Aleph has long been the backbone of countless investigations into corruption, financial crime, and abuse of power. As we enter the next chapter with Aleph Pro — a powerful, scalable Software as a Service (SaaS) version of the platform — we remain committed to supporting investigative journalists and researchers around the world with the tools they need to follow the money and uncover the truth.
We know there are a lot of questions about what’s changing, what’s staying the same, and what Aleph Pro means for existing users. To ensure everyone has the most accurate details, we’ve compiled this official FAQ, which will be continuously updated.Â
This transition comes at a critical moment for investigative journalism. Around the world, media freedom is under threat. Journalists are increasingly targeted for their work and funding for independent reporting continues to shrink. At OCCRP, we believe in building tools that last and that means making them sustainable. Aleph Pro will be available for free for non-profit journalism, and at-cost for other public interest groups. Other users will get access through a fair and transparent pricing model. This model helps secure the future of our investigative platforms, our staff, and our ability to keep exposing wrongdoing globally.
Whether you’re running your own Aleph instance, using the public version, or exploring Aleph Pro for the first time, this guide is here to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where can I find official information about Aleph Pro? Who should I talk to?
All official updates and guidance come directly from OCCRP. If you have questions about Aleph Pro, reach out to [email protected]. For ongoing discussions, feedback, and peer support, visit our Discourse community forum.
Aleph Community Days are dedicated weekly office hours held every Thursday, where users from across the Aleph community can schedule 1:1 calls with the OCCRP team. Whether you’re looking to share feedback, ask technical questions, explore a use case, get advice on investigative workflows, or find out more about Aleph Pro, we’re here to support you directly.
Call slots are limited and available by booking in advance. Visit our Discourse community forum for full details and to reserve a time.
Please be cautious with information shared by individuals not affiliated with OCCRP — our team is your most reliable source.
2. What is Aleph Pro?
Aleph Pro is the next iteration of OCCRP’s investigative data platform. It is a hosted, secure, and scalable version of Aleph, built to support modern investigations while removing the technical burden of self-hosting. Aleph Pro delivers enhanced performance, powerful new features, and tailored support across a range of access tiers.
Read our announcement here.
3. What’s happening to the public Aleph instance?
Nothing is changing. The public instance of Aleph at aleph.occrp.org will be free and accessible to journalists, researchers, and the public. In the next few months, the technology underlying this instance will be migrated to the new Aleph Pro stack, which will mean a few new features, better performance, greater stability and better data ingestion. It will also allow OCCRP to make significant cost savings on the costs of running this instance. Most of these changes will be under-the-hood and you will still be able to use Aleph as you always have to explore datasets and find leads for your investigations.
4. We currently operate our own Aleph instance. What does this mean for us?
Self-hosted Aleph instances will gradually transition to Aleph Pro. OCCRP will support this process, providing clear migration paths, hands-on assistance, and flexible deployment options — including private cloud and on-premise installations.
Beginning in June 2025, we will start direct outreach to current instance maintainers as part of our transition and onboarding efforts. If you’re running an existing Aleph instance, expect to hear from us soon. We’ll guide you through your options and help determine the best path forward.
5. Can I still host my own version of Aleph?
Yes. Aleph Pro includes support for on-premise deployments under the Enterprise Access tier. These installations are licensed, maintained in partnership with OCCRP, and come with advanced features, priority support, and optional custom integrations.
6. What is the Aleph Pro pricing model?
Aleph Pro uses a tiered pricing structure. Nonprofit journalism organizations will continue to receive full access to all Aleph Pro features for free, but minus the hassle and cost of running their own Aleph instance. Public interest groups and other public interest users – such as civic tech groups, and civil society organizations – will be able to obtain access to Aleph Pro at cost, paying only the server and infrastructure costs of their instance. Other organizations — including commercial users — can choose from several access tiers, each designed to match usage scale and mission alignment. Paid tiers help ensure Aleph Pro’s sustainability and continued innovation. Full pricing information will be available on our website soon.
7. How is data usage calculated?
Each subscription tier comes with a data budget, which represents the total volume of data an organization can ingest and store annually. This includes documents, datasets, and multimedia files. For example, a 1TB budget allows for 1TB of annual ingestion and storage.
8. How is my data protected?
Aleph Pro is designed with data sovereignty and user control at its core. Your data belongs to you. OCCRP does not access, analyze, share, or sell any user-uploaded data, and we never will.
9. What kind of support is included with Aleph Pro?
Aleph Pro offers several levels of support:
Community Support: Open documentation, user forums, and guides
Priority Support: Email support with defined SLAs and onboarding guidance
Dedicated Support: For enterprise users, including custom training, integrations, and direct account management
10. We’re a nonprofit newsroom. Do we still get free access?
Yes. Aleph Pro is free forever for nonprofit journalism organizations, including OCCRP network members and qualified outlets. This access includes the core investigative toolset, 1TB of data storage, unlimited users, and community support.
11. What if we can’t afford the listed pricing?
We understand that some institutions operate on limited budgets. OCCRP may offer subsidies or flexible terms for organizations working on high-impact investigations. If your organization is working in the public interest, contact us to discuss options.
12. What’s new in Aleph Pro compared to legacy Aleph?
The new Aleph Pro will feature:
A complete platform rewrite with improved architecture and modern data stack
Significant performance upgrades and lower infrastructure costs
A fully rebuilt ingest pipeline with support for more document types and multimedia
A new interface, optimized for search, speed, and usability
Automated risk scoring and flagging of entities and networks via integration with existing tools and new in-house developments to come
A modular design ready for future extensions and custom workflows
Support for labeling the confidence of connections, enabling knowledge graph generation
Enhanced data models for better linking, filtering, and insights
Sneak peaks are coming soon and will be available on our Discourse community forum.
13. How do we migrate to Aleph Pro?
Our team will guide you through the migration process with care. We provide a detailed transition plan, including data migration support, onboarding sessions, and configuration assistance. Get in touch at [email protected] to start the process.
14. Will we lose our data or access during the transition?
No. Migration timelines are coordinated with each organization to avoid downtime or data loss. We take every precaution to ensure your investigative work continues uninterrupted.
15. When will Aleph Pro be available to the broader public?
Aleph Pro is currently in limited release for OCCRP network partners. A broader public beta is planned for Q3 2025, with general availability following in Q4 2025. Interested in early access or beta participation? Let us know here.