CrunchBase vs. CB Insights: Ultimate Showdown of the Top 2 Market Intelligence Platforms

The market intelligence platforms have grown rapidly in recent years, with startups and investors relying on data platforms to identify trends, monitor competitors, and uncover new opportunities. When discussing market intelligence, the debate often revolves around CrunchBase vs. CB Insights, two of the top providers in this space

Both CrunchBase and CB Insights offer databases full of funding information, news, user reviews, and in-depth reports on startups and emerging technologies. However, there are some key differences between the two platforms that users should be aware of.

This comprehensive guide will compare CrunchBase vs. CB Insights to help you determine which solution best fits your needs as a startup, investor, or analyst. We’ll break down the key features, user reviews, pricing, and ideal use cases for each platform. Let’s dive in.

CrunchBase: In-Depth Overview

In the CrunchBase vs. CB Insights debate, it’s noteworthy that CrunchBase stands out as one of the largest platforms for finding and analyzing data on startups, venture capital firms, acquisitions, and more. The CrunchBase database includes information on over 700,000 companies, 560,000 people, and 110,000 investment funds globally.

CrunchBase: Product Overview

• CrunchBase offers users the ability to search and filter this massive database to find specific companies and people. Key data available includes funding details, founding team members, news, acquisitions, IPO filings, and descriptions of the company’s business.
• One of CrunchBase’s main value propositions is that all of its data is open and accessible to any user. No paid subscription is required to search and view listings.
• CrunchBase was originally founded in 2007 and acquired by TechCrunch. It is now owned by Verizon Media. The platform continues to build out its offering with advanced search filters, data exports, trend reports, and profile customization.

CrunchBase: Key Features

• Company Profiles
  • In-depth profiles on private and public companies with descriptions, founding details, news, acquisitions, funding breakdowns, and more.
• People Profiles
  • Profiles on founders, executives, board members, investors, and other key people associated with companies.
• Advanced Search
  • Ability to search the full database with filters for location, funding status, funding ranges, acquisitions, category, and more.
• Funding Details
  • Funding data includes round details like date, amount raised, investors, and more. Users can view funding over time visually.
• News Integration
  • CrunchBase syncs with news sources to show relevant headlines on company and people pages.
• Trends and Reports
  • Users can view market maps, funding reports, and acquisition reports for free. More detailed premium reports are also available.
• Alerts and Tracking
  • Registered users can set up alerts and track companies, people, and news keywords.
• Exports
  • Registered users have access to bulk CSV data exports for companies, people, funds, and acquisitions.
• API Access
  • CrunchBase has a REST API that enables users to integrate funding data into other applications.
• Open Data
  • All core CrunchBase data is open and accessible without any paywall or subscription required.

CrunchBase: User Reviews

CrunchBase is generally well-reviewed by users for having comprehensive, open-access startup and market data. Here are some of the most common pros and cons mentioned in CrunchBase reviews:

• Pros
  • Massive open database covering hundreds of thousands of companies globally
  • In-depth company profiles with founding details, funding history, news, acquisitions
  • Ability to search and filter data without needing an account
  • Free access to trends reports, market maps, and other high-level data
  • Helpful for researching startups, competitors, potential investments, mergers and acquisitions
• Cons
  • Data accuracy can vary as it is user-sourced
  • Details on older companies may be sparse
  • No ability to save searches, alerts, or export data without registering
  • Reporting and exporting capabilities more limited than paid platforms like CB Insights
  • No access to contact info or employee data like LinkedIn

Overall, CrunchBase is praised for having one of the largest open databases for startup and market data. The main drawbacks are potential data inconsistencies and the lack of advanced reporting features offered by paid platforms.

CrunchBase: Pricing Plans

One of CrunchBase’s biggest differentiators is that its core database can be searched and viewed by any user for free. No subscription is required to access company and people profiles.

