> SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. This is the Markdown copy of https://specstream.ai/alternatives/crunchbase. Every page, with what SpecStream does and costs: https://specstream.ai/llms.txt # Best Crunchbase alternatives in 2026 | SpecStream Compared on Nov 9, 2026. # Crunchbase alternatives in 2026 **Every company that fits your thesis as a row, at 5¢ to $1 a row.** Crunchbase sells seats on its own database of 4M+ private companies. Multiples lists Pro at $49 per user a month billed annually and Business at $199, and Vendr reports a median contract of $20,000 a year. Pro exports up to 2,000 rows a month and Business up to 5,000, and the API is sold by quote through the sales team. SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. Write your thesis in plain words, and Deep Search returns every company on the live web that fits it as a structured row, each read from its own site, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row plus 5¢ for the owner's email. 1,000 companies with 5 facts cost $50, and you approve the most the run can cost before it starts. [Describe your data](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-crunchbase&utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=crunchbase&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fask%3Fq%3DFounder-owned%2520industrial%2520automation%2520companies%2520in%2520the%2520US%2520Midwest%2520with%252020%2520to%2520200%2520employees%252C%2520with%2520the%2520founder's%2520name%252C%2520the%2520founding%2520year%2520and%2520a%2520work%2520email) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. ## SpecStream and Crunchbase side by side | | SpecStream | Crunchbase | | --- | --- | --- | | What you send | The companies you want in plain words, with the conditions every row must meet | Filters on its database. On the API, a search body with field IDs that returns 1 to 1,000 results a page, 100 by default | | What you get back | Structured rows, one record per company, with facts from many sites joined. Source URL and read time on every value | Profiles from its database: companies, funding rounds, people, investors, acquisitions, predictions and insights | | Companies covered | Any company on the live web that meets your conditions, found on its own site. Public databases read every morning at [specstream.ai/data](https://specstream.ai/data?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=crunchbase), with every company that filed a Form D since 2023 and its filing history. Signals such as funding rounds, new executives and layoffs at [specstream.ai/signals](https://specstream.ai/signals?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=crunchbase) | 4M+ private companies, with 30M+ data updates a year | | Rows you can take out | Every row delivered. Exporting and sharing cost nothing | Up to 2,000 rows a month on Pro and up to 5,000 on Business | | The unit you pay for | A delivered row: 5¢, 15¢ or $1 by how much the row needs, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The same rate on every plan | A seat. Multiples lists Pro at $49 per user a month billed annually, or $99 monthly, and Business at $199 (August 2026). Vendr reports a median contract of $20,000 a year across 71 purchases | | The cost cap before a run | The most the run can cost, quoted before it starts. Nothing runs until you approve it, and there are no automatic overages | On MCP, 10 data tokens for each non-empty field value returned, from an allowance that varies by account tier. A response can use up the rest of the balance | | A list you already have | Import a CSV, Excel file, Google Sheet or Airtable base of up to 20,000 rows. SpecStream fills in or checks each row and matches it to one identity, with any namesakes shown alongside their evidence. Import is free. A row that matches pays its rate, and a row that does not costs 5¢ | CRM integrations and auto-enrichment on Business, filled from Crunchbase's own profiles | | Reruns and change labels | Hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching. A changed or new row costs half its rate, an unchanged row 1¢ | Automatic notifications when a company you track changes | | MCP and API | MCP server, REST API, Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A. An agent can buy one request with no account, by card or in USDC | API by quote through the sales team, at 200 requests a minute and 3 requests at a time per key. An MCP server on every account, metered in data tokens. API data may not be passed to third parties unless the license allows it | | Where the data goes | Affinity, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Attio, Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable, Notion, Slack, Teams, Zapier, Make, n8n and signed webhooks | CSV exports inside the monthly row limit, CRM integrations on Business, the API and MCP | ## Why Crunchbase buyers move to SpecStream ### Your thesis is the request A Crunchbase search starts from the fields Crunchbase collected. On SpecStream you write the thesis the way you would brief an associate: "founder-owned industrial automation companies in the US Midwest with 20 to 200 employees, with the founder's name, the founding year and a work email". SpecStream