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Investment Analytics · head to head

BlackRock Aladdin vs Morningstar Sustainalytics

BlackRock Aladdin logo

BlackRock Aladdin

Investment Analytics

BlackRock's investment management platform for risk, trading, operations and accounting

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Morningstar Sustainalytics logo

Morningstar Sustainalytics

Investment Analytics

ESG Risk Ratings, controversies and regulatory data for investors

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: BlackRock Aladdin no pricing, licence structure or implementation timeline is published on any Aladdin page; every product leads to a contact form.; Morningstar Sustainalytics no prices are published for any dataset or platform licence; everything goes through a request-details form, checked November 2026.
  • They diverge on capability: BlackRock Aladdin covers Front-to-back investment platform, Morningstar Sustainalytics covers ESG Risk Ratings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 12 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BlackRock Aladdin and Morningstar Sustainalytics actually diverge.

Attributes where BlackRock Aladdin and Morningstar Sustainalytics differ
AttributeBlackRock AladdinMorningstar Sustainalytics

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, API), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Investment Analytics).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BlackRock Aladdin

  • Front-to-back investment platform
  • Aladdin Risk
  • Whole portfolio view with eFront and Preqin
  • Aladdin Wealth
  • Aladdin Provider
  • Aladdin Climate
  • Aladdin Data Cloud
  • Aladdin Studio and Copilot

Only in Morningstar Sustainalytics

  • ESG Risk Ratings
  • Controversies Research
  • Low Carbon Transition Ratings
  • Regulatory datasets
  • Country Risk Ratings and sanctions screening
  • Global Access platform
  • API and data feeds
  • Corporate licences and second-party opinions

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BlackRock Aladdin

  • Running portfolio management, trading, compliance and operations for an asset manager or insurer on one platformnot Morningstar Sustainalytics
  • Multi-asset risk analytics and stress testing across a whole portfolionot Morningstar Sustainalytics
  • Combining public and private market holdings in one view through eFront and Preqinnot Morningstar Sustainalytics
  • Model portfolio management and rebalancing at scale for a wealth managernot Morningstar Sustainalytics
  • Outsourcing middle office and fund accounting to an asset servicer on the manager's own Aladdin instancenot Morningstar Sustainalytics
  • Climate scenario analysis on listed and unlisted assetsnot Morningstar Sustainalytics

Morningstar Sustainalytics

  • Screening an investment universe on unmanaged ESG risk before portfolio constructionnot BlackRock Aladdin
  • Monitoring holdings for ESG controversies with daily alertsnot BlackRock Aladdin
  • Producing SFDR, EU Taxonomy and EBA Pillar III disclosures from licensed datanot BlackRock Aladdin
  • Measuring portfolio alignment with net zero through implied temperature risenot BlackRock Aladdin
  • Prioritising engagement and proxy voting by material ESG issuenot BlackRock Aladdin
  • Licensing a company's own rating for marketing or a sustainability-linked loannot BlackRock Aladdin

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BlackRock Aladdin

  • No pricing, licence structure or implementation timeline is published on any Aladdin page; every product leads to a contact form.
  • The vendor is also one of the world's largest asset managers. BlackRock separates BlackRock Solutions from its investment arm, but competing managers still run their positions and orders on a rival's technology.
  • It is built for institutions: there is no self-serve tier, trial or package for small advisers or individual investors.
  • Aladdin is an operating platform rather than a research desk, and much of its market, index and ESG data comes from partners such as MSCI, LSEG and Sustainalytics that are licensed separately.
  • Adopting the full platform means moving trading, compliance and accounting onto it, which makes it a front-to-back change of operating model and hard to unwind, rather than a tool added alongside existing systems.
  • BlackRock's own pages give inconsistent counts of how many institutions use Aladdin, so scale cannot be checked from the vendor's material.

Morningstar Sustainalytics

  • No prices are published for any dataset or platform licence; everything goes through a request-details form, checked November 2026.
  • The ESG Risk Ratings measure financial risk to the company from ESG issues, not the company's impact on the world, so a firm with a damaging product can still score low risk. Buyers wanting impact or double materiality need separate datasets.
  • The ratings depend on analyst assessment, which caps coverage: the ESG Risk Ratings page cites more than 16,000 companies, a fraction of the universe that model-driven providers claim.
  • Distribution is uneven by product: the Low Carbon Transition Ratings page lists FactSet, Aladdin and Bloomberg as planned rather than live, so a dataset available in one terminal may not be in another.
  • Since 1 December 2023 the site states its ESG ratings and data are not intended for India-based clients, users or residents.
  • Morningstar sells both these ratings and Morningstar Direct, and corporates can pay to license their own rating; investors relying on it should read the conflict-of-interest disclosures that come with the ESMA application, which was still pending in November 2026.

Pricing, plan by plan

BlackRock Aladdin

On request
  • Aladdin Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • No prices published; prospects contact the Aladdin team
    • Front-to-back platform across public and private markets
  • Aladdin Risk$undefined/mo
    • Priced by quotation
    • Risk and return analytics without order management, trading or operations
  • Aladdin Wealth$undefined/mo
    • Priced by quotation
    • Platform for wealth managers and their advisers

Morningstar Sustainalytics

On request
  • Investor solutions$undefined/mo
    • Priced by quotation through a request-details form
    • Licensed by dataset: ESG Risk Ratings, controversies, climate, regulatory and screening
    • Delivered via Global Access, API, datafeed or partner platforms
  • Corporate solutions$undefined/mo
    • Priced by quotation
    • ESG rating licences, Top-Rated Companies badges and second-party opinions

Which should you pick?

