Compare · S&P Capital IQ
Capital IQ alternatives and competitors, with S&P Capital IQ pricing compared
S&P Capital IQ Pro is a deal-workflow platform for bankers and private-equity teams who need private-company data, transaction comps and an Excel modeling plug-in. Investables.ai is a public-market research layer: one structured card per asset, both sides of the argument, risk flags, in seconds, for a monthly subscription instead of an annual contract.
AI research card
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Thesis, bull and bear case, key metrics, comparables and risk flags, synthesized into one structured tear-sheet.
Thesis
Bull case
Bear case
This name is not publicly listed, so there is no market data to show. The card covers the thesis, both sides of the argument and the risk flags.
Key metrics
Comparables
Risk flags
Market data from public sources, as of . Informational only, not financial advice. Qualitative card, no public market data for this name. Informational only, not financial advice.
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Most people searching for Capital IQ alternatives are not unhappy with the product. They are unhappy with what it costs relative to how much of it they use. S&P Capital IQ Pro is built for bankers and private-equity teams who live in the Excel plug-in, screen private companies, and pull transaction comps all day. If that is your job, it earns its price. If you use maybe a tenth of it to understand public companies, you are funding nine tenths of a platform you never open.
The second thing worth saying plainly: Capital IQ has no published price. Every figure you find, including the ones on this page, comes from buyers, procurement marketplaces and resellers rather than from S&P Global. Treat them as ranges to budget against, not quotes.
Investables.ai sits in a different tier on purpose. Paste any ticker, ETF, crypto token or startup and it returns a structured research card: a plain-language thesis, an explicit bull case, an explicit bear case, key metrics, comparables and labeled risk flags. It does not carry private-company financials, deal comps or an Excel add-in, and this page says so rather than pretending otherwise. It is informational research, not personalized investment advice, and it never executes trades.
The short answer
What is the best Capital IQ alternative?
It depends on which part of Capital IQ you actually use. For private-company financials and transaction comps, the real substitutes are PitchBook and FactSet, and they cost in the same five-figure tier. For public-market analysis and screening, Koyfin and Investables.ai cover most of the job for a tiny fraction of the price. Capital IQ Pro is quote-only, with reported seats running roughly $10,000 to $50,000 per user a year; Investables.ai starts at $49 a month.
What each one costs
S&P Capital IQ pricing vs Investables.ai pricing
S&P Global does not publish a price list for Capital IQ Pro and sells only on quote. The figures below are what buyers, resellers and procurement marketplaces reported publicly as of August 2026. They vary widely because the contract does, so read them as budgeting ranges rather than as a quote.
| Plan | Price (USD) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Capital IQ Pro (quote only) | Reported list around $33,000 per user / year | Full platform: public and private company financials, screening, transaction comps, the Excel plug-in |
| Capital IQ Pro, negotiated | Reported $10,000 to $50,000+ per user / year | The same platform. Seat count, contract length and add-on modules move the number more than anything else |
| Capital IQ Pro add-on modules | Reported $5,000 to $8,000 per seat | Private equity and real estate focus packs, often folded in at higher seat counts |
| Typical total contract | Reported $15,000 to $215,000 per year, median near $53,000 | Whole-firm spend across seats, from procurement marketplace data |
| Investables.ai Analyst | $49 / month | 50 research cards a month with thesis, bull case, bear case, metrics and risk flags |
| Investables.ai Pro | $79 / month | 300 cards a month plus filing summaries with SEC links, exports |
| Investables.ai Team | $249 / month | 5 seats, 1,500 cards a month, shared watchlists and audit-ready exports |
Capital IQ pricing is quote-only and every figure above is a publicly reported third-party range gathered August 2026, not an official quote. Contact S&P Global for accurate pricing. Investables.ai does not include private-company financials, transaction comps or an Excel plug-in.
Want the full procurement breakdown? Our Capital IQ cost guide works through the sourced pricing data, what drives the quote and where the negotiation leverage sits.
