Private investigator costs in Toronto typically range from $80 to $120 per hour, or $765 to $4,000+ for a packaged surveillance engagement, depending on the scope and complexity of the case. Locate and background investigations generally run $900 to $3,000. Rates vary by firm, case type, and whether pricing is charged hourly or sold as a fixed package.
Investigation Hotline has been operating across Toronto and the GTA since 1988, founded by licensed investigator Mitchell Dubros. The firm quotes a single number before any work starts, and that number doesn’t move once the case is underway. This post walks through why investigator pricing swings so widely between firms, what actually drives the cost of your specific case, and where to find our exact package pricing.
Why the Same Question Gets Such Different Answers
Type “private investigator cost” into Google and you’ll get numbers all over the map. That’s not only due to firms being evasive, it’s also because a two-hour locate check and a six-week surveillance file covering multiple subjects are barely the same category of work, let alone the same price.
A handful of variables tend to move the number for any type of investigation:
- The realistic number of hours the case will take
- Whether one investigator is enough or the case needs a team
- How difficult the subject or organization is to trace or observe
- Whether the case pulls in digital forensics or specialized gear
- How fast you need results
We go through these with you on a free call before quoting anything, so the number you get back is built around your case and not pulled from a generic price sheet.
Mitchell walks through exactly how this works, and why he built the pricing model this way, in the episode below.
Surveillance Work: What It Covers
When people picture a private investigator, they’re usually picturing this: someone tracking a subject’s movements, documenting where they go and who they meet, over hours or days. It’s not just an infidelity tool either, we run surveillance for insurance claims, workplace misconduct files, custody disputes, and standard due diligence work.
Pricing here starts at an hourly base and scales into fixed-hour packages, since most clients want to know the ceiling before agreeing to anything.
Finding Someone: Locate & Background Work
A different kind of case entirely: someone needs to be found, not watched. This covers skip tracing, tracking someone down before serving legal papers, chasing an outstanding debt, or simply reconnecting with a family member who’s gone quiet. Pricing scales with how buried the subject is, a straightforward address check costs far less than tracking someone who’s actively avoiding contact.
Infidelity & Matrimonial Cases
This is its own category because the stakes and the scope differ from general surveillance. Some clients just need a defined window covered, a weekend, a trip, a suspected meeting, confirmed one way or the other. Others are heading into a contested separation and need weeks of documented behaviour, sometimes across multiple locations or involving a second party. We price these as two distinct tiers rather than forcing every case into the same box.
Tracking Down Assets
Judgment enforcement, contested financial disclosure in a divorce, fraud recovery, pre-litigation groundwork, these all hinge on finding assets someone may or may not want found. Scope runs from a single-subject property and corporate check within Ontario, up to a nationwide search built to catch concealment: shell companies, undisclosed holdings, cross-border property.
For the exact hours, dollar figures, and inclusions on every package above, see our private investigator rates page.
The Part Most Firms Don’t Mention Upfront
Here’s where a lot of quotes go sideways: a firm advertises a low hourly number, then the invoice arrives with mileage tacked on, a charge for preparing the report, maybe an “administrative fee” nobody mentioned during the sales call.
Mitchell has written about why he built Investigation Hotline’s pricing to avoid exactly this. In his Medium article, Why We Refuse to Nickel-and-Dime Our Clients, he lays out the ethical case against the industry’s more common pricing tactics, and why travel, editing, and reporting are built into the quoted price itself rather than added after the fact.
What the First Call Actually Costs You
Nothing. That first conversation, where we ask what’s going on and what you’re hoping to find out, doesn’t cost you anything and doesn’t obligate you to anything. We do need to talk through the details by phone before any file opens, but pricing only enters the conversation once we understand the case.
Making Your Consultation Count
A faster, more accurate quote usually comes down to how much you can tell us upfront. Before you call, it helps to have a sense of:
- How urgent the situation is
- Where the case is geographically centered
- What you already suspect or already know
- What you’re actually trying to prove or find out
None of this needs to be polished. Part of what we do on that first call is help you figure out what you’re really asking for, so we can match it to the right service.
Something Not Covered Here?
Some investigations don’t fit neatly into a published price list because the scope varies too much from case to case. Reach out and we’ll scope it properly on a fully confidential call.
Why Clients Choose Investigation Hotline
- One Price, Stated Upfront — Nothing added after the fact for mileage, editing, or reporting.
- Three Decades in the Field — Operating across Toronto and the GTA since 1988.
- Evidence That Holds Up — Time-stamped footage and reports built for legal proceedings.
- Discretion, Always — Every file is handled under strict confidentiality.
To learn more, contact Investigation Hotline at
