How Much Does Refinitiv World-Check Cost?
Refinitiv World-Check One pricing is enterprise and quote-based — typically $30K-$150K+/year depending on seats and volume.
Refinitiv World-Check pricing breakdown (2026)
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Standard seat | ~$15K-$30K/yr (est.) | Screening UI with basic data sets |
| API access | ~$25K-$75K/yr (est.) | Programmatic screening API |
| Enterprise | Custom ($50K-$200K+) | Full data, API, dedicated support |
Is Refinitiv World-Check worth it?
World-Check is the gold standard for bank-grade KYC but the price is prohibitive for most startups. For OFAC-specific screening (without the full PEP/adverse-media data set), SanctionsAI's free API is a viable starting point.
Hidden costs to watch for
- Overage charges: many plans bill per-unit once you exceed limits — read the fine print
- Seat-based add-ons: admin seats, API seats, and viewer seats are often priced separately
- Integration premiums: connecting to certain data sources or tools may require a higher tier
- Annual lock-in: monthly billing is often 20-30% more expensive than annual
Related resources
Refinitiv World-Check pricing breakdown
Refinitiv World-Check (now part of LSEG) is the legacy standard for PEP, sanctions, and adverse media screening. Like most enterprise compliance tools, pricing is not publicly listed and requires contacting sales. Based on industry benchmarks:
- Core data access: Typically $20,000–$50,000/year for basic sanctions and PEP list access. Pricing scales with data scope — adding adverse media, enhanced due diligence, or regional list coverage increases cost.
- API integration: Platform access fees of $10,000–$30,000/year on top of data licensing. Implementation is complex and typically requires 2–4 months of integration work.
- User seats: Additional per-seat costs for compliance analysts using the dashboard interface, typically $2,000–$5,000/seat/year.
- Total cost: For a mid-size deployment, expect $50,000–$100,000+/year all-in. Enterprise deployments at large banks can exceed $200,000/year.
Cost comparison
For developers and AI agents, World-Check is the most expensive and slowest option. SanctionsAI provides the same core screening function (OFAC SDN names, wallet addresses, embargoed jurisdictions) with a free tier of 5 checks/day, no API key required, and sub-100ms response times. Paid plans start at $19/month. The cost difference is approximately 500-1000x, and SanctionsAI includes MCP support — something World-Check will never offer.
World-Check remains the standard for regulated financial institutions that need the broadest global list coverage and can afford multi-month implementations. For agent-payment screening, it is not the right tool.