Run a labeled sample of 100 to 200 owner records through every candidate provider inside the same week. A labeled sample is a file where you already know the correct phone number or email, which is what lets you score returns instead of trusting them. Score match rate, precision, reachability, right-party contact and recency as separate numbers, because a provider that leads on one can trail on the others [5][6]. Divide total spend by the owners an attempt actually reached, then rank the candidates on that figure rather than on anything advertised. Published rates cannot substitute for it, since PropertyRadar attributes its 80% or better figure to customer reports and no vendor discloses the file behind its own number [1].
\n","summary":"Published accuracy claims run from a customer-reported 80% at PropertyRadar to 85% to 90% at REISkip and a 74% right-party contact rate on BatchData's marketplace listing, and none of those figures share a denominator. The comparable number is one you produce: a 150-record labeled sample sent to two or three providers in the same week, scored on five metrics separately, then divided into total spend to give cost per reachable owner.","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T13:15:00","verifiedAt":"2026-08-13T00:00:00","editorialStatus":"APPROVED","lastReviewedAt":"2026-08-13T00:00:00","nextReviewDueAt":"2026-11-13T00:00:00","templateVersion":"v2","aliases":["How do I verify skip tracing accuracy before buying a big list","What is a good way to compare skip tracing providers","How do I run a skip tracing test batch","Which skip tracing service is most accurate","How do I measure skip trace match rate and precision","What sample size should I use to test a skip tracing vendor","Are published skip tracing match rates reliable","How do I calculate cost per reachable owner in skip tracing","How do I benchmark two skip tracing vendors against each other","What should I check before buying 10,000 skip traced records"],"confidenceScore":78,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","canonicalUrl":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"contributorOrganizationProfile":{"entityId":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","legalName":null,"description":null,"websiteUrl":null,"imageUrl":null,"slogan":null,"subtitle":null,"facts":[],"coiNote":null,"foundingDate":null,"numberOfEmployeesText":null,"contactPoint":null,"address":null,"headquartersText":null,"organizationType":null},"contributorPerson":{"slug":"answerstack-editorial-team","displayName":"AnswerStack Editorial Team"},"sections":[{"id":"ed77d1fd-f3f7-491f-bb39-0248580e35d2","sectionKey":"labeled_sample_test","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Why does a labeled sample settle what a published rate cannot?","introMarkdown":"A labeled sample is a file of owner records where the correct phone number or email is already on hand. Closed deals and past conversations produce rows with a verified answer behind them, which is what separates a test from another purchase. One hundred fifty records separates providers that differ by more than a few points and stays small enough to score by hand.\n\nEntity-owned parcels belong in the sample at close to their share of the target list. An LLC or trust row exercises a different part of a provider's matching than an individual owner does. A sample drawn only from individually owned single-family homes ranks providers correctly for that one shape of record and misleads on every other.\n\nVendor figures cannot be compared with one another, because each company publishes a different metric measured on a file nobody outside it has seen [1][8][9]. A match rate counts records that came back with something attached, while a right-party contact rate counts attempts that reached the named owner [6]. Two providers quoting those numbers side by side are answering different questions, so the ranking stays undecided until you measure both on one file.\n\nThe TCPA sets damages at $500 for each violation, which a court may raise to $1,500 where the violation was willful [14]. Investors comparing providers in a BiggerPockets thread report usable contact information on a fraction of a run, one poster putting it at 20% to 30% of 1,000 properties [15]. Those posts are reports rather than measurements, the same limitation the vendor pages carry.","introHtml":"A labeled sample is a file of owner records where the correct phone number or email is already on hand. Closed deals and past conversations produce rows with a verified answer behind them, which is what separates a test from another purchase. One hundred fifty records separates providers that differ by more than a few points and stays small enough to score by hand.
\nEntity-owned parcels belong in the sample at close to their share of the target list. An LLC or trust row exercises a different part of a provider's matching than an individual owner does. A sample drawn only from individually owned single-family homes ranks providers correctly for that one shape of record and misleads on every other.
\nVendor figures cannot be compared with one another, because each company publishes a different metric measured on a file nobody outside it has seen [1][8][9]. A match rate counts records that came back with something attached, while a right-party contact rate counts attempts that reached the named owner [6]. Two providers quoting those numbers side by side are answering different questions, so the ranking stays undecided until you measure both on one file.
