Panjiva Free Alternative
People search panjiva free alternative because Panjiva (S&P Global) does not publish a free search, and reported Panjiva pricing sits around $10,000 a year. Kirchner is that alternative: search US ocean import bills of lading, run maps, and use the AI playground for free. You only pay when you download raw data.
Panjiva sells a locked intelligence product.
Kirchner lets you work first, then buy the dump if you need it.
Free on Kirchner
Use these without a Panjiva subscription, WRDS add-on, or S&P Global quote.
- Panjiva-style US import search on CBP bills of lading (guests: 20 queries/day; free account: unlimited tools)
- Product cluster maps, place atlas, product trends, top exporters, port routes
- Look up a bill of lading by number
- Working papers on the Economics Journal (COVID churn, China Plus One, name fragmentation)
- Playground: describe research in English; AI queries the bills and can build a tool you keep
Paid on Kirchner
Only when you need the underlying rows on your disk — not to look around.
- Raw US import records by month or year in the Data Shop
- Research Desk CSV extracts: $0.0015 per bill, $20 minimum
- University-wide licenses if a department wants campus access
Panjiva does not list public pricing. User reports and comparison sites put enterprise Panjiva around $1,000/month or ~$10,000/year — before you know if the data fits the paper.
Panjiva login, Panjiva search, Panjiva pricing.
Most of that funnel is closed until you buy.
Panjiva login is the product
Panjiva search and Panjiva import-export data sit behind S&P Global Market Intelligence. There is no public free tier for running US bill-of-lading queries the way researchers want to explore a product name first.
Panjiva pricing is a quote
Panjiva does not disclose list prices. AI overviews and trade-data blogs repeat ~$10,000/year. That is a procurement conversation, not a “try the search bar” conversation.
Panjiva is supply-chain intelligence
Panjiva (S&P Global) is built for corporate tracking and entity graphs. Kirchner is built for US ocean imports you can query, map, cite, and — if needed — extract.
Kirchner inverts the paywall
Look at the data with free tools. Pay for raw files when the paper (or the replication archive) actually needs the dump. That is the panjiva free alternative people are looking for.
What you can run today
The same US Customs ocean bills Panjiva sells as import data.
Research tools dashboard
All of the search and map tools in one place. Register free for unlimited use.
Product cluster maps
Type a product. See US importer clusters, origin countries, and factories in the top exporter.
US Place Atlas
Drill port of entry, consignee city, or foreign shipper city. Every query prints the SQL.
Research Desk
Citable firm and product panels. Extracts are paid; looking at the SQL is not.
Product import trends
Keyword → yearly and monthly US ocean import counts. The “panjiva search” job, without a Panjiva login.
Top exporters by product
Rank foreign shippers shipping a product into the United States.
Search a bill of lading
Open a single CBP ocean bill: parties, ports, vessel, product text, HS code.
Economics Journal
Open working papers that use this data — including COVID supplier churn and China Plus One.
Register
Unlimited tool searches. No Panjiva-style enterprise login wall to start.
Panjiva import data for the US
is CBP bills of lading. So is Kirchner.
For US waterborne imports, Panjiva and Kirchner start from the same public Customs filings. Panjiva wraps them in S&P Global “supply chain intelligence” and a login. Kirchner puts search, maps, and Playground on the bills, and charges when you take the raw table home.
Stay on Panjiva if you already have it through WRDS or you need 20-country coverage. Use Kirchner if you searched for a panjiva free alternative, a cheaper panjiva search, or a way to test US import data before a $10k invoice.
Not another vague “vs” page.
