★ BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON ★
VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
Source check: CB Insights checked August 4, 2026
Tool Comparison
CB Insights vs Perplexity Finance
Pick CB Insights if
CB Insights
Contact for pricing · Web · Mobile · API
- You care about sheets / excel add-ins, corporate actions & special situations, and newsletters, things Perplexity Finance doesn't offer
Pick Perplexity Finance if
Perplexity Finance
Free • From $20/mo · Web · Mobile · API
- You'd rather start free and only pay if you outgrow it
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You care about watchlist, news, and calendar, things CB Insights doesn't offer
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
See alternativesOutbound links may include affiliate or sponsor codes.
Our take
The bottom line
CB Insights and Perplexity Finance cover a lot of the same ground (3 shared categories, APIs & data feeds, screeners, and data visualizations), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. Perplexity Finance simply does more: 12 categories to CB Insights's 7, including watchlist, news, and calendar. CB Insights counters by keeping things simpler.
What readers say
CB Insights
Vote once to reveal the community verdict.
Perplexity Finance
Vote once to reveal the community verdict.
Key differences at a glance
- Free plan
- Perplexity Finance
- Broader coverage
- Perplexity Finance12 vs 7 categories
- Real-time data
- Perplexity Finance
See for yourself
How they stack up
The side-by-side table: pricing, platforms, data, and coverage at a glance.ShowHide
How they stack up
The side-by-side table: pricing, platforms, data, and coverage at a glance.| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Contact for pricing | Free • From $20/mo |
Free tier | No | Yes |
Free trial | — | — |
Plan limits | 3 limits: Browser Analyst: pricing: Request pricing, Enterprise Platform: pricing: Request pricing +1 more | 6 limits: Standard (Free): pro searches: Limited, Pro: pro searches: Extended access +4 more |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Integrations | Salesforce, Microsoft Excel +6 more | — |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +6 more |
Categories covered | 7 | 12 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America, APAC |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | — | Latency: Real-time |
Data partners | — | 6 partners: Financial Modeling Prep, Unusual Whales +4 more |
Capabilities | — | Universe builder and AI summaries: Filings and News |
Security | — | SOC2 and Status page |
| Try it | Visit CB Insights | Visit Perplexity Finance |
Where each one shines
What CB Insights and Perplexity Finance each do best.ShowHide
Where each one shines
What CB Insights and Perplexity Finance each do best.What CB Insights does best
- Research coverage for private and public companies, investors, funding rounds, M&A, business relationships, earnings, markets, and competitive landscapes.
- Company profiles, market analytics, visual dashboards, deal insights, and sector tracking to map markets and competitors.
- Mosaic Score and other proprietary measures to evaluate private-company health and growth signals.
- Strategy Terminal, Browser Analyst, ChatCBI, and team-of-agents workflows for AI-assisted scouting, briefs, trend discovery, and market analysis.
- Access to CB Insights data into workflows through Excel, Salesforce, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Snowflake, Zapier, Affinity, A2A, MCP-style, and data-solution integrations where licensed.
What Perplexity Finance does best
- Finance pages for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, crypto, options, charts, news, financial data, analyst estimates, ownership data, filings, and earnings context.
- Support for asking cited finance questions that can reference SEC filings, company documents, news, and third-party finance datasets.
- Upgraded charts with volume, OHLCV tooltips, candlestick or area views, comparison overlays, moving averages, and custom date ranges.
- Tools for building watchlists and review AI-generated briefings that combine watchlist price movement with relevant market news.
- Screening for stocks in natural language with filters, columns, sorting, and coverage that includes U.S. and Indian equities.
Every detail we compared
Every tracked attribute for CB Insights and Perplexity Finance, side by side.ShowHide
Every detail we compared
Every tracked attribute for CB Insights and Perplexity Finance, side by side.| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksOther | StocksETFsMutual FundsCryptosOptions |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Not specified | Retail TradersPro RetailLong-term InvestorsDay TradersStudents/ResearchersFinancial AdvisorsAnalystsInstitutional Investors |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North AmericaAPAC |
Coverage details | Not specified | Countries: US and INIdentifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Not specified | Real-time |
Data partners | Not specified | Financial Modeling PrepUnusual WhalesQuartrFiscal.aiS&P Global Market IntelligenceMorningstar |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | Not specified | REST |
API auth & delivery | Not specified | Auth: APIKeyDocs |
Integrations | SalesforceMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft 365 CopilotSnowflakeAffinityZapierA2AMCP | Not specified |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | Not specified | SOC2Status page |
Capability signals | Not specified | Universe builderAI summaries: Filings and News |
Vendor & support | CB Information Services, Inc.Country: United StatesSupport: Email and Phone | Perplexity AI, Inc.Support: Email, Chat, and Forum |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
What you'll actually pay
Plans, billing, trials, and per-month pricing for both tools.ShowHide
What you'll actually pay
Plans, billing, trials, and per-month pricing for both tools.| Tier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | — | Free“Standard (Free)”pro searches: Limited |
| Entry paid plan | — | $20/mo“Pro”pro searches: Extended access · annual price usd: 200 |
| Tier 2 | — | $200/mo“Max”pro searches per day: Unlimited · annual price usd: 2,000 |
| Top plan | — | Subscription“Agent API finance_search”tool call pricing: $5 per 1,000 invocations |
| Custom / enterprise | Contact sales“Browser Analyst”pricing: Request pricing | — |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between CB Insights and Perplexity Finance?
CB Insights leans toward APIs & data feeds, sheets / excel add-ins, and screeners, while Perplexity Finance puts more weight on screeners, watchlist, and data visualizations. They overlap in 3 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
Is CB Insights or Perplexity Finance free to use?
Perplexity Finance has a free tier, so you can get started without paying anything. CB Insights is paid-only. If budget matters, start with Perplexity Finance and see how far it takes you before opening your wallet.
Do CB Insights and Perplexity Finance have APIs?
Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.
Should I choose CB Insights or Perplexity Finance?
It depends on what you're after. Pick CB Insights if sheets / excel add-ins and corporate actions & special situations matter to you; go with Perplexity Finance if you'd rather have watchlist and news. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do CB Insights and Perplexity Finance cover?
Both cover stocks. CB Insights also handles other. Perplexity Finance adds ETFs, mutual funds, and cryptos on top.
Does CB Insights or Perplexity Finance have real-time data?
Perplexity Finance offers real-time data, which matters if you trade actively. CB Insights runs on delayed or end-of-day data, which is perfectly fine for longer-term investors who don't live and die by the tick.
Is CB Insights or Perplexity Finance better for day trading?
Perplexity Finance is the one positioned more for active traders. CB Insights is the better fit if you care less about fast trading workflows and more about a calmer research process.
Which has a better stock screener: CB Insights or Perplexity Finance?
Both CB Insights and Perplexity Finance include stock screeners, and they differ more in interface than raw power; try both and see which one clicks for you.
Keep researching
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Curation & Accuracy
This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).
Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.