Top Trade Data Platforms (2026)

Best Platforms by Use Case

TradeData.Pro: Buyer and Supplier Research Across Markets

Best for exporters, manufacturers, sourcing teams, and B2B sales teams that need both company and shipment data.

TradeData.Pro brings together customs data, import and export records, shipment data, bill-of-lading information, company profiles, contact details, and market research tools.

You can search by:

• product name;
• HS code;
• importer;
• exporter;
• company;
• country;
• bill of lading.

For sales teams, a common use is to search a product, find companies that are importing it, check how recently they bought, and then look at their current suppliers. This gives you a much better starting point than working from a general company list.

Sourcing teams can use it the other way around. Start with a known buyer, look at the exporters shown in its shipment records, and then check which suppliers are already shipping similar products.

TradeData.Pro also explains the difference between customs data, shipping data, and mirror data in its data documentation. This is important because the same fields are not available in every country.

Current annual prices shown in the source are:

The TradeData.Pro pricing page also shows differences in country access, users, downloads, and information credits.

The main thing to check is coverage in your target markets. A platform may cover many countries overall, but that does not mean importer names, supplier names, values, and shipment details are equally complete everywhere.

Panjiva: Large Supply-Chain Research

Best for larger companies that need company matching, supplier relationships, and wider supply-chain research.

Panjiva is part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. Its product information reports more than 2 billion transaction records, 22 source-data countries, about 9 million company profiles across more than 190 countries, and around 13 million company-to-company relationships.

One point is easy to miss here. Panjiva may have company profiles across more than 190 countries, but that does not mean it has the same level of detailed customs data in all of them. The number of source-data countries is much smaller.

Panjiva is also useful when the same company appears under several different names. For example:

• ABC Industrial Co Ltd;
• ABC Industrial Company Limited;
• ABC Ind. Co.;
• ABC Industrial Co., Ltd.

These may all be the same supplier. If a database treats them as separate companies, shipment counts and supplier rankings can become misleading. This matters even more when you are working with thousands of records.

Panjiva makes more sense when you need to understand larger supplier networks or track relationships over time. A small exporter that only wants a few hundred buyer names may not need all of these functions.

Descartes Datamyne: Trade and Logistics Research

Best for larger trade research projects, logistics prospecting, and companies that need data inside their own systems.

Descartes Datamyne reports import-export and shipment coverage across more than 180 countries.

It is especially useful for U.S. maritime data. Descartes says it adds around 26,000 U.S. maritime import bill-of-lading records per day, usually within 24 hours after receiving the records from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

U.S. maritime fields can include:

• master bill of lading;
• house bill of lading;
• container size and type;
• NVOCC;
• VOCC;
• FCL or LCL status;
• ports;
• trade lanes.

These details are especially useful for freight forwarders and logistics companies. Two importers may both have 50 shipments, but one may mainly receive full containers while the other uses smaller consolidated loads. Those are very different sales opportunities.

Datamyne also supports API access. This is useful if trade data needs to flow into a CRM, reporting dashboard, or supplier database instead of being downloaded manually every week.

If you only need a basic buyer list, though, Datamyne may be more than you need.

ImportGenius: U.S. Maritime Shipment Research

Best for companies that want to research U.S. importers, suppliers, and competitors through shipment records.

ImportGenius provides U.S. bill-of-lading data together with additional international datasets.

Its U.S. products offer different levels of history:

• entry-level access focuses on the latest 12 months of U.S. import data;
• higher-level access includes U.S. import history from 2006 onward;
• U.S. export data is available from January 2014 onward.

How much history you need depends on the job. If you just want to find companies that are buying now, recent records are usually enough. If you want to see whether a buyer changed suppliers, changed sourcing countries, or buys seasonally, several years of history is more useful.

For example, a company with 18 relevant shipments in the last 12 months is normally more interesting for sales research than a company whose only matching shipment was four years ago. You still need to check the product and shipment size, but the first company is clearly more active.

ImportGenius is stronger for shipment research than for broad market-size comparison across many countries.

Trademo: Finding Buyers With Recent Activity

Best for sales teams that need to reduce a very large list of possible buyers into a smaller list worth checking.

Trademo’s public information describes more than 3 billion shipment records, around 15 million company profiles, and coverage across more than 190 countries.

It can help identify changes in trade activity such as:

• higher shipment volume;
• new suppliers;
• new trade lanes;
• changes in product mix;
• entry into new markets.

This is useful when a search returns thousands of companies. A sales team cannot research all of them one by one, so recent trade activity can help narrow the list.

That still does not mean a company is ready to buy from you. Before contacting it, check the shipment descriptions, dates, suppliers, and buying frequency.

