OpenSanctions

Overview

OpenSanctions is a sanctions and public-interest data service with matching tools for teams that need to build screening into their own software or operations. It is strongest as an underlying data and API layer, not as a ready-to-use compliance desk. That distinction makes it a poor fit for organizations seeking a finished application for reviewing alerts and managing cases.

Its structured database covers sanctions, politically exposed persons (PEPs), and other public-interest information gathered from hundreds of sources. OpenSanctions connects duplicate records and models relationships including ownership, family ties, political positions, and sanctions designations. It says records can be traced to their sources and its data pipeline is open source. Founded in 2023, the company is based in Berlin.

Key features

Search and matching

The hosted API offers full-text search, complete entity records, and matching. Its /match endpoint returns ranked candidates for queries that can include names, dates of birth, nationality, or tax identifiers. This gives product and compliance teams a way to screen their own records against the database, but they must supply the surrounding alert review, decision, and approval process themselves.

Data access and integration

Customers can download the full dataset, and commercial license customers can operate the matching API on their own infrastructure. OpenSanctions says on-premise matching keeps customer personally identifiable information inside the customer's environment, which may suit organizations with strict data-handling requirements. The Python yente-client includes a typed SDK, command-line tool, and MCP server; OpenSanctions also documents an OpenRefine Reconciliation API.

OpenSanctions supports PEP screening, transaction screening, ongoing monitoring, and batch screening, with selectable list management. It does not provide ready-made integrations for specific CRM or ERP products, so teams using those systems should expect integration work. The company says it holds ISO 27001:2022 certification and operates under a 99.8% uptime SLA.

Pricing

OpenSanctions uses a freemium model, with a free plan and paid access from €0.10. The Screening API charges €0.10 per query; search costs €0.10 per request. The 30 day API trial provides free access to /entities and /statements, while matching and search are metered. New prepaid credit bundles are offered, with bundle prices shown during booking. This usage-based option suits teams evaluating or making bounded API calls, but costs can rise with screening volume.

The Screening license has custom pricing, quoted during an initial conversation, with flat-rate pricing. It includes the full dataset, in-house screening, transaction monitoring, and internal use only. This is the relevant route for organizations that want to host matching themselves, but it does not permit redistribution. The Reseller license also has custom pricing, quoted during an initial conversation; it is a wholesale license for redistributing data inside products sold to customers, with a reseller API available.

Support staff help prospective license customers evaluate and integrate the data before signing. The full-collection licensing rule matters across the paid options: buyers cannot license only selected parts of the collection.

Platforms

OpenSanctions is available through API, self-hosted deployment, and web access. Self-hosting the matching API is for commercial license customers; the API provides the principal search and matching capabilities, while the web platform offers another access route.

Who it's for

The strongest fit is a compliance platform, fintech, investigation tool, government agency, research institution, or newsroom that needs traceable screening data and has the technical capacity to integrate it. It is less suitable for a business that wants a turnkey compliance application, CRM or ERP connectors, or case management and approval workflows built in.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Traceable, connected data: Source-level provenance, duplicate resolution, and modeled relationships help teams work with records in context.
• Flexible matching access: Hosted API access, downloadable data, and licensed self-hosting cover different integration and data-residency needs.
• Low-cost entry point: A 30 day API trial and free entity and statement endpoints let teams begin without paying for every type of request.
• Integration tools: The Python client and OpenRefine API support programmatic and reconciliation workflows.

Cons

• Not an end-user screening suite: Alert review, case management, and approval workflows must come from the customer's own systems.
• Whole-collection licensing: Buyers cannot narrow a license to only the lists they need.
• Integration burden: There are no ready-made CRM or ERP integrations, so implementation requires technical work.
• Metered API usage: Matching and search are chargeable by request, making volume an important pricing consideration.

Alternatives

For a broader sanctions screening software shortlist, compare how much of the workflow you need beyond data and matching.

• SanctionsScreening.io is worth considering for a web-based freemium alternative with a published Pro plan at $29 a month; it is built and operated by Arventra, a technology studio focused on regulatory, compliance, and data-intensive products.
• FinCrimeRadar is a free, web-based alternative.
• OFACScreen is a web-based freemium alternative.
• ScreeningHub is a web-based freemium alternative.
• Eastnets SafeWatch AML is a paid, web-based alternative.
• FinScan is a paid alternative for API, self-hosted, or web use; its AML and KYC solutions have custom pricing, with a demo required.
• LSEG Corporate Treasury Risk is a paid web-based option with custom pricing and no free plan.
• ThetaRay RAY Platform is a paid API and web alternative; pricing follows a discovery call.

Verdict

Choose OpenSanctions if your team needs traceable sanctions and PEP data, ranked matching, and the flexibility to integrate or self-host a screening component. Its main advantage is the combination of broad, connected data with multiple access routes; its main drawback is that your organization must provide the operational compliance workflow and accept whole-collection licensing. Look elsewhere if you need a finished alert and case-management application or a narrower, ready-integrated solution.