VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON
Tool details checked August 23, 2026
Tool Comparison
CB Insights vs Sensor Tower
Start here
CB Insights
Contact for pricing · Web · Mobile · API
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want sheets / excel add-ins, screeners, and data visualizations.
Pick Sensor Tower instead if
Sensor Tower
Free • Contact for pricing · Web · API
- You'd rather start free and only pay if you outgrow it
- You want app & website traffic.
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
CB Insights simply does more: 7 categories to Sensor Tower's 2, including sheets / excel add-ins, screeners, and data visualizations, plus a mobile app. Sensor Tower counters by being completely free. On paper they're closely matched, so let pricing, platform fit, and the details below break the tie.
What readers say
CB Insights
No votes yet. Cast the first one.
Sensor Tower
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Key differences at a glance
- Free plan
- Sensor Tower
- Broader coverage
- CB Insights7 vs 2 categories
- Mobile app
- CB Insights
- Asset coverage
- CB InsightsAdds stocks
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 • Contact for pricing |
Free tier | No | Yes |
Free trial | — | — |
Plan limits | 3 limits: Browser Analyst: pricing: Request pricing, Enterprise Platform: pricing: Request pricing +1 more | — |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | Yes | No |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Integrations | Salesforce, Microsoft Excel +6 more | Snowflake, Salesforce +1 more |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | — |
Categories covered | 7 | 2 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | — | 3 signals: Latency: End of Day, Granularity: EOD +1 more |
Security | — | 3 signals: SOC2, SSO: SAML +1 more |
| Try it | Visit CB Insights | Visit Sensor Tower |
Where each one shines
What CB Insights and Sensor Tower each do best.ShowHide
Where each one shines
What CB Insights and Sensor Tower 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 markets.
- Company profiles, market analytics, visual dashboards, deal analysis, 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 Sensor Tower does best
- Research coverage for mobile app downloads, revenue estimates, usage, retention, session frequency, time spent, audience trends, games, ads, and web or app behavior.
- Public top charts and app lookup tools for limited free discovery before moving into commercial platform access.
- Tracking app store optimization workflows with keyword opportunities, competitive benchmarking, Apple Search Ads analysis, and app performance views.
- Advertising intelligence for share of voice, network coverage, creative tracking, messaging trends, and competitor ad monitoring.
- Web Insights to compare desktop web, mobile web, and app behavior with deduplicated user benchmarking where access permits.
Every detail we compared
Every tracked attribute for CB Insights and Sensor Tower, side by side.ShowHide
Every detail we compared
Every tracked attribute for CB Insights and Sensor Tower, side by side.| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksOther | Other |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Not specified | End of Day |
Data granularity | Not specified | EOD |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | Not specified | REST |
API auth & delivery | Not specified | Auth: APIKey |
Integrations | SalesforceMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft 365 CopilotSnowflakeAffinityZapierA2AMCP | SnowflakeSalesforceSlack |
Export formats | Not specified | CSV |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | Not specified | SOC2SSO: SAMLStatus page |
Vendor & support | CB Information Services, Inc.Country: United StatesSupport: Email and Phone | Sensor Tower, Inc.Country: United StatesFounded 2013Support: Email |
Curation ratings | Not specified | Methodology 3/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5 |
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“Public free tools” |
| Custom / enterprise | Contact sales“Browser Analyst”pricing: Request pricing | Contact sales“Enterprise” |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between CB Insights and Sensor Tower?
CB Insights leans toward APIs & data feeds, sheets / excel add-ins, and screeners, while Sensor Tower puts more weight on app & website traffic and APIs & data feeds. They overlap in 1 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
Is CB Insights or Sensor Tower free to use?
Sensor Tower has a free tier, so you can get started without paying anything. CB Insights is paid-only. If budget matters, start with Sensor Tower and see how far it takes you before opening your wallet.
Can I use CB Insights or Sensor Tower on my phone?
CB Insights lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. Sensor Tower doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web and API.
Do CB Insights and Sensor Tower 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 Sensor Tower?
It depends on what you're after. Pick CB Insights if sheets / excel add-ins and screeners matter to you; go with Sensor Tower if you'd rather have app & website traffic. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do CB Insights and Sensor Tower cover?
Both cover other. CB Insights also handles stocks.
Can I export data from CB Insights and Sensor Tower?
Sensor Tower exports to CSV. CB Insights is stingier about getting data out.
Which has a better stock screener: CB Insights or Sensor Tower?
CB Insights has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; Sensor Tower doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.
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.