Whether you’re looking for an institutional grade securities research tool for your investment firm (such as Bloomberg) or a platform you can use for long-term personal investing (like Gainify), this guide breaks down the top Capital IQ alternatives. 

In this article we’ll compare established market leaders with emerging platforms like Gainify that can give you an edge in today’s stock market.

About Capital IQ

S&P Global’s “Capital IQ”, also known as S&P Capital IQ offers a wide range of financial data, analytics, and research tools. If you are an investment banker, equity researcher, merger & acquisition specialist, asset manager, or corporate finance expert, Capital IQ offers: 

• Analyst reports and company performance data 
• Supply chain intelligence 
• Financial modeling tools 
• Peer comparisons 
• Credit ratings 
• Backtesting 

Capital IQ’s key strength is its comprehensive data coverage spanning 62,000+ public companies (and over 54 million private firms) worldwide. This data is complemented by financial news and market insights, including sector specific breakdowns. 

Not only can you analyze public and private companies–but you can also uncover insights on over 90,000 Private Equity and Venture Capital funds.

AI-powered features enable you to analyze company filings, earnings calls, latest news, and broker research. Ask an AI chatbot your market research questions and receive answers backed by Capital IQ Pro data. 

If you are working on private debt deal, you will benefit from extensive private debt data – including vital assets under management, dry powder, and private capital investment data. 

Advantages 

Capital IQ boasts a strong data advantage over many industry players, with hard-to-find insights, API and Excel data export, and AI analysis tools built into the platform. Unique features include investor activism summaries & activist profiles, and deep regulatory data. 

✅ Established and reputable (the industry standard for professionals)
✅ AI chatbot, summaries of filings/calls, and AI newsletters
✅ Extensive data on public and private companies globally
✅ News, analyst reports, supply chain intelligence
✅ Investor activism data, regulatory data
✅ Private debt data and credit ratings
✅ Export tables to Excel
✅ PE/VC fund data 

Limitations 

Shortcomings and limitations are few and far between when it comes to Capital IQ. Its main limitations being price and a steep learning curve. 

❌  Costly, designed for institutions
❌  Aimed at finance professionals, not retail investors
❌  Features and data depth may be more than needed for personal investing

Pricing

Finding precise pricing information for S&P Capital IQ can prove challenging. You will need to contact their sales team to get a quote based on your company size and needs. Most likely, you will be looking at starting prices in the tens of thousands of dollars annually. 

Vendr data – based on what others report they pay for software – shows a pricing starts from approximately $16,000. However, this is simply what other users are paying, not official pricing. 

Alternative 1: Gainify.io – Best for Data Coverage, Investor Portfolio Tracking, and AI Tools

Gainify provides investors with real-time Wall Street data connected to its proprietary AI for unparalleled insights and stock research capabilities. Gainify.io combines institutional-quality data with accessibility for retail investors, making it a strong alternative to Capital IQ. 

Offering proprietary valuation methods, AI stock insights and chatbot to answer your most important stock research questions, and access to the world’s most comprehensive analyst estimate database for retail investors – Gainify is the tool you need to find your next winning stock. 

Key Gainify.io features include: 

• Top investor and Congress member tracking: Know as soon as top investor’s trades are reported, compare their portfolios head to head, and copy your favorite top investor portfolios to your Watchlist in one-click. 
• Largest database of expert-verified valuations for retail investors: See how past estimates compared to actual results so you can better understand a stock’s valuation estimate history and make more informed investment decisions.
• Understand a stock’s future potential: Forecasts cover projected cash flows, growth trends, key business fundamentals, and more. 

Gainify AI 

One standout feature offered by Gainify is its proprietary Gainify AI. With it, you can get immediate summaries of earnings call transcripts, and chat with AI to uncover important drivers of future value, compare top industry players head to head, and more. 

The insights investors obtain from Gainify AI are all backed by the world’s largest database of expert-verified analyst estimates for retail investors – making Gainify AI the top source of stock valuation insights you can truly trust. 

