# Crunchbase API Pricing and Alternatives (2026)

> What the Crunchbase API costs after the free tier ended, and how it compares to Multiples, PitchBook and Harmonic.

- Canonical: https://multiples.vc/compare/crunchbase-api-alternatives
- Facts last verified: 2026-08-20
- Method: https://multiples.vc/compare/methodology (estimates labelled *; corrections: hi@multiples.vc)

## What is the Crunchbase API?

Crunchbase API is a RESTful interface providing programmatic access to global private market intelligence, company data, and funding rounds feed. It functions as a data pipeline for organizations needing to pull data across startup ecosystems.

Primary clients include VC firms, PE groups, go-to-market sales teams, and corporate development departments. Common use cases might involve auto CRM data enrichment, mapping competitive landscape, and embedding private market metrics directly into commercial software products.

Crunchbase API does not deliver company valuation data (multiples) nor any public markets information.

Crunchbase API pricing is enterprise-focused and quote-only. The historical free basic access tier has been permanently retired, requiring organizations to engage with sales teams for tailored contracts.

## Compare Crunchbase API cost and features vs alternatives

|  | Crunchbase | Multiples | PitchBook | Harmonic | CB Insights | Grata |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| License cost | $30k+/yr* | from $1,499/mo | $70k+/yr* | Quote only* | Quote only* | Quote-only |
| Type | REST | REST | REST | REST · GraphQL | REST | REST |
| Geo coverage | Global | Global | Global | Global | Global | US |
| Public companies | No | Yes | Partial | No | No | No |
| Private companies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cross asset coverage | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Consensus estimates | No | Yes (Licensed from FactSet) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Metrics coverage | Funding rounds, amounts, investors, profiles | Basic fundamentals, estimates, prices, valuation ratios | Fundamentals, deals, fund data, news | Company signals, headcount, founder moves, team composition | Funding data, research, Mosaic scores | Company profiles, firmographics, contacts |
| Pre-computed ratios | No | Yes | Partial | No | No | No |
| Real-time prices | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Time to first call | Days | Minutes | Weeks+ | Days | Weeks+ | Weeks+ |

_* = reported figure; vendor does not publish full API pricing. Crunchbase Pro ($49/mo billed annually) and Business ($199/mo) are published plan prices; full API access is quoted separately. Prices are stated as they stand in August 2026._

## Overview of Crunchbase API alternatives

### Multiples

Investment-grade financial data API provider. Complete coverage across both private and public markets. Public data licensed from FactSet and Morningstar. Deal dataset includes data points across 500K+ transactions (M&A and funding rounds, minority and majority deals). Much deeper coverage vs. Crunchbase, valuation multiples and deal terms information. Multiples API pricing starts at $1,499 a month.

**Pricing:** Pro: $239/mo (billed annually) or $299 (monthly). Pro Max: $399/mo (billed annually) or $499 (monthly). API: from $1,499/mo. Free 3-day trial.

**Strengths:**
- Enterprise-grade API for both public comps and precedent transactions
- Highest quality data (licensed from FactSet and Morningstar)
- Affordable pricing vs. enterprise providers

**Limitations:**
- No FX, fixed income or news
- No real-time prices

**Best for:** The equity-valuation slice of an enterprise contract.

### PitchBook

PitchBook API delivers institutional-grade private markets data - deal terms, valuations, investors, funds, fund returns, LP commitments, people and service providers. Crunchbase covers a wide net of companies and VC funding events, but is thin on M&A and PE buyout data. PitchBook goes (much) deeper on every record. To use the API you need a platform license plus a standalone API agreement, reported from $70,000 a year.

**Pricing:** Custom quote. Reported $25k-$40k+/yr for a base license. $70k+ for API

**Strengths:**
- Great across private data
- Decent insights of fund returns and LP commitments
- Programmatic email/contact data
- Various delivery sources (API, bulk delivery, feed)

**Limitations:**
- Platform license needed to access the API
- Very expensive - reported from $70,000 a year
- Public company data is thinner than FactSet, Multiples or Capital IQ

**Best for:** Fund returns, LP data and investor contacts.

### Harmonic

Harmonic API claims to provide startup and enrichment data on 30M+ companies and 200M+ people, with founder job moves and headcount changes as sourcing signals, over REST, GraphQL and a hosted MCP server. Compared to Crunchbase (which only records funding rounds after they are announced), Harmonic tries to flag companies before a round is public. Like Crunchbase, it carries no valuations, deal terms or public comps. Pricing is quoted per team and reported at $10,000-$30,000 a year.

**Pricing:** Custom quote. API plans scoped to usage.

**Strengths:**
- Delivers signals ahead of announced rounds - great for programmatic VC sourcing
- Bulk delivery to S3, BigQuery or Snowflake
- No platform seat prerequisite

**Limitations:**
- Limited deal terms, valuations or fund data
- No public companies data

**Best for:** Sourcing pipelines and CRM automation.

### CB Insights

CB Insights API is designed as a tech research product rather than a pure-play database vendor like Crunchbase. The value of CB Insights is in curated sector research and trend data on top of the raw records. API is sold to platform customers only, reported at $40,000-$100,000 a year on annual contracts.