reads the request back as parts you can edit, the conditions every row must meet and the facts to bring back, before anything runs. A company that fails one of your conditions is not delivered and not billed. ### The companies a funding database lacks Crunchbase holds 4M+ private companies and is built around funding rounds. A founder-owned business that never raised a round still has a site, and SpecStream finds it there. Each row joins what the company's own pages state with facts from other sites into one record. Source URL and read time on every value. ### Funding filings, read the day they are filed In the week of November 2, 2026, 494 operating companies filed a Form D reporting $29.51 billion sold. SpecStream reads each filing from SEC EDGAR the day it is filed and holds 54,034 operating companies that filed since January 3, 2023, each with its filing history, at [specstream.ai/data/form-d](https://specstream.ai/data/form-d?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=crunchbase). Ask for your own cut: one state, one industry, or first raises above an amount. ### You pay for rows, and the price comes first SpecStream bills the rows that meet your request: 5¢ for a row with up to 5 facts, 15¢ for up to 15 facts and one set of related records, and $1 for a deep row with no limit. 1,000 companies with 5 facts cost $50, and the owner's email adds 5¢ a row. Every request gets a quote of the most it can cost, good for 30 minutes, and whatever the run does not use goes back to your balance. A run that finds nothing costs nothing. ### When a tracked company moves Save the request and it reruns hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching, a changed or new row costs half its rate and an unchanged row costs 1¢. New matches and changes land in Affinity, HubSpot, Salesforce, Sheets, Slack or Teams with no code, or in your agent through the MCP server. Rows you already own are never charged again. ## Other Crunchbase alternatives ### SpecStream The live web data engine for teams and agents. One request in plain words returns every company that fits a thesis as a structured row at 5¢, 15¢ or $1, with $10 of credit on sign-up and no card. It also fills in a list you bring and reruns on a schedule with every change labeled. ### PitchBook A database of deals, funds and contacts sold by annual contract. Multiples reports its price at $25,000 to $40,000 a year with a minimum of 2 to 3 seats (August 2026). On SpecStream 1,000 companies with 5 facts cost $50, quoted before the run starts. ### Grata A database of private mid-market companies with executive contacts. Multiples reports its price at $15,000 to $40,000 a year (August 2026). SpecStream prices the same job by the row, 5¢ for a company with up to 5 facts, and quotes the whole run before it starts. ### Dealroom A company and funding database priced per seat and billed annually, with a minimum of 3 seats. Its pricing page shows 10 Premium seats at €30,000 a year, with 10,000 export credits per seat, and the API is priced on call volume on top of a plan. On SpecStream exporting a delivered row costs nothing, and the API spends from the same balance as your team. ### Harmonic A startup database that tracks 40 million companies, quoted per team. Multiples reports its price at $10,000 to $30,000 a year (August 2026). SpecStream finds companies on the live web by the conditions you write, and bills only the rows it delivers. ## How SpecStream scores The same numbers as the benchmarks page, from the official tasks and scorers. ResultsWideSearchCostSimpleQA Verified | | SpecStream | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/parallel.svg)Parallel | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/exa.svg)Exa | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/tavily.svg)Tavily | ![](https://specstream.ai/images/benchmarks/perplexity.svg)Perplexity | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Web research**WideSearch, GPT-5.6 Luna | 60.9 | 45.5 | 53.0 | 47.9 | 47.0 | | **Factual accuracy**SimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Luna | 96 | 94 | 91 | 94 | 94 | | **Factual accuracy**SimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Sol | 99 | 97 | 91 | 92 | 95 | ## How to switch from Crunchbase Write the companies you want in plain words, or import the list you exported from Crunchbase, up to 20,000 rows, and SpecStream fills in or checks each row. Sign up and you get $10 of credit, no card. At 5¢ a row, that is up to 200 companies. Or send the request from code. This call spends nothing: the `402` reply shows how SpecStream read the request, the columns and the most it can cost. ``` curl -i https://api.specstream.ai/v1/agent/lists \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"request": "Founder-owned industrial automation companies in the US Midwest with 20 to 200 employees, with the founder'\''s name, the founding year and a work email", "count": 25}' ``` Approve that maximum by card through Stripe's Link agent wallet, or in USDC on Base, Arbitrum or Polygon, and you pay for the rows found. On an account, your agent uses the MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` and your team uses the workspace, from the same balance. [Describe your