ImportYeti is a free search engine over US Customs bills of lading: type a company, product or HS code and see who shipped what to whom by sea. For an exporter it is one of the best free ways to see which US companies already import your product and which suppliers they use. Its limits come from the data itself: it covers the US (and Mexico on paid plans), it shows past shipments rather than who would buy from you now, the name on the record is often a forwarder or a trading company, and it leaves the person to write to and the first email to you. Outfound starts from your buyer description instead, checks each company's fit on its website today and writes the first email to the decision-maker.
In this comparison
- What ImportYeti is
- Free and paid: what each includes
- What ImportYeti is good at
- Limits for an exporter looking for buyers
- How to use ImportYeti well as an exporter
- ImportYeti and Outfound side by side
- Which one to use when
What ImportYeti is
ImportYeti is a US trade data site. Its home page says it lets you "search 712,857,510 customs shipment records, updated daily", and its FAQ says more than 2 million people use it. The company describes three main audiences: sourcing teams looking for manufacturers, logistics companies looking for freight to move, and data teams that pull trade data into their own systems. Lead generation is listed as one use: find companies importing a product and see who they buy from today.
The core data is the bill of lading (BOL), the shipping document a carrier files with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for ocean freight entering the US. It names the shipper and the consignee, describes the cargo, and gives weight, packages, ports and the carrier. Federal rules allow parts of vessel manifests to be published (19 CFR 103.31), which is why ImportYeti and paid platforms such as ImportGenius and Panjiva can sell or show it. ImportYeti says it cleans company names, joins related records and adds derived fields, while keeping the original record visible.
A bill of lading is a transport document, not an invoice. ImportYeti's own FAQ points out that it generally does not tell you what the goods cost, which tariff classification was used or how much duty was paid.
Free and paid: what each includes
| Feature | Free plan | Paid plans |
|---|---|---|
| US imports (ocean bills of lading) | Yes, from 2015 | Yes |
| US exports | No | Yes, from 2015 |
| US customs clearance records | No | Yes, from 2023 |
| Mexico imports and exports | No | Yes, from 2021 |
| Power Query, advanced and supplier search | No | Yes |
| Downloads | No | Up to 25,000 rows per file |
| YetiAI (plain-English search) | No | Included |
| API | Credits, sold separately | Credits, sold separately |
From ImportYeti's FAQ on 11 October 2026 ("Is ImportYeti really free?", "How far back does ImportYeti data go?", "Can I export data from ImportYeti?"). Each account is for one person; teams get volume pricing.
Price. On 11 October 2026 the Pricing link on importyeti.com led to a workflow survey page rather than a public price table, so we do not quote a Pro price here. ImportYeti's FAQ says businesses with under $2M in revenue can get 50% off their first year of Pro, that the API is billed on credits separately from the subscription, and that cancelled subscriptions may be refunded in full or in part depending on timing. Third-party review sites list prices, but we could not confirm them on ImportYeti's own site.
What ImportYeti is good at
Free, fast access to real records. For US ocean imports you can check a company's suppliers, products and shipment rhythm without paying or talking to sales. Few tools in this category let you do that.
Seeing your competitors' US customers. Search your product or HS code, find suppliers from your country, and see which US consignees they ship to and how often.
Checking a lead. If a US company writes to you, ImportYeti can show whether it imports anything at all, what, and from where. That is a useful sanity check before you send samples or offer credit terms.
Logistics prospecting. Freight forwarders and brokers can see who moves freight on which lanes. This is one of the audiences ImportYeti names itself.
Limits for an exporter looking for buyers
None of these are faults of ImportYeti. They come from what a bill of lading is and where it is published.
One market. The free plan covers US imports; paid plans add Mexico. If your next market is Germany, the UAE or Poland, there is no equivalent public source with company names. The EU, for example, does not publish customs records by company.
Sea freight first. Bills of lading are an ocean freight document. ImportYeti's paid customs clearance dataset, from 2023, can include other modes, but goods that cross from Canada or Mexico by truck or arrive by air are not in the public ocean manifests.