For registered users, CrunchBase offers these paid plans:

• Crunchbase Pro
  • $29/month
  • Alerts on companies and keywords
  • Advanced search filters
  • Asset tracking
  • Bulk data exports
  • Premium trends reports
• Crunchbase Enterprise
  • Custom Pricing
  • Integrations with internal data and systems
  • Customizable alerts and reports
  • Historical funding data
  • Bulk data licensing
  • Dedicated customer success manager

The Pro plan unlocks more alerting and export capabilities for individuals, while the Enterprise plan offers white-labeled integrations and customized solutions for larger brands.

Overall, CrunchBase can provide a significant amount of value at no cost. Paid plans add more sophisticated tracking, reporting, and integrations.

CB Insights: In-Depth Overview

When comparing CrunchBase vs. CB Insights, it’s evident that CB Insights also adopts a data-driven approach similar to CrunchBase but focuses solely on private market intelligence. The platform provides data, trends, and analytical tools tailored for startups and high-growth tech companies.

CB Insights: Product Overview

• Key features include market maps, funding reports, technology trends, predictive analytics tools, and searchable profiles of private companies. CB Insights positions itself as a “data storyteller” to help clients understand growth opportunities, emerging tech, and competitive threats.
• The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York. It has raised $30 million from investors including Goldman Sachs, The New York Times, and American Express Ventures.
• Unlike CrunchBase, all of CB Insights’ reports and underlying data are only accessible via paid subscription plans. The emphasis is on actionable data tools for business decision-makers.

CB Insights: Key Features

• Private Company Profiles
  • Profiles on over 1.3 million private companies with funding details, estimates, news, jobs data, and more.
• Advanced Search
  • Ability to search private company databases and narrow by location, sub-industry, tech categories, keywords, and more.
• Funding Reports
  • Reports tracking venture capital funding with breakdowns by industry, stage, country, investors, and other cuts.
• Trend Reports
  • Reports on emerging technologies, markets, business models, macroeconomic trends, and predictions.
• Charts and Graphs
  • Interactive data visualizations on funding, valuations, exits, and financial KPIs.
• Market Maps
  • Maps of companies in particular sectors with their key competitors or partnerships.
• Mosaic Search
  • Tool for looking up companies by keyword descriptions rather than name. Helps discover emerging players.
• Jobs Intelligence
  • Provides insights into company headcount and hiring trends based on job listings data.
• Predictive Analytics
  • Machine learning models for predicting company momentum, technology trends, and other outcomes.
• Excel Add-In
  • Enables users to access CB Insights data directly within Excel for custom analysis.
• API Access
  • Ability to integrate CB Insights data into other applications through API.

Overall CB Insights provides much more sophisticated market and competitive intelligence tools compared to CrunchBase. The emphasis is on actionable analytics rather than just an open database.

CB Insights: User Reviews

Here are some of the most common pros and cons of CB Insights mentioned in user reviews:

• Pros
  • In-depth private company profiles and funding details
  • Curated reports on trends, emerging tech, and predictions
  • Advanced market maps, competitive intelligence, jobs data
  • Predictive analytics and data visualizations
  • Excel add-in for custom analysis
  • Helpful benchmarks, comparables, and analytics for decision-making
• Cons
  • Gated access requires a paid subscription
  • Data quality can vary or be incomplete on some private companies
  • Limited coverage of public companies
  • Steep learning curve on some advanced tools
  • Expensive subscription cost for smaller companies or teams
  • Data exports and API access require an Enterprise plan

Overall, CB Insights receives strong reviews for its private market data capabilities, especially from investors and analysts. The main drawbacks are cost and some steep learning curves on its more advanced tools.

CB Insights: Pricing

CB Insights offers several subscription tiers:

• Starter Plan
  • Curated reports
  • Company search
  • Limited access to charts and underlying data
• Professional Plan
  • Full access to all reports
  • Advanced company search
  • Custom charts and basic API access
  • Quarterly account management
• Enterprise Plan
  • Custom Pricing
  • Uncapped analyst licenses
  • Ability to export data in bulk
  • Custom consulting, dashboards, and integrations
  • Dedicated customer success manager

In general, CB Insights is significantly more expensive than CrunchBase given its focus on premium data tools for professionals. The Enterprise plan is by far the most costly but unlocks more consulting, integrations, and data access.

