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
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | ||
| Fintech Index score | 76 / 100 | 77 / 100Higher score |
| Overview | ||
| What it is | San Francisco fraud and AML platform that gives banks and fintechs transaction monitoring, case management, and AI agents for alerts | San Francisco fraud and compliance platform that uses device, behavior, and payment data to stop fraud and money laundering for banks and fintechs |
| Who uses it | Banks, credit unions, and fintechs; more than 200 customers in 90 countries, including Chime, Green Dot, Intuit, and Sallie Mae | More than 450 enterprises, including FIS, Deel, GoDaddy, and X |
| Main products | Transaction monitoring, case management, SAR workflows, and AI agents that work alerts | Device and behavior signals, KYC and KYB, payment fraud checks, transaction monitoring, and AI agents for alerts |
| Where it operates | 90 countries | Global |
| Products and features | ||
| Transaction monitoring | Core product | Included |
| Pricing | ||
| How pricing works | Written quote, negotiated by event volume and modules | Quoted by product; fraud and AML modules can be bundled |
| Published prices | Quote only | Quote only |
| Technology and compliance | ||
| Certifications and compliance | Customers file ~5% of US suspicious activity reports through it | Fraud and AML controls for regulated firms |
| Developer tools | Rules risk teams write themselves | APIs and SDKs for device and behavior data |
| Integrations and partners | Transaction and customer data feeds | Payment and account activity data |
| Onboarding and support | Sales-led rollout with data integration; larger programs take weeks to tune rules | Starts with a demo; setup covers rules and integrations for each product bought |
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2018 | 2020 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California | San Francisco, California |
| Ownership | Private company | Private 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 leader | Tyler Allen | Soups Ranjan |
| Scale | Close 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
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
| Company | Score | Best for | Comparisons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flagright | 72 | Fintechs that need real-time transaction monitoring without an enterprise suite | Unit21 vs Flagright |
| NICE Actimize | 78 | Large banks and brokers that need a full financial crime suite | None yet |
| Hawk | 76 | Banks buried in false positives from rules-based monitoring | None yet |
| Alloy | 77 | Banks and fintechs that orchestrate many identity and fraud vendors | None yet |
| Featurespace | 75 | Large banks and processors fighting payment fraud and scams | None yet |
| Oscilar | 71 | Risk teams that want fraud and credit decisions in one layer | None yet |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which checks identity at signup?
Do they publish prices?
No.
Sources
- The Fintech Index analysis of Unit21 and Sardine, conducted November 2026 (As of November 10, 2026)
- Unit21 home page: https://www.unit21.ai/ (As of November 10, 2026)
- Unit21 company page: https://www.unit21.ai/company (As of November 10, 2026)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- Sardine home page: https://www.sardine.ai/ (As of November 10, 2026)
- Sardine, about: https://www.sardine.ai/about (As of November 10, 2026)
- Sardine, Series C announcement: https://www.sardine.ai/press/pr/fraud-and-compliance-productivity (As of November 10, 2026)
- Crunchbase News: https://news.crunchbase.com/cybersecurity/fraud-detection-startup-sardine-ai-fundraise/ (As of November 10, 2026)