What is the cost of sanctions compliance?
What is the cost of sanctions compliance?
The cost of sanctions compliance ranges from $0 (using free screening tools) to a few hundred dollars per month for a production-grade program. The alternative — a single OFAC civil penalty — starts at $330,944 per violation.
Cost tiers
| Level | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | $0 | 5 checks/day, no API key, basic screening |
| Dev plan | $19/mo | 10,000 checks/month, audit logs, MCP access |
| Pro plan | $99/mo | 100,000 checks/month, advanced analytics, priority support |
ROI of compliance
At $19/mo, a sanctions screening program costs $228/year — less than 0.07% of the minimum OFAC penalty. For AI agent operators, where violations can multiply at machine speed, the ROI is essentially infinite.