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Investment Analytics · head to head

FactSet vs PitchBook

FactSet logo

FactSet

Investment Analytics

Financial data workstation, portfolio analytics and data feeds for investment professionals

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
PitchBook logo

PitchBook

Investment Analytics

Private capital market data on companies, deals, funds and investors

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: FactSet no published pricing; FactSet's FAQ says cost depends on the use case and products required, and trials go through sales (checked November 2026).; PitchBook no price is published anywhere on PitchBook's sites; the pricing page is a request form, so cost cannot be compared without a sales conversation.
  • They diverge on capability: FactSet covers FactSet Workstation, PitchBook covers Company, deal and investor profiles.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 12 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FactSet and PitchBook actually diverge.

Attributes where FactSet and PitchBook differ
AttributeFactSetPitchBook
PlatformsWindows, Web, APIWeb, iOS, Android, Chrome, API

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), 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 FactSet

  • FactSet Workstation
  • Universal Screening
  • Microsoft Office integration
  • Portfolio Analysis
  • Mercury AI assistant
  • Model Context Protocol servers
  • Data feeds and cloud delivery

Only in PitchBook

  • Company, deal and investor profiles
  • Screeners and search
  • Valuations and comps
  • Fund performance and benchmarks
  • PitchBook Credit, powered by LCD
  • Navigator
  • Excel plugin and Chrome extension
  • Direct Data: API, data feed and CRM

What people use each for

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

FactSet

  • Equity and credit research with company fundamentals, estimates and screeningnot PitchBook
  • Performance attribution and risk reporting on buy-side portfoliosnot PitchBook
  • Building refreshable financial models and pitch books in Excel and PowerPointnot PitchBook
  • Loading FactSet datasets into Snowflake or Databricks for quant researchnot PitchBook
  • Querying portfolio analytics from an internal AI assistant over MCPnot PitchBook
  • Deal sourcing and due diligence for private capital teamsnot PitchBook

PitchBook

  • Sourcing private companies and building target or buyer lists for M&Anot FactSet
  • Pricing a deal against comparable transactions and valuation multiplesnot FactSet
  • LP due diligence and manager selection using fund returns and benchmarksnot FactSet
  • Tracking VC and PE activity, fundraising and exits by sector or regionnot FactSet
  • Enriching CRM records with company, investor and deal datanot FactSet
  • Following leveraged loan and private credit markets through LCD news and datanot FactSet

Where each one falls short

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

FactSet

  • No published pricing; FactSet's FAQ says cost depends on the use case and products required, and trials go through sales (checked November 2026).
  • The Excel add-in is typically part of a broader subscription according to FactSet's FAQ, so Office integration cannot be bought as a lightweight standalone tool.
  • The installed Workstation is Windows only, with 16 GB or more of memory recommended and a base installation upgrade advised every 12 months, per FactSet's installation guide.
  • Portfolio Analytics MCP launched as a limited release in June 2026, so AI access to attribution and risk outputs is not yet a mature, generally available feature for every client.
  • Benchmark DataFeeds on Snowflake are built per client, and FactSet's own developer recipe says designing each workflow takes several days to a week.

PitchBook

  • No price is published anywhere on PitchBook's sites; the pricing page is a request form, so cost cannot be compared without a sales conversation.
  • Programmatic access is a separate Direct Data product (API or data feed) rather than part of the platform licence, so the all-inclusive description applies to the desktop product, not to feeding the data into internal systems.
  • Coverage figures differ between PitchBook's own pages, with company counts ranging from about 6 million to 12.3 million depending on the page, which makes it hard to tell what a given licence actually covers.
  • Navigator launched covering companies, transactions and market themes only; PitchBook says the full scope of its data will be added over time, so AI answers do not yet reach every dataset.
  • It is a research and data product, not a trading or portfolio system: there is no order management, real-time market data desk or risk engine of the kind found in a terminal or in Aladdin.
  • Private company financials depend on what companies disclose or PitchBook can collect, and the platform does not publish what share of profiles carry verified financials.

Pricing, plan by plan

FactSet

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the FactSet review.

