Data

CNPJ.ws: free + commercial CNPJ lookup

Brazilian CNPJ lookup with free 3 req/min public tier (publica.cnpj.ws) and paid 2000 req/min commercial tier. Sources from Receita Federal + Sintegra + Suframa — deeper field coverage than peers (Inscrições Estaduais, branches/filiais, sócios, MEI/Simples flags, full address). Best when bookkeeping needs state registrations.

Verified: 2026-04-27 (vendor-docs-2026-04-27)

When to use CNPJ.ws: free + commercial CNPJ lookup

Choose if

Your bookkeeping pipeline needs more than CNAE + situação — specifically Inscrições Estaduais (Sintegra), Suframa, branch/filial details, or full sócio list with participation percentages.

Avoid if

You only need basic CNAE + Simples flag (BrasilAPI is simpler) or you need real-time data not bound by state-reporting cadence.

Risk Flags

  • LOW pricing_unpredictability Paid-tier monthly cap drops throughput by 500x (2000 → 4 req/min) when exhausted. Plan for predictable monthly volume or build retry-with-backoff into bulk workflows.
  • LOW operational Sintegra and Suframa data freshness depends on each state's reporting cadence — not all states report at the same interval, so Inscrições Estaduais may be stale for fast-moving registrations.

Cost

Type: Freemium · Free tier: 3 requests/minute on publica.cnpj.ws — no auth required. · Paid starts: Commercial tier (comercial.cnpj.ws): 2000 req/min, falls to 4 req/min after monthly cap. Contact vendor for current pricing.

Hidden costs

  • Free tier 3 req/min cap blocks bulk batch enrichment — same constraint as ReceitaWS.
  • Paid tier monthly query cap drops throughput to 4 req/min once exhausted.

Install

Default

curl -s "https://publica.cnpj.ws/cnpj/CNPJ_DIGITS_ONLY"
# Free tier (3 req/min):
curl -s "https://publica.cnpj.ws/cnpj/00000000000191"
# Returns nested object with razao_social, atividade_principal (CNAE),
# estabelecimento (full address + filiais), socios, simples, simei,
# inscricoes_estaduais (per state).
#
# Commercial tier (with token for higher throughput):
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" "https://comercial.cnpj.ws/cnpj/00000000000191"

Setup docs →

Estimated time to first success: ~2 min

Dependencies

Minimum runtime: Any HTTP client

Composes with: auxiliar-nfs-e, nfs-e-parser, BrasilAPI: CNPJ lookup, CNPJá: CNPJ lookup (free cached + paid real-time)

Distribution

License
Proprietary (vendor-managed)