India closed FY2025-26 with a record US$860.09 billion in merchandise and services exports, up 4.22% on the year (IBEF). Behind every shipment in that number sits a buyer, a supplier, and a paper trail, and for years Indian traders have started mining that trail on Zauba, the free India shipment-data portal. The catch shows up the moment you sell outside India: Zauba stops at the border.
If you are hunting the best Zauba alternatives in 2026, this is an honest, side-by-side roundup of six trade-data platforms — ShipScout, ImportGenius, Volza, Panjiva, ImportYeti, and Export Genius — compared on country coverage, contact intelligence, data depth, and what each one actually costs.
The 30-second version
- Zauba is a free India shipment-data portal: a good first look, but India-only, with limited contacts and no global data (Datarade).
- The strongest Zauba alternatives in 2026 are ShipScout, ImportGenius, Volza, Panjiva, ImportYeti, and Export Genius.
- Coverage ranges hugely, from single-market tools like ImportYeti (US only) to ShipScout's 240+ countries and 11 billion+ records.
- Published entry prices run from free (ImportYeti) to US$229/month (ImportGenius) and US$1,500/year (Volza); Panjiva and Zauba's full tiers quote on request.
- Pick by the markets you sell into and whether you need buyer contacts, not by feature-list length.
What is Zauba, and why look for Zauba alternatives?
Zauba is a free, Bengaluru-based portal that surfaces India shipment-level trade records, searchable by product, HS code, or company name and updated daily (Zauba, Datarade). It is a genuinely useful first stop. But it was built around one market, and that is where the ceiling is.
Three gaps push traders to shop for a Zauba alternative. First, global reach: Zauba covers India, so the moment you chase US, EU, or Gulf buyers you are blind on the other side of the deal. Second, contact intelligence: a company name in a shipment line is not a lead, because you still need the person who signs the purchase order. Third, depth and analytics: verified buyer lists ranked by volume, alerts, and multi-year trend lines beat raw record dumps, and much of that sits behind a paid login anyway.
A shipment record proves a buyer exists. Coverage, contacts, and ranking decide whether you reach them before your competitor does.
The 6 best Zauba alternatives in 2026
1. ShipScout — widest coverage, SME pricing
ShipScout indexes 11 billion+ shipment records across 240+ countries and turns them into verified buyer and supplier lists ranked by volume, with contact intelligence where available. For Indian exporters it works as mirrored licensed trade data that helps you find buyers and grow exports with data-backed targeting, while the same engine covers worldwide markets like the US, UAE, and Vietnam, where customs and bill-of-lading data are legally public. The pitch is simple: the broadest net on this list, a real free trial, and pricing built for SMEs rather than procurement committees. Best for: Indian SME exporters who also sell globally.
2. ImportGenius — US bill-of-lading depth
ImportGenius is the US customs specialist: 25+ countries, with American import records running from 2006 to present and transparent pricing. USA plans start at US$229/month (Essentials) and US$449/month (Pro, full history plus AI features), with Global Enterprise from US$1,999/month. US bill-of-lading data is public, so the American records are deep; person-level contacts are not the focus. Our ImportGenius alternatives guide unpacks that trade-off. Best for: importers and exporters targeting US buyers.
3. Volza — pay-per-download, India plus global
Volza covers 203+ countries and 3 billion+ shipment records in a single subscription, priced from US$1,500/year (Startup) on a points system: a US or India shipment costs 1 point to download, thinner markets up to 10. Plans step up to US$4,500 (SME) and US$9,600 (Corporate). Its dashboards for top buyers and emerging markets are strong; the entry ticket is the sticking point for small teams. See our Volza alternatives guide for the leaner options. Best for: established exporters downloading at volume.
4. Panjiva — enterprise supply-chain intelligence
Panjiva, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, pulls customs declarations from roughly 20 contributing countries (US records from 2007) and layers on company-linking analytics and supply-chain risk tools (Tendata). Pricing is enterprise and quote-only. This is the heavyweight for banks, researchers, and large corporates: powerful, but priced and built for institutions rather than solo exporters. Our Panjiva alternatives guide lists cheaper routes to the same data. Best for: enterprises and analysts.
