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Investment Analytics · head to head

Preqin vs Morningstar Sustainalytics

Preqin logo

Preqin

Investment Analytics

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

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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

  • Only Preqin has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; 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: Preqin covers Preqin Pro, 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 Preqin and Morningstar Sustainalytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Preqin and Morningstar Sustainalytics differ
AttributePreqinMorningstar Sustainalytics
Starting priceFreeOn request
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: pricing model (quote), 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 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

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.

Preqin

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

Morningstar Sustainalytics

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

Where each one falls short

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

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.

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

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

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 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

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 Preqin or Morningstar Sustainalytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Preqin starts at Free and Morningstar Sustainalytics at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Preqin or Morningstar Sustainalytics?
Preqin has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Preqin and On request for Morningstar Sustainalytics.
Does Preqin or Morningstar Sustainalytics run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Preqin for free?
Yes. Preqin has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Morningstar Sustainalytics starts at On request.
What is Preqin best used for?
Preqin is most often used for finding and qualifying lps to approach during a fundraise, manager selection and due diligence by lps and investment consultants, benchmarking fund performance against private market peer groups and indices, comparing fund terms such as fees against similar funds. Of those, finding and qualifying lps to approach during a fundraise and manager selection and due diligence by lps and investment consultants are not what Morningstar Sustainalytics is typically brought in for.
What can Preqin do that Morningstar Sustainalytics cannot?
Preqin covers Preqin Pro, Investor (LP) profiles, Benchmarks and Indices, Term Intelligence. Morningstar Sustainalytics covers ESG Risk Ratings, Controversies Research, Low Carbon Transition Ratings, Regulatory datasets.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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