RegIntel vs ComplyAdvantage

These two products often come up in the same conversation, but they solve different problems. This page explains what each one is for, and how to pick the right tool — or use both.

What each one is for

ComplyAdvantage is, in their own framing, an "AI-native financial crime platform." The core offerings are customer and company screening, ongoing monitoring, transaction monitoring, payment screening, sanctions / watchlist / PEP checks, and adverse media screening. The unit of data they hold is the person or entity: identifiers, risk flags, and historical events about specific individuals and companies.

RegIntel is a regulatory data API. The unit of data is the regulation: GDPR, MiCA, DORA, the BSA, FCA SYSC, MAS Notice 626, AUSTRAC's AML/CTF Act, and 200+ others. For each regulation, RegIntel returns obligations, penalties, scope, jurisdiction, tags, source URLs and modification timestamps via a REST API. There is no person-level data and no screening function.

Feature matrix

Feature	RegIntel	ComplyAdvantage
Primary unit of data	Regulation	Person / entity
Structured regulatory obligations + penalties	Yes	No — not a primary product
Sanctions list screening	No	Yes — core product
PEP screening	No	Yes
Adverse media monitoring	No	Yes
Transaction monitoring	No	Yes
Compliance decision API (allowed / requires_license / restricted / prohibited)	Yes — /compliance-check	No
Free tier	Yes — 100 credits, no card	No — demo required
Public pricing	Yes — $0 / $10 / $50 / month	Enterprise quote only
Developer-first onboarding	REST API, 10-minute integration	Has APIs; sales-led onboarding
MCP server for LLM clients	Yes — regintel-mcp	No

Which problem are you actually trying to solve?

If "compliance" is a single fuzzy word in your head, it is worth being precise about what you need next. These are different categories:

You need screening

"Before this user can open an account, I need to check whether they appear on a sanctions list, are a politically exposed person, or have adverse media history." This is screening. ComplyAdvantage (and competitors like Refinitiv World-Check, Sayari, Sumsub) sell this. RegIntel does not.

You need regulatory data

"My product operates in 12 jurisdictions. For each jurisdiction, I need to know which regulations apply to my service category, what obligations they impose, and what the penalties are." This is regulatory data. RegIntel is purpose-built for this. ComplyAdvantage does not sell this as a primary product.

You need transaction monitoring

"I need to scan in-flight transactions for suspicious patterns and generate SARs." This is AML transaction monitoring. ComplyAdvantage offers it. RegIntel does not.

When to pick which

Using both in the same stack

This is a common pattern for fintechs at any meaningful scale. A typical compliance stack:

• ComplyAdvantage (or equivalent) handles the person-and-entity layer — sanctions, PEP, adverse media screening at onboarding and ongoing; transaction monitoring at runtime.
• RegIntel handles the regulatory layer — what rules apply to which products in which jurisdictions, what obligations attach, what changed this quarter that your product needs to react to.

They do not overlap, they do not duplicate, and there is no reason to pick one to the exclusion of the other if both problems exist in your product.

Frequently asked questions

Are RegIntel and ComplyAdvantage direct competitors?

No, not really. ComplyAdvantage is an AML screening platform — it answers "is this person or company on a sanctions list, PEP list, or in adverse media?". RegIntel is a regulatory data API — it answers "what rules apply to this activity in this jurisdiction?". Different questions, different products. Many fintechs use both.

Does ComplyAdvantage provide regulatory data like obligations or penalties?

Not as a primary product. ComplyAdvantage's data products are watchlists, sanctions lists, PEP databases, and adverse media — structured around people and entities, not regulations. RegIntel provides structured regulation records with obligations, penalties, scope, and tags.

Does RegIntel do sanctions screening or KYC checks?

No. RegIntel does not provide sanctions lists, PEP data, or identity verification. It is purely a regulatory data API. For screening you would use a dedicated screening provider like ComplyAdvantage, Refinitiv World-Check, or Sumsub.

When would I use both?

A typical fintech compliance stack might use ComplyAdvantage (or equivalent) for KYC/AML screening of users and transactions, and RegIntel for the regulatory layer — determining which rules apply to each user based on jurisdiction, what obligations attach, what penalties exist. The two answer different questions in the same compliance workflow.