API vs KBO Open Data

KBO Open Data & Public Search vs the API

The Belgian company register is public and the open data is free — we use it ourselves. The real cost is not the data, it is the engineering to make it queryable and keep it fresh. Here is what each option asks of you.

Public Search portal KBO Open Data (CSV) This API
Access Manual web lookups, one company at a time Bulk file download, no live access REST API returning JSON
Setup effort None, but not built for integration Import multi-GB files, design a schema, build search One HTTP call with an API key
Search Basic, with captcha and rate limits You build name & address indexing yourself Fuzzy name & address search built in
Freshness Live, but not automatable You apply the monthly + daily update files yourself Monthly snapshot (free) or live daily updates (paid)
Maintenance None You own and run the ingestion pipeline forever Fully managed, nothing to maintain
Cost Free Free data, but infrastructure and engineering time Free tier, or €35/month for live data
Reuse conditions Registration and terms of use apply Registration and terms of use apply We handle ingestion from the official source

Use the open data directly if…

  • You need the entire dataset offline for analytics or BI.
  • You already run a data pipeline and want full control.
  • A one-off manual lookup on the portal is enough.

Use the API if…

  • You want company data inside your app today, not next sprint.
  • You need name or address search without building an index.
  • You would rather not maintain a sync pipeline for life.
  • You want freshness handled for you, monthly or live.

Skip the pipeline — query the register in one call.

Get a free API key Pricing