Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Sumsub

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Sumsub logo

Sumsub

Cybersecurity

Identity verification and AML screening priced per verification

From
$1.35/verification
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Earthly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Sumsub the published per-verification rate is undercut by a monthly minimum of 149 or 299 dollars, so low volume businesses pay a much higher effective rate than the headline suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: Earthly covers Policy as code, Sumsub covers Document verification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Sumsub actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Sumsub differ
AttributeEarthlySumsub
Starting priceFree$1.35/verification
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitePer verification
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CLIWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

Only in Sumsub

  • Document verification
  • AML screening
  • KYB verification
  • No-code flow builder
  • Transaction monitoring
  • Travel Rule
  • Fraud and duplicate detection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Sumsub
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Sumsub
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Sumsub
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Sumsub

Sumsub

  • A crypto exchange needing KYC plus Travel Rule handling under one contractnot Earthly
  • A gambling operator entering several European markets and needing document coverage without a separate vendor per countrynot Earthly
  • A fintech that wants a published price it can model in a business case before speaking to a salespersonnot Earthly
  • A marketplace verifying both individual sellers and the companies behind them without buying two productsnot Earthly

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Sumsub

  • The published per-verification rate is undercut by a monthly minimum of 149 or 299 dollars, so low volume businesses pay a much higher effective rate than the headline suggests.
  • You are billed per verification attempt in most configurations, meaning applicant drop-off and resubmissions cost money without producing a customer.
  • Pass rates and document support vary noticeably by country, and a market that works well in Europe can produce materially worse rejection rates in parts of Africa and South East Asia.
  • The AML screening tier bundles list coverage that large institutions would normally buy separately and tune, giving less control over match thresholds than a dedicated screening vendor.
  • The company originated in Russia before restructuring to a UK entity, and some financial institutions still raise that history in vendor risk review, which can slow or block procurement at conservative banks.

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Sumsub

$1.35/verification
  • Basic$1.35/verification
    • 149 USD minimum monthly spend
    • Document verification and liveness
    • No-code flow builder
  • Compliance$1.85/verification
    • 299 USD minimum monthly spend
    • Everything in Basic
    • AML sanctions and PEP screening
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Negotiated volume rate
    • Custom jurisdictions and languages
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Choose Sumsub if

  • You need document verification.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want aml screening.
Sumsub review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Sumsub better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Sumsub at $1.35/verification, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Sumsub?
Earthly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Earthly and $1.35/verification for Sumsub.
Does Earthly or Sumsub run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Sumsub runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Yes. Earthly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sumsub starts at $1.35/verification.
What is Earthly best used for?
Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what Sumsub is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Sumsub cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. Sumsub covers Document verification, AML screening, KYB verification, No-code flow builder.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
Sumsub: What does a verification actually cost?

1.35 USD on Basic and 1.85 USD on Compliance, but with 149 and 299 USD monthly minimums respectively. Below roughly 110 or 160 checks a month you are paying the minimum, not the rate.

Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
Sumsub: Do failed verifications get charged?

Attempts are generally billable, so a poor onboarding funnel raises your bill. Confirm the exact resubmission policy in your contract.

Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
Sumsub: Does it cover business verification?

Yes, KYB with company registry lookups and beneficial owner resolution is part of the platform rather than a separate product.

Share

Related pages

More on Earthly

More on Sumsub

Keep looking

Other head to heads