data](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-crunchbase&utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=crunchbase&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fask%3Fq%3DFounder-owned%2520industrial%2520automation%2520companies%2520in%2520the%2520US%2520Midwest%2520with%252020%2520to%2520200%2520employees%252C%2520with%2520the%2520founder's%2520name%252C%2520the%2520founding%2520year%2520and%2520a%2520work%2520email) ## Frequently asked questions Something we didn't answer? [Talk to a human](https://specstream.ai/talk-to-a-human.md) How much does Crunchbase cost? Crunchbase Pro is listed at $49 per user a month billed annually, or $99 billed monthly, and Business at $199, as Multiples recorded in August 2026. Vendr reports that the median buyer pays $20,000 a year, from 71 purchases. The API is sold by quote through the Crunchbase sales team. What is the best Crunchbase alternative? SpecStream, at 5¢ to $1 a delivered row. You write your thesis in plain words, approve the most the run can cost, and get every company on the live web that fits it as a structured row in your CRM or sheet. 1,000 companies with 5 facts cost $50, and the owner's email adds 5¢ a row. How many rows can you export from Crunchbase? Up to 2,000 rows a month on Crunchbase Pro and up to 5,000 on Crunchbase Business. On SpecStream every delivered row can be exported, and exporting costs nothing. Does Crunchbase have an API? Yes, sold by quote through its sales team, with 200 requests a minute and 3 requests at a time per key. SpecStream's API is open to every account: the Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches, the Extract API $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and Deep Search 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a delivered row. Does Crunchbase have an MCP server? Yes, on every account, metered at 10 data tokens for each non-empty field value returned, from an allowance that varies by account tier. SpecStream's MCP server is at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`. Connecting an agent is free on every plan, and a run never costs more than the maximum you approved. Can SpecStream find companies that never raised a funding round? Yes, at 5¢ a row with up to 5 facts. SpecStream searches the live web for companies that meet the conditions you wrote, so a founder-owned business is found on its own site, with the owner's name and the page that states it. Does SpecStream have an API? Yes. The Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches and scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct), and 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. The scores are on [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=crunchbase). There are also Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and an MCP server. ### Sources SpecStream wrote this page. Crunchbase's limits come from its own pages. Crunchbase's seat prices and the PitchBook, Grata and Harmonic prices are published third-party figures, named where they appear. 1. [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing)specstream.ai/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026 2. [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md)specstream.ai/agents.md, read Nov 9, 2026 3. [SpecStream Form D data](https://specstream.ai/data/form-d)specstream.ai/data/form-d, read Nov 9, 2026 4. [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks)specstream.ai/benchmarks, read Nov 9, 2026 5. [Crunchbase Pro](https://about.crunchbase.com/products/crunchbase-pro/)about.crunchbase.com/products/crunchbase-pro/, read Nov 9, 2026 6. [Crunchbase Business](https://about.crunchbase.com/products/crunchbase-business/)about.crunchbase.com/products/crunchbase-business/, read Nov 9, 2026 7. [Crunchbase API](https://about.crunchbase.com/products/data-licensing/)about.crunchbase.com/products/data-licensing/, read Nov 9, 2026 8. [Crunchbase API essentials](https://data.crunchbase.com/docs/using-the-api.md)data.crunchbase.com/docs/using-the-api.md, read Nov 9, 2026 9. [Crunchbase Search API basics](https://data.crunchbase.com/docs/search-api-basics.md)data.crunchbase.com/docs/search-api-basics.md, read Nov 9, 2026 10. [Crunchbase MCP overview](https://data.crunchbase.com/docs/mcp-overview.md)data.crunchbase.com/docs/mcp-overview.md, read Nov 9, 2026 11. [Crunchbase data tokens and usage](https://data.crunchbase.com/docs/data-tokens-and-usage.md)data.crunchbase.com/docs/data-tokens-and-usage.md, read Nov 9, 2026 12. [Crunchbase known MCP limitations](https://data.crunchbase.com/docs/known-mcp-limitations.md)data.crunchbase.com/docs/known-mcp-limitations.md, read Nov 9, 2026 13. [Multiples, Crunchbase alternatives (facts verified Aug 17, 2026)](https://multiples.vc/compare/crunchbase-alternatives/md)multiples.vc/compare/crunchbase-alternatives/md, read Nov 9, 2026 14. [Vendr, Crunchbase pricing](https://www.vendr.com/marketplace/crunchbase)vendr.com/marketplace/crunchbase, read Nov 9, 2026 15. [Dealroom pricing](https://www.dealroom.co/pricing)dealroom.co/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026 16. [Harmonic pricing](https://harmonic.ai/pricing)harmonic.ai/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026