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Contract-priced compliance check vs price per organization listedCandid sells its Charity Check API by contract with no price printed, and 1Lookup checks an EIN for $0.010 and charges only when the organization is listed.
Both look up a US nonprofit by EIN. Candid's Charity Check validates one organization against IRS Publication 78, the Business Master File, revocations and the OFAC list, and is bought through a data consultant. 1Lookup returns the IRS exemption record and the figures the organization filed, at a published price per organization listed.
Candid is a nonprofit data company whose developer portal sells APIs by contract. Its Charity Check validates an organization against IRS Publication 78, revocations and the OFAC list, and a 30-day trial is requested by form. 1Lookup's Nonprofit Verify costs 2 credits, about $0.010 on Starter, charged only when the EIN is listed, and is bought on a published plan.
An EIN lookup on 1Lookup is billed per organization listed
Candid prints no price for Charity Check, so there is no figure to set beside this one. This is the IRS record and the filed figures as a single API call on a published price.
1Lookup vs Candid: the same criteria, side by side
Both products measured on identical criteria, with Candid’s numbers taken from its own published pricing.
1lookup1lookup.ioData and validation APIs
candid.orgNonprofit data| Criteria | 1Lookup | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly plans with universal credits; core phone, email and IP lookups cost 1 credit, enrichment and intelligence products cost more | No API price is printed. The developer portal sends buyers to a form and a data consultant, and the information form says Candid will be in contact within two working days. Production subscriptions run on a contract term with a call quota set in the contract; the rate-limit page says there is no hard quota limit but overage charges may apply past the contracted amount. A 30-day free trial of the APIs is requested through a form. |
| Starting price | $99/mo for 20,000 credits. At 2 credits each (Nonprofit Verify API), that is $9.90 per 1,000 nonprofit checks on Starter, down to $4.00 on Enterprise. | Not published; quote-based |
| Free option | Free single lookups via the online tools at 1lookup.io/tools, no account required | A 30-day trial by request: 500 calls at 10 calls per minute. Sandbox subscriptions (1,000 calls a year at 60 calls per minute) exist only under circumstances written in a contract. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on every plan: $5 of credits on Starter, $20 on Growth, Professional, and Enterprise, with no payment today | 30 days, requested through a form: a quota of 500 calls at up to 10 calls per minute. |
| Do credits expire? | Unused monthly credits roll over for 3 months; separately purchased credits last 1 year | Not published |
Before you sign: Candid and 1Lookup on the operational terms
The terms that decide what a year actually costs, rather than what the first month does. “Not listed” means we could not verify it on either product’s published pages, not that the answer is nothing.
| Term | 1Lookup | Candid |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum commitment | None. Monthly plans with no contract and no minimum volume; cancel any time | Production subscriptions run for a contract term, with the call quota based on the contract (rate-limit page). |
| Going over your quota | Not listed | There is no hard quota limit; the rate-limit page says overage charges may apply past the contracted amount, and the rate is not printed. |
| API access | Included on every plan and during the free trial; there is no tier that unlocks it | A trial or a production subscription is requested through a form; the key is sent in a Subscription-Key header. |
| Rate limit | 200 requests per 10 seconds for each API key on standard lookups and 1,000 requests a minute for each key on number type, HLR and MNP, and each account can make up to 1,000 requests a minute in total across all its keys; higher limits are available on request | 480 calls per minute on production subscriptions, 10 on trial subscriptions and 60 on sandbox subscriptions. |
| Support | Starter: Email Support; Growth: Priority Email & Chat Support; Professional: Chat + Live Meeting; Enterprise: Dedicated CSM | Not listed |
1Lookup
Candid
Where 1Lookup wins
- A published price of about $0.010 an organization listed on Starter, with nothing to negotiate first, where Candid prints no API price
- An EIN the IRS file does not list, a mistyped EIN and a check that could not be answered cost nothing
- Revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities for up to five years, each with its tax year, in the same response as the exemption record
- A 7-day free trial that starts on the site, the same key and balance as phone, email and IP validation, and credits that roll over for 3 months
Where Candid wins
- Charity Check validates one organization against IRS Publication 78, the IRS Business Master File, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, Automatic Revocation of Exemption and the OFAC Specially Designated National list, and a Charity Check PDF API produces a date and timestamped copy to archive for due diligence.
