OpenSanctions

Input—per 1M tokens

Output—per 1M tokens

Context—tokens

WeightsClosed

About

OpenSanctions is a structured database of sanctions, politically exposed persons and other public-interest information, with data drawn from hundreds of sources. It deduplicates entities and models links including ownership, family ties, political positions and sanctions designations. The hosted API supports entity matching, full-text search and complete entity-record retrieval. Its `/match` endpoint ranks candidates using details such as names, dates of birth, nationality or tax identifiers. The full dataset can be downloaded, and commercial license customers can run the matching API on their own infrastructure. OpenSanctions says data points are traceable to their sources and its data pipeline is open source. The free plan includes a 30-day API trial; matching and search requests are listed at €0.10 per query or request. Commercial screening and reseller licenses are quoted. Data is licensed as a complete collection rather than as selected portions. OpenSanctions supplies database and matching technology, not an end-user compliance application with alert review, case management and approval workflows.

Who it is for

It suits compliance platforms, fintechs, investigation tools, government agencies, researchers and journalists that need sanctions or related public-interest data. Teams needing customer PII to remain in their environment can use on-premise matching with a commercial license.

What is good

Traceable data points and an open-source data pipeline
API supports matching, full-text search and entity records
Full dataset available for download
On-premise matching can keep customer PII in-house
Python SDK, CLI and MCP server available

What to know first

No alert review, case management or approval workflows
Data collection is licensed only as a complete collection
No ready-made integrations for specific CRM or ERP products

Verdict

OpenSanctions provides data and matching building blocks for screening workflows, with API and self-hosting options. Teams that need a complete compliance application or only selected parts of the collection will need another solution or additional components.

Compared on sanctions screening software

Free plan: Yesopensanctions.org
PEP screening: Yesopensanctions.org
Ongoing monitoring: Yesopensanctions.org
Transaction screening: Yesopensanctions.org
API access: Yesopensanctions.org
Batch screening: Yesopensanctions.org
List management: selectableopensanctions.org

Facts

What it provides: OpenSanctions builds a structured, continuously updated database of sanctions, politically exposed persons, and other public-interest information from hundreds of sources.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Data provenance: The company says every data point can be traced back to its source and that its data pipeline is open source.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Entity resolution: OpenSanctions deduplicates entities across sources and models links such as ownership, family ties, political positions, and sanctions designations.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Hosted API features: The API provides entity matching, full-text search, and retrieval of complete entity records.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Matching: The /match endpoint returns ranked candidates and supports screening queries using details such as names, dates of birth, nationality, or tax identifiers.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Integrations: The Python yente-client package provides a typed SDK, a command-line tool, and an MCP server; OpenSanctions also documents an OpenRefine Reconciliation API.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Bulk data and self-hosting: The full dataset is available for download, and commercial license customers can run the matching API on their own infrastructure.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Privacy: OpenSanctions says on-premise matching lets customers keep customer personally identifiable information within their own environment.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Security and availability: OpenSanctions says it holds ISO 27001:2022 certification and operates under a 99.8% uptime SLA.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Not a complete screening application: OpenSanctions provides database and matching technology, but does not provide an end-user compliance application with alert review, case management, and approval workflows.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Licensing limit: OpenSanctions licenses its data collection as a complete collection rather than licensing selected parts alone.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
CRM and ERP integrations: OpenSanctions says it does not provide ready-made integrations for specific CRM or ERP products.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Support: The licensing page says the support team helps customers evaluate and integrate the data before signing a license.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026
Intended users: The company describes compliance platforms, fintechs, investigation tools, government agencies, research institutions, journalists, and researchers as users of its data.opensanctions.org · 30 Sept 2026