PitchBook

On request
  • PitchBook Platform$undefined/mo
    • No prices published; pricing is given on request
    • Described by PitchBook as all-inclusive: data, research and tools under one subscription
    • Free trial available on request
  • Direct Data$undefined/mo
    • Priced separately by quotation
    • API (selected à la carte) or predefined data feed
    • CRM integration

Which should you pick?

Choose FactSet if

  • You need factset workstation.
  • You work on Windows, Web, API.
  • You also want universal screening.
FactSet review

Choose PitchBook if

  • You need company, deal and investor profiles.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome, API.
  • You also want screeners and search.
PitchBook review

Questions people ask

Is FactSet or PitchBook better?
Neither clearly leads. FactSet starts at On request and PitchBook at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FactSet or PitchBook?
FactSet starts at On request and PitchBook at On request.
Does FactSet or PitchBook run on more platforms?
FactSet runs on Windows, Web, API. PitchBook runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome, API.
What is FactSet best used for?
FactSet is most often used for equity and credit research with company fundamentals, estimates and screening, performance attribution and risk reporting on buy-side portfolios, building refreshable financial models and pitch books in excel and powerpoint, loading factset datasets into snowflake or databricks for quant research. Of those, equity and credit research with company fundamentals, estimates and screening and performance attribution and risk reporting on buy-side portfolios are not what PitchBook is typically brought in for.
What can FactSet do that PitchBook cannot?
FactSet covers FactSet Workstation, Universal Screening, Microsoft Office integration, Portfolio Analysis. PitchBook covers Company, deal and investor profiles, Screeners and search, Valuations and comps, Fund performance and benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FactSet: How much does FactSet cost?

FactSet does not publish prices. Its FAQ says the cost varies with your use case and the specific products and services you need, and quotes and trials are arranged through the sales team.

Source
PitchBook: How much does PitchBook cost?

PitchBook does not publish prices. Its pricing page asks prospects to request pricing or a free trial, and describes the subscription as all-inclusive, covering its data, research and tools rather than charging separately for database access.

Source
FactSet: Does FactSet have an Excel add-in?

Yes. FactSet's Office tools create auditable, refreshable links to FactSet content in Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. The FAQ notes the Excel add-in is typically part of a broader subscription.

Source
PitchBook: Who owns PitchBook?

Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar had held a minority stake since 2009 and completed its acquisition of the whole company on 1 December 2016. PitchBook continues to operate under its own brand as a Morningstar subsidiary.

Source
FactSet: What are the system requirements for FactSet Workstation?

The installed Workstation and Office add-ins are a single MSI installer for Windows desktop and server operating systems. FactSet recommends 16 GB or more of memory, Windows 11 64-bit and Office 2016 or Microsoft 365, and upgrading the base installation every 12 months.

Source
PitchBook: Does PitchBook have an API?

Yes, as part of Direct Data. The API returns specific data on demand and has a sandbox for testing calls; the alternative is a scheduled data feed with hundreds of data points per entity. A CRM integration under the same heading sends PitchBook data directly into the CRM.

Source
FactSet: Can FactSet data be delivered to Snowflake?

Yes. Standard DataFeed content can be delivered as Snowflake data shares, with each feed appearing as a schema with tables. Benchmark DataFeeds are customised per client and take several days to a week to design.

Source
PitchBook: What is PitchBook Navigator?

A generative AI feature inside the PitchBook Platform, announced on 10 November 2025, that answers natural-language questions on companies, deals and market trends with references to the source data. At launch it covered companies, transactions and market themes, with the rest of PitchBook's data to follow.

Source
FactSet: What is the FactSet Portfolio Analytics MCP?

A Model Context Protocol server, announced as a limited release on 26 June 2026, that lets buy-side firms query governed performance, attribution and risk outputs from FactSet inside their own AI environments.

Source
PitchBook: Does PitchBook cover private credit and leveraged loans?

Yes. Morningstar bought Leveraged Commentary & Data from S&P Global in 2022, and PitchBook integrated LCD research in May 2023 and LCD credit news and debt deal data in August 2023. It is sold as PitchBook Credit.

Source
PitchBook: Can PitchBook data be used in Excel?

Yes. The Excel plugin brings PitchBook data into spreadsheets to create and update financial models, and platform results can also be downloaded to Excel, PDF, PNG and PowerPoint.

Source
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