\nThe TCPA sets damages at $500 for each violation, which a court may raise to $1,500 where the violation was willful [14]. Investors comparing providers in a BiggerPockets thread report usable contact information on a fraction of a run, one poster putting it at 20% to 30% of 1,000 properties [15]. Those posts are reports rather than measurements, the same limitation the vendor pages carry.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":10},{"id":"cb26f8e4-d40c-4bd9-bcfc-0749dec532b5","sectionKey":"building_the_sample","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How do you build the labeled sample?","introMarkdown":"The owner name as recorded goes on every row alongside the site address and the tax-roll mailing address. The county and APN follow, plus the date each field was pulled. PropertyRadar's import documentation names county and APN as the starting point for a high-confidence match, which is why the identifier set carries the result [2]. The same page requires a number and street plus a city or ZIP before an address match qualifies, and accepts phone or email matches only when they are exact [2].\n\nThat documentation also offers a low threshold that admits loose matches for review and a high threshold that excludes relevant records to protect accuracy [2]. Every matcher makes that trade without showing you the dial, so a sample missing identifiers tests your own file more than the provider.\n\nOwners you have already reached skew toward the ones who were reachable, which flatters every provider in the test. A fifth of the sample held by LLCs or trusts is a reasonable floor when the target list runs entity owners at that rate. Entity rows change what a right-party conversation means, because a returned contact there is a signer with no verification of beneficial ownership behind it.","introHtml":"The owner name as recorded goes on every row alongside the site address and the tax-roll mailing address. The county and APN follow, plus the date each field was pulled. PropertyRadar's import documentation names county and APN as the starting point for a high-confidence match, which is why the identifier set carries the result [2]. The same page requires a number and street plus a city or ZIP before an address match qualifies, and accepts phone or email matches only when they are exact [2].
\nThat documentation also offers a low threshold that admits loose matches for review and a high threshold that excludes relevant records to protect accuracy [2]. Every matcher makes that trade without showing you the dial, so a sample missing identifiers tests your own file more than the provider.
\nOwners you have already reached skew toward the ones who were reachable, which flatters every provider in the test. A fifth of the sample held by LLCs or trusts is a reasonable floor when the target list runs entity owners at that rate. Entity rows change what a right-party conversation means, because a returned contact there is a signer with no verification of beneficial ownership behind it.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":20},{"id":"d8735805-e9cb-43a7-93de-66c280ad8464","sectionKey":"metrics_table","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"Which measurements does a single accuracy number hide?","introMarkdown":"This table separates the six measurements one accuracy figure collapses, with the formula behind each and what a published version means.","introHtml":"This table separates the six measurements one accuracy figure collapses, with the formula behind each and what a published version means.
\n","outroMarkdown":"Read down the formula column first, because two metrics that sound alike divide by different denominators [5].","outroHtml":"Read down the formula column first, because two metrics that sound alike divide by different denominators [5].
\n","contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["Match rate","Records that came back with a phone or email","contacts returned ÷ records submitted","The headline figure, counted whether or not the contact fits the owner"]},{"cells":["Precision","Returned contacts belonging to the owner named on the deed","correct contacts ÷ contacts returned [5]","Rarely published, since it needs a labeled sample the vendor lacks"]},{"cells":["Right-party contact rate","Records where an attempt reached the named owner","owner conversations ÷ records submitted","Published by some vendors as one national figure, such as BatchData's 74% [9]"]},{"cells":["Reachability","Returned numbers that connect to a working line","connected dials ÷ numbers dialed","Not published, and it decays after the export date"]},{"cells":["Recency","Age of the source record behind each contact","contacts under 12 months old ÷ contacts returned","Not published, and it drives the disconnect rate"]},{"cells":["Cost per reachable owner","Money spent per owner an attempt reached","(plan fee share + per-record charges) ÷ owners reached","Not a vendor metric, since it depends on your plan [3]"]}],"columns":["Metric","What it counts","Formula","What a published version means"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":30},{"id":"ccabb4a7-3bea-43bd-ae92-87444ad46378","sectionKey":"the_metrics","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What does each metric actually measure?","introMarkdown":"### Match rate and precision move independently\n\nMatch rate counts records that came back with something attached, while precision counts how much of that belongs to the owner on the deed. Google's machine learning course defines precision as the proportion of positive classifications that were correct, computed as true positives divided by true positives plus false positives [5]. A returned contact file rarely receives that arithmetic, because it requires the answer key a labeled sample supplies.\n\n### Right-party contact is the one some vendors publish\n\nREsimpli defines a contactable match rate as confirmed working phones or emails divided by total leads loaded, counting a live connect or an SMS reply [6]. It puts a workable contactable rate at 60% to 80% against a stated industry baseline of 30% to 40%, figures the company publishes with no study attached [6].\n\n### Reachability and recency decay after the export\n\nA number that matched cleanly in March may be disconnected by June, which is why reachability belongs in its own column. Contacts under 12 months old divided by contacts returned gives the recency figure, and no vendor in this group publishes it.\n\n### One vendor refuses to quote a number at all\n\nSkip Genie declines to publish an accuracy percentage [7]. The company tells buyers to ask any provider quoting one for the method behind the study, since such a figure varies with whatever variables were measured [7]. The variables it names are the ones a labeled sample fixes in place, which is the argument for scoring 150 rows yourself.","introHtml":"Match rate counts records that came back with something attached, while precision counts how much of that belongs to the owner on the deed. Google's machine learning course defines precision as the proportion of positive classifications that were correct, computed as true positives divided by true positives plus false positives [5]. A returned contact file rarely receives that arithmetic, because it requires the answer key a labeled sample supplies.