Example queries you can make include:

• Competitor comparisons: “How does AMD’s valuation compare to competitors?”
• Industry deep dives: “Compare the top players in the semiconductor industry”
• Strategic insights: “Analyze Tesla’s latest earnings call and highlight key strategic shifts”

Gainify forward-looking intelligence 

Retail and professional investors alike turn to Gainify for unprecedented access to Wall Street’s analyst estimates. This dataset, spanning thousand of global stocks, includes both historical comparisons of analyst estimates versus actual achieved valuations and long-term projections. With this information, you can build a complete picture of a stock’s future potential and make more informed investment decisions. 

Forward multiples you can unlock with Gainify include: 

• Forward Free Cash Flow Yield (FCF Yield): Reveal a company’s ability to generate cash flow relative to its market cap.
• Forward Price-to-Earnings (P/E): Discover how a company’s projected earnings are likely to impact its valuation (and compare this key metric to close peers or competitors). 
• Forward Price-to-Sales (P/Sales): Understand the future revenue potential expected by the broader market. 

Top Investor and Congress Tracking 

If you want to track the moves of top investors (and Congress members), compare their portfolios head to head, and replicate top performing strategies by copying them to your watchlist – then Gainify is the platform for you. Out of all the platforms you will read about in this comparison, Gainify is by far the best for top investor tracking. As soon as a top investor’s trade is registered, you’ll know about it. 

Advantages 

If you’re a retail investor, Gainify is your go-to platform for Wall Street tier insights in a streamlined dashboard. But it is also a go to for institutional investors tired of terminal-like dashboards, who seek AI features, proprietary metrics, and a high signal to noise ratio.

✅ Institutional-grade forecasts & expert-validated valuations
✅ Advanced screeners with forward-looking valuation filters
✅ Free access to pro-level features
✅ AI-powered real-time market insights
✅ Proprietary scoring system

Limitations 

If you’re seeking a platform that syncs with your broker account or enables you to execute trades right from the dashboard, then Gainify may be best paired with another stock trading tool.

❌ More research-focused than trade execution-focused
❌ May be overwhelming for absolute beginners
❌ Requires some familiarity with AI tools
❌ No broker syncing for direct trading

Pricing 

Gainify boasts accessible pricing – making it a go-to choice if you are looking to invest your personal funds, or are a professional  seeking to add another vital stock research tool to your stack. 

Notably, Gainify gives all users access to its pro-tier features. Whether you’re a Free or Paid user, you can access Gainify AI’s chatbot and summaries, top investor tracking, and more. 

If or when you need more AI queries, or to unlock unrestricted access to advanced features, you can upgrade to a Pro plan.

🔹 Starter (FREE) – Get full access to core features, including 1 year of estimates, 1 year of historical estimates, and 10 AI queries per month, with no credit card required.

🔹 Investor ($10.99/mo or $7.99/mo annually) – Unlocks 3 years of estimates, 10 years of historical estimates, Gainify rating and 50 AI queries per month, plus priority support.

🔹 Gainer Pro ($36.99/mo or $26.99/mo annually) – Grants 3 years of estimates, 15 years of historical estimates, Gainify rating and 500 AI queries per month, with VIP support for the most in-depth research experience.

Summary 

Gainify.io is a unique find in the stock research world. It’s rare you will find a platform that is both affordable for retail investors, and that provides access to Wall Street data from S&P Global Intelligence, the world’s largest database of analyst estimates, and proprietary metrics all connected to breakthrough AI. Gainify is that platform. 

If you want to understand the true intrinsic value of a stock and get clear value projections along with historical context to make more informed investing decisions – then Gainify is the platform for you.

Alternative 2: Bloomberg terminal – Best for Enterprise-Tier Teams

Bloomberg combines portfolio analysis, risk assessment, and analytics tools to create a comprehensive securities research platform for professional investors.

Using the Bloomberg terminal, you can analyze real-time market data and news, screen companies, track commodities, and discover equity projections and analysis. 

Much like S&P Capital IQ, Bloomberg terminal provides detailed company debt structure information. 

Deal analysis features include M&A tracking, and IPO monitoring to uncover equity offerings. 