A Detailed Comparison

Now, diving deeper into the CrunchBase vs. CB Insights comparison, let’s cover the key features and capabilities of each platform.

Category	CrunchBase	CB Insights
Data Scope and Coverage	Extensive data on 700k+ companies globally, both private and public. Broad coverage across all industries and geographies.	In-depth focus on private companies only, with over 1.3 million in the database. More limited public company data.
Search and Profiles	Ability to search the full company database without a paid account. In-depth profiles with news, descriptions, etc.	Paid plans are required to search the database and view full profiles. More advanced filters and comparative company intelligence.
Funding Data and Analysis	Funding details on rounds, investors, and amounts raised for all companies. Basic funding charts and trend reports.	Deeper comparative funding analytics, investor matching, round predictions, and valuation analysis. More tools for professionals.
Emerging Tech and Trend Analysis	The core database functionality is free. Pro plan is $29/month. Enterprise pricing customized.	Deep proprietary reports and predictive analytics on emerging tech, threats, opportunities, and trends. Big differentiator.
Exporting and APIs	Registered users can export limited company and funding data. More exports and API access on paid plans.	Robust API and data exports, especially for Enterprise subscribers. Enables custom analysis.
Prices and Plans	Core database functionality is free. Pro plan is $29/month. Enterprise pricing customized.	Basic trend reports are available for free. Surface-level industry analysis.

Ideal Users

Given the differences between the two platforms, certain types of users are better fits for each solution:

• CrunchBase Best For:
  • Startups looking up competitors, partners, or acquisition targets
  • Investors researching private companies to consider investing in
  • Analysts who want free access to basic market data
  • Anyone needing high-level industry data and trend reports
  • Developers/companies wanting open API access

• CB Insights Best For:
  • VCs doing in-depth investment analysis and due diligence
  • Corporate strategy/innovation teams researching markets
  • Analysts who need robust predictive analytics and custom reporting
  • Business leaders who want actionable tech and competitive intelligence
  • Enterprises that can benefit from data integrations and consulting

In summary, CrunchBase offers a free open database best for surface-level startup research. CB Insights provides premium analytics for power users.

Key Differentiators

Here are the key factors that set CrunchBase and CB Insights apart:

• Data Access – CrunchBase offers free access to core startup and market data. CB Insights has gated access requiring a paid subscription.
• Public vs. Private Company Focus – CrunchBase covers both public and private companies extensively. CB Insights focuses specifically on the private market.
• Depth of Data Analysis – CB Insights has more advanced analytics, trend reports, and predictive data modeling. CrunchBase offers more surface-level funding data.
• Open vs. Proprietary Data – CrunchBase data can be openly searched and exported. CB Insights has some proprietary data and algorithms underlying its reports.
• Intended User – CrunchBase serves anyone interested in market data. CB Insights is tailored for VCs, analysts, innovation teams, and other professionals.
• Pricing – CrunchBase’s core offering is free, with paid upgrades for more functionality. All of CB Insights has paid access starting at a monthly rate typical of premium market intelligence platforms.

Conclusion: CrunchBase Vs. CB Insights

In summarizing the CrunchBase vs. CB Insights comparison, the choice largely hinges on your specific use case and budget

For surface-level startup and market data available at no cost, CrunchBase can’t be beaten. The open database model makes it accessible to a wider range of non-professional users.

CB Insights shines for VC firms, enterprises, and analysts who need best-in-class private market analytics, predictive intelligence, and customizable reporting. The paid plans unlock more robust tools for strategic decision-making.

In some cases, it may make sense to leverage both CrunchBase and CB Insights if you need a combination of open data as well as proprietary analytics. The two solutions can nicely complement each other.

Evaluate your specific needs for market data and intelligence. For simple free lookups, CrunchBase will do the job. If you require predictive models, custom reporting, and strategic intelligence – CB Insights is likely the better fit despite the steeper learning curve and paid access.

No matter which platform you select, leveraging market intelligence platforms can significantly inform startup strategy, investment decisions, and technology innovation. Both CrunchBase and CB Insights provide valuable data-driven insights in different ways.