Cheapest vendor at increasing verification volume
Same per-verification prices, minimums and add-ons, only monthly volume changes. Watch how the cheapest vendor flips as volume clears each vendor's monthly minimum.
| Verifications/mo | Veriff | Persona | Onfido | Cheapest |
|---|
Why per-verification vs monthly-minimum billing shapes matter
A KYC vendor's headline per-verification price only tells half the story. Under the hood, each vendor's real monthly bill is max(monthly minimum, verifications × per-verification price) — at low volume, the minimum is the number that actually shows up on the invoice, no matter how low the per-check rate looks on the pricing page. Once volume grows past the point where verifications × per-verification price exceeds the minimum, the minimum stops mattering and the per-check rate takes over as the real driver of cost. That's exactly why a vendor with a small or no monthly minimum tends to win for a low-volume startup doing a few hundred checks a month, while a vendor with a larger minimum but a lower marginal per-check rate — often the shape used for committed-spend or enterprise contracts — tends to win once volume is high enough to blow past that minimum. There is no vendor whose sticker price is representative of your bill without knowing your actual monthly volume.
The add-ons compound on top of whichever base cost wins. Biometric liveness detection and AML/sanctions-list screening are commonly priced as flat per-verification surcharges layered onto the base check, so they raise the effective cost per verification by a fixed amount regardless of volume. Manual review escalation behaves differently: it only applies to the share of checks an automated system can't confidently resolve, so its cost scales with your escalation rate × cost per escalated case × volume, not with volume alone. A vendor that looks cheapest on base price alone can lose that edge entirely if its documents get escalated more often, or if your risk policy requires enhanced due diligence add-ons the base price doesn't include — always compare total monthly cost and effective cost per verification, not the sticker price.
How this calculator works
The KYC & ID Verification Cost Calculator compares three vendor pricing shapes — Veriff, Persona and Onfido-style — at your monthly verification volume. Each vendor's base cost is max(monthly minimum, verifications × price per verification), so the vendor with the smaller minimum tends to win at low volume while the vendor with the lower per-verification rate tends to win once volume clears its minimum. On top of the base cost, the calculator adds three optional add-on lines: a liveness check surcharge and an AML/sanctions screening surcharge (both flat $/verification), plus manual review cost — verifications × escalation rate × cost per escalated case. Total monthly cost divided by verification count gives the effective cost per verification for each vendor, which is usually higher than the advertised base rate once add-ons are included.
These are representative pricing shapes based on typical published ranges, not live vendor quotes — actual Veriff, Persona and Onfido pricing varies by document type, region, volume tier and negotiated contract, and higher tiers commonly move to custom enterprise pricing with annual minimum-spend commitments. Always confirm current pricing directly with the vendor before budgeting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does KYC / ID verification cost per check?
Published self-serve rates for vendors like Veriff, Persona and Onfido typically fall in a rough $0.80-$3 per-verification range before add-ons, with many vendors also charging a monthly platform fee or minimum commitment on top. These figures are illustrative typical published ranges, not live quotes — actual pricing varies significantly by document type, region, volume tier and negotiated contract, so always confirm current pricing directly with the vendor before budgeting.
Why do some KYC vendors charge a monthly minimum instead of pure per-verification pricing?
A monthly minimum (or platform fee) lets a vendor charge a lower headline per-verification price while still guaranteeing revenue from low-volume customers. At low monthly volume the minimum dominates the bill regardless of how cheap the per-check rate looks; at high volume the minimum becomes irrelevant and the per-verification rate is what actually determines cost. That's why the cheapest vendor can flip as your verification volume grows — a vendor with a low minimum but higher per-check price wins at low volume, while a vendor with a higher minimum but lower per-check price wins once volume clears that minimum.
How do liveness checks, AML screening and manual review change the effective cost per verification?
The advertised per-verification price is usually just the base document/identity check. Biometric liveness detection and AML/sanctions-list screening are frequently priced as separate add-on surcharges per verification, and every check that an automated system can't confidently resolve gets escalated to a paid human reviewer. Add those three lines to the base price and the effective cost per verification — total monthly cost divided by verification count — can run well above the vendor's headline rate, especially at a high escalation rate or a high per-case manual review cost.
Which vendor — Veriff, Persona or Onfido — is cheapest?
There's no fixed answer — it depends on your monthly verification volume relative to each vendor's minimum, and on your add-on costs. A vendor with a low or no monthly minimum tends to win at low volume; a vendor with a lower per-verification rate (often paired with a higher minimum or committed-spend requirement) tends to win once volume is high enough to make the minimum irrelevant. Run your own volume and add-on assumptions through the calculator above rather than assuming one vendor's marketing price represents your actual bill, and confirm current published pricing with each vendor before committing.