Last updated: 2026-08-14
Crunchbase has operated as an independent company since 2015 and reached Series D private-market status, building one of the most cited sources for startup funding and acquisition data. Its Scout Agent answers natural-language questions about a market segment, an MCP server launched in 2026 feeds the same data into LLM workflows, and Similar Companies surfaces adjacent targets from any profile.
About Crunchbase
Crunchbase is a company and investor intelligence platform that started in 2007 as a side project at TechCrunch to track startup funding, then spun out as an independent company in 2015 backed by a $6.5M seed round from Emergence Capital. It has since raised $107M in total funding and reached Series D, building what is now one of the most cited sources for private-company and investor data in venture and sales research. The platform's core is firmographic and funding data: company profiles, investor cap tables, acquisition history, and people records, kept current through a mix of user submissions, journalism, and SEC filings. In 2026 Crunchbase added a Scout Agent that answers natural-language questions about a market segment and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that brings the same private-market data directly into LLM workflows, alongside a Similar Companies feature and intent signals built from funding events, hiring patterns, and partner announcements. Crunchbase fits VCs and angel investors sourcing deals and tracking portfolio companies, sales and RevOps teams building target account lists from funding and hiring signals, and researchers or journalists who need a citable source for a company's funding history. Coverage is strongest for venture-backed technology companies; bootstrapped, traditional, and non-US businesses have noticeably thinner profiles. Crunchbase Pro unlocks unlimited profile views, advanced search filters, saved alerts, and the Scout Agent for a monthly subscription; Business adds a larger export allowance. A limited free account exists for casual lookups, and full programmatic API access is Enterprise-only with custom pricing. Exact tier pricing appears in the FAQ below. Crunchbase's data also feeds its own News desk and market reports, and the company positions the MCP server as a way for AI agents to cite verified funding and acquisition data instead of guessing at deal terms.
Pricing
Free account: roughly 11 company profile views per month, no export. Pro: $49/month (billed annually) or $99/month (month-to-month), unlimited profile views, advanced filters, saved alerts, Scout Agent access. Business: $199/month (billed annually), larger export allowance. Enterprise: custom pricing, required for full API access.
Key Features
- Scout Agent: Takes a plain-language question about a target segment and pattern-matches which companies look likely to raise a round or get acquired, available on the Business plan.
- Intent Signals: Builds intent signals from funding events, hiring patterns, and partner announcements so a team can separate actively expanding companies from quiet ones.
- Similar Companies: Surfaces competitors and adjacent businesses from a profile a user is already viewing, useful for expanding a target list beyond the original search.
- MCP Server for AI Agents: Exposes private-market company and funding data as a directly queryable MCP tool, launched in 2026 so LLM workflows can cite verified deal data instead of guessing.
- Funding and Acquisition Tracking: Tracks funding rounds, valuations, and acquisitions with investor cap tables attached, cross-checked against public filings and news coverage rather than a single feed.
- Advanced Search and Saved Alerts: Filters by location, funding stage, and industry, with saved searches and alerts that notify a user when a tracked company or segment changes.
- REST API (v4.0): Serves Entity Lookup, Search, Autocomplete, and Deleted Entities endpoints over HTTPS at up to 200 calls per minute, available on Enterprise plans.
Pros
- Rated 4.4 out of 5 across 409 reviews on G2, with reviewers consistently citing ease of use and reliable funding data.
- Backed by $107M in total funding as a Series D company, the underlying dataset draws continuously from user submissions, journalism, and SEC filings rather than a static crawl.
- Enterprise API access allows up to 200 calls per minute across every endpoint, generous compared to the per-plan-tiered limits some competitors impose.
Cons
- Contact data coverage is thin, about 18 million contacts with only 10 unlocks per month on the Pro plan, so it is stronger for company research than for finding a specific person to email.
- Exports cap out at 2,000 rows per month on Pro and 5,000 on Business, which forces teams doing large account-list pulls to upgrade or export in batches.
- Trustpilot reviewers rate the service just 1.5 out of 5 across 48 reviews, mostly over billing complaints like automatic plan upgrades with only one month's notice, a sharp contrast with its G2 score.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Crunchbase cost in 2026?
A Crunchbase subscription runs $49 to $99 a month for the Pro tier depending on whether you commit annually or pay month-to-month, stepping up to $199 a month for Business with a larger export cap. Full programmatic API access sits behind an Enterprise contract that Crunchbase prices individually per deal. The free account only covers a handful of profile lookups, with no export at any price point below Enterprise custom terms.
Is Crunchbase free to use?
Crunchbase's free account allows only about 11 company profile views per month and no data export, mainly useful for a one-off lookup rather than ongoing research. Crunchbase also runs a 7-day free trial of the Pro plan for teams that want to test the full feature set before paying.
What are the best alternatives to Crunchbase?
PitchBook fits investment teams that need deeper private-market financial modeling than Crunchbase's free-form profiles provide. Signalbase and PredictLeads fit GTM teams that want event-based API signals rather than a browsable research database. ZoomInfo fits teams that primarily need contact data, an area where Crunchbase's directory is comparatively thin.
How does Crunchbase compare to Signalbase in 2026?
Crunchbase and Signalbase both track company events, but Crunchbase is built as a browsable historical database updated on its own schedule, while Signalbase is built to surface a new event within about a minute of first public appearance. Choose Crunchbase for deep historical research and investor cap tables; choose Signalbase when detection speed on brand-new events is what matters.
How do you get started with Crunchbase?
Create a free Crunchbase account to browse a limited number of company profiles each month, or start the Pro trial for full search, alerts, and Scout Agent access. From there, upgrade to Business for a larger export allowance, or contact sales for an Enterprise plan with full API access.
Top Alternatives
- Signalbase: Pick Signalbase if you need sub-minute detection latency on new events; pick Crunchbase if you need deep historical funding and cap-table data.
- PredictLeads: Pick PredictLeads if you want technographic and hiring-signal depth via API; pick Crunchbase if you want a browsable investor and company research database.
- Apollo.io: Pick Apollo.io if you need a contact database bundled with outreach tools; pick Crunchbase if you need funding and investor intelligence for deal sourcing.