5. ImportYeti — free US supplier search
ImportYeti is free, and popular for a reason. It publishes US sea bill-of-lading records obtained through a Freedom of Information request, running from January 2015, so you can trace which overseas factory ships to which US importer. Coverage is US-only and there are no verified decision-maker contacts, but for supplier discovery on a zero budget it is hard to beat. Weigh it against paid depth in our ImportYeti alternatives guide. Best for: sourcing teams and first-time importers watching costs.
6. Export Genius — India analytics on a points budget
New Delhi-based Export Genius markets 200+ countries. Its published Starter plan runs US$222/month for 148 countries, 500 searches, 30,000 download points, and 300 contact points, with a free evaluation tier (SoftwareSuggest). Note the Starter tier's 3-month historical window; analysts chasing multi-year trends will want a higher plan. It is a closer like-for-like to Zauba's India roots than the US-first tools, with more analytics bolted on. Best for: mid-market teams that want India plus global analytics.
Sites like Zauba compared
The quickest way to see where each platform earns its price:
| Platform | Coverage | Global data | Contact intel | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShipScout | 240+ countries, 11B+ records | ✓ | ✓ where available | Free trial + SME plan | Indian SME + global exporters |
| Zauba | India only | — | — limited | Free basic; paid for depth | India-only first look |
| ImportGenius | 25+ countries, US to 2006 | ✓ | — trade-activity focus | From $229/mo | US-focused importers |
| Volza | 203+ countries, 3B+ records | ✓ | ✓ incl. LinkedIn | From $1,500/yr | High-volume downloaders |
| Panjiva | ~20 countries, US to 2007 | ✓ | — company-level | Custom / quote | Enterprises & analysts |
| ImportYeti | US only, from 2015 | — | — | Free | Sourcing on a budget |
| Export Genius | 148+ countries (Starter) | ✓ | ✓ 300 pts/mo | From $222/mo | Mid-market analytics |
Coverage is the sharpest divider. Two of these tools report a single market; the rest span dozens to hundreds of countries.
How to choose the best trade data platform
Start from your order book, not the brochure. Selling into the US? ImportYeti (free) or ImportGenius (paid depth) hand you nearly two decades of public US customs history. Need enterprise analytics and supply-chain risk scoring? Panjiva. Downloading at volume across many markets on a points budget? Volza or Export Genius reward heavy users.
Here is what that looks like in practice. An exporter who works data properly does not email every name on a list. They pull three months of a buyer's shipment history, check whether the volumes are steady or a one-off, and spend outreach time only on the top slice. The best trade data platforms make that triage fast; the weakest hand you a spreadsheet and wish you luck.
Most SME exporters fit none of the neat boxes. They sell into four or five markets at once, need both the shipment trail and a route to the buyer, and cannot sign an enterprise contract before the first order lands. That mix, wide coverage plus contacts where available at low commitment, is the gap ShipScout was built for. For a broader India-market view, see our roundup of the best import-export data providers in India.
Cheap or free data you outgrow in six months costs more than the right platform on day one.
How ShipScout helps exporters find buyers
- Search the widest net: 11 billion+ records across 240+ countries. Start from the India company directory or any market you sell into.
- Rank buyers by volume: lists sort by shipment activity, so your hours go to importers actually moving product, not dormant names.
- Reach the decision-maker: contact intelligence where available turns a company name into a conversation. Pair it with our guide to finding export buyers from India.
- Size before you spend: filter by product and HS code (say, HS 6109 for T-shirts) to test a market's real demand before booking a trade-show stall.
Zauba is a fair free starting point, and every platform above beats it on at least one axis. If you want the widest coverage and a way to prove value on your own product before paying, Start a free trial with ShipScout and pull your first ranked buyer list today.
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