Flagship AML vs FreeAML

Data last checked 20 July 2026 · how we compare

The verdict

The crossover is about seven verifications a month — below that FreeAML is cheaper, above it Flagship is, and the client-pays option can change the answer entirely. FreeAML charges no subscription at all: $15 per individual check, $35 per entity, no signup, with an option to pass the fee to your client. Flagship charges $73.37/month including GST plus $4.00 +GST ($4.40 including) per DVS identity verification.

Run the arithmetic. At five checks a month FreeAML costs $75 against Flagship’s $95.37. At ten, FreeAML is $150 against Flagship’s $117.37. The lines cross just under seven checks. If you use FreeAML’s client-pays option your direct cost can fall to zero at any volume — though passing a fee to clients is a commercial decision, not merely a compliance one.

Coverage is where this stops being a pricing question. Flagship confirms nine of eleven obligations, including staff training, SMR and TTR reporting, and compliance-officer governance. FreeAML confirms four — program, CDD, ongoing monitoring and record keeping — with enrolment and governance partial, and risk assessment, reporting and training unverified. It has no staff training module at all, and training is a standing obligation you must meet somewhere.

Decision rule: a sole trader or micro-firm doing a handful of verifications, willing to assemble training and reporting separately → FreeAML, and revisit once you know your real volumes. A firm that wants the whole obligation stack from one accountable vendor → Flagship, which is cheap enough that the premium over pay-per-use is small. Verified July 2026.

Side by side

	Flagship AML	FreeAML
Pricing	From A$73 · subscription	pay-per-use
Sectors	Legal practitioners, Accountants, Conveyancers, Real estate, Trust & company service providers	Real estate, Legal practitioners, Accountants, Conveyancers, Trust & company service providers
AUSTRAC enrolment	Unverified	Partial
ML/TF risk assessment	Yes	Unverified
AML/CTF program & policies	Yes	Yes
Initial customer due diligence	Yes	Yes
Ongoing CDD & monitoring	Yes	Yes
Suspicious matter reports	Yes	Unverified
Threshold transaction reports	Yes	Unverified
Record keeping	Yes	Yes
Staff training	Yes	Unverified
Compliance officer & governance	Yes	Partial
Independent evaluation	Unverified	Unverified

What actually separates them

Cost model: FreeAML is pure pay-per-use ($15 KYC / $35 KYB, no subscription); Flagship is $73.37/mo incl GST plus $4.00 +GST per DVS verification.
Crossover: Flagship becomes cheaper at roughly seven verifications a month — below that, FreeAML wins on cost.
Client-pays: FreeAML can shift the check fee to your client, potentially taking your direct cost to zero; Flagship bills the firm.
Documented coverage: Flagship confirms 9 of 11 obligations; FreeAML confirms 4, with enrolment and governance partial.
Training: Flagship includes training plus a training register; FreeAML has no training module, so the obligation must be met elsewhere.
Reporting: Flagship confirms both SMR and TTR workflows; FreeAML leaves both unverified.

Common questions

At what point does Flagship AML become cheaper than FreeAML?

At just under seven verifications a month. FreeAML charges $15 per individual check with no subscription; Flagship charges $73.37 a month including GST plus $4.40 including GST per DVS verification. Setting those equal gives a crossover of about 6.9 checks. Below that FreeAML is cheaper; above it Flagship is, and the gap widens with volume. Both figures verified July 2026 — and note FreeAML’s client-pays option can remove your direct cost altogether.

Is FreeAML actually free?

There is no subscription, but the checks aren’t free — $15 per individual and $35 per entity. What is genuinely unusual is the client-pays option, which lets you pass that fee to your customer (or mark it up), so your firm’s direct cost can be zero while the compliance work still gets done. Whether passing the fee on suits your client relationships is a commercial call. See the full FreeAML review.

What does FreeAML not cover that Flagship does?

Most notably staff training, which FreeAML has no module for and which is a standing AUSTRAC obligation — you would need to cover it elsewhere. Flagship also confirms suspicious matter and threshold transaction reporting workflows, a structured ML/TF risk assessment, and compliance-officer governance, all of which FreeAML leaves unverified or partial on its public pages. If you want one vendor accountable for the whole stack, that is the difference you are buying.