# Cheaterbuster Alternative: Why CheatScanX Is the Better Choice

You found a late-night notification on your partner's phone. Or maybe a friend mentioned spotting a profile that looked a lot like them on Bumble. That sick feeling in your stomach is real, and you deserve answers.

If you have been searching for a Cheaterbuster alternative, you are not alone. Thousands of people every month look for a better way to find hidden dating profiles, and for good reason. Cheaterbuster, the Tinder-only search tool formerly known as Swipebuster, has been struggling with reliability, limited platform coverage, and frustrated users for years.

The problem is simple: cheaters do not stick to one app. Your partner is not going to limit themselves to Tinder when there are over 1,500 dating platforms available worldwide. You need a tool that searches everywhere, not just one place.

That is where CheatScanX comes in. It scans 15+ dating apps in a single search, delivers results fast, and keeps your identity completely hidden.

What Was Cheaterbuster (and Why Are People Looking for Alternatives)?

Cheaterbuster launched in 2016 under the name Swipebuster. It was one of the first tools that let anyone search for a specific person's Tinder profile without needing a Tinder account.

If budget is a concern, check out the free Tinder search tools we tested.

The concept was straightforward. You entered a first name, approximate age, and location. The tool then searched Tinder's database and returned any matching profiles. If your partner was on Tinder, you would know within minutes.

At the time, Swipebuster made headlines. Major outlets covered it. The idea that you could catch a cheater with a simple online search was both alarming and empowering, depending on which side of the search you were on.

How Cheaterbuster Worked

The process followed three steps:

Before exploring alternatives, it helps to understand the original — read our deep dive into whether Cheaterbuster actually works.

  1. Enter details — First name, estimated age range, and the last location where the person likely used Tinder.
  2. AI matching — The tool scanned Tinder's public data endpoints looking for profiles matching your criteria. An optional photo upload used facial recognition to narrow results.
  3. View results — Matching profiles appeared with photos, bios, last-active timestamps, and connected Instagram accounts.

Cheaterbuster charged $17.99 for a single search, $29.95 for two, or $34.99 for three. There was no subscription. You paid per search.

Why It Became Popular

The appeal was obvious. You did not need to create a Tinder account. You did not need to borrow your partner's phone. You did not need to hire a private investigator charging hundreds of dollars per hour. For under twenty dollars, you could check whether your partner was swiping behind your back.

The anonymity factor mattered too. Cheaterbuster searches were one-directional. The person being searched had no idea someone was looking them up.

The Downfall

Despite the initial buzz, Cheaterbuster's problems mounted over time. And those problems are exactly why you are reading this article right now.

Looking for a better option? CheatScanX scans 15+ apps at once — more platforms, faster results, completely anonymous.

Related: CheatEye review — does it actually work?

See how CheatScanX compares →

Why People Need a Cheaterbuster Replacement in 2026

Cheaterbuster is technically still online, but "online" and "functional" are two different things. Here is what users have been dealing with.

Before switching to an alternative, it helps to understand exactly where Cheaterbuster falls short — see our full Cheaterbuster review for 2026.

Problem 1: It Only Searches Tinder

This is the biggest limitation and the one that makes Cheaterbuster nearly obsolete. According to Business of Apps, there are over 1,500 dating apps and websites worldwide, with roughly 360 million people using them globally.

Tinder is just one of those apps. If your partner is on Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Match, Plenty of Fish, Feeld, or any of the dozens of other popular platforms, Cheaterbuster will not find them. You will pay $17.99, get zero results, and walk away thinking everything is fine when it might not be.

Cheaters who know about Cheaterbuster often simply switch to a different app. Searching only Tinder is like checking one room in a hotel and declaring the entire building empty.

Problem 2: Reliability Has Declined

User reviews on Trustpilot paint a consistent picture of frustration. Common complaints include:

Independent testing by Technori found that real-world accuracy sits closer to 80-90%, well below the 97-99% that Cheaterbuster advertises.

Problem 3: Billing Issues

Multiple users report being charged after cancellation, receiving unexpected charges through PayPal, and finding it difficult to locate cancellation options. Some users report being billed $5 more than the advertised price without receiving results.

Problem 4: Dated Technology

Cheaterbuster's core technology has not evolved much since 2016. The dating app world has changed dramatically. New apps have emerged. Existing apps have updated their privacy settings. Users have become more sophisticated about hiding their activity. Cheaterbuster's approach has not kept pace with these changes.

Person searching for dating profiles on a smartphone

The Complete Cheaterbuster Alternative Comparison

If you have decided that Cheaterbuster is not the right tool for you, what are your options? We researched and compared every major player in this space. Here is what we found.

