OFAC compliance cost breakdown
Compliance costs split into software, implementation, training, and auditing, all dwarfed by the cost of a violation.
TL;DR
TL;DR: Screening software can run from free up to $99 per month, but the real costs are implementation time, training, and auditing, and they are far smaller than the cost of non-compliance, where penalties start at $356,000 per violation.
Software costs
- Free tier: 5 checks per day, no signup, no key.
- Dev: $19 per month for 10,000 checks per month.
- Pro: $99 per month for 100,000 checks per month.
- Pay as you go: $0.05 per check via x402.
Implementation, training, and auditing
Beyond the API price, plan for the time it takes to wire screening into your payment path, to train staff on what a match means, and to audit decisions periodically. Because the screening API is a single HTTP call that answers in under 100 ms, implementation is typically a one-time integration rather than an ongoing engineering project. The MIT license and self-hosting option also remove per-seat licensing overhead.
The cost of non-compliance
OFAC civil penalties start at $356,000 per violation, and liability is strict, meaning intent is not required. Compared with a $19 or $99 monthly subscription, the economics strongly favor screening early. Paid plans also carry a $10K legal-fee guarantee.