OpenSanctions
OpenSanctions operates an open-source database aggregating 387 global sanctions, PEP, and watchlist sources into deduplicated datasets and APIs, serving compliance teams, investigators, and journalists worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What OpenSanctions does
OpenSanctions operates an open-source database platform that aggregates sanctions lists, criminal watchlists, politically exposed persons (PEP) data, and related risk intelligence from 387 global sources into a unified, deduplicated dataset of more than 2 million entities. The platform is built around a proprietary data pipeline using the FollowTheMoney entity format and includes specialized collections covering consolidated sanctions, PEPs, KYB (over 104 million entities), maritime sanctions, sanctioned securities, regulatory watchlists, debarment lists, and criminal entities. Distribution occurs through bulk data downloads, a hosted REST API, a web-based screening tool, and multi-format exports (JSON, CSV, Senzing, plain text). The company is experimenting with large language models to improve entity deduplication and narrative matching across sources.
OpenSanctions firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenSanctions
- Legal name
- OpenSanctions Datenbanken GmbH
- Website
- https://opensanctions.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OpenSanctions operates an open-source database aggregating 387 global sanctions, PEP, and watchlist sources into deduplicated datasets and APIs, serving compliance teams, investigators, and journalists worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenSanctions industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sanctions and PEP Compliance Data
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sanctions & Watchlist Screening (FSAFAOAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Sanctions Screening (OFAC/UN/EU) (FSAMAMAC), PEP & Adverse Media Screening / Watchlist Monitoring (FSAMAMAD), Sanctions/PEP/Adverse Media Screening for Payment Risk (FSAMALAJ), Sanctions Screening & Watchlist/PEP Screening (Crypto) (FSADALAC), Sanctions & Restricted Party Screening Advisory (TLACAGAC)
Keywords
Where OpenSanctions is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
OpenSanctions business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Non-commercial Free Access: Free access for non-commercial users including compliance investigators, journalists, researchers, and individuals. Data licensed under Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution NonCommercial.
- Commercial Data Licensing: Business and commercial users must acquire a data license to use the high-quality dataset for compliance screening, KYB processes, and other commercial applications.
- Pay-as-you-go API Service: Usage-based API access for commercial users who prefer flexible, consumption-based pricing rather than annual licensing. Suitable for varying screening volumes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free tier for non-commercial compliance, investigative, and research use cases |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
OpenSanctions product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenSanctions aggregates 387 global sources of sanctions lists, politically exposed persons (PEP) data, watchlists, and criminal-entity records into a deduplicated, quality-controlled dataset of over 2 million entities. The data is delivered via a hosted REST API, bulk data downloads, a web-based screening tool, and direct enterprise licensing, with free access provided to non-commercial users (journalists, researchers, compliance investigators).
Product overview
OpenSanctions is an open-source database platform providing sanctions, watchlists, and politically exposed persons (PEP) data aggregating 387 global sources with 2,029,762 entities. The core product is the OpenSanctions Default Dataset, which is supplemented by specialized collections including Consolidated Sanctions, PEP Datasets, KYB, Sanctioned Securities, Maritime Sanctions, Criminal Entities, Regulatory Watchlists, and Debarment lists. The platform offers programmatic access via a pay-as-you-go API or bulk data licensing for commercial users. A free tier is available for non-commercial users. The platform also employs LLM-based entity deduplication and narrative matching for enhanced data quality.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- EveryPolitician.org: A related project tracking global political data
Products and services
- OpenSanctions Default Dataset
Quantifiable outcome
- 387 global data sources integrated into unified database
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenSanctions
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
OpenSanctions technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
OpenSanctions partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- EveryPolitician.orgcoreCross-reference partnership with EveryPolitician.org, a related project tracking global political data. Integration provides enriched political affiliation data for PEP entities.
- EveryPolitician.orgcorePartnership providing political career and government position data to complement sanctions and PEP screening data.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
OpenSanctions competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Chainalysis: Chainalysis is a named OpenSanctions customer for crypto compliance investigation; while primarily a blockchain analytics firm, it competes in adjacent compliance data workflows and represents both a customer relationship and an adjacent ecosystem player in sanctions compliance.