Choose BlackRock Aladdin if

  • You need front-to-back investment platform.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want aladdin risk.
BlackRock Aladdin review

Choose Morningstar Sustainalytics if

  • You need esg risk ratings.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want controversies research.
Morningstar Sustainalytics review

Questions people ask

Is BlackRock Aladdin or Morningstar Sustainalytics better?
Neither clearly leads. BlackRock Aladdin starts at On request and Morningstar Sustainalytics at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BlackRock Aladdin or Morningstar Sustainalytics?
BlackRock Aladdin starts at On request and Morningstar Sustainalytics at On request.
Does BlackRock Aladdin or Morningstar Sustainalytics run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is BlackRock Aladdin best used for?
BlackRock Aladdin is most often used for running portfolio management, trading, compliance and operations for an asset manager or insurer on one platform, multi-asset risk analytics and stress testing across a whole portfolio, combining public and private market holdings in one view through efront and preqin, model portfolio management and rebalancing at scale for a wealth manager. Of those, running portfolio management, trading, compliance and operations for an asset manager or insurer on one platform and multi-asset risk analytics and stress testing across a whole portfolio are not what Morningstar Sustainalytics is typically brought in for.
What can BlackRock Aladdin do that Morningstar Sustainalytics cannot?
BlackRock Aladdin covers Front-to-back investment platform, Aladdin Risk, Whole portfolio view with eFront and Preqin, Aladdin Wealth. Morningstar Sustainalytics covers ESG Risk Ratings, Controversies Research, Low Carbon Transition Ratings, Regulatory datasets.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BlackRock Aladdin: What does Aladdin do?

Aladdin connects portfolio management, trading, compliance, operations and risk oversight on one platform and one set of data. It is multi-asset, covering equities, fixed income, FX, bank loans, derivatives and alternatives such as real estate, commodities and private equity.

Source
Morningstar Sustainalytics: What do Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings measure?

The amount of material ESG risk a company leaves unmanaged. Exposure is set at sub-industry level, unmanageable risk is separated out, and the remainder is assessed against the company's policies, programmes and controversies. The result falls in one of five bands: negligible, low, medium, high or severe.

Source
BlackRock Aladdin: Since when has BlackRock sold Aladdin to other firms?

BlackRock began selling Aladdin in 1999. It is sold through BlackRock Solutions, which BlackRock describes as a business unit distinct from its investment management business.

Source
Morningstar Sustainalytics: How many companies does Sustainalytics rate?

The ESG Risk Ratings page states analyst coverage of more than 16,000 companies across public equity, fixed income and private issuers, using over 200 indicators and 1,800 data points. Controversies Research monitors more than 19,000 entities.

Source
BlackRock Aladdin: Can Aladdin be bought for risk analytics only?

Yes. Aladdin Risk provides the risk and return analytics without order management, trading or operations, and can be paired with BlackRock's risk consulting services.

Source
Morningstar Sustainalytics: How is Sustainalytics data delivered?

Through the Global Access web platform, an API documented in OpenAPI and Swagger, scheduled datafeeds to SFTP, and partner platforms including Morningstar Direct, Bloomberg, Aladdin, FactSet, RIMES, Markit and Style Analytics.

Source
BlackRock Aladdin: How does Aladdin handle private markets?

Through eFront, acquired by BlackRock in 2019, and Preqin, acquired in 2025. BlackRock is integrating Preqin's data and research tools with Aladdin and eFront, starting with Preqin benchmarks available inside Aladdin.

Source
Morningstar Sustainalytics: Who owns Sustainalytics?

Morningstar, Inc. It acquired a 40% stake in 2017 and completed the purchase of the remainder in July 2020.

Source
BlackRock Aladdin: What is Aladdin Copilot?

A generative AI layer across the Aladdin platform that gives answers through a conversational interface with permission-dependent access to insights. It is available to all Aladdin clients, does not give investment advice and does not answer questions outside the platform.

Source
Morningstar Sustainalytics: Is Sustainalytics authorised under the EU ESG Ratings Regulation?

Sustainalytics B.V. has applied to ESMA for authorisation as an ESG rating provider, covering eleven products including ESG Risk Ratings, controversy ratings and low carbon transition ratings. A decision had not been announced as of November 2026.

Source
BlackRock Aladdin: What is Aladdin Data Cloud?

A managed investment data platform powered by Snowflake, preloaded with normalised Aladdin data, that can also hold non-Aladdin data with access controls and connects to business intelligence tools for dashboards and custom analytics.

Source
Morningstar Sustainalytics: What does Sustainalytics cost?

Prices are not published. Investor and corporate products are sold by quotation through a request-details or contact form.

Source
BlackRock Aladdin: How much does Aladdin cost?

BlackRock does not publish pricing for Aladdin or any of its products. Prospective clients are directed to contact the Aladdin team.

Source
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