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Descartes Visual Compliance Pricing and a Fixed Price Alternative for OFAC Screening

Descartes Visual Compliance does not publish a price list. Its own pricing page says a basic setup with one user and small volumes starts at "a few thousand dollars a year", and a company screening 50,000 entities should budget around $20,000 a year. Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice list $3,000 per year as the entry point. OfacScanner shows every price up front, from $288 a year for 1,000 sanctions checks a month.

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Freight dispatcher reviewing shipment documents at a container terminal Ready to screen Matching 19,970 entries
OFAC SDN list, published , checked
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Two compliance colleagues reviewing a possible sanctions match together

How much does Descartes Visual Compliance cost in 2026

The vendor gives a range, not a price. Descartes says its screening starts at a few thousand dollars a year for a basic implementation with small volumes and one user, and that a customer screening 50,000 entities should budget around $20,000 a year. Its pricing page names three packages, Standard, Mid-Market and Enterprise, and every one of them is "contact us" or "get pricing". Add-ons such as forced labor checks, sanctioned party ownership, adverse media, anti-corruption screening and military end use are priced on request.

The software directories agree on the entry point. Capterra lists $3,000 a year for a single user Basic plan, and GetApp and Software Advice describe it as $3,000 per user per year. Capterra shows enterprise setups going well above that. Descartes also says the number of users, the number of lists and automatic daily rescreening are the main things that move the price.

Visual Compliance is built for export compliance. It screens restricted and denied parties from lists in 180+ countries, and it also sells export classification, license management and export documentation. A shipper or manufacturer that must check BIS lists on every order gets real value from that. A finance team, title office, dealership or lender that only needs OFAC and a few other sanctions lists pays for a trade compliance suite it never opens.

Descartes Visual Compliance vs OfacScanner pricing and features

Facts for Descartes come from its own pricing page and homepage plus Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice. Where Descartes does not state something publicly, the table says so.

Descartes Visual Compliance and OfacScanner compared on price, scope, rescreening, evidence and API
Descartes Visual Compliance OfacScanner
How price is shown Not published, three packages by quote Fixed monthly and yearly prices on the pricing page
Entry cost About $3,000 a year for one user (directories), "a few thousand dollars" per Descartes Starter, 1,000 checks a month for $49 monthly or $288 a year
What you pay for Users, lists, volume and automatic rescreening Checks per month, plus saved records for rescreening on Growth
A 50,000 name file Around $20,000 a year, per Descartes Growth, 50,000 checks and 50,000 monitored records for $2,988 a year
Lists Lists from 180+ countries, including BIS export control lists OFAC SDN and Consolidated on Starter, plus UN, EU, UK, Canada and Australia on Growth
Export classification and licenses Yes, as separate modules No
Ownership checks (50 percent rule) Yes, as an add-on No, name screening only
Daily rescreening Yes, called Dynamic Screening Yes, ongoing sanctions monitoring on Growth
Evidence per check Screening and audit history, Resolution Manager PDF certificate with list version, time, user and score breakdown
API Integration with ERP and sales systems, API price not stated REST API and webhooks on Scale, $11,988 a year
Contract Not stated publicly Month to month or yearly, no minimum term

Descartes details checked on visualcompliance.com, Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice in October 2026. Vendors change prices and packages, so confirm everything with Descartes before you decide.

What sanctions screening costs at three sizes

A yearly comparison for a U.S. team that only has to screen sanctions lists. The Descartes column is what the vendor and the directories say, not a quote.

Yearly cost of sanctions-only screening by volume
Your situation Descartes Visual Compliance OfacScanner plan OfacScanner yearly cost
One person screening new customers or vendors, OFAC only About $3,000 a year for one user Starter $288
A 50,000 name file rescreened after every list update Around $20,000 a year per Descartes Growth $2,988
Payments or signups screened in real time through an API Quote, not stated Scale $11,988

OfacScanner Starter does not rescreen saved records, which is why the second row needs Growth. Descartes figures are the vendor example and the directory entry price, not offers.

Compliance lead reviewing screening results on a laptop

When Descartes Visual Compliance is the better choice

Pick Descartes if you export. A manufacturer, distributor or freight forwarder has to check buyers and consignees against Commerce Department lists such as the Entity List and Denied Persons List, classify products by ECCN and file export documents. Visual Compliance does all of that in one place, and OfacScanner does none of it.

It is also the safer choice when your policy requires ownership checks under the OFAC and BIS 50 percent rules, or when a trade compliance team needs a workflow with several reviewers. If you only need to prove that vendors, borrowers, buyers or policyholders were checked against OFAC, read our page on OFAC compliance software to see which part of a program a sanctions-only tool covers.