\nREsimpli defines a contactable match rate as confirmed working phones or emails divided by total leads loaded, counting a live connect or an SMS reply [6]. It puts a workable contactable rate at 60% to 80% against a stated industry baseline of 30% to 40%, figures the company publishes with no study attached [6].
\nA number that matched cleanly in March may be disconnected by June, which is why reachability belongs in its own column. Contacts under 12 months old divided by contacts returned gives the recency figure, and no vendor in this group publishes it.
\nSkip Genie declines to publish an accuracy percentage [7]. The company tells buyers to ask any provider quoting one for the method behind the study, since such a figure varies with whatever variables were measured [7]. The variables it names are the ones a labeled sample fixes in place, which is the argument for scoring 150 rows yourself.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":40},{"id":"d5aab782-bcc0-46ac-9d67-1cdd27a27251","sectionKey":"protocol_table","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"What does a fair test look like step by step?","introMarkdown":"This table lays out a seven-step protocol, with the setting to use at each step and the field to record.","introHtml":"This table lays out a seven-step protocol, with the setting to use at each step and the field to record.
\n","outroMarkdown":"Keep the steps in order, because scoring before screening puts a dial on a number that a do-not-call check would have removed [13].","outroHtml":"Keep the steps in order, because scoring before screening puts a dial on a number that a do-not-call check would have removed [13].
\n","contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["1. Assemble","Pull owners you have reached, add a random slice of the target list","150 records, a fifth entity-owned","Name as recorded, both addresses, county and APN, source date [2]"]},{"cells":["2. Freeze","Export once, one owner per row, identical columns","The same 150 rows to each candidate","Export date, so nobody re-pulls a different version"]},{"cells":["3. Submit","Send every file inside the same week","2 or 3 providers, no more","Submission date and plan tier per provider"]},{"cells":["4. Score blind","Strip provider names before anyone scores","All returned rows","Contacts per record, phone type, source date supplied"]},{"cells":["5. Screen","Do-not-call and litigator screening before any dial","Every number returned, not the first alone","Which list screened which number, and when [13]"]},{"cells":["6. Dial","One script, one caller, the same calling hours","4 to 6 attempts per record [6]","Outcome per attempt, from right party to disconnected"]},{"cells":["7. Tally","Compute each metric separately, then divide spend by owners reached","Per provider","The six metrics above, plus spend including plan fees"]}],"columns":["Step","What to do","Sample size or setting","What to record"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":50},{"id":"bad675f9-40e9-4680-a669-eeafb38c5efc","sectionKey":"running_the_test","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How do you run the test fairly across providers?","introMarkdown":"One frozen file goes to every candidate inside the same week. Providers refresh on different cycles against constant churn, with roughly 35 million U.S. numbers disconnected and released for reassignment each year [11]. Submitting a month apart hands the later provider a data advantage unrelated to its matching.\n\nA provider returning four numbers on one owner has handed you four separate compliance decisions. The do-not-call status of the primary line says nothing about the other three, so screening has to cover every number in the return. Registry access rides on your own Subscription Account Number, which the FTC issues to the seller separately from any telemarketer's account [13].\n\nAttempt budgets keep one stubborn record from consuming the test, and REsimpli puts the expected touch-to-connect ratio at 4 to 6 attempts [6]. Phone type decides the order inside that budget, because 78.7% of U.S. adults lived in wireless-only households during the second half of 2024 [12].","introHtml":"One frozen file goes to every candidate inside the same week. Providers refresh on different cycles against constant churn, with roughly 35 million U.S. numbers disconnected and released for reassignment each year [11]. Submitting a month apart hands the later provider a data advantage unrelated to its matching.
\nA provider returning four numbers on one owner has handed you four separate compliance decisions. The do-not-call status of the primary line says nothing about the other three, so screening has to cover every number in the return. Registry access rides on your own Subscription Account Number, which the FTC issues to the seller separately from any telemarketer's account [13].
\nAttempt budgets keep one stubborn record from consuming the test, and REsimpli puts the expected touch-to-connect ratio at 4 to 6 attempts [6]. Phone type decides the order inside that budget, because 78.7% of U.S. adults lived in wireless-only households during the second half of 2024 [12].
