# Offender Locator vs Instant Checkmate

The clearest difference is price: Instant Checkmate at Free against Offender Locator's $2.99. Instant Checkmate also leads on review sentiment (53% vs 9%) and ads (none vs shown). Offender Locator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and chart position (#19 vs unranked). On rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Instant Checkmate is free to download; Offender Locator costs $2.99 up front. Instant Checkmate sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Offender Locator asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Offender Locator against 4.7 for Instant Checkmate. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.9K and 1.3K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 9% of Offender Locator's written reviews are positive against 53% of Instant Checkmate's.

Offender Locator ships an update every 3 months, Instant Checkmate every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Offender Locator | Instant Checkmate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.6 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/offender-locator/id317435796/reviews) | **[4.7 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instant-checkmate/id1349460274/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.9K** | 1.3K |
| Positive reviews | 8.9% of reviews | **53.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#19** | — |
| Size | 31 MB | 45 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Offender Locator Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1487734997) | [Pubrec, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1634884593) |

## What reviewers say

### Offender Locator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/offender-locator/id317435796)

**Currently charting:** #19 Top Paid · Utilities, #120 Top Paid (US App Store)

Locate registered sex offenders in your vicinity across the United States. Check addresses, contacts, or specific offender names. Features daily updated data and mapping capabilities for enhanced safety awareness.

**Highlights:** Find offenders near current GPS location, Check offenders near friends' addresses, Search offenders by any US address, Search offenders by name and offense, Match faces in photos to offender databases, View offender details, photos, and offenses, Map offender proximity to your location

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Quick access to critical information
- 👍 Great for informing users about local offenders

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inaccurate or outdated information
- 🐛 Inconsistent data (same offender info across multiple locations)
- 🐛 Search and map functions not working properly
- 🐛 Photos/descriptions not matching offenders
- 🐛 Missing known offenders from the database

**Reported bugs**

- Offenders' last offense dates all showing as March 1997
- Offenders' ages and physical descriptions not matching
- Duplicate entries for the same offender
- App crashing or not loading at all

**Requested features**

- Update app with latest offender data
- Improve search and mapping functionality
- Ensure photos and descriptions accurately match offenders


### Instant Checkmate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/instant-checkmate/id1349460274)

Investigate addresses to uncover neighborhood details like potential residents, crime rates, and ownership history. This tool helps you learn about your surroundings before you move or for general safety awareness.

**Highlights:** Reverse address lookup, Neighbor identification, Neighborhood crime statistics, Census data, Ownership history

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Email Reports | $2.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Phone Reports | $4.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Premium Reports | $34.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Premium Reports | $34.99 | per month |
| All Inclusive Reports | $34.99 | per month |
| All Inclusive Reports | $37.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Premium Reports | $67.99 | per 3 months |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app
- 🚀 Easy to use and informative
- 💡 Helpful for finding people's contact info

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inaccurate or outdated information
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with sharing personal details
- 🤯 Confusing or misleading features

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes or freezes
- Subscription issues and billing problems
- Search results not loading properly

**Requested features**

- Option to do one-time checks without subscription
- Improved data accuracy and reliability
- Better customer support and refund policies


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Offender Locator free?

Offender Locator costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Instant Checkmate free?

Instant Checkmate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Offender Locator or Instant Checkmate?

Instant Checkmate is rated higher. Offender Locator averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.9K ratings, while Instant Checkmate averages 4.7 from 1.3K ratings.

### Do Offender Locator or Instant Checkmate have ads?

Offender Locator shows ads; Instant Checkmate does not.

### Which is updated more often, Offender Locator or Instant Checkmate?

Offender Locator ships an update every 3 months, and Instant Checkmate every 3 weeks. Most recently, Offender Locator was updated on October 17, 2026 and Instant Checkmate on October 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*