Comparison Table: Cheaterbuster vs. Top Alternatives

Feature Cheaterbuster CheatScanX Spokeo Social Catfish BeenVerified
Dating apps searched Tinder only 15+ apps 120+ social networks (not dating-specific) 200B+ public records 60+ social networks
Search method Name, age, location, photo Name, age, location, photo Name, email, phone, username Name, email, phone, image Name, email, phone
Pricing $17.99/search From $9.99/search $14.95/month $27.48/month $17.48-$26.89/month
Anonymity Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Speed Minutes Minutes Instant Instant Instant
Accuracy (reported) 80-90% real-world High (multi-source) Varies Varies ~80%
Free trial No Limited free scan $0.95 trial $5.73 trial (3 days) $1 trial (7 days)
Account needed No No Yes (subscription) Yes (subscription) Yes (subscription)
Dating-specific focus Yes Yes No No No
Last-active status Yes (Tinder only) Yes (multiple apps) No No No

This table reveals something critical: most alternatives fall into one of two categories. They are either dating-focused but limited to one platform (like Cheaterbuster), or they are broad people-search engines that happen to include some social media results (like Spokeo and BeenVerified).

CheatScanX sits in a unique position. It is purpose-built for dating profile searches but covers the full spectrum of platforms.

CheatScanX: The Multi-Platform Dating Profile Search

CheatScanX was designed to solve the exact problem that makes Cheaterbuster frustrating: the single-platform blind spot.

What CheatScanX Searches

A single CheatScanX scan covers over 15 dating platforms, including:

This matters because cheating behavior does not follow a single-app pattern. Research published in Computers in Human Behavior found that 18-25% of Tinder users are already in a committed relationship. But Tinder is just one app. Similar or higher percentages likely exist across every major dating platform.

How CheatScanX Works

The search process is simple and takes just a few minutes:

  1. Enter basic details — Provide the person's first name, approximate age, and general location (city or area).
  2. Optional photo upload — Add a photo to improve matching accuracy through facial comparison technology.
  3. Multi-platform scan — CheatScanX searches across all 15+ dating platforms simultaneously.
  4. Review results — View any discovered profiles, including photos, bios, activity timestamps, and platform details.

The entire process is anonymous. The person being searched will never know a search was performed. You do not need to create accounts on any dating apps.

Pricing That Makes Sense

Cheaterbuster charges $17.99 to search a single app. CheatScanX starts at $9.99 per search and covers 15+ apps. That is more coverage at a lower price point.

Consider the math: if you wanted to manually check whether your partner was on just five major dating apps, you would need to create accounts on each one, spend hours swiping through profiles in the right area, and risk being discovered. Or you would need to buy five separate single-platform search tools. CheatScanX handles all of it in one scan.

Spokeo as a Cheaterbuster Alternative: Honest Assessment

Spokeo is one of the most well-known people-search engines. It frequently appears in lists of Cheaterbuster alternatives, but understanding what it actually does (and does not do) matters before you spend money on it.

What Spokeo Offers

Spokeo aggregates public records and online data from over 120 social networks. You can search by name, email, phone number, or username. Results can include social media profiles, address history, criminal records, and sometimes dating site profiles.

Spokeo Pricing

Spokeo uses a subscription model:

Spokeo Pros

Spokeo Cons

The Verdict on Spokeo

Spokeo works well for general background research. If you need to verify someone's identity, find their address, or see which social media platforms they use, it delivers. But for the specific question of "Is my partner on dating apps?", it is not purpose-built for that task. You might find a dating profile through Spokeo, but it is more of a happy accident than a reliable method.

Two phones side by side comparing different dating apps

Social Catfish as a Cheaterbuster Alternative: Honest Assessment

Social Catfish was founded in 2013 with a focus on identity verification and catching catfish (people using fake identities online). It has expanded into a broader people-search tool.

What Social Catfish Offers

Social Catfish scans over 200 billion public records. You can search by name, email, phone number, username, or image. The reverse image search is particularly useful for verifying whether someone's profile photos are genuine.

Social Catfish Pricing

Social Catfish Pros

Social Catfish Cons

The Verdict on Social Catfish

Social Catfish excels at one thing: verifying whether someone is who they say they are. If you met someone online and want to confirm their identity, Social Catfish is a strong choice. But if your goal is to find out whether a partner has hidden dating profiles, it lacks the dating-specific focus and multi-platform scanning that a purpose-built tool provides.

BeenVerified as a Cheaterbuster Alternative: Honest Assessment

BeenVerified is another major people-search engine that shows up in Cheaterbuster alternative lists. Here is what you need to know.

What BeenVerified Offers

BeenVerified searches over 60 social networks and dating sites. You enter a name, email, or phone number and receive a background report that may include social media profiles, address history, criminal records, and more.