Emerging players
- Sanctions.io: Sanctions.io offers an API-first sanctions and PEP screening service targeting developers and fintechs — an emerging peer with a similar API-first, developer-friendly positioning to OpenSanctions but a narrower data scope and commercial focus.
- Castellum.AI: Castellum.AI is an emerging RegTech focused on real-time sanctions, PEP, and adverse media screening via API — comparable to OpenSanctions on data breadth and API-first delivery, with a more commercial/government-aligned sales motion.
Broad incumbents
- Refinitiv World-Check (LSEG): World-Check is the long-standing gold standard for sanctions, PEP, and adverse media screening, now part of LSEG. Directly comparable to OpenSanctions as a sanctions/PEP data provider but bundled into a much broader financial data and infrastructure portfolio with deep enterprise distribution.
- Dow Jones Risk & Compliance: Dow Jones Risk & Compliance provides sanctions, PEP, and adverse media data, drawing on Dow Jones newsroom journalism for adverse media — directly overlapping with OpenSanctions' combination of official lists and journalism-derived intelligence, but with established enterprise sales and bundling with Factiva.
- LexisNexis Risk Solutions: LexisNexis Risk Solutions offers sanctions screening as part of a broader identity verification, KYC, and fraud-prevention platform. Comparable to OpenSanctions on the screening data layer but vastly larger across adjacent compliance use cases.
- Moody's / Bureau van Dijk: Moody's owns Bureau van Dijk, the dominant KYB and beneficial ownership data provider with 400M+ entities — directly comparable to OpenSanctions' KYB dataset (104M entities) and overlapping use cases in counterparty risk and corporate due diligence.
Direct peers
- ComplyAdvantage: ComplyAdvantage is an AI-native AML and sanctions screening platform serving banks, fintechs, and crypto firms via API — directly competitive with OpenSanctions in API-first sanctions/PEP screening for commercial customers, though it owns more of the workflow stack (transaction monitoring, case management).
- Sayari: Sayari provides entity intelligence and beneficial ownership data drawn from global corporate registries, combining structured corporate data with sanctions/PEP screening — a close peer to OpenSanctions' KYB and entity resolution capabilities, with stronger commercial sales motion.
Regional players
- North Data: North Data is a German-based provider of corporate registry and beneficial ownership data, serving primarily European compliance and investigative use cases — a regional peer with overlapping European focus and adjacency to OpenSanctions' KYB offering, though narrower on sanctions coverage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OpenSanctions social profiles
Digital presenceOpenSanctions compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
OpenSanctions financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenSanctions leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
OpenSanctions funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenSanctions M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenSanctions
What does OpenSanctions do?
OpenSanctions aggregates 387 global sources of sanctions lists, politically exposed persons (PEP) data, watchlists, and criminal-entity records into a deduplicated, quality-controlled dataset of over 2 million entities. The data is delivered via a hosted REST API, bulk data downloads, a web-based screening tool, and direct enterprise licensing, with free access provided to non-commercial users (journalists, researchers, compliance investigators).
Is OpenSanctions a public or private company?
OpenSanctions is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was OpenSanctions founded?
OpenSanctions was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OpenSanctions based?
OpenSanctions is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does OpenSanctions make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Non-commercial Free Access are the primary driver. The others are commercial Data Licensing and pay-as-you-go API Service.
Who are OpenSanctions's main competitors?
Chainalysis is listed as an others. Emerging players are Sanctions.io and Castellum.AI. Broad incumbents are Refinitiv World-Check (LSEG), Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Moody's / Bureau van Dijk. Direct peers are ComplyAdvantage and Sayari. North Data is listed as a regional player.
Does OpenSanctions have an API?
Yes. OpenSanctions offers a hosted API service that provides the same matching and scoring capabilities as running it inside your own infrastructure. The screening service offers both self-hosted and hosted API options. Business and commercial users must either acquire a data license or subscribe to the pay-as-you-go API service. The API supports entity matching, scoring, and screening for sanctions, watchlists, and politically exposed persons. Documentation available at /api/. Developer documentation is at www.opensanctions.org/api.
What industry is OpenSanctions in?
OpenSanctions's product category is Sanctions and PEP Compliance Data. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAFAOAF, Sanctions & Watchlist Screening, with a secondary code of FSAMAMAC, Sanctions Screening (OFAC/UN/EU). Its NAICS code is 519 and its SIC code is 7370.