Pitchbook, formed in 2007, based in Seattle, and as of 2016, fully part of Chicago-based Morningstar, is the default choice for many business professionals in today's world of alternative asset and public company data.

Pitchbook's library of products and data covers PE, VC, LP, Fund, Financing, M&A, Service Providers, Debt, Private and Public Equities, and other alternative info. Pitchbook offers integrations, apps, and other tools to streamline workflows and enhance productivity for a variety of business needs. While it's clear Pitchbook is a valuable and useful resource, its greatest strength, being a comprehensive, one-stop data source for all things financial, may also be its greatest, shall we say, frustration - whether you use or need all that Pitchbook provides, when it comes time to subscribe or renew, you will discover there are no a la carte options with its offerings, you must pay for it all.

As we've slowly built Mergr over the years, we've talked to a variety of business professionals - many who have (or have had) access to Pitchbook, Factset, Bloomberg, Reuters, CapitalIQ amongst other enterprise-grade financial databases. These products and services all fill an important role, however, one common theme (or issue) is simply that these services are often overkill. Are you looking to market your product or service to PE-backed portfolio companies? Looking to recruit employees or executives at recently acquired companies? Need to build lists of buyers for a project? Pitchbook, amongst other db providers, can handle all these needs with ease - but so can Mergr.

We often get asked, So what's the difference between Mergr and Pitchbook? Why are you so much cheaper? What do you do differently?

So, as you evaluate PE/M&A data options for your project or need, here's a quick summary of several key differences between Pitchbook and Mergr.

This is the biggest difference. At Mergr, we only focus on PE and M&A. At Pitchbook, they focus on everything. Everything is great if you need it but can turn into a spendy line item if you don't.

More specifically, at Mergr we focus on PE firms, including their investment criteria, portfolio, M&A transactions, teams, and their M&A advisors. Amongst general M&A, we focus on corporate acquirers, their M&A transactions, their buy/sell relationships between other buyers and sellers in the Mergr database, and their M&A advisors. That's it. No VC, no public equity data, no debt commentary, no fund returns, no LPs, etc. Some users need the complete universe of alternative info - however many users do not.

Related to the above, it's also worth mentioning that the entire Mergr database is also 'homegrown', meaning we do not license or purchase outside data. What started as a simple list of PE investors, has grown into a significant database built around a unique set of criteria and parameters that you will not find elsewhere. We understand the 'noise' that can easily creep into databases such as ours. If an entity is not involved in M&A we do our best not to add. Ie, nearly all the 200k companies in the Mergr database have been involved in M&A (as buyer, seller, or target). We do not add data merely to add.

If your primary alternative data need centers around PE and M&A, we may just be the right fit for your project.

Mergr started as a simple list of PE firms. We then added their portfolio companies, M&A, and team members - followed by corporates, their M&A histories, and their service providers.

As we've added to the database, we've deliberately built the overall product experience around keeping things simple. While we have many users directly engaged in M&A, to our surprise, many of our users are not. Whether you're a service provider, recruiter, or consultant, diving in and building lists with Mergr is intuitive, quick, and easy. We do not just cater to investment bankers and M&A advisors, and have built our search tools to provide immediate benefit for a variety of professional types and purposes. You do not need a Demo to get up and running with Mergr.

For a single-user license, we currently charge $150/month. Additional users are $100/month. There are no user minimums and you do not have to pay annually (although you can if you wish). We also offer a 7-day trial where you can fully check out the product. And if you sign-up with a Gmail or Hotmail email address, we will not call to interrogate you.

With Pitchbook, you get the 'Enterprise' experience - forms, sales calls, sales Demos, user mininums, sales pitches, contracts, sticker shock, and annual billing. With Mergr, you don't need our permission to check out the product. If you'd like to sign-up and check it out now, you can and if you decide it's not for you, canceling is done in the App and just requires a couple of clicks.

In summary, Pitchbook is a tremendous product - its breadth and depth is impressive, and the Company continues to improve with additional data, features, and tools. However, it's not for everyone. We encourage you to check out both and at least with Mergr, you easily can.