Comparison

ShipScout vs Volza, Panjiva and ImportGenius

Feature by feature, not slogan by slogan. Trade data is where all four of these tools start. What separates them is everything after the search: the AI assistant, the buyer contacts, the outreach and the pipeline.

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Claims below checked against each provider's public pages on 27 August 2026. See sources.

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The short version

Each of these tools is genuinely good at something, and they are not good at the same thing.

ShipScout

Best for winning buyers

Ask the AI assistant, get the lane, get the decision maker, send the email. Search, contacts and outreach sit in one place, so a question turns into a conversation the same day.

Volza

Best for broad lane lists

Advertises 200 trade lanes and a million users, with decision maker phone, email and LinkedIn on its homepage. A wide net if lane count is your first filter.

Panjiva

Best for enterprise analysts

Part of S&P Global. Two billion shipment records and nine million companies, built for research teams who already live inside S&P workflows. Access starts with a demo request.

ImportGenius

Best for United States records

United States data in every plan, other countries added on top. Sold online month to month or annual, and its pricing page states there is no free trial.

Feature by feature

A tick means the provider states it on its own public pages. A cross means we could not find it stated there.

Feature ShipScout Volza Panjiva ImportGenius
AI and automation
AI assistant you can ask in plain language Kitty, built in AI features on Pro Flex
AI lead scoring on your own trade lanes
Analyst verified company intelligence reports Delivered in 48 hours
Contacts and outreach
Decision maker contacts Checked by an analyst Phone, email, LinkedIn
Email and LinkedIn outreach inside the tool
Two way inbox sync on every thread
Built in CRM and pipeline
Data and access
Global shipment search 11.3B records, 150+ countries 200 trade lanes 2B+ records United States first
Company profiles with trade history 20.9M companies 9M companies
Free trial with no card 14 days, full access 7 days Demo request States no free trials

stated on that provider's own public pages. not stated there on 27 August 2026, which is not the same as saying it does not exist. If you work at one of these companies and something here is out of date, write to [email protected] and we will correct it.

The difference is the assistant

Every platform here can hand you rows. The gap shows up when you do not already know which query to run. Kitty is built into ShipScout: ask in plain language and it runs the search, reads the result and tells you what it means.

It also does the boring half. Pull a company's shipment history, shortlist the buyers worth a call, draft the first email, and keep the thread against the lead once they reply.

  • "Who imports stainless steel valves into Germany?"
  • "Show this buyer's suppliers over the last two years"
  • "Which markets for my product are growing fastest?"
  • "Draft an intro email to their purchase head"
Kitty, the ShipScout assistant, answering a question

What the trial actually gives you

  1. Full platform for 14 days. Not a sample dataset and not a guided demo, the real product with your own products and markets.
  2. The AI assistant from minute one. Ask it your first question instead of learning a query builder.
  3. Company intelligence reports. Pick a buyer worth chasing and get the decision makers, verified before delivery.
  4. Outreach from inside the tool. Email and LinkedIn, with replies landing back against the lead.
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Head to head

The honest version of each matchup, including the cases where the other tool is the better buy.

ShipScout vs Volza

Closest comparison of the four. Both sell buyer discovery, and both put contacts next to the trade data.

Where we differ

  • An AI assistant that answers in plain language, instead of a query form you have to learn.
  • Contacts are read by an analyst before you see them, rather than returned straight from a database.
  • Outreach, inbox sync and a pipeline are inside the product, so the lead does not have to be exported to be worked.
  • 14 days to try it instead of 7, with no card.

Pick them if

Raw lane count is your first filter and you already have your own outreach stack.

ShipScout vs Panjiva

Panjiva sits inside S&P Global and is built for analyst teams: deep shipment intelligence, dashboards, and an enterprise sales process to match.

Where we differ

  • Built for the person who has to bring in the order this quarter, not for a research desk writing a report.
  • You can sign up and be asking the assistant questions in minutes rather than booking a demo cycle.
  • Contact research and outreach are part of the product, not something you bolt on.

Pick them if

You are an enterprise research team already standardised on S&P and you need that depth and those integrations.

ShipScout vs ImportGenius

ImportGenius is strongest on United States import records, sold online month to month with no lock in.

Where we differ

  • Coverage is global from the first day rather than United States first with countries added on top.
  • You can try the whole platform for 14 days before paying anything.
  • The work after the search, contacts and outreach and pipeline, is included rather than left to you.

Pick them if

Your work is almost entirely United States customs records and you want to buy online today.

Questions buyers ask us

Straight answers, including the ones that send you elsewhere.

Which platform is best for finding buyers?
It depends on what you do after the search. Panjiva is built for analysts who need shipment intelligence inside a research workflow. ImportGenius is strong if your work is mostly United States import records. Volza and ShipScout both go further into buyer discovery. ShipScout adds an AI assistant, researched decision maker contacts and outreach in the same place, so a search turns into a conversation the same day instead of a spreadsheet you still have to work.
What can the AI assistant actually do?
Ask Kitty in plain language for buyers of a product in a market, a company's shipment history, or which lanes are growing, and it runs the search and explains the result. It will also shortlist the buyers worth a call and draft the first outreach email. ImportGenius lists AI features on its Pro Flex plan. We could not find an in product assistant stated on the Volza or Panjiva pages we checked.
Is there a free trial, and do I need a card?
Fourteen days of full access, no card. ImportGenius states on its pricing page that it does not offer free trials. Volza advertises a seven day free trial. Panjiva starts with a demo request.
Can I move over from Volza, Panjiva or ImportGenius?
Yes. Bring your company list, your saved searches and your target markets. The built in CRM will hold the same accounts, and you can be running outreach on day one of the trial rather than at the end of an onboarding project.
Do you cover my product and my market?
11.3 billion records across 150+ countries, searchable by HS code, product description, company or port. The fastest answer is to search your own product in the trial. If the lane is thin, we will tell you on the call rather than after you pay.

How we compiled this

Every claim about another provider comes from that provider's own public website, checked on 27 August 2026. We did not test their products to grade them, and nothing here is a claim about the quality of anyone else's data.

  • Volza: homepage claims, including 200 trade lanes, one million users, a seven day free trial and decision maker phone, email and LinkedIn. volza.com
  • Panjiva: platform description, 9 million companies, over 2 billion shipment records, demo request access. panjiva.com, part of S&P Global
  • ImportGenius: plan names, AI features on the Pro Flex plan, and the statement that free trials are not offered. importgenius.com/pricing
  • ShipScout figures come from our own platform and are current at the date above.

Volza, Panjiva, S&P Global and ImportGenius are trademarks of their respective owners. ShipScout is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them. Details change, so check the source pages before you decide. Corrections to [email protected].

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