The Fintech Index
183 companies rated 5 sectors 38 reports Last updated Nov 13, 2026

Unit21 vs Sardine: Features, Coverage and Pricing Compared (2026)

Updated November 10, 2026 · Reviewed by Benjamin Margolis

Unit21 and Sardine both help fintechs and banks fight fraud and money laundering. Unit21 lets risk teams write their own rules and run investigations in one place. Sardine adds device and behavior data and KYC at signup, and serves more than 450 enterprises.

Our analysts compared the two on November 10, 2026, using each company's own product, pricing, and company pages and our full reviews of Unit21 and Sardine.

Choose Unit21 if

  • you want to write your own monitoring rules
  • you want investigations and SAR filing in one place
  • you already have an identity vendor

Choose Sardine if

  • you want fraud, AML, and identity from one vendor
  • you need device and behavior signals
  • you screen payments in real time

Unit21 scores 76 and Sardine scores 77 in our ratings. Unit21 is the rules and case platform. Sardine is the broader fraud and identity platform.

Key Features Compared

Unit21 vs Sardine at a Glance, November 2026

FeatureUnit21Sardine
Ratings
Fintech Index score76 / 10077 / 100Higher score
Overview
What it isSan Francisco fraud and AML platform that gives banks and fintechs transaction monitoring, case management, and AI agents for alertsSan Francisco fraud and compliance platform that uses device, behavior, and payment data to stop fraud and money laundering for banks and fintechs
Who uses itBanks, credit unions, and fintechs; more than 200 customers in 90 countries, including Chime, Green Dot, Intuit, and Sallie MaeMore than 450 enterprises, including FIS, Deel, GoDaddy, and X
Main productsTransaction monitoring, case management, SAR workflows, and AI agents that work alertsDevice and behavior signals, KYC and KYB, payment fraud checks, transaction monitoring, and AI agents for alerts
Where it operates90 countriesGlobal
Products and features
Transaction monitoring Core product Included
Pricing
How pricing worksWritten quote, negotiated by event volume and modulesQuoted by product; fraud and AML modules can be bundled
Published prices Quote only Quote only
Technology and compliance
Certifications and complianceCustomers file ~5% of US suspicious activity reports through itFraud and AML controls for regulated firms
Developer tools Rules risk teams write themselves APIs and SDKs for device and behavior data
Integrations and partnersTransaction and customer data feedsPayment and account activity data
Onboarding and supportSales-led rollout with data integration; larger programs take weeks to tune rulesStarts with a demo; setup covers rules and integrations for each product bought
Company
Founded20182020
HeadquartersSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
OwnershipPrivate companyPrivate company
Funding~$100M total, including a $45M Series C in June 2023 (Business Wire)~$145M raised, including a $70M Series C in February 2025 led by Activant Capital, with Andreessen Horowitz, Nyca Partners, GV, Experian Ventures, and Moody’s among its investors
Key leaderTyler AllenSoups Ranjan
ScaleClose to $100M raised, including a $45M Series C in 2023$1.8T of payments screened; 6.5 billion devices profiled

Fintech Index Scores Compared

We rate every company on eight criteria from 0 to 100, four tied to what buyers in its sector need and four shared by every company, and the rating is their average. Unit21 scores 76 and Sardine scores 77.

Criterion Scores Out of 100

Unit21Sardine
Sector criteria
Verification coverage7278
Fraud and risk signals8688
Case management and workflow8882
Regulatory fit8480
Vendor criteria
Product depth and roadmap8684
Onboarding and support7274
Pricing transparency5060
Contract terms7272

Key Differences Between Unit21 and Sardine

Data

Sardine has profiled more than 6.5 billion devices and screened $1.8T of payments. Unit21 works on the transaction and customer data a client sends.

Scope

Sardine includes KYC and KYB at signup. Unit21 does not check documents.

Pros and Cons

Unit21

Pros

  • Rules and investigations in one place
  • Strong US customer base
  • AI agents to work alerts

Cons

  • No identity checks at signup
  • No posted prices
  • Leadership changed in April 2026

Sardine

Pros

  • Strong device and behavior data
  • Fraud, AML, and identity from one vendor
  • Fast growth, with ARR up 130%

Cons

  • No posted prices
  • More than a team needs for simple document checks
  • Younger vendor

Who Each Is Best For

Unit21

A bank, credit union, or fintech that wants one system for fraud and AML monitoring, alert triage, investigations, and SAR filing.

Sardine

A bank, fintech, or marketplace that wants fraud prevention, AML monitoring, and identity checks from one vendor with deep device data.

Alternatives to Unit21 and Sardine

These companies, all reviewed and rated on The Fintech Index, cover some of the same ground as Unit21 and Sardine.

Other Card Issuing and Processing Companies

CompanyScoreBest forComparisons
Flagright72Fintechs that need real-time transaction monitoring without an enterprise suiteUnit21 vs Flagright
NICE Actimize78Large banks and brokers that need a full financial crime suiteNone yet
Hawk76Banks buried in false positives from rules-based monitoringNone yet
Alloy77Banks and fintechs that orchestrate many identity and fraud vendorsNone yet
Featurespace75Large banks and processors fighting payment fraud and scamsNone yet
Oscilar71Risk teams that want fraud and credit decisions in one layerNone yet

Frequently Asked Questions

Which checks identity at signup?

Sardine.

Do they publish prices?

No.

Sources
  1. The Fintech Index analysis of Unit21 and Sardine, conducted November 2026 (As of November 10, 2026)
  2. Unit21 home page: https://www.unit21.ai/ (As of November 10, 2026)
  3. Unit21 company page: https://www.unit21.ai/company (As of November 10, 2026)
  4. Business Wire, April 2026: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260403313048/en/Unit21-Appoints-Tyler-Allen-as-Chief-Executive-Officer-as-Company-Accelerates-AI-Risk-Infrastructure-Vision (As of November 10, 2026)
  5. FinTech Futures, April 2026: https://www.fintechfutures.com/job-cuts-new-hires/unit21-founding-engineer-tyler-allen-takes-helm-as-ceo (As of November 10, 2026)
  6. Business Wire, June 2023: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230628828981/en/Unit21-the-Risk-and-Compliance-Infrastructure-Company-Helping-Clients-Prevent-Financial-Crime-Announces-%2445M-Series-C (As of November 10, 2026)
  7. Sardine home page: https://www.sardine.ai/ (As of November 10, 2026)
  8. Sardine, about: https://www.sardine.ai/about (As of November 10, 2026)
  9. Sardine, Series C announcement: https://www.sardine.ai/press/pr/fraud-and-compliance-productivity (As of November 10, 2026)
  10. Crunchbase News: https://news.crunchbase.com/cybersecurity/fraud-detection-startup-sardine-ai-fundraise/ (As of November 10, 2026)