Trademo is useful for deciding which companies to research first. A lead score by itself is not proof of buying intent.

TradeAtlas: Buyer Searches by Product and HS Code

Best for exporters with a fairly clear product range that mainly want to search importers and exporters.

TradeAtlas allows searches by HS code, product, importer, exporter, brand, and port.

The annual packages listed in the source are:

The HS-code limit matters because one product does not always appear under only one code. The code can change depending on material, use, construction, or the country where the goods are reported.

The World Customs Organization says HS 2022 contains 1,228 four-digit headings and 5,612 six-digit subheadings and is used by more than 200 countries and customs or economic unions.^[1]

If your products regularly appear under several codes, work out how many codes you will really need before choosing a plan.

Volza: Trade Data With Contact Information

Best for sales teams that want to find buyers and then look for people to contact.

Volza reports around 3.126 billion shipments across 203 countries.

As with other large global databases, those 203 countries do not all have the same level of detail. Some markets may have stronger buyer data, while others rely more on supplier or mirror data.

Volza also provides sales-related information such as:

• email addresses;
• phone numbers;
• LinkedIn profiles;
• employee information.

A simple way to use it is:

1. find a company with relevant trade activity;
2. check several recent shipments;
3. make sure the product is really relevant;
4. look at its suppliers and buying frequency;
5. find possible contacts;
6. check whether the person’s job is related to purchasing or sourcing.

A company may be a real importer, but the contact you find could work in HR or another unrelated department. The trade record can still be useful even if the contact is not.

The source lists annual plans starting at about $1,500 for Startup, $4,500 for SME, and $9,600 for Corporate.

Contact information can save time, but it should not be treated as part of the original customs record.

ImportYeti: A Good Starting Point for U.S. Research

Best for businesses that want to check U.S. importer-supplier relationships before paying for a larger database.

ImportYeti says it searches more than 709 million U.S. customs shipment records and updates its database daily.

The source lists these options:

• Free: $0;
• Professional: $600 per user per year;
• 30-day access: $130;
• Enterprise: from $1,000 per organization per month.

If your main market is the United States, the free version gives you a useful place to start. Search a few importers or competitors you already know and see whether the supplier relationships and shipment history are enough for your work.

If the free version already gives you what you need, a paid database should offer something clearly better, such as more countries, more fields, larger exports, contact data, or better company matching.

ImportYeti is much less useful if you need detailed company-level research across many countries.

Trade Data Monitor: Compare Markets Instead of Companies

Best for checking country-level imports, quantities, and trade trends.

Trade Data Monitor focuses on overall trade statistics rather than individual buyer lists. Its public information reports more than 120 countries with monthly reporting and more than 182 countries with annual data.

You can use it to check:

• which countries import the most;
• which markets are growing;
• which supplier countries are gaining share;
• whether physical import volume is rising;
• how average unit values are changing.

It is useful to look at value and quantity together. For example, if import value rises from $80 million to $100 million but quantity barely changes, the increase may mainly come from higher prices or a different product mix. If quantity also rises sharply, the market may actually be buying more goods.

Trade Data Monitor is useful for market analysis, but not for finding individual buyers.

ITC Trade Map: Decide Which Markets to Research

Best for exporters that want to decide which countries are worth targeting.

Trade Map is run by the International Trade Centre. It covers 220 countries and territories and around 5,300 Harmonized System products, with monthly, quarterly, and annual trade data available at different levels.^[2]

You can compare:

• import value;
• export value;
• quantity;
• growth;
• market share;
• trade balance;
• supplier countries;
• destination markets.

This can save time before you start looking for individual buyers. If your product is imported by 20 countries, you do not necessarily need to research companies in all 20. You can first look at which markets are large enough, still growing, and worth more attention.

Trade Map also includes company directory information, but it is not the same as shipment-level customs data.

UN Comtrade: Official Global Trade Statistics

Best for market-size calculations, country comparisons, and long-term trade trends.

UN Comtrade is maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division. It provides annual and monthly merchandise trade statistics by product and partner country for about 200 countries and represents more than 99% of world merchandise trade.^[3]

It is useful for:

• checking market size;
• comparing trade between two countries;
• measuring supplier-country share;
• tracking long-term product trends;
• checking whether supply is concentrated in a few countries;
• running larger data analysis through an API.

What it usually does not give you is a full list of the individual companies behind the trade. That is why UN Comtrade is often useful for choosing a market first, before you move to a company-level database.

The United Nations also publishes methods covering product classification, trade value, partner-country reporting, and other parts of international merchandise trade statistics.^[4]

Check Your Target Country Before Paying

Before buying any subscription, check what type of data is actually available in the country you care about.

