Ranked review · July 2026
Best denied-party screening software for July 2026: list coverage, real pricing, and who owns whom
By Annik Sobing, host of the Simply Trade podcast · Published July 3, 2026 · Vendor facts verified July 3, 2026
Eight tools ranked for real buying situations — with the two data points nobody else publishes side by side: which lists each tool actually covers and what it costs in a market where ~90% of vendors are quote-only (our full pricing research covers every published number in the industry).
How this ranking was built: documented capabilities, vendor documentation and published pricing, and aggregated third-party review data (G2/Capterra), verified July 3, 2026. We have not yet completed hands-on trials of every product — where a claim rests on vendor documentation rather than our own testing, we say so. Full details in our methodology.
Which screening tool fits which buyer? The ranking at a glance
| # | Product | Best for | List coverage | Pricing | Third-party scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Descartes Visual Compliance | Enterprises that need the audit-proof default | OFAC, BIS, DDTC, EU, UN, UK and hundreds more via Descartes list content | ≈$3,000/user/yr (basic) scaling to $100,000+/yr at enterprise scope; ~50,000 screened entities lands around $20,000/yr — per Descartes' own cost guide. (source) | Capterra 4.9/5 (35) |
| 2 | Trademo (Sanctions Screener) | Mid-market teams that want published tiers | 485+ lists (Standard) / 670+ lists (Enterprise) | Standard tier published: up to 3,000 screenings/yr, 1 user, 485+ lists; Enterprise (670+ lists, API, continuous monitoring) is quote-only. (source) | — |
| 3 | sanctions.io | Developers embedding screening via API | Not disclosed | Usage-based with a public pricing calculator and free trial; enterprise tier for 25,000+ screenings/month. (source) | — |
| 4 | Castellum.AI | Fintech-grade list freshness | Not disclosed | Tiered, quote-only. | — |
| 5 | Descartes OCR (GlobalEASE) | Export-control-heavy enterprise programs | 200+ restricted-party and sanctions lists | Quote-only; no public pricing. | — |
| 6 | Dow Jones Risk & Compliance | Banks and data-depth buyers | 750+ sanctions/watchlists plus Sanctions Control & Ownership data | Quote-only data licensing. | — |
| 7 | LexisNexis Firco Trade Compliance | Trade-finance screening in banks | Not disclosed | Quote-only; enterprise contracts. | — |
| 8 | ComplyAdvantage | AML-style monitoring on a budget | Not disclosed | Entry pricing around $99/mo for ~100 monitored entities; volume pricing scales down per entity. (source) | G2 4.5/5 (21); Capterra 4/5 (2) |
What is each screening tool actually best at?
1. Descartes Visual Compliance — enterprises that need the audit-proof default
The enterprise reference product for denied-party and restricted-party screening, with export licensing workflows.
The product most screening programs are benchmarked against, with export-licensing workflow attached and — unusually — a public cost anchor straight from Descartes' own guide.
Ownership: Acquired by Descartes Systems (with eCustoms/MSR) for C$330M in 2019; list content lineage includes MK Data Services (acquired 2015). (source)
2. Trademo (Sanctions Screener) — mid-market teams that want published tiers
Mid-market screening with vessel/address checks plus HS classification and trade data in one growing suite.
One of the only vendors with a real published entry tier (3,000 screenings/yr, 485+ lists), plus vessel and address screening that many mid-market rivals lack.
3. sanctions.io — developers embedding screening via api
Developer-first sanctions screening API with transparent usage-based pricing and a public calculator — rare in this market.
Transparent usage-based pricing with a public calculator and a free trial — the most honest pricing posture in the category.
4. Castellum.AI — fintech-grade list freshness
Screening platform built on its own list data pipeline with 5-minute refresh cycles and agentic alert triage.
Runs its own list-data pipeline with 5-minute refresh cycles and agentic alert triage; the strongest newer entrant (Series A, July 2025).
Ownership: Founded 2019 (NYC); raised an $8.5M Series A in July 2025 (led by Curql), ~$12.6M total. (source)
5. Descartes OCR (GlobalEASE) — export-control-heavy enterprise programs
Export compliance suite covering screening, ECCN classification, and license management; long-standing blue-chip installed base.
GlobalEASE pairs 200+ list screening with ECCN classification and license management. Since March 2024 it shares an owner with Visual Compliance — factor that into any 'competitive' bake-off.
Ownership: Acquired by Descartes for ~US$90M on March 28, 2024 — meaning Descartes now owns both leading screening products (Visual Compliance and OCR). (source)
6. Dow Jones Risk & Compliance — banks and data-depth buyers
Premium risk data covering 750+ lists with sanctions-ownership research applying the OFAC 50% rule.
750+ lists plus ownership research applying the OFAC 50% rule; commonly the data layer inside other screening platforms.
7. LexisNexis Firco Trade Compliance — trade-finance screening in banks
Bank-grade screening of customers plus dual-use goods, vessels, and locations from the Fircosoft lineage.
The Fircosoft lineage remains the fixture in bank trade-finance workflows, screening goods, vessels, and locations alongside names.