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":60},{"id":"3341cb02-1a2d-45ac-9b39-ee470c8ce4a5","sectionKey":"vendor_claims","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How do vendor accuracy claims read against a measured result?","introMarkdown":"PropertyRadar publishes one number and labels where it came from, stating that customers have reported an accuracy rate of 80% or better [1]. The same page adds that no skip-tracing service reaches a 100% accurate match rate, and places a cold-calling match rate above 70% inside its very-high-quality band [1]. No right-party contact rate appears there, which means the figure cannot be set against one measured on conversations.\n\nREISkip states that its users see 85% to 90% of their leads matched with phone numbers, a figure that counts phones and says nothing about who answers [8]. Flat pricing at $0.15 per skip appears on the same page, which makes REISkip cheap to include as a third candidate [8].\n\nBatchData's product listing on the Datarade marketplace headlines a 74% right-party contact rate for its residential real estate data [9]. The marketplace labels that quality section as self-reported by the provider, and the same listing carries a 100% fill rate [9]. Fill rate counts how many cells arrive populated rather than how many owners answer, so those two figures measure different events.\n\nNone of those numbers share a denominator, which is why none of them can be ranked against another. A measured result from 150 rows in one county beats all of them, because it runs on one file and one set of definitions.","introHtml":"PropertyRadar publishes one number and labels where it came from, stating that customers have reported an accuracy rate of 80% or better [1]. The same page adds that no skip-tracing service reaches a 100% accurate match rate, and places a cold-calling match rate above 70% inside its very-high-quality band [1]. No right-party contact rate appears there, which means the figure cannot be set against one measured on conversations.
\nREISkip states that its users see 85% to 90% of their leads matched with phone numbers, a figure that counts phones and says nothing about who answers [8]. Flat pricing at $0.15 per skip appears on the same page, which makes REISkip cheap to include as a third candidate [8].
\nBatchData's product listing on the Datarade marketplace headlines a 74% right-party contact rate for its residential real estate data [9]. The marketplace labels that quality section as self-reported by the provider, and the same listing carries a 100% fill rate [9]. Fill rate counts how many cells arrive populated rather than how many owners answer, so those two figures measure different events.
\nNone of those numbers share a denominator, which is why none of them can be ranked against another. A measured result from 150 rows in one county beats all of them, because it runs on one file and one set of definitions.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":70},{"id":"ca6dab59-1589-49d1-a1cc-f873936784bd","sectionKey":"cost_per_reachable_owner","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How do you turn the result into cost per reachable owner?","introMarkdown":"Cost per reachable owner divides total spend by the number of owners an attempt reached during the test. Include the platform fee where you are buying the platform for the trace, and leave it out where the subscription was already paying for list building you would keep anyway.\n\nPropStream charges 12 cents per contact on Essentials and 10 cents on Pro and Elite, with the first traces bundled through PropStream Connect [10]. A 150-record sample therefore costs $18.00 on Essentials, sitting on top of a $99 monthly plan [10]. Skip Genie charges 17 cents per record with bulk lists as low as 13 cents, which brings the same sample in between $19.50 and $25.50 [7].\n\nPropertyRadar meters contacts by plan rather than charging per record [3]. Solo at $119 a month includes 250 phone and 250 email contacts, Team at $249 includes 500 of each, and Business at $599 includes 2,500 of each [3]. A 150-record sample fits inside the Solo allowance, so the marginal trace cost is zero there and the plan fee carries the whole denominator [3].\n\nAdditional contacts past those allowances run 8 cents on Solo, 6 cents on Team, and 4 cents on Business [4]. One purchase covers every phone number and email address the platform holds for that person, so a record returning four numbers costs the same as a record returning one [4].\n\nThe arithmetic below is illustrative, using invented return counts to show how the division works. Suppose the 150-row sample comes back from PropStream Essentials with contacts on 104 records and 38 conversations that reached the owner of record. Trace spend of $18.00 divided by 38 gives 47 cents per reachable owner, and adding the $99 plan fee for a month bought only for this test raises it to $3.08 [10]. The same sample through REISkip at $22.50 with 34 owners reached lands at 66 cents with no platform fee attached [8], so the ranking flips depending on whether you keep a subscription anyway.","introHtml":"Cost per reachable owner divides total spend by the number of owners an attempt reached during the test. Include the platform fee where you are buying the platform for the trace, and leave it out where the subscription was already paying for list building you would keep anyway.
\nPropStream charges 12 cents per contact on Essentials and 10 cents on Pro and Elite, with the first traces bundled through PropStream Connect [10]. A 150-record sample therefore costs $18.00 on Essentials, sitting on top of a $99 monthly plan [10]. Skip Genie charges 17 cents per record with bulk lists as low as 13 cents, which brings the same sample in between $19.50 and $25.50 [7].
