users or anyone screening for FCRA purposes.
A good fit: marketplaces, payment and fintech fraud teams that need to check whether an email or phone belongs to a real, consistent identity; trust and safety teams investigating fake accounts; financial crime and law enforcement analysts who need fast pivots from one identifier to others inside their own systems.
A poor fit: individuals and small teams looking for a free people search (there is none); employers, landlords and lenders making FCRA-governed decisions; and investigations that need court records, company filings or offline sources rather than identity data.
Pipl Alternatives for OSINT Investigators
Alternatives include self-serve selector lookups, report-driven investigation platforms and enterprise OSINT suites.
OSINT Industries
Lookups by email, phone number, username, name or crypto wallet, with monthly plans from £19 (pricing).
OSINT Industries review →Skopenow
Automated entity reports, link analysis and fraud signals for vetted security, insurance and legal teams; also not for FCRA uses.
Skopenow review →ShadowDragon
Horizon identity search, link analysis and monitoring, plus the SocialNet API, for government and enterprise investigators.
ShadowDragon review →Maltego
Graph platform with a free Basic plan and paid plans from €3,000 a year (pricing).
Maltego review →Need the Answer, Not the Tool?
If you have one email, phone number or person to resolve, an analyst-led check is faster than an enterprise contract and comes with verification.
Many people searching for Pipl want a single answer: who is behind an email address or phone number, or where a debtor or witness can lawfully be found. Our email address investigations and phone number investigations resolve one identifier at a time, and our people tracing and fraud investigations teams handle the wider case. We only take people-tracing work with a lawful purpose, and never for stalking or harassment.
Every request is scoped in writing with a fixed quote, focused checks take from 10 business days, and a senior analyst reviews the report. Browse all OSINT services we offer, or compare tools by task in the OSINT tools catalog.
Resolve One Identity Without a Contract
Send us the email, phone number or person you need to understand, your purpose and your deadline. We reply with a written scope and a fixed quote.
Pipl OSINT FAQ
I remember using Pipl OSINT searches for free years ago — is there still a free tier, and what is the current status of Pipl as a tool for investigators?
There is no free tier today. In 2018 Pipl still ran a public version with basic profiles, but its website now offers only demos and sales contact, and we found no free search or self-serve plan on 10 October 2026. Pipl has repositioned as an enterprise fraud and identity company with three suites: Trust, Search and Elements. Investigators use Pipl Search, an API and browser tool that queries Pipl's identity graph.
We're a small HR consultancy — can we run job applicants through Pipl to check their emails and social profiles before our clients make hiring decisions?
No. Pipl's product terms prohibit using results to decide employment where the customer is a US entity or the person searched is a US person, along with credit, insurance and government license or benefit decisions and any other FCRA purpose. Outside the US, privacy law still requires a lawful basis and proportionality. For hiring, use an FCRA-compliant consumer reporting agency in the US, or a screening process designed for the relevant country.
Our marketplace's fraud team needs to check whether sign-up emails and phone numbers belong to real people — how much does Pipl cost per year for something like that?
Pipl does not publish prices. Its comparison page describes per-suite pricing where customers "pay once, only for the decisions made," and quotes come through sales. Buyer-reported data on Vendr shows a median of $10,000 a year and a range of about $8,000 to $55,635. For sign-up checks specifically, ask about Pipl Elements or Pipl Trust as well as Search, since those suites are built for automated risk decisions.
How does Pipl get its data, and how worried should we be that a phone number or address it returns is out of date or belongs to someone else?
Pipl says it crawls the public web continuously and licenses publicly available information such as phone directories and professional listings, then resolves fragments into identities. That makes old data likely: a number or address may have been correct years ago and wrong now. Merges can also be wrong when people share names. Treat every result as a dated lead and confirm it with an independent, current source before acting.
I'm a freelance researcher who needs to identify the owner of one email address for a client dispute — would signing up for Pipl be worth it, or is there a better route?
For one email address, Pipl is not a practical route: it sells enterprise contracts after vetting, with buyer-reported prices in the thousands of dollars a year. Self-serve lookup tools with monthly plans exist, and an analyst-led email address investigation can combine several sources, verify the result and document it for the dispute. Whichever route you take, make sure the client has a lawful purpose and that the findings are recorded with dates and sources.
Pipl says every customer is vetted — what does it actually ask for, and what kinds of uses would get our organization refused or cut off?
Pipl's permissible use policy says every customer must identify themselves and the purpose for using the services, and contracts bind customers to that purpose. The policy bans uses that infringe fundamental rights such as privacy and freedom of speech, entrapment, political campaigns, mass spam or unsolicited calls, and access by anyone who hides or falsifies their identity. FCRA-governed uses involving US persons are also prohibited under the product terms.
Sources and Notes
- Pipl: home page
- Pipl: Pipl Search
- Pipl: product comparison
- Pipl: product terms of service
- Pipl: permissible use policy
- Pipl: data collection practices
- Globes: A search engine that digs deeper than Google (January 2018)
- Calcalist: People data company Pipl raises $19 million (January 2018)
- Vendr: Pipl buyer-reported pricing
- OSINT Industries: pricing
- Maltego: pricing
- FTC: Using consumer reports, what employers need to know
- GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)
Sources checked 10 October 2026. Figures about third-party firms and tools are as published by them or by the cited source on that date.