Pricing research · July 2026
What trade compliance software really costs in July 2026
By Annik Sobing, host of the Simply Trade podcast · Published July 3, 2026 · Vendor facts verified July 3, 2026
About 90% of this market is quote-only. This page collects every vendor-published price we could verify — each with a source link — plus the budget bands practitioners actually pay. If a number isn’t sourced, it isn’t here.
Data policy: only vendor-published numbers or primary-source reporting; verified July 3, 2026; nothing estimated from hearsay. Corrections welcome — contact us.
How much should you budget?
| Buyer tier | Typical annual budget | What that buys |
|---|---|---|
| Small business / first program | $5,000 – $50,000 / yr | A screening point tool (published tiers or usage-based API), free government lookups formalized, maybe a classification helper. |
| Mid-market | $50,000 – $250,000 / yr | Screening with continuous monitoring, export-control workflow, classification at volume, first integrations into ERP. |
| Enterprise / GTM suite | $250,000 – $2,000,000+ (year one) | SAP GTS / Oracle GTM / E2open-class suite; implementation alone commonly runs 50–150% of the annual license over 6–12 months. |
Rule of thumb across segments: implementation runs 50–150% of the annual license for suite-class deployments, and first-year total cost lands at 2–5× the headline subscription once data, integrations, and training are counted.
Every published price in trade compliance software (July 2026)
The complete list of vendors that put real numbers in public, from our vendor database — this table is the exception to the industry’s quote-only wall.
| Vendor | Category | Published pricing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Descartes Visual Compliance | sanctions screening | ≈$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 |
| Trademo (Sanctions Screener) | sanctions screening | Standard tier published: up to 3,000 screenings/yr, 1 user, 485+ lists; Enterprise (670+ lists, API, continuous monitoring) is quote-only. | source |
| sanctions.io | sanctions screening | Usage-based with a public pricing calculator and free trial; enterprise tier for 25,000+ screenings/month. | source |
| ComplyAdvantage | sanctions screening | Entry pricing around $99/mo for ~100 monitored entities; volume pricing scales down per entity. | source |
| OpenSanctions | sanctions screening | Free open data; paid commercial API licensing published on-site. | source |
| CargoWise (WiseTech Global) | customs filing | Moved to per-transaction 'Value Packs' effective Dec 1, 2025 — e.g. $9.95 per standalone customs entry to $19.95 per full import container — replacing per-seat licensing; trade press reports 20–50% cost increases for many users. | source |
| Zonos (Landed Cost) | hs classification | Landed-cost guarantee priced at $2 + 10% of duties/taxes/fees per order (shopper-payable). | source |
| ImportGenius | trade data | From $149/mo, published tiered plans. | source |
| ImportYeti | trade data | Free. | vendor site |
| Shipping Solutions | export controls | Publishes annual pricing on its site — plans visible from $1,199 up to $9,999 on the public pricing page. | source |
| GingerControl | hs classification | Free sign-up tier at app.gingercontrol.com (verified July 3, 2026); paid plans reported to start around $150/month for classification (editorial sourcing, July 2026 — not yet published by the vendor; we'll link a public pricing page when one exists). | source |
The quote-only wall
These vendors publish no pricing at all — budget discovery time accordingly, and bring the published anchors above into every negotiation:
Descartes OCR (GlobalEASE) · Castellum.AI · LexisNexis Firco Trade Compliance · Dow Jones Risk & Compliance · Windward · SAP Global Trade Services (GTS) · Oracle Global Trade Management · E2open Global Trade (ex-Amber Road) · Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Global Trade · AEB · MIC Customs Solutions · Magaya · Charter Brokerage (Hamilton) · Tradewin · Avalara Tariff Code Classification · Sayari · Kharon · Altana · Exiger · Sourcemap · Prewave · Panjiva (S&P Global)
Deciding between the screening vendors on this list? Our ranked denied-party screening review scores them on list coverage and pricing transparency side by side.
How do trade compliance vendors price? The six models
- Per user/seat — the classic screening model; Descartes’ own guide anchors basic solutions around $3,000/user/yr.
- Per screening (usage) — sanctions.io prices per check with a public calculator; ideal for spiky or embedded volumes.
- Per monitored entity — ComplyAdvantage’s ~$99/mo entry covers ~100 entities; per-entity cost falls with volume.
- Per transaction — CargoWise’s Value Packs (from Dec 1, 2025): $9.95 per standalone customs entry to $19.95 per full import container.
- Percentage of duties — Zonos charges $2 + 10% of duties, taxes, and fees per order for guaranteed landed cost.
- Flat data licensing — trade-data products like ImportGenius ($149/mo) publish simple tiers.
Frequently asked questions
How much does trade compliance software cost?
Plan on $5K–$50K per year for a small program built on a screening point tool, $50K–$250K for mid-market scope with continuous monitoring and ERP integration, and $250K–$2M+ in year one for enterprise GTM suites once implementation (typically 50–150% of the annual license, over 6–12 months) is included. First-year total cost commonly lands at 2–5× the headline subscription.
Why is almost all pricing quote-only?
Roughly 90% of vendors in this market publish no numbers. Deals are scoped on entity counts, screening volume, list packages, modules, and integrations — and opaque pricing preserves negotiating room in a market where buyers rarely compare more than two quotes. The published anchors on this page are the exception, which is exactly why they're useful as negotiation references.
What pricing models do trade compliance vendors use?
Six recur: per-user/seat (Descartes Visual Compliance's published anchor), per-screening usage (sanctions.io), per-monitored-entity (ComplyAdvantage), per-transaction (CargoWise's Value Packs, e.g. $9.95 per standalone customs entry), percentage-of-duties (Zonos at $2 + 10% of duties/taxes per order), and flat data licensing (trade-data products like ImportGenius at $149/mo).
What does SAP GTS or an enterprise GTM suite really cost?
Licenses are quote-only, but practitioner discussions consistently put implementations at $250K–$2M+ over 6–12 months, before annual licensing. Two 2025–2026 events affect negotiations: SAP GTS 11.0 mainstream maintenance ended December 2025 (migration to the HANA edition is a fresh commercial conversation), and WiseTech's acquisition of E2open closed August 2025.
Did CargoWise get more expensive in 2026?
CargoWise replaced per-seat licensing with per-transaction 'Value Packs' effective December 1, 2025 — e.g. $9.95 for a standalone customs entry up to $19.95 for a full import container. Trade press and user reports describe 20–50% cost increases for many brokers and forwarders, which is driving active migration evaluations.
How should I use published prices in a quote-only negotiation?
Anchor with the public numbers: Descartes' own guide (~$3K/user/yr basic; ~$20K/yr around 50K entities; $100K+ enterprise) for screening, usage calculators (sanctions.io) for per-check economics, and published tiers (Trademo, ComplyAdvantage) for the floor. Quote-only vendors know these anchors exist; citing them moves quotes measurably.