\nPropertyRadar meters contacts by plan rather than charging per record [3]. Solo at $119 a month includes 250 phone and 250 email contacts, Team at $249 includes 500 of each, and Business at $599 includes 2,500 of each [3]. A 150-record sample fits inside the Solo allowance, so the marginal trace cost is zero there and the plan fee carries the whole denominator [3].
\nAdditional contacts past those allowances run 8 cents on Solo, 6 cents on Team, and 4 cents on Business [4]. One purchase covers every phone number and email address the platform holds for that person, so a record returning four numbers costs the same as a record returning one [4].
\nThe arithmetic below is illustrative, using invented return counts to show how the division works. Suppose the 150-row sample comes back from PropStream Essentials with contacts on 104 records and 38 conversations that reached the owner of record. Trace spend of $18.00 divided by 38 gives 47 cents per reachable owner, and adding the $99 plan fee for a month bought only for this test raises it to $3.08 [10]. The same sample through REISkip at $22.50 with 34 owners reached lands at 66 cents with no platform fee attached [8], so the ranking flips depending on whether you keep a subscription anyway.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":80},{"id":"05653e89-398f-46f9-9589-0bb58fe42c5f","sectionKey":"trade_offs","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Trade-offs and what to watch","introMarkdown":"### A bundled allowance and a per-record price are different purchases\n\nA bundled allowance charges nothing extra until it runs out, so the platform fee carries the entire cost per reachable owner [3]. A flat per-record price exposes the trace cost cleanly, which means the ranking between the two reverses as soon as your monthly volume changes [8].\n\n### The winner holds only for the shape of record in your sample\n\nA test built on absentee single-family owners in one county says little about entity-held parcels three states away. Split the tally into individually owned rows and entity-owned rows before signing anything larger, because a provider that wins on individuals and loses on entities is still the right buy for a list running 90% individual owners.\n\n### The result expires faster than the contract\n\nScore the same labeled rows again before any large renewal, since the file a provider matched against in one quarter is a different file six months later [11]. Phone numbers turn over faster than mailing addresses, which is how a provider that wins one test loses the next without changing its matching.","introHtml":"A bundled allowance charges nothing extra until it runs out, so the platform fee carries the entire cost per reachable owner [3]. A flat per-record price exposes the trace cost cleanly, which means the ranking between the two reverses as soon as your monthly volume changes [8].
\nA test built on absentee single-family owners in one county says little about entity-held parcels three states away. Split the tally into individually owned rows and entity-owned rows before signing anything larger, because a provider that wins on individuals and loses on entities is still the right buy for a list running 90% individual owners.
\nScore the same labeled rows again before any large renewal, since the file a provider matched against in one quarter is a different file six months later [11]. Phone numbers turn over faster than mailing addresses, which is how a provider that wins one test loses the next without changing its matching.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":90},{"id":"f08f8162-a0fd-4507-808c-e335da0b61bf","sectionKey":"what_a_match_rate_is_not","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What a published match rate is not","introMarkdown":"A published match rate is not a measure of whether anyone answered. It counts records that came back with a phone number or an email attached, whether or not that contact belongs to the owner named on the deed [5]. Precision is the separate figure that answers the ownership question, and no vendor can compute it without the answer key a labeled sample supplies [5].\n\nA match rate is also not a statement about your county or your owner profile, since vendors measure on files they assembled and never publish the composition of those files [7].\n\nAn accuracy claim is not a right-party contact rate, even when both arrive as percentages on one page [9]. PropertyRadar attributes its 80% or better figure to customer reports rather than an internal study, which tells you the denominator is customer-supplied [1].\n\nA right-party contact on an entity-owned parcel is not a confirmed conversation with the beneficial owner. The person a trace returns there is a signer or an authorized representative, so score those rows apart from the individually owned ones.","introHtml":"A published match rate is not a measure of whether anyone answered. It counts records that came back with a phone number or an email attached, whether or not that contact belongs to the owner named on the deed [5]. Precision is the separate figure that answers the ownership question, and no vendor can compute it without the answer key a labeled sample supplies [5].
\nA match rate is also not a statement about your county or your owner profile, since vendors measure on files they assembled and never publish the composition of those files [7].
\nAn accuracy claim is not a right-party contact rate, even when both arrive as percentages on one page [9]. PropertyRadar attributes its 80% or better figure to customer reports rather than an internal study, which tells you the denominator is customer-supplied [1].
