Skip tracing turns an address into an owner's phone number. Without it, your lead list is just addresses — unreachable, uncallable, useless. The right service gives you 70–85% phone match rates at $0.10–$0.30 per contact. Here's the honest 2026 comparison of the services wholesalers actually use.
What to measure
Before picking a service, understand the two numbers that matter:
- Hit rate: percentage of records returned with at least one phone number. 70%+ is the floor for a wholesaler-grade provider.
- Cost per contact:total cost ÷ records returned. Don't compare sticker prices — compare landed cost per usable phone number.
A secondary metric is accuracy: the percentage of numbers that actually connect. Cheap providers often hit 80% returns but only 40% accuracy; you're paying to dial disconnects.
The services wholesalers actually use
BatchSkipTracing
$0.12–$0.20/record. Hit rate 75–85%. Strong volume discounts at 10K+ records and integrates with BatchLeads. UI is dated and there's no native SMS outreach.
Skip Genie
$0.15–$0.25/record with monthly minimums. Hit rate 70–80%. Relative-party data (heirs, related parties) makes it solid for probate. Pricier at low volume.
PropStream Skip Trace
$0.10–$0.14/record as a PropStream add-on. Hit rate 65–75%. Cheap if you're already paying for PropStream; accuracy lags dedicated providers.
REI Skip Trace
$0.09/record bulk, $0.15 individual. Hit rate 72–78%. Cheapest at scale; email coverage is weaker than competitors.
TLO
$1–$5/record. Hit rate 90%+. The gold standard — used by attorneys and PIs. Requires business verification and real compliance. Overkill for most wholesalers.
The all-in-one alternative
If you're running a stand-alone skip-trace service, you're also paying for list-pulling software, SMS software, a CRM, and a dialer — usually $400–$600/month before your first deal.
DealMako bundles skip tracing into the platform. Lists pulled from map search flow directly into skip trace, then into compliant 10DLC SMS campaigns — no copy-paste, no CSV imports, no four-tool stack. Hit rates match dedicated providers (75–82% in our 2026 benchmarks) and the cost is folded into your plan.
How to choose
- Under 1,000 records/month: Skip Genie, REI Skip Trace, or DealMako (bundled).
- 1K–10K/month: BatchSkipTracing or DealMako — your call on whether you want a toolstack.
- 10K+/month: negotiate volume pricing with BatchSkipTracing, or go TLO for litigation-level targets.
Start skipping
Start free on DealMako and run your first batch of skip traces without a separate vendor. For the full lead-gen and deal-analysis playbook, see our complete wholesaling guide.