Why sanctions-only teams choose OfacScanner instead

These buyers have an OFAC requirement from a bank, insurer, auditor or large customer, and no export control duty.

A price you can read today

Starter, Growth and Scale show fixed monthly and yearly prices. You can budget a year of screening before anyone books a demo.

A PDF for every decision

Each check saves a certificate with the list version, the time, the user and how the score was built, which is what an examiner or bank partner asks for.

The lists a U.S. program needs

OFAC SDN and Consolidated on every plan, plus UN, EU, UK, Canada and Australia on Growth.

Rescreening after list changes

Saved records are rechecked each time a list changes, and you are alerted only on new possible matches.

A whole file in one upload

Batch sanctions screening scores every row of a customer or supplier CSV and opens a case for each possible match.

More users without a per user fee

Plans are priced by checks, not seats, so adding a colleague in finance or operations does not add a license.

How to compare a Descartes quote with fixed plans

Do this before the sales call, so the quote is easy to judge.

  1. 01

    Write down your lists

    If your written program names OFAC, UN, EU and UK sanctions and nothing from the Commerce Department, export lists and classification are cost without use.

  2. 02

    Count users and entities

    Descartes prices by users, lists and volume. Note how many people run checks and how many names you keep under rescreening.

  3. 03

    Ask for the full term price

    Ask for the yearly total at your volume, the add-on prices, the renewal increase and whether integration work is billed separately.

  4. 04

    Test your hardest names

    Run a few difficult names in the console at the top of this page, open the PDF and check whether it would satisfy your auditor.

Questions to ask Descartes on the demo

  • What is the total yearly price at our user and entity count, including setup

  • Which package fits us, and what changes between Standard and Mid-Market

  • Are daily rescreening and ownership checks included or add-ons

  • Can sanctions screening be bought without export classification and licensing

  • Can we download a dated record of a single check for an examiner

  • How is the renewal priced after the first year

A match score is a lead, not a verdict

No screening tool decides on its own that a person or company is sanctioned. Both products score how close a name is to a listed entry. Confirm a likely match against the official Treasury Sanctions List Search and bring in your compliance lead or counsel before you block, reject or report anything. Comparing more vendors? Read our Sanction Scanner comparison.

Descartes Visual Compliance pricing questions

Another question? Write to [email protected].

How much does Descartes Visual Compliance cost?
Descartes does not publish prices. It says a basic setup with one user and small volumes starts at a few thousand dollars a year, and that screening 50,000 entities should budget around $20,000 a year. Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice list $3,000 a year as the entry point. OfacScanner Starter costs $49 a month, or $288 a year.

Is Descartes Visual Compliance only for exporters?
No, but export control is its center. It screens restricted and denied parties for sanctions too, and it adds export classification, license management and documentation. Teams that only need OFAC and other sanctions lists often pay for modules they never use, which is why they compare it with sanctions-only plans.

What are the best Descartes Visual Compliance alternatives?
For export control with classification and licensing, buyers compare Descartes with other trade compliance suites. For a program that only needs sanctions lists, fixed price tools such as OfacScanner, OFACScreen and EasyOFAC cost less and are easier to budget. See the EasyOFAC comparison for that group.

Does Descartes Visual Compliance rescreen automatically?
Yes. Descartes calls it Dynamic Screening and rescreens your records daily when watch lists change, and says automatic rescreening is one of the factors that raises the price. OfacScanner includes ongoing monitoring of saved records on Growth at $2,988 a year.

Does OfacScanner replace Descartes for export compliance?
No. OfacScanner covers sanctions lists only, with OFAC SDN and Consolidated on every plan and UN, EU, UK, Canada and Australia on Growth. It does not screen BIS export control lists, classify products or manage licenses. Use it when the requirement is OFAC proof, not export control.

Can I buy OfacScanner without a contract?
Yes. Every plan is sold month to month at the listed monthly price, or yearly at about half that rate. There is no minimum term, no setup fee and no sales call needed to start screening.

Keep exploring

Sanction Scanner alternative What Sanction Scanner costs, what its AML platform covers, and where a published sanctions-only plan is the cheaper fit. Read more ComplyAdvantage alternative What ComplyAdvantage Starter and Enterprise cost, where its AML data earns the price, and where a sanctions-only plan costs less. Read more EasyOFAC alternative Where EasyOFAC is the better buy, and where a team needs batch files, more lists and saved proof. Read more OFAC compliance software Run a sanctions compliance program with screening, controls and records in one place. Read more Vendor screening Screen new suppliers, the whole vendor master and every payee before the payment run, with a PDF for the vendor file. Read more Pricing Four plans with public prices, yearly billing saves 50 percent. Read more

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Results support your compliance decisions, and the final decision stays with your team. OfacScanner is not affiliated with OFAC or the U.S. Department of the Treasury.