CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 838,202	$ 942,213	$ 997,303
Cost of revenue	622,165	699,865	690,045
Gross profit	216,037	242,348	307,258
Selling, general and administrative expenses	175,670	192,642	214,155
Gain on sale of business (Note 4)	(13,688)	0	0
Restructuring charges (Note 24)	11,560	0	0
Litigation settlement loss, net of $4,000 insurance recovery (Note 20)	0	0	28,000
Income from operations	42,495	49,706	65,103
Other income (expense), net:
Interest expense	(26,254)	(22,253)	(24,412)
Unrealized loss on investment in equity securities (Note 6)	(12,972)	0	0
Other (expense) income, net	(1,870)	7,922	3,630
Total other income (expense), net	(41,096)	(14,331)	(20,782)
Income before income taxes and non-controlling interests	1,399	35,375	44,321
Income tax (provision) benefit	(4,098)	276,256	(12,935)
Net (loss) income	(2,699)	311,631	31,386
Net income attributable to non-controlling interests	(2,683)	(2,740)	(2,693)
Net (loss) income attributable to Altisource	$ (5,382)	$ 308,891	$ 28,693
(Loss) Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ (0.32)	$ 16.99	$ 1.53
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ (0.32)	$ 16.53	$ 1.46
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	17,073	18,183	18,696
Diluted (in shares)	17,073	18,692	19,612
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax:
Reclassification of unrealized gain on investment in equity securities, net of income tax provision of $200, to retained earnings from the cumulative effect of an accounting change (Note 2)	$ (733)	$ 0	$ 0
Unrealized gain (loss) on investment in equity securities, net of income tax (provision) benefit of $0, $(921), $720	0	2,478	(1,745)
Comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax	(3,432)	314,109	29,641
Comprehensive income attributable to non-controlling interests	(2,683)	(2,740)	(2,693)
Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to Altisource	$ (6,115)	$ 311,369	$ 26,948