Mirror data can help, but it will not always match direct customs data exactly. Countries can use different data sources, valuation rules, and reporting methods.^[5]

U.S. maritime data also has limits. U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows some vessel-manifest information to be made public, but companies can ask for confidential treatment of names and addresses.^[6]

So if you cannot find a company in a database, that does not always mean the shipment never happened.

Check the Fields You Really Need

Do not rely only on a platform’s feature page. Open real records from your target market and see what information is actually there.

How much history you need also depends on the job. Recent data matters most when you are looking for active buyers. Three to five years can help you see supplier changes and buying patterns. Longer records can show bigger changes in sourcing over time.

Also check how fresh the data really is. Instead of trusting a general “updated daily” statement, search a few companies that you know are active and look at the date of their latest record.

Use HS Codes and Keywords Together

Searching only one HS code can cause you to miss real buyers.

The same product can appear under different codes because of:

• material;
• function;
• finished product versus component;
• country-level tariff codes;
• different HS versions;
• broad or incorrect customs descriptions.

A practical first search is:

• 1 main HS code;
• 2 to 3 related codes;
• 3 to 5 product keywords;
• a few known importers;
• a few known suppliers.

Then compare the results. If the HS-code searches and keyword searches keep finding many of the same companies, that is a good sign. If the lists are completely different, you may need to check the classification again before downloading thousands of records.

The TradeData.Pro HS Code tool is one option for checking product classifications before doing company research.

Check What the Company Actually Does

A company name in customs data does not always tell you its real role in the deal.

An exporter may be:

• a factory;
• a trading company;
• an export agent;
• a distributor;
• a related sales company.

A consignee may be the buyer, but it could also be a distributor, logistics company, or another company involved in the shipment.

Repeated shipments are usually more useful than one old record:

Buyer A is not automatically the best customer. You still need to check the product, order size, buying frequency, and type of company. But it is clearly a stronger starting point than a business with one old shipment.

Work Out the Real Cost of the Plan

Do not compare trade data subscriptions only by the price shown on the page.

Check:

• which countries are included;
• how many users are allowed;
• how many years of history you get;
• search limits;
• download limits;
• contact credits;
• extra fees for some countries;
• HS-code limits.

For example, a $1,500 plan with a 500-row daily download limit may be fine for one person. But if three salespeople need tens of thousands of records each month, a $3,000 plan with more users and much higher download limits may actually work out cheaper.

Compare the plan with how your team works in a normal month, not just the annual price.

Give Every Platform the Same Test

The easiest way to compare trade data platforms is to run the same search on each one.

For example: Find active U.S. importers of industrial valves and identify the overseas suppliers shown in recent shipment records.

Use the same inputs:

• 3 known importers;
• 2 known suppliers;
• 1 main HS code;
• 2 related HS codes;
• 3 product keywords.

If a platform cannot find several companies that you already know should be there, find out why before paying. The reason could be weak country coverage, missing transport modes, name matching, confidentiality rules, HS-code choice, or the original data source.

Use Free Sources When You Do Not Need Buyer Names

If you only want to know market size, growth, country share, or tariffs, you may not need a paid trade database.

UN Comtrade and ITC Trade Map already cover many common market research jobs.

The WTO also publishes merchandise trade statistics using sources such as UN Comtrade, national authorities, the IMF, and Eurostat.^[7]

The WTO Tariff & Trade Data platform provides tariff and import information for more than 150 economies.^[8]

A paid platform becomes more useful when you regularly need to:

• build importer lists;
• find overseas suppliers;
• check competitor suppliers;
• research companies in several countries;
• download large numbers of records;
• find contacts at active importing companies;
• track buyer-supplier relationships;
• send trade data into a CRM or internal system.

Know What Trade Data Cannot Tell You

If a customs record shows $410,000 in trade value and 50,000 units, the calculated unit value is $8.20.

That does not mean the product was really sold for exactly $8.20 per unit. The shipment may contain several models, the units may be reported differently, and customs value may not match the final commercial price.

For supplier checks, trade data should be used together with other information such as company registration records, certifications, product samples, factory audits, and quality inspections when needed.

Finally

The best trade data platform is the one that gives you useful results for the countries and products you actually work with. Use UN Comtrade, ITC Trade Map, or Trade Data Monitor when you mainly want market data. Use TradeData.Pro, Panjiva, Datamyne, ImportGenius, Trademo, TradeAtlas, Volza, or ImportYeti when you need company and shipment records. Before paying, test a few known importers and suppliers, search several HS codes and keywords, check the latest shipment dates, and make sure the plan gives your team enough users, countries, and downloads for normal work.

Want to see how trade data can work for your business? Leave us a message to book a free demo and explore TradeData.Pro’s data coverage, search tools, and platform features with our team.