Verifex vs OpenSanctions
Managed sanctions screening API vs open-source data you host yourself. Compare total cost, maintenance burden, and matching quality.
OpenSanctions is an open-source project that aggregates sanctions, PEP, and entity data from public sources worldwide. It provides raw data and a deduplication framework, but does not include a hosted screening API — you need to build and maintain your own matching engine, API layer, and infrastructure.
Verifex is a managed sanctions screening and evidence infrastructure API. You send a name, you get back matches with confidence scores and documented rationale. No infrastructure to provision, no matching engine to build, no data pipelines to maintain. Pricing starts at $49/month with a 50-screen free tier.
The tradeoff is control vs. convenience. OpenSanctions gives you full control over matching logic and data, but requires significant engineering investment and a commercial license ($3,000+/year) for production use. Verifex handles managed screening with a 99.9% uptime target and observed median ~45ms, p95 ~202ms, so your team can focus on building product instead of maintaining compliance infrastructure.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Verifex | OpenSanctions |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Managed | Self-hosted |
| Commercial license | Included | $3,000+/yr |
| Maintenance | $0 | Your team |
| Matching engine | 10-penalty pipeline with LLM cascade | Build your own |
| API included | Hosted API available | |
| Python SDK | ||
| PEP data | Configured sources | 700K+ |
| Response time | Typical <200ms cached | Depends |
| Uptime target | 99.9% | Your responsibility |
| Free tier | 50/mo | Non-commercial only |
Based on publicly available data as of April 2026. Features and pricing may have changed. This comparison is informational and should be validated against your own compliance, security, procurement, and legal requirements.
Choose Verifex if you need:
- Zero infrastructure to manage or maintain
- Managed API with 99.9% uptime target
- 10-penalty pipeline with LLM cascade and Fellegi-Sunter contextual scoring (99.68% F1, 500-case)
- Observed median ~45ms, p95 ~202ms
- Commercial license included in pricing
Choose OpenSanctions if you need:
- 700K+ PEP records from global sources
- Full control over matching logic and data
- Open-source with active community
- Free for non-commercial and journalistic use
- Broader entity and relationship data
Get started in 3 lines
curl -X POST https://api.verifex.dev/v1/screen \
-H "Authorization: Bearer vfx_your_api_key" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name": "Vladimir Putin", "type": "person"}'Frequently Asked Questions
Is OpenSanctions really free for commercial use?
No. OpenSanctions is free for non-commercial and journalistic use, but commercial use requires a license starting at $3,000+ per year. Combined with the engineering cost of self-hosting, building a matching API, and maintaining data pipelines, the total cost of ownership often exceeds a managed API like Verifex.
Does Verifex use OpenSanctions data?
Verifex sources its sanctions data directly from official government sources (OFAC, UN, EU, UK, etc.) and PEP data from configured feeds including Wikidata where applicable. It does not depend on or redistribute OpenSanctions data.
Why does OpenSanctions have more PEP records than Verifex?
OpenSanctions aggregates PEP data from multiple third-party sources and national datasets. Verifex sources PEP data from configured feeds including Wikidata where applicable. Coverage of family members and known close associates varies by jurisdiction. Customers should validate PEP source suitability for their regulatory program.
Can I use OpenSanctions data with Verifex?
Verifex is a standalone managed API with its own data pipeline. You do not need to supply or manage any external data sources. If you have specific list requirements beyond what Verifex covers, contact the team to discuss custom list integration.