With Bloomberg you can: 

• Chat with Bloomberg’s own analysts about their findings directly from the terminal
• Integrate Bloomberg terminal data with internal data & research from your firm 
• Live chat with colleagues, clients, and the broader financial community 
• Access independent research from over 1500 sources 
• Upload reports and models 
• Get one click AI insights 

Bloomberg terminal stands out for its focus on not only securities research, but enabling you to increase client-per-salesperson coverage ratios, per-salesperson revenue, customer satisfaction, and enhance your firm’s marketing efforts. 

In addition to strong team-level features, Bloomberg also offers a range of tools to speed up and enhance your individual workflows, including for: 

• Compliance 
• Portfolio tracking
• Risk management 
• Data management 
• Order management
• Research management
• and more

91% of Bloomberg users say the platform delivers the right tech for them to do their jobs. 

Advantages 

Standout advantages of the Bloomberg terminal are its sales and client specific features, enabling investors to not only discover top investment opportunities, but also seamlessly interface between sales, trading, and clients. 

✅ Gold standard for real-time information
✅ Company screening, commodity tracking, equity analysis, and deal analysis (M&A, IPO)
✅ DASH dashboard for sales & trading
✅ Dedicated client relationship tools
✅ Company debt structure information
✅ Live chat with financial community
✅ Risk assessment and analytics
✅ Learning resources & tutorials
✅ Integration with internal data
✅ Mobile app

Limitations 

As with Capital IQ, the Bloomberg terminal’s limitations mostly come in the form of inaccessible pricing, and a steep learning curve (with the latter being combatted via extensive learning resources).

❌ Prohibitively costly for most individuals and smaller firms
❌ Features far exceed the needs of typical retail investors
❌ Complex interface designed for professionals

Pricing 

Investopedia reports that Bloomberg’s current pricing for 2025 is approximately $32,000 annually per subscription. If you have multiple subscriptions, then the per user cost drops slightly to $28,320/year per subscription. 

Alternative 3: FactSet – Best for Data Integrations

Like capital IQ and Bloomberg terminal, FactSet can serve your needs if you are an institutional investor, asset/fund manager, or other financial professional. 

It provides advanced features such as backtesting – enabling you to validate your investment strategies on historical securities data and price movements. Enterprise teams will also find banker efficiency and client-facing investor relations features a welcome addition, streamlining their operations.

The platform is further enhanced by excel and API integrations – enabling data extraction and modelling at scale. Investors can connect 100+ third-party and 40+ proprietary datasets to their own data for advanced analytical capabilities.

However, as FactSet is designed for professional institutional investors, it does have a steep learning curve. Additionally, its expensive subscription cost makes it inaccessible for the average casual investor – it is primarily cashed-up institutions that utilize factset.

Other key FactSet features include: 

• Global equities, commodities, fixed income, and alternative financial assets data
• AI insights and predictive analytics 
• Risk management tools 
• Screening tools 

Investors will also find global news, earnings transcripts, and useful financial reports. 

FactSet delivers enterprise-tier features that are difficult to match. However it’s premium cost makes it inaccessible to most, outside of institutional investors whose employer or business covers the subscription fee.

Advantages 

Because FactSet is built for institutions, investors benefit from a number of features typically not found in stock research tools for retail investors. Specifically those related to account support, data modelling, and investor relations/client management.

✅ Excel & API integrations for scalable data extraction and modelling
✅ Comprehensive portfolio management and risk analysis tools
✅ Customer support and dedicated account managers
✅ Backtesting to validate investment strategies
✅ Highly customizable for pro investors

Limitations 

Like many platforms designed for institutional investors, FactSet suffers from a number of limitations related to accessibility – whether it be the cost or level of financial expertise required to get the most out of the platform. 

❌ Navigating the interface requires advanced financial knowledge
❌ Expensive and inaccessible for retail investors
❌ Limited mobile functionality
❌ Steep learning curve

Pricing 

While specific pricing will depend on your company size and needs, data from Vendr (a platform enabling you to see what others pay for software) shows an average FactSet contract size of $45,000/yr across 10 contracts. However, contracts range from a moderately affordable $4,200 to over $150,000 annually. 

Alternative 4: Koyfin – Best for Affordable Terminal-Style Interface

Koyfin is positioned as an advanced yet affordable version of Bloomberg terminal. Standing out for its highly customizable terminal-like interface, Koyfin provides investors access to global market data, deep fundamental insights, and advanced macroeconomic analysis.