Names that are hidden. Importers can ask CBP to keep their name and address off published manifests; an approved request lasts two years and can be renewed (19 CFR 103.31(d), Federal Register, 22 May 2020). ImportYeti lists this "manifest confidentiality" as the first reason for gaps in its data.
The consignee is often not the buyer. ImportYeti says a company may ship under a different legal name, a subsidiary, a trading company or a third-party importer. On many records you will see a forwarder, a customs broker or a consolidator, not the retailer or manufacturer that decides what to buy.
Past, not future. A record appears after the shipment arrives. It tells you who bought from someone else, not who is looking for a new supplier, has a quality problem or is adding a product line now.
Companies that never import are invisible. A US retailer or contractor that buys your category from a US distributor never files a bill of lading. For many exporters that distributor's customers, or the distributor itself, are the better target.
Everyone sees the same list. Because the data is free, the busiest US importers in your category hear from many suppliers who found them the same way. A generic offer gets lost.
The work after the search is yours. The record gives you a company name. Who the decision-maker is, a verified email, why your product fits that company and a first email in the right tone are all still to do. More on this in customs data vs buyer research.
How to use ImportYeti well as an exporter
Start from the product, not a list. Search your HS code or a precise product name. Note which countries the shipments come from and which ones come from your own country.
Open the consignee pages. Check who each consignee is. If the name is a forwarder, a broker or a logistics company, it is not your buyer; note the supplier instead and look for the real customer elsewhere.
Read the rhythm. Regular shipments over two or three years show a steady buyer with an existing supplier. One shipment two years ago may mean a trial that did not continue.
Check the company today. Visit the website: does it still sell this category, under which brand, through which channels? Shipment records cannot tell you that.
Find the person and write something specific. Name the product line you would supply, what you do differently from their current supplier country, and one concrete next step. See how to find importers in the USA for what US buyers ask first.
Steps 4 and 5 are where most of the time goes. They are also the steps Outfound does for you.
ImportYeti and Outfound side by side
| ImportYeti | Outfound | |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | US bills of lading: who shipped what to whom, by sea | Companies that fit your buyer description, checked on their website today, with the reason |
| Countries | US imports free; US exports and Mexico on paid plans | Any country where companies have a web presence |
| How current | Records published after the shipment arrives; site says updated daily | The day you search |
| Companies that buy from a local distributor | Not visible: they never file an import | Found, if their website shows they sell or use your product |
| Who to write to | Company names from the record; contact tools on paid plans | Decision-maker found, email verified before it is shown |
| First email and sending | Not part of the product | Written for each company in the buyer's language, sent after your approval from a separate, warmed-up domain |
| Price | Core free; paid price not shown on an open page (11 Oct 2026) | From $99 a month; cancel anytime |
ImportYeti details from importyeti.com and its FAQ, checked on 11 October 2026.
How Outfound does the same job:
You describe your buyer: who sells or uses your product, in which country.
Each candidate company's website is read today. Companies that fit come with the reason and a source link; the rest are dropped with why. This also finds companies that buy through local distributors and never appear in import records.
The decision-maker is found and the email verified.
The first email is written for that company, in the buyer's language, and goes out only after you approve it.
It is sent from a separate sending domain with SPF, DKIM, DMARC and gradual warm-up, so your main domain is protected. 98.8% of emails sent on the platform between 25 March and 25 September 2026 were delivered.
Which one to use when
Use ImportYeti when your target is the US, you want to see who already imports your product by sea and from whom, or you want to check a US company before you trust it. It costs nothing to try.
Use Outfound when your target is anywhere else, when the right buyer may not import directly, or when the slow part is checking fit, finding the person and writing the first email.
Use both for the US: shipment records for who imports today, buyer research for who fits you and how to reach them.
Other customs data tools compared: ImportGenius pricing, Volza pricing, Panjiva alternatives and Eximpedia. For a wider view of channels, see how to find buyers for export.
Last updated: · By: Tolga Tatar