The comparison that matches what people type into Google.
| Panjiva (S&P Global) | Kirchner — panjiva free alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Free search | ✗ Panjiva search requires a Panjiva login / license | ✓ Search US bills of lading free (guest cap, then free account) Free |
| Pricing | Not listed. Reports ~$1,000/month or ~$10,000/year for enterprise | ✓ $0 to use tools. Raw extracts à la carte (Desk: $0.0015/bill, $20 min) |
| Login | Panjiva login via S&P Global / WRDS add-on | ✓ Optional free Kirchner register. Tools work as a guest first. |
| US import data | ✓ CBP ocean bills, US from 2007+ | ✓ Same CBP ocean source, 1.2M bills/month, 360+ ports Same source |
| What you pay for | The whole intelligence platform | ✓ Only raw data files — not the right to look |
| Build your own tools | Fixed Panjiva UI for supply-chain intelligence | ✓ Playground: AI + raw fields → your own research tools Unique |
| Country coverage | ✓ 20+ countries | ◑ Deep US ocean imports (not a 20-country Panjiva clone) |
| Ownership | S&P Global Market Intelligence (acquired 2018) | Independent, built from Ulm University / EU-funded research work |
When Panjiva is still the right box
and when a panjiva free alternative is the point.
Keep Panjiva if…
- → Your university already pays for Panjiva on WRDS and you need that login today.
- → The paper needs Panjiva’s multi-country graph, not only US ocean imports.
- → Reviewers expect the Panjiva brand name and you already have the license.
Use Kirchner if you searched this page because…
- → You want a panjiva free alternative to search import data before anyone sends a quote.
- → You need Panjiva-like US import search and maps without a Panjiva login.
- → You want AI on the raw bills (Playground) and will pay only for an extract.
- → Panjiva pricing (~$10k/year in public reports) does not fit a grant that just needs US ocean CBP data.
Skip the Panjiva quote. Search first.
Open the free tools, or tell us the paper. Raw data is for when you already know you need the file.
Use Kirchner freeWhat people ask after they type
panjiva free alternative, panjiva pricing, panjiva search
Yes. Kirchner is a Panjiva free alternative for US ocean import bills of lading. You can search, map, read journal papers, and use the AI playground without a Panjiva subscription. Kirchner charges for raw data extracts (Data Shop and Research Desk CSVs), not for looking at the data. Panjiva (S&P Global) does not offer a comparable public free search.
Panjiva does not publish list pricing. Comparison sites and user reports often cite about $1,000 per month or $10,000 per year for enterprise-style access. University access is frequently a WRDS add-on on top of an institutional WRDS seat. Kirchner’s tools are free; raw US import files are priced per extract or per month/year in the Data Shop.
Not on Panjiva. Panjiva search is inside the paid S&P Global product. On Kirchner you can run product, firm, port, and bill-of-lading search on US ocean CBP data as a guest (daily cap) or with a free registered account (unlimited tools).
For US ocean imports, both start from US Customs and Border Protection bills of lading. Kirchner serves about 1.2 million monthly ocean bills across 360+ US ports. Panjiva also covers many other countries. If you need Brazil/India/Vietnam filings in one Panjiva login, stay on Panjiva. If you need US ocean imports you can query for free, use Kirchner.
Free: research tools, maps, atlas, trends, exporter ranks, bill lookup, economics journal, and Playground (AI on the bills to build your own tools). Paid: raw row extracts — Data Shop months/years and Research Desk CSVs at $0.0015 per bill with a $20 minimum. You do not pay to discover whether the data fits the paper.
Playground lets researchers describe a question in plain language. Kirchner’s AI queries the bill-of-lading store and can generate a custom analysis page or tool. That is the opposite of Panjiva’s fixed supply-chain intelligence screens: you work with raw fields and keep the tool you built.
Panjiva was acquired by S&P Global in 2018 and sits in S&P Global Market Intelligence. It is sold as trade and supply-chain intelligence, not as a free academic search site. Kirchner is independent and priced so the search is free and the dump is optional.
Write us after you have already searched.
The tools are free. This form is for raw data and institutions.
What happens next
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1Try the free tools first so you know the US ocean file is the right universe.
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2We reply in person — usually within a day — about extracts, university licenses, or Playground access.
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3If you only needed search, you never had to send this form.
Kirchner
US ocean import bills of lading
kirchnerdata.com/research-tools