Real time data coverage across stocks, bonds, ETFs, and commodities is complemented by custom dashboards and advanced charting-making for a tool catered to serious investors, but with a steep learning curve. 

Key Koyfin features include: 

• Customizable dashboards and watch lists 
• Charting and fundamental analysis 
• Key sector analysis tools 
• Hotkey support 

Koyfin balances Bloomberg-tier data with a competitive price that makes it accessible to even casual investors. 

Advantages 

Koyfin’s major advantage is that is offers similar features to the major players – Bloomberg, FactSet, and Capital IQ – at a more accessible price point. It also offers client portfolio management tools for financial advisors, and a Schwab integration for automatically pulling in client portfolio data. 

✅ Real-time data for stocks, bonds, commodities, and ETFs
✅ Client portfolio management tools for financial advisors
✅ More affordable than Bloomberg, FactSet, Capital IQ
✅ Customizable terminal-style interface
✅ Hotkey support for fast navigation 

Limitations 

While Koyfin’s pricing comes in cheaper than other major players, this is at the expense of some advanced features found in other platforms. 

❌ Steep learning curve
❌ Free plan features are limited
❌ Lacks the data depth and AI features of other tools
❌ More expensive than other retail investor stock research platforms like Gainify

Pricing 

If you want an affordable alternative to Bloomberg or Capital IQ (in exchange for the absence of some institutional grade features) then Koyfin might be the platform for you. 

• Free Plan – Limited access to financial data and dashboards
• Plus ($49/month) – Includes enhanced data, charting, and watchlist customization
• Pro ($110/month) – Offers full access to global market data, advanced analytics, and premium features
• Advisor Pro ($199/mo) – An offering tailored to financial advisors. You will find features for client proposals, client portfolio management, and a Schwab integration.

Alternative 5: AlphaSense – Best for Alternative Data Sources

AlphaSense is another institutional platform of the same caliber as Bloomberg and Capital IQ. 

Used by top investment firms such as JP Morgan and Baillie Gifford, AlphaSense empowers investors with:

• Earnings transcripts
• Regulatory docs
• Broker research
• Expert calls

AlphaSense’s expert transcript library, comprises interviews with former executives, competitors, and customers. The library contains over 175,000 transcripts covering both public and private companies. 

Additionally, one-on-one expert calls are available for those who want personal access to pre-qualified experts. This can be used to gain insights, technical expertise, commentary on news and events, and more. 

Advantages 

Like many enterprise oriented securities research platforms, AlphaSense offers dedicated account managers, IT support, and training. But AlphaSense’s main advantage over other similar enterprise-tier securities investment research platforms is its focus on alternative data (expert interviews and broker research) and streamlining the processing of this dense information with AI.

✅ One-on-one expert calls
✅ AI powered generative search
✅ Downloadable charts and images
✅ Blacklining of SEC filings to compare changes
✅ Export tables from company filings to spreadsheets
✅ Collaborative notebooks for note taking and information sharing
✅ Connect your own internal content & data to AlphaSense’s AI search 

Limitations 

Being a major player in the securities research market, AlphaSense is well developed and fine-tuned to institutional investor’s needs. It’s main limitation is that for a specific group of investors – retail investors – it may simply be inaccessible.

❌ Mainly built for institutional investors and corporations
❌ Features are overkill for pure retail investors
❌ Cost is prohibitive for retail investors
❌ Visualization tools are limited 

Pricing 

At approximately $20,000 for 12 months (when accessed via the AWS marketplace) Alphasense is out of reach for most retail investors. 

Alternative 6: TIKR – Best for Text-Based Reports and Bloomberg Style Interface

Much like Koyfin, TIKR is positioned as an affordable alternative to institutional-grade platforms like Bloomberg and Capital IQ. 

TIKR’s global stock data covers over 100,000 stocks across 92 countries (136 total exchanges). You can utilize thousands of filters to create custom screeners for uncovering investment opportunities. 

Once you’ve found a company worthy of your portfolio, you can conduct deep due diligence by reviewing income statements, balance sheets, and key ratios. However there is no AI support, so you will need to do this manually. 