BeenVerified Pricing

BeenVerified Pros

BeenVerified Cons

The Verdict on BeenVerified

BeenVerified is a decent general-purpose people search tool with a very accessible trial price. But for dating profile searches specifically, its 60-network coverage sounds impressive until you realize those are general social networks, not specifically dating platforms. The odds of it catching a hidden Bumble or Hinge profile are lower than with a tool designed specifically for that purpose.

Why a Single-Platform Search Is Not Enough

This is the core argument for choosing a multi-platform tool over Cheaterbuster or any other single-app scanner.

The Numbers Do Not Lie

A 2024 meta-analysis published in the journal Personal Relationships reviewed 305 studies with over 508,000 respondents across 47 countries. The findings: roughly 20-25% of marriages experience infidelity, with 2-4% of spouses engaging in sexual infidelity in any given year.

Data from the General Social Survey shows that 20% of married men and 13% of married women report having had sex with someone other than their spouse. Among younger adults under 30, infidelity rates between men and women are nearly equal at around 10-11%.

Cheaters Use Multiple Platforms

Here is what matters for your search strategy: cheaters are not loyal to one dating app any more than they are loyal to their partner.

Consider the landscape of popular dating apps:

A partner who is actively cheating or looking for opportunities outside the relationship may have profiles on two, three, or even more of these platforms. Searching only Tinder — the way Cheaterbuster does — means you are checking roughly 7% of the major dating app ecosystem.

Would you feel confident about a medical test that only checked 7% of the possible diagnoses?

The Privacy Arms Race

Dating apps have gotten smarter about privacy. Many now offer features like:

A multi-platform tool that uses multiple data points (name, age, location, photo matching) has a much better chance of finding profiles that employ these privacy features than a single-source tool that relies on basic name-and-location matching.

Person looking relieved after finding answers on their laptop

Not sure if it is real suspicion or just anxiety?

Our 2-minute quiz scores 12 behavioral and digital red flags to tell you whether your concerns are justified.

Take the Free Cheating Quiz

How to Search for Hidden Dating Profiles: Step-by-Step

Whether you use CheatScanX or another tool, here is a practical guide to running an effective search.

Step 1: Gather Your Information

Before running any search, collect the following:

Step 2: Choose the Right Tool

Based on our research, here is a quick decision framework:

For a detailed walkthrough of the full process, read our guide on how to catch a cheater.

Step 3: Run the Search

With CheatScanX, the process takes under five minutes:

  1. Visit CheatScanX and start a new search.
  2. Enter the person's first name, age, and location.
  3. Upload a photo if you have one (this step is optional but recommended).
  4. Wait for the multi-platform scan to complete.
  5. Review any discovered profiles.

Step 4: Interpret Your Results

Results can go several ways:

Step 5: Decide Your Next Move

Finding a profile is not the end of the process. It is the beginning of a difficult conversation. Our guide on how to catch a cheater covers what to do with the information you find, including how to approach the conversation and protect yourself emotionally.

What Makes CheatScanX Different from Every Other Option

We have covered the competitors. Here is a direct look at why CheatScanX stands apart.

1. Purpose-Built for Dating App Searches

Spokeo, Social Catfish, and BeenVerified are all general people-search tools. They can sometimes find dating profiles, but that is not their primary function. They are designed for background checks, identity verification, and public records searches.

CheatScanX exists for one reason: to find hidden dating profiles. Every feature, every algorithm, and every data source is optimized for that specific purpose.

2. 15+ Platforms in One Scan

No other dating-specific search tool covers as many platforms in a single search. Cheaterbuster covers one. Most competitors cover a handful at best. CheatScanX scans the full range of major dating apps, from mainstream platforms like Tinder and Bumble to niche apps like Feeld and BLK.

3. Pay Per Search, Not Per Month

Unlike Spokeo ($14.95-$24.95/month), Social Catfish ($27.48/month), and BeenVerified ($17.48-$26.89/month), CheatScanX uses a pay-per-search model starting at $9.99. You pay for what you need and nothing more. No subscriptions to cancel. No auto-renewals to forget about.

4. Lower Cost, More Coverage

At $9.99 per search covering 15+ apps, CheatScanX delivers more value per dollar than any competitor. Cheaterbuster charges $17.99 for one app. The math is straightforward: CheatScanX gives you 15 times the coverage at roughly half the price.

5. True Anonymity

Your search is completely private. The person being searched is never notified. You do not need to create accounts on any dating platform. There is no paper trail connecting you to the search.

6. Dating-Specific Intelligence

General people-search tools give you a name, an address, and maybe a list of social accounts. CheatScanX provides dating-specific data: profile photos, bios, last-active timestamps, platform details, and profile activity indicators. This is the information that actually answers the question keeping you up at night.

