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Investment Analytics · head to head

PitchBook vs Preqin

PitchBook logo

PitchBook

Investment Analytics

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

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Preqin logo

Preqin

Investment Analytics

Alternative assets data on funds, managers, investors, deals and performance

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Preqin has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Preqin no paid prices are published; Preqin's product pages lead to a demo request, and the free account lists what it includes but not where its limits are.
  • They diverge on capability: PitchBook covers Company, deal and investor profiles, Preqin covers Preqin Pro.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 12 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PitchBook and Preqin actually diverge.

Attributes where PitchBook and Preqin differ
AttributePitchBookPreqin
Starting priceOn requestFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Chrome, APIWeb, API

Identical on both: pricing model (quote), 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 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

Only in Preqin

  • Preqin Pro
  • Investor (LP) profiles
  • Benchmarks and Indices
  • Term Intelligence
  • Transaction and Company Intelligence
  • Cash flow pacing and forecasting
  • Enterprise Data Solutions
  • Preqin MCP

What people use each for

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

PitchBook

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

Preqin

  • Finding and qualifying LPs to approach during a fundraisenot PitchBook
  • Manager selection and due diligence by LPs and investment consultantsnot PitchBook
  • Benchmarking fund performance against private market peer groups and indicesnot PitchBook
  • Comparing fund terms such as fees against similar fundsnot PitchBook
  • Forecasting capital calls and distributions for a private markets portfolionot PitchBook
  • Feeding private markets data into a data warehouse or AI workflownot PitchBook

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Preqin

  • No paid prices are published; Preqin's product pages lead to a demo request, and the free account lists what it includes but not where its limits are.
  • Coverage figures are inconsistent across Preqin's own and BlackRock's pages, with firm counts of 48,000 and 67,000+ and fund counts of 135,000+, 210,000 and 235,000+, so what a licence covers has to be confirmed in a demo.
  • Performance data comes from GP-to-LP reports enriched by FOIA requests, which means coverage is strongest where public pension investors are obliged to disclose and thinner for funds without such LPs.
  • It is a private markets specialist; public equity and fixed income analytics, real-time prices and portfolio risk need a separate terminal or platform.
  • Since March 2025 Preqin is owned by BlackRock, itself a large alternatives manager, and integration into Aladdin and eFront is described only as happening over time, which leaves the standalone roadmap uncertain for firms that do not use BlackRock technology.
  • Preqin MCP is listed only for ChatGPT and works within existing entitlements, so it extends a paid licence rather than offering a separate way in.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Preqin

Free
  • Free accountFree
    • Selected free alternative assets datasets and analytics
    • Free benchmarks
    • Industry reports and news
  • Preqin Pro and data products$undefined/mo
    • No prices published; access is arranged through a demo request
    • Preqin Pro, Benchmarks and Indices, Term Intelligence, Transaction Intelligence and Company Intelligence sold as named products
    • Global Reports included with the Private Markets Research (Insights+) subscription
  • Enterprise Data Solutions$undefined/mo
    • Priced by quotation
    • Feeds APIs, Operational APIs and data feeds
    • Snowflake and AWS marketplace listings

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Preqin if

  • You need preqin pro.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want investor (lp) profiles.
Preqin review

Questions people ask

Is PitchBook or Preqin better?
Neither clearly leads. PitchBook starts at On request and Preqin at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PitchBook or Preqin?
Preqin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for PitchBook and Free for Preqin.
Does PitchBook or Preqin run on more platforms?
PitchBook runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome, API. Preqin runs on Web, API.
Can I use Preqin for free?
Yes. Preqin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PitchBook starts at On request.
What is PitchBook best used for?
PitchBook is most often used for sourcing private companies and building target or buyer lists for m&a, pricing a deal against comparable transactions and valuation multiples, lp due diligence and manager selection using fund returns and benchmarks, tracking vc and pe activity, fundraising and exits by sector or region. Of those, sourcing private companies and building target or buyer lists for m&a and pricing a deal against comparable transactions and valuation multiples are not what Preqin is typically brought in for.
What can PitchBook do that Preqin cannot?
PitchBook covers Company, deal and investor profiles, Screeners and search, Valuations and comps, Fund performance and benchmarks. Preqin covers Preqin Pro, Investor (LP) profiles, Benchmarks and Indices, Term Intelligence.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Preqin: Is Preqin owned by BlackRock?

Yes. BlackRock announced the acquisition on 30 June 2024 for £2.55 billion, approximately $3.2 billion, in cash, and announced its completion on 3 March 2025. Preqin founder Mark O'Hare joined BlackRock as a Vice Chair.

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
Preqin: Is Preqin still sold separately from Aladdin?

Yes. BlackRock states that Preqin will remain available as a standalone solution, while Preqin's data and research tools are integrated with Aladdin and eFront over time, starting with Preqin benchmarks inside Aladdin.

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
Preqin: How much does Preqin cost?

Preqin does not publish prices for Preqin Pro or its data products; its product pages lead to a demo request. A free account is available with selected datasets, free benchmarks and industry reports.

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
Preqin: Where does Preqin's data come from?

Preqin says more than 500 multilingual researchers verify data at source, using direct relationships with managers and investors, regulatory filings, press releases, news, websites and Freedom of Information Act requests. Fund performance data is sourced from GP-to-LP reports and enriched via FOIA requests.

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
Preqin: Can Preqin data be delivered into our own systems?

Yes, through Enterprise Data Solutions: Feeds APIs for bulk structured datasets, Operational APIs for targeted on-demand access such as CRM views, more than 100 data feeds, and listings on the Snowflake and AWS marketplaces.

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
Preqin: Does Preqin work with AI tools?

Preqin MCP brings Preqin data into AI workflows and is available on the ChatGPT Marketplace and through ChatGPT for Financial Services. It operates within a client's existing entitlements and complements Preqin Pro rather than replacing it.

Source
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