\nA right-party contact on an entity-owned parcel is not a confirmed conversation with the beneficial owner. The person a trace returns there is a signer or an authorized representative, so score those rows apart from the individually owned ones.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":100},{"id":"5496a12d-a670-4d75-9c36-7e37a62d6bb7","sectionKey":"contributor_perspective","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How this answer was researched","introMarkdown":"This answer is independent research with no commercial stake in any provider named. Pricing and product behavior come from vendor documentation read directly, including PropStream's plan pricing, REISkip's site, Skip Genie's FAQ, BatchData's Datarade listing, and four PropertyRadar pages covering its skip-tracing guide, import thresholds, plan allowances and contact overage rules [10][8][7][9][1][2][3][4].\n\nCompliance and churn figures come from federal sources rather than vendor summaries: FTC guidance on registry subscriptions, the FCC order behind the Reassigned Numbers Database, the TCPA damages provision in the U.S. Code, and CDC wireless substitution estimates [13][11][14][12]. The definition of precision comes from Google's machine learning course [5], and an investor forum thread was read for the shape of the question rather than as evidence of a rate [15]. Practitioners who run these tests at volume are invited to send corrections, particularly where a provider's metering has changed since the dates shown.","introHtml":"This answer is independent research with no commercial stake in any provider named. Pricing and product behavior come from vendor documentation read directly, including PropStream's plan pricing, REISkip's site, Skip Genie's FAQ, BatchData's Datarade listing, and four PropertyRadar pages covering its skip-tracing guide, import thresholds, plan allowances and contact overage rules [10][8][7][9][1][2][3][4].
\nCompliance and churn figures come from federal sources rather than vendor summaries: FTC guidance on registry subscriptions, the FCC order behind the Reassigned Numbers Database, the TCPA damages provision in the U.S. Code, and CDC wireless substitution estimates [13][11][14][12]. The definition of precision comes from Google's machine learning course [5], and an investor forum thread was read for the shape of the question rather than as evidence of a rate [15]. Practitioners who run these tests at volume are invited to send corrections, particularly where a provider's metering has changed since the dates shown.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":"This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.","noteHtml":"This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.
\n","sortOrder":110}],"citations":[{"title":"The complete guide to skip tracing","url":"https://www.propertyradar.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-skip-tracing","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"SUPPORTING","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Customer-reported accuracy rate of 80% or better, the statement that no skip-tracing service reaches a 100% accurate match rate, a cold-calling match rate above 70% placed in the very-high-quality band, and a retail band of $0.10 to $0.50 per record.","domain":"propertyradar.com","publisherName":"PropertyRadar"},{"title":"Importing a new list","url":"https://help.propertyradar.com/en/articles/6157304-importing-a-new-list","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"SUPPORTING","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"County plus parcel number as the high-confidence starting point, address matching that requires number and street plus city or ZIP, exact-value matching on phone and email, and the low and high match thresholds.","domain":"help.propertyradar.com","publisherName":"PropertyRadar Help Center"},{"title":"Pricing","url":"https://www.propertyradar.com/pricing","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"SUPPORTING","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Metered monthly contact allowances by plan: 250 phone and 250 email contacts on Solo at $119, 500 of each on Team at $249, and 2,500 of each on Business at $599.","domain":"propertyradar.com","publisherName":"PropertyRadar"},{"title":"Unlocking email addresses and phone numbers","url":"https://help.propertyradar.com/en/articles/5881885-unlocking-email-addresses-and-phone-numbers","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"SUPPORTING","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Additional contacts at 8 cents on Solo, 6 cents on Team and 4 cents on Business, one purchase covering every number and email held for that person, and a five-day trial capped at five contact purchases.","domain":"help.propertyradar.com","publisherName":"PropertyRadar Help Center"},{"title":"Accuracy, precision, and recall","url":"https://developers.google.com/machine-learning/crash-course/classification/accuracy-precision-recall","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Precision defined as the proportion of positive classifications that were correct, computed as true positives divided by true positives plus false positives.","domain":"developers.google.com","publisherName":"Google Machine Learning Crash Course"},{"title":"An accuracy framework for skip tracing","url":"https://resimpli.com/blog/accuracy-framework-skip-tracing/","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Contactable match rate defined as confirmed working phones or emails divided by total leads loaded, a workable range of 60% to 80% against a stated 30% to 40% baseline, and a touch-to-connect ratio of 4 to 6 attempts.","domain":"resimpli.com","publisherName":"REsimpli"},{"title":"Pricing FAQs","url":"https://skipgenie.com/faqs/","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Refusal to publish an accuracy percentage, the instruction to ask any provider quoting one for the method behind the study, and pricing of 17 cents per record with bulk lists as low as 13 cents.","domain":"skipgenie.com","publisherName":"Skip Genie"},{"title":"REISkip pricing and match claim","url":"https://www.reiskip.com/","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Claim that users see 85% to 90% of their