- Over 40 fields per check, with a published guide to the possible values of each code: filing requirement, Pub78 indicator, organization type, subsection, foundation code, exempt status, OFAC status and revocation code.
- A wide catalogue on one portal: Essentials (over 1.6 million nonprofits with cause area, location and financials), Premier (profile financials, people and IRS compliance validation), Grants, Demographics, News and more.
- State-level checks: Charity Check includes California data fields, covered by its own user guide.
- Production subscriptions are rate limited to 480 calls per minute.
Candid pricing and product facts verified against candid.org as of October 2026. Prices change; always confirm on the vendor’s site. 1Lookup numbers come from the live rate card.
Who this is for
A quick, honest read on which tool fits your use case.
Choose 1Lookup if: you have an EIN and want to know whether it is listed, what kind of exemption it holds and what the organization filed, for a price per organization listed that is printed on the page, with no contract to sign first.
Consider Candid instead if: you need a compliance screen on one organization: Candid's Charity Check also checks IRS Publication 78, revocations and the OFAC list, includes California state data and can produce a date-stamped PDF, and the same portal adds financials, people and grants data.
Frequently asked questions
What is Candid used for?
Researching nonprofits and funders. Candid's site searches about 1.9 million organizations, and its developer portal lists Essentials, Premier, Charity Check, Nonprofit Eligibility, Grants, Demographics, Taxonomy, News, PDF and Open RFP Opportunities APIs, plus datasets of nonprofits, grants and demographics.
How does Candid API pricing work?
No price is printed. The developer portal sends buyers to a form to talk to a data consultant, and the information form says Candid will be in contact within two working days. Production subscriptions run on a contract term with a call quota set in the contract, and the rate-limit page says overage charges may apply past it. A 30-day free trial is requested through a form.
How much does 1Lookup charge for the same lookup?
2 credits per organization listed, free when the EIN is not listed. On the Starter plan ($99 a month for 20,000 credits) a check is about $0.010, which covers 10,000 organizations a month and is $9.90 per 1,000. At the Enterprise end of the rate card it is about $0.004. Candid prints no price for a check, so the two cannot be set side by side.
What does Candid's Charity Check check?
Its description says it validates the nonprofit status and eligibility of a single organization against IRS Publication 78, the IRS Business Master File, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, Automatic Revocation of Exemption and the OFAC Specially Designated National list, returns over 40 fields, and offers a date and timestamped PDF to archive for due diligence. 1Lookup reads the IRS master file and the IRS's annual extract of filed returns. It does not check the OFAC list, and an organization the IRS has removed from its file is answered as not listed.
How quickly can I start with each?
Candid's trial is requested through a form and holds 500 calls for 30 days at up to 10 calls per minute, and production keys come through a data consultant. 1Lookup has a 7-day free trial that starts on the site, and a key works against the live endpoint straight away.
How current is 1Lookup's record?
1Lookup asks the IRS every six hours whether it has posted a new master file, keeps a copy in its own database and shows the date of the file it read in record_updated. The filed figures come from the IRS's annual extract, so they run one to two years behind and each set carries its tax year. A repeat lookup of the same EIN within 7 days comes from the cache at no charge.
What is the best Candid alternative?
If you need to screen an organization against more than its IRS exemption record, Candid's Charity Check is built for it. If you need the listing, the exemption type and the filed figures at a published price per organization, with no contract, 1Lookup's Nonprofit Verify bills 2 credits only when the organization is listed, takes a CSV with an ein column and shares one balance with every other lookup.
Where does Candid beat 1Lookup?
On breadth of checks and data. Charity Check also checks IRS Publication 78, the revocation list and the OFAC list, includes California state data and offers a PDF to archive. The same portal sells profile financials and people data (Premier), over 1.6 million nonprofits with cause area and financials (Essentials), grants, demographics and news. 1Lookup returns the IRS record and its filed figures, and does not screen the OFAC list.
Is Candid worth it in 2026?
If your compliance process needs a screen against the OFAC list and revocations, or a PDF record for due diligence, yes. If you need the IRS listing and filed figures at a published price, compare the per-organization price with the contract you would sign.