**Pricing:** Custom quote. Reported $40k-$100k/yr.

**Strengths:**
- Proprietary data on emerging tech markets
- Various delivery sources (API, bulk delivery, feed)
- Analyst research accessible alongside the data

**Limitations:**
- Enterprise pricing on top of a premium platform
- Limited valuation data or deal terms
- No enterprise-grade public comps data

**Best for:** Tracking emerging tech markets with packaged research.

### Grata

Grata API exposes a crawled dataset of 21M+ private companies and 8M+ executive contacts through Search, Similar and Enrichment endpoints, aimed at US mid-market deal sourcing. Its main edge over Crunchbase is coverage of bootstrapped and founder-owned companies that never raised, which Crunchbase largely misses because it only follows funding events. Grata provides little financial data and no public comps.

**Pricing:** Custom quote. Reported $15k-$40k/yr depending on number of seats. API pricing quoted separately.

**Strengths:**
- Great for programmatic access of bootstrapped companies data
- Executive contacts directory

**Limitations:**
- Very US-centric
- No financials or company valuations

**Best for:** Mid-market target screening outside the venture universe.

## Which Crunchbase API alternative fits your use case?

| Platform | Best For | Institutional grade | Equity coverage | Deals coverage | Geo coverage | Real-time data | Ease of implementation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Crunchbase | VCs, sales and BD teams, startups, angel investors | Low | Low | Medium | High | Low | High |
| Multiples | M&A advisors, VC and PE funds, corp dev teams and CFOs | High | High | High | High | Low | High |
| PitchBook | Large PE funds, investment banks, enterprise clients | High | Medium | High | High | Medium | Low |
| Harmonic | VC and growth funds, startups, corporate innovation teams | Medium | Low | High | High | Low | High |
| CB Insights | Corporate strategy teams, VCs, growth equity, governments | High | Low | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
| Grata | US mid-market M&A and PE sourcing teams | Medium | Low | Medium | Low | Low | High |

## Should you choose Crunchbase or look for an alternative?

**Crunchbase strengths:**
- Standard API source for basic startup and early stage private-market mapping
- Public docs and an OpenAPI spec, easy to drop into enrichment or research pipelines
- Mature integration ecosystem across CRM tools
- Cheaper and more self-serve than PitchBook for basic company/funding lookups

**Crunchbase trade-offs:**
- Startup database, so not investment-grade financials, valuations, deal terms etc.
- Coverage skews to VC funded tech companies. Very thin on traditional PE, non-tech M&A etc.
- Not an API substitute for PitchBook, Capital IQ, or FactSet

## Why teams look for the Crunchbase API alternatives

- **No public comps data:** Crunchbase tracks companies, rounds, investors, and (to some extent) M&A. It does not provide public company financials, estimates, stock prices, filings etc.
- **Very limited valuation data:** The API returns how much was raised and who invested. It does not return pre- or post-money valuations or deal terms, so it is a poor choice if you look for valuation multiples.
- **Weak outside of tech:** Crunchbase API is best on VC funded tech startups data. Much weaker on traditional PE, strategic M&A, and generally on non-tech operating companies.
- **Tight licensing terms:** Putting data derived from Crunchbase API in a customer-facing app (or redistributing) needs a separate, much more expensive commercial agreement.

## FAQ

### How much does the Crunchbase API cost?

There is no longer a free tier. Paid plans start at $49 a month for Pro (billed annually, $99 monthly) and $199 for Business. Full API access is quoted separately as an enterprise or applications license. Buyers report enterprise API agreements from $30,000 a year for a commercial use case.

### Is the Crunchbase API still free?

No. Crunchbase eliminated free API access in 2025 and no longer issues new Basic API keys. Developers who want the API contact sales for an enterprise or applications license.

### What are the Crunchbase API rate limits?

200 calls per minute across all endpoints.

### What endpoints does the Crunchbase API v4 have?

Four families: entity lookup, search, autocomplete and deleted entities. It is REST over HTTPS, returning JSON.

### Does the Crunchbase API include valuations?

Yes and no. It carries transaction feed with round amounts, investor data, and sometimes pre- or post-money valuations, but it does not include company financials or deal terms (so you won't see EV/Revenue or EV/EBITDA multiples on Crunchbase). For valuation multiples, consider Multiples and PitchBook.

### What is the best alternative to the Crunchbase API?

It depends on your needs. For valuations, deal multiples, more extensive M&A coverage - Multiples. For contact data, fund and LP data, PitchBook. For sourcing signals before a round is announced, Harmonic. For US mid-market companies that never raised, choose Grata.

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