leads matched with phone numbers, and flat pricing at $0.15 per skip.","domain":"reiskip.com","publisherName":"REISkip"},{"title":"BatchData property search and lookup API listing","url":"https://datarade.ai/data-products/batchdata-property-search-lookup-api-real-estate-and-homeow-batchservice","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"The vendor's own claim of a 74% right-party contact rate and a 100% fill rate, in a quality section the marketplace labels as self-reported by the provider.","domain":"datarade.ai","publisherName":"Datarade"},{"title":"Pricing","url":"https://www.propstream.com/pricing","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Skip tracing at 12 cents per contact on Essentials and 10 cents on Pro and Elite, a $99 monthly Essentials plan, and a seven-day trial including 50 free leads.","domain":"propstream.com","publisherName":"PropStream"},{"title":"Second report and order on advanced methods to target and eliminate unlawful robocalls","url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-18-177A1.pdf","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Roughly 35 million U.S. telephone numbers are disconnected and made available for reassignment each year.","domain":"docs.fcc.gov","publisherName":"Federal Communications Commission"},{"title":"Wireless substitution: early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey","url":"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless202506.pdf","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"78.7% of U.S. adults lived in wireless-only households during the second half of 2024.","domain":"cdc.gov","publisherName":"CDC National Center for Health Statistics"},{"title":"Q and A for telemarketers and sellers about DNC provisions","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/qa-telemarketers-sellers-about-dnc-provisions-tsr","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Registry access requires a Subscription Account Number issued to the seller, separately from any telemarketer's own account.","domain":"ftc.gov","publisherName":"Federal Trade Commission"},{"title":"47 U.S.C. 227, Restrictions on use of telephone equipment (TCPA)","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/227","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Statutory damages of $500 for each violation, which a court may increase to $1,500 where the violation was willful or knowing.","domain":"law.cornell.edu","publisherName":"Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School"},{"title":"Best skip tracing website","url":"https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/1157203-best-skip-tracing-website","excerpt":null,"quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"CORROBORATING","verifiedAt":"2026-08-26T00:00:00","supportsText":"Establishes that buyers routinely compare skip-tracing providers and post results below advertised rates; used for the shape of the question and for attributed poster reports, never as evidence of any rate.","domain":"biggerpockets.com","publisherName":"BiggerPockets"}],"revisions":[],"relatedAnswers":[{"id":"929ddf7e-28d0-4afc-a521-99c753dd75b4","slug":"property-owner-no-valid-phone-or-email-next-steps","question":"What should I do when a property owner has no valid phone number or email address?","publishedAt":"2026-08-14T15:50:00","confidenceScore":78,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","industry":{"id":"2ca8d285-89d2-418e-86a8-5f0d3639f767","slug":"real-estate-technology","label":"Real Estate Technology","description":"Property intelligence, investment, and proptech"},"topic":{"slug":"skip-tracing-owner-contact","label":"Skip Tracing & Owner Contact","description":"Locating and validating property-owner phone numbers and email addresses, testing skip-tracing providers, and handling records with no usable contact data.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"A property owner with no valid phone number or email address usually has no consumer contact data left to buy, so a repeat trace returns the same miss at the same price. The record still carries routes: the deed for the name, the tax roll for the mailing address, the state formation filing for an entity, and the probate docket for an estate. A written stop rule decides when a parcel moves to a monitored list instead of another purchase.","url":"/q/property-owner-no-valid-phone-or-email-next-steps"},{"id":"8bcaef42-649a-4177-92d1-6e83c79fd818","slug":"why-skip-tracing-returns-wrong-or-disconnected-numbers","question":"Why does skip tracing return multiple, wrong, or disconnected phone numbers for one property owner?","publishedAt":"2026-08-12T16:40:00","confidenceScore":76,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","industry":{"id":"2ca8d285-89d2-418e-86a8-5f0d3639f767","slug":"real-estate-technology","label":"Real Estate Technology","description":"Property intelligence, investment, and proptech"},"topic":{"slug":"skip-tracing-owner-contact","label":"Skip Tracing & Owner Contact","description":"Locating and validating property-owner phone numbers and email addresses, testing skip-tracing providers, and handling records with no usable contact data.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"One owner arrives with several numbers because the trace resolved a person and returned everything the consumer files attach to that person. Co-owners and old household lines land on the same record, along with signers attached to an LLC or a trust. Wrong numbers trace back to common names and to mailing addresses that were never a residence, while dead numbers follow the 35 million U.S. numbers released for reassignment each year. Sort by phone type and status, and screen every number on the row rather than the first one.","url":"/q/why-skip-tracing-returns-wrong-or-disconnected-numbers"},{"id":"84f7e21a-08b2-4667-a197-1c5753f8d0cb","slug":"what-to-collect-before-skip-tracing-property-owner","question":"What information should I collect before skip tracing a property owner?","publishedAt":"2026-08-10T14:05:00","confidenceScore":84,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"2ca8d285-89d2-418e-86a8-5f0d3639f767","slug":"real-estate-technology","label":"Real Estate Technology","description":"Property intelligence, investment, and proptech"},"topic":{"slug":"skip-tracing-owner-contact","label":"Skip Tracing & Owner Contact","description":"Locating and validating property-owner phone numbers and email addresses, testing skip-tracing providers, and handling records with no usable contact data.