Ownership: Part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions (RELX). (source)
8. ComplyAdvantage — aml-style monitoring on a budget
AI-native AML screening (sanctions, PEPs, adverse media) — an AML product often shortlisted for trade screening.
AML-native rather than trade-native — light on export-control workflow, but a published ~$99/mo entry point makes it a practical first monitoring layer.
Who owns whom? The consolidation map to read before any RFP
The screening market has quietly rolled up. Descartes owns both Visual Compliance (2019) and OCR GlobalEASE (March 2024) — the category's two historic rivals — plus the MK Data list content underneath. Dow Jones and LexisNexis sit inside News Corp and RELX respectively. Windward went private under FTV Capital in 2025. A “three-vendor bake-off” can easily be two subsidiaries and a data licensee of the third. We keep ownership facts, with sources, on every review.
Free denied-party screening options (and their limits)
We tested these hands-on — including downloading the full 25,830-entry CSL — in our dedicated free-screening-tools guide.
- ITA Consolidated Screening List (trade.gov) — The US government's own free search across 13 export-screening lists (OFAC, BIS, State). The right spot-check tool; no audit trail or continuous monitoring.
- OpenSanctions — Open-data consolidation of global sanctions lists; free to search, commercial API for production use.
- OFACScreen / NameScan / Digicust free tiers — Freemium screeners useful for occasional manual checks (e.g., trial searches or limited list sets) — not a compliance program on their own.
Frequently asked questions
What is denied-party screening?
Denied-party screening (also restricted-party screening) checks the people and companies you do business with — customers, suppliers, banks, freight partners, even vessels and addresses — against government lists of parties you may not transact with: OFAC's SDN list, the BIS Entity List, the State Department's debarred list, and hundreds of international equivalents. Screening is legally expected before export transactions and increasingly run continuously, because lists change daily.
Which lists am I legally required to screen against?
US exporters at minimum screen OFAC's SDN and consolidated non-SDN lists, BIS's Entity List, Denied Persons List, Unverified List and Military End User list, and the State Department's DDTC debarred and nonproliferation lists — the free trade.gov Consolidated Screening List bundles 13 of these. Companies with EU, UK, or UN exposure add those consolidated lists. Commercial tools differentiate on how far beyond this baseline they go (750+ lists at the high end).
How much does denied-party screening software cost?
Descartes' own published guide puts basic solutions around $3,000 per user per year, scaling past $100,000 annually for enterprise scope, with ~50,000 screened entities landing near $20,000/yr. Below that: ComplyAdvantage starts around $99/mo, sanctions.io prices per screening with a public calculator, and Trademo publishes its entry tier. Most other vendors are quote-only — budget extra time just to get numbers.
Is there free denied-party screening?
Yes, for spot checks: the US government's Consolidated Screening List search at trade.gov is free and authoritative for 13 US lists, and OpenSanctions offers free consolidated global data. What free tools don't give you: audit trails, fuzzy-match tuning, continuous re-screening, and workflow — the things regulators ask about after a violation.
How often should we re-screen counterparties?
Continuously, or at minimum daily batch re-screens for active counterparties. OFAC added a record 3,135 SDN entries in 2024 and 1,764 in 2025 — a party that cleared last quarter can be listed today. One-time onboarding checks are the most common audit finding in screening programs.
What is the '50% affiliates rule' and why does it matter for tooling?
OFAC has long treated entities 50%+ owned by sanctioned parties as sanctioned themselves. BIS extended similar logic to the Entity List effective Sept 29, 2025 — then suspended it Nov 10, 2025, with reimposition slated for Nov 10, 2026. Screening tools must resolve ownership chains, not just match names; ask vendors specifically how they handle ownership data before you buy.
Who actually owns the leading screening products?
More consolidation than buyers realize: Descartes owns both Visual Compliance (acquired 2019, ~C$330M) and OCR GlobalEASE (acquired March 2024, ~$90M) — historic head-to-head rivals. Dow Jones Risk & Compliance is News Corp; Firco is LexisNexis Risk Solutions (RELX); Windward is FTV Capital (2025). If you're running a 'competitive' RFP between Visual Compliance and OCR, you're negotiating with one company.
I run a 15-person exporter and just got my first BIS inquiry — what screening tool should I actually buy this week?
Start with a published-price tool you can deploy in days, not an enterprise RFP: Trademo's standard tier (485+ lists, published pricing) or sanctions.io if you have a developer to wire its API into your order flow. Run the free trade.gov Consolidated Screening List check on your existing counterparties today while the paid tool onboards, and keep the export screenshots — documented screening effort matters in a BIS inquiry.
We already screen customers in our AML tool — do we still need trade-specific denied-party screening?
Usually yes. AML platforms like ComplyAdvantage screen names against sanctions and PEP lists, but trade screening also has to catch export-specific lists (BIS Entity List, Unverified List, DDTC debarred), screen goods and end-uses against license requirements, and check vessels and addresses. If you export controlled items, an AML-only screen leaves the export-control lists — the ones BIS enforces — uncovered.