Key features include: 

• Portfolio tracking (hedge funds and major investment firms) 
• Portfolio tracking (for your own personal portfolio)
• Custom screeners 
• Watchlists 

TIKR is an affordable alternative to platforms like Capital IQ for retail and institutional investors. However, in comparison to other affordable alternatives, it lacks AI features and context from historical evolution of analyst estimates versus actual valuations provided by Gainify. 

Advantages

TIKR has all the right data for stock research (though it can be difficult to interpret due to a frustratingly clunky UI). If you have the patience to manually sift through complex tables and charts, then TIKR may be suitable for you.

✅ News alerts powered by Reuters
✅ Covers a broad range of global stocks
✅ Hedge fund and portfolio tracking tools
✅ Institutional-grade data sourced from S&P Global
✅ Access company transcripts, financial filings, and investor presentations

Limitations 

While TIKR may technically provide much of the same data as other platforms such as Gainify – it can be incredibly difficult to interpret for non-institutional traders. TIKR adheres to the terminal-style design of enterprise-grade platforms and is heavy on hard to read & complex charts. 

❌ Custom screeners require manual setup
❌ No pre-built screeners for fast time-to-insight
❌ Free plan has delayed data and restricted analyst estimates
❌ User interface could be improved for better navigation and usability
❌ No AI-powered insights or predictive analytics for forward-looking research
❌ Investor tracking more suitable for fund tracking, not individual investors or Congress members

Pricing 

TIKR’s competitive pricing comes with the lack of KPI data, limited real-time data capabilities, and a UI that some may find difficult to navigate. 

• Free Plan – Provides access to stock data, analyst estimates, and basic watchlists (with a time-delay)
• Plus ($19.95/month) – 10 years of financial data, more screeners, and increased analyst estimates
• Pro ($39.95/month) – Unlimited stock screening, full global financial data, and portfolio tracking

Final Thoughts: Which Capital IQ Alternative is Best for You?

The best platform for you depends on your stock research process, level of financial expertise, and of course, your budget. 

For individual retail investors, your best option is Gainify. With AI-powered earnings call analysis, an AI chatbot that functions like your own personal stock analyst, top investor tracking, and the world’s largest database of analyst estimates – Gainify is the premier value-for-money stock research platform. Boasting features that compete with the big players at a fraction of the cost, it will accelerate and streamline your stock research process so you can find more winning stocks in a fraction of the time. 

Professionals and smaller firms will be well served by either Koyfin (for a more affordable option) or AlphaSpread (for unique data sources not found elsewhere). Perhaps in combination with Gainfiy to utilize its AI features connected to real-time Wall Street data. 

Enterprise teams should look to Bloomberg, AlphaSpread, or Factset to unlock the institutional-grade, team cross-collaboration, and client-facing tools needed to sustain and grow an investment firm or hedge fund. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is the best S&P Capital IQ alternative for retail investors?

Gainify.io is the best Capital IQ alternative for retail investors. It provides institutional-quality data combined with accessibility for retail investors, offering proprietary valuation methods, AI stock insights, and access to the world’s most comprehensive analyst estimate database at an affordable price point.

How much does S&P Capital IQ cost?

S&P Capital IQ pricing is challenging to find precisely. According to Vendr data, pricing ranges from $16,650 to $200,951 with a median contract size of $49,100 annually. For small and medium businesses, plans likely begin around $10,000 annually, while enterprise plans start at approximately $50,000.

What is the cheapest alternative to S&P Capital IQ?

Gainify offers the most affordable alternative with a Starter (FREE) plan providing access to all core features with an unlimited number of stock reports & 10 AI queries per month. Paid plans start at just $10.99/month ($7.99/month billed annually) for the Investor plan, followed by TIKR (starting at $19.95/month) and Koyfin (starting at $49/month).

Which Capital IQ alternative has the best AI features?

Gainify offers the most comprehensive AI features, including immediate summaries of earnings call transcripts and an AI chatbot that helps uncover important drivers of future value and compare top industry players. These insights are backed by the world’s largest database of expert-verified analyst estimates, making Gainify AI the top source of stock valuation insights for retail investors.