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"A skip trace matches a person, so the county record is where collection starts and where it stops. The five fields that carry a match are the owner name as recorded, the site address, the mailing address, the parcel number, and the date each was pulled. A parcel titled to an LLC or a trust needs a signer or trustee from a state filing before a person-level trace has anything to resolve.","url":"/q/what-to-collect-before-skip-tracing-property-owner"},{"id":"04514241-76c8-4b12-b243-101e9216cd7f","slug":"skip-tracing-vs-contact-data-match-append","question":"What is the difference between skip tracing and contact-data match append?","publishedAt":"2026-08-03T13:40:00","confidenceScore":78,"confidenceLabel":"Medium","industry":{"id":"2ca8d285-89d2-418e-86a8-5f0d3639f767","slug":"real-estate-technology","label":"Real Estate Technology","description":"Property intelligence, investment, and proptech"},"topic":{"slug":"skip-tracing-owner-contact","label":"Skip Tracing & Owner Contact","description":"Locating and validating property-owner phone numbers and email addresses, testing skip-tracing providers, and handling records with no usable contact data.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"A per-record trace and a platform's contact allowance solve different problems at different prices. Skip tracing takes an owner name plus a last known address and returns ranked candidates for 2 cents to 50 cents each. Match append draws contacts the platform already tied to the parcel from a monthly allowance of 250 to 2,500. The two also fail differently, because a trace over-returns candidate identities while an append hands back a stale number that still reads as complete.","url":"/q/skip-tracing-vs-contact-data-match-append"}],"contributorStats":{"verifiedAnswers":269,"openDisputes":0},"schemaJson":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Question","name":"How can I test a skip-tracing provider's accuracy before buying a large list?","text":"How can I test a skip-tracing provider's accuracy before buying a large list?","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-to-test-skip-tracing-provider-accuracy","answerCount":1,"datePublished":"2026-08-13T13:15:00","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Skip Tracing & Owner Contact"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Real Estate Technology"}],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Run a labeled sample of 100 to 200 owner records through every candidate provider inside the same week. A labeled sample is a file where you already know the correct phone number or email, which is what lets you score returns instead of trusting them. Score match rate, precision, reachability, right-party contact and recency as separate numbers, because a provider that leads on one can trail on the others [5][6]. Divide total spend by the owners an attempt actually reached, then rank the candidates on that figure rather than on anything advertised. Published rates cannot substitute for it, since PropertyRadar attributes its 80% or better figure to customer reports and no vendor discloses the file behind its own number [1].","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-to-test-skip-tracing-provider-accuracy","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2026-08-13T13:15:00","dateModified":"2026-08-13T00:00:00","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"citation":[{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"The complete guide to skip tracing","url":"https://www.propertyradar.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-skip-tracing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Importing a new list","url":"https://help.propertyradar.com/en/articles/6157304-importing-a-new-list"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Pricing","url":"https://www.propertyradar.com/pricing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Unlocking email addresses and phone numbers","url":"https://help.propertyradar.com/en/articles/5881885-unlocking-email-addresses-and-phone-numbers"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Accuracy, precision, and recall","url":"https://developers.google.com/machine-learning/crash-course/classification/accuracy-precision-recall"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"An accuracy framework for skip tracing","url":"https://resimpli.com/blog/accuracy-framework-skip-tracing/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Pricing FAQs","url":"https://skipgenie.com/faqs/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"REISkip pricing and match claim","url":"https://www.reiskip.com/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"BatchData property search and lookup API listing","url":"https://datarade.ai/data-products/batchdata-property-search-lookup-api-real-estate-and-homeow-batchservice"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Pricing","url":"https://www.propstream.com/pricing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Second report and order on advanced methods to target and eliminate unlawful robocalls","url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-18-177A1.pdf"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Wireless substitution: early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey","url":"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless202506.pdf"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Q and A for telemarketers and sellers about DNC provisions","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/qa-telemarketers-sellers-about-dnc-provisions-tsr"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"47 U.S.C. 227, Restrictions on use of telephone equipment (TCPA)","url":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/227"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Best skip tracing website","url":"https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/1157203-best-skip-tracing-website"}]}}}