The full landscape
Capital IQ competitors, compared
The tools buyers shortlist against S&P Capital IQ, grouped by tier. Enterprise platforms sit at the top and quote only; affordable public-market tools sit below. Prices are list or publicly reported figures gathered August 2026.
| Tool | Reported price (USD) | What it is, and who shortlists it |
|---|---|---|
| S&P Capital IQ Pro | Quote only, reported $10,000 to $50,000+ / seat / yr | Public and private company financials, screening, transaction comps and an Excel plug-in. The default in banking and private equity. |
| FactSet | Quote only, reported $12,000 to $24,000 / seat / yr | Data, analytics and portfolio tooling for the buy side. The most direct like-for-like swap. |
| Bloomberg Terminal | Reported $28,320 to $31,980 / seat / yr | Real-time market data, news and messaging. Chosen by desks that trade, not by teams that only model. |
| PitchBook | Quote only, reported five figures / seat / yr | Private markets, venture and PE deal data. The usual pick when private-company coverage is the whole reason for buying. |
| LSEG Workspace | Quote only | The former Refinitiv Eikon. Strong on fixed income, FX, commodities and macro. |
| AlphaSense | Quote only, reported $10,000 to $20,000 / seat / yr | Search across filings, transcripts and broker research. Shortlisted when the bottleneck is reading, not modeling. |
| Koyfin | Free, then $39 to $299 / month | Charting, screening and dashboards for public equities. The most common affordable step down. |
| Morningstar Investor | $34.95 / month or $249 / year | Fund and equity research with independent ratings. Aimed at individual investors rather than deal teams. |
| Investables.ai | $49 to $249 / month | A structured AI research card per public asset: thesis, bull case, bear case, metrics, comparables and risk flags, on a monthly subscription. |
Enterprise pricing in this table is quote-only and the figures shown are publicly reported third-party ranges gathered August 2026, not official quotes. Confirm current pricing with each vendor before budgeting. Investables.ai does not include private-company financials, transaction comps or an Excel plug-in.
Side by side
S&P Capital IQ vs Investables.ai, honestly
A fair look at what each does well. Both are capable tools. Here is where they differ.
| What matters | Investables.ai | S&P Capital IQ |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Understand a public asset fast: thesis, bull case, bear case, metrics, comparables, risk flags | Build models and screen deals across public and private companies |
| Private company data | Not covered. Public assets only | Deep, and the main reason firms pay for it |
| Transaction and deal comps | Not covered | Extensive M&A and financing comps |
| Excel plug-in | No add-in. Exports instead | The Office plug-in is a core part of the workflow |
| Both sides of the case | Every card states an explicit bull case and bear case plus labeled risk flags | Neutral data you interpret yourself |
| Buying process | Card payment, monthly, cancel any time | Sales cycle, quote and annual or multi-year contract |
| Price | $49 to $249 a month | Quote only, reported $10,000 to $50,000+ per seat a year |
| Best suited for | Individual investors, RIAs, analysts and small funds working public markets | Investment banking, private equity and corporate development teams |
Comparison reflects general, publicly understood positioning. Capabilities change, so check each product for the latest.
Why analysts pick Investables.ai
One structured research card for every name you study
Pay for the part you use
The expensive half of Capital IQ is private-company and transaction data. If your work is public equities, you are subsidizing datasets you never query. Investables.ai charges for the public-market read alone, which is why the number has three fewer digits.
A conclusion, not a dataset
Capital IQ hands you fields to model with. That is the right output for a banker building an LBO and the wrong one when you have twenty names to triage. Investables.ai returns a written case with both sides and the risk flags already surfaced.
No procurement cycle
There is no quote, no seat negotiation and no annual commitment. You subscribe monthly and cancel when you want. It is informational research to speed up your own work, not financial advice, and it issues no ratings or price targets.
Good questions
S&P Capital IQ vs Investables.ai, answered
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Comparing on cost across the whole category? Our investment research platform pricing page lists what every major platform charges, checked against vendor pages.
Make your own research faster with Investables.ai
Turn any ticker into a structured research card with the thesis, both sides of the argument and the risk flags in seconds. You stay in control of every decision.
Informational only, not financial advice · past performance does not guarantee future results