The Real Cost of Not Knowing

Let us talk about what this is really about. It is not about technology or pricing tiers or platform coverage. It is about your peace of mind.

The Emotional Toll of Suspicion

Suspecting your partner of cheating but not having proof is one of the most stressful experiences in a relationship. You second-guess everything. You check their phone when they leave the room. You analyze every late night at work, every unexplained text message, every time they angle their screen away from you.

That constant state of vigilance takes a measurable toll. It affects your sleep, your work, your other relationships, and your mental health.

The Cost of Wrong Tools

Using a tool that only checks one platform can actually make things worse. Here is why:

You run a Cheaterbuster search. It comes back clean. You feel relief. But that relief is based on incomplete information. Your partner might have profiles on three other apps that Cheaterbuster never checked. The false sense of security can be more damaging than the suspicion because it delays the truth.

The Value of Comprehensive Answers

A multi-platform scan from CheatScanX gives you either genuine peace of mind (because it checked everywhere, not just one place) or the evidence you need to make informed decisions about your relationship.

Neither outcome is easy. But both are better than the limbo of not knowing.

Cheaterbuster vs. CheatScanX: Direct Feature Comparison

For those who want a clear, side-by-side breakdown, here is the detailed comparison.

Platform Coverage

Winner: CheatScanX

Pricing

Winner: CheatScanX (lower price, dramatically more coverage)

Accuracy

Winner: CheatScanX (broader coverage increases overall detection probability)

Search Speed

Winner: Tie

Anonymity

Winner: Tie

Data Provided

Winner: CheatScanX (same depth of data but across 15+ platforms)

Reliability

Winner: CheatScanX

User Experience

Winner: CheatScanX

Understanding the Ethics of Dating Profile Searches

Before you run any search, it is worth thinking about the ethical dimensions of what you are doing.

When Searching Is Justified

There are situations where searching for a partner's dating profiles is a reasonable step:

When Searching Crosses a Line

Searching becomes problematic when:

The tools exist to give you information. What you do with that information — and how you approach the resulting conversations — matters more than the search itself.

Legal Considerations

Dating profile search tools like CheatScanX use publicly available data. You are not hacking into anyone's account. You are not accessing private information. The search queries public data that the person themselves made available by creating a dating profile.

That said, laws about digital privacy vary by jurisdiction. If you are uncertain about the legality of using these tools in your area, consult with a legal professional.

When to Use CheatScanX vs. Other Tools

Different situations call for different tools. Here is a practical breakdown.

Use CheatScanX When:

Use Spokeo When:

Use Social Catfish When:

Use BeenVerified When:

Skip Cheaterbuster When:

Frequently Asked Questions

Cheaterbuster is technically still online, but many users report persistent issues including failed searches, inaccurate results, loading timeouts, and billing problems. Its Tinder-only limitation also makes it far less useful than multi-platform alternatives like CheatScanX.

Yes. Tools like CheatScanX run completely anonymous searches using public data. The person you search for will never receive a notification, and you do not need your own dating app account to run a search.

Accuracy depends on the information you provide and the tool's data sources. CheatScanX offers high accuracy across 15+ platforms by combining name, age, location, and optional photo matching. Single-platform tools like Cheaterbuster have a narrower but more limited scope.

Pricing varies widely. Cheaterbuster charges $17.99 per single search (Tinder only). Spokeo starts at $14.95 per month. Social Catfish runs $27.48 per month. CheatScanX offers multi-platform scans starting at $9.99 per search, covering 15+ apps in one scan.

CheatScanX scans over 15 dating platforms in a single search, including Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Match, Plenty of Fish, Grindr, Feeld, HER, Coffee Meets Bagel, Facebook Dating, Zoosk, and several regional and niche apps.

The Bottom Line: Which Cheaterbuster Alternative Should You Choose?

If you have read this far, you already know the answer.

Cheaterbuster was an innovative tool when it launched in 2016. It solved a real problem for real people. But the dating landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade, and Cheaterbuster has not kept up. Its Tinder-only approach, reliability issues, and billing problems have pushed thousands of users to look for something better.

General people-search tools like Spokeo, Social Catfish, and BeenVerified can fill some gaps, but they are not designed for dating-specific searches. They are background check tools that occasionally surface dating profiles as a side benefit.

CheatScanX is the Cheaterbuster alternative that addresses every weakness:

You deserve answers, not guesses. You deserve a search that covers the full landscape of dating apps, not just one corner of it. And you deserve a tool that respects your time, your money, and your need for privacy.

Learn more about CheatScanX or visit our frequently asked questions page.