VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 19, 2025

View CB InsightsView Variant Home My Collections

Head-to-head

CB Insights vs Variant comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

CB Insights adds Data APIs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Screeners, Data Visualizations, Acquisitions, and Newsletters coverage that Variant skips.

Variant includes Stock Ideas, Market Sentiment, and Forums categories that CB Insights omits.

CB Insights highlights: Global company intelligence platform covering private and public companies, investors, deals, and M&A activity., APIs and enterprise data feeds providing structured access to company, funding, and investor datasets., and Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets..

Variant is known for: AI Catalyst Finder scans filings, transcripts, and other documents to surface potential catalysts in public-company situations., Buyside discussion area with differentiated views and thousands of investor comments., and Predictions marketplace where users forecast outcomes and track sentiment on upcoming earnings events..

CB Insights ships a mobile app. Variant is web/desktop only.

CB Insights logo

CB Insights

cbinsights.com

An enterprise-grade market intelligence platform covering both private and public companies. CB Insights combines company profiles, deal tracking, and predictive scoring with AI-powered search and visual analytics. APIs and enterprise integrations (Salesforce, Excel, Snowflake, Microsoft 365 Copilot) are available on paid plans. A 10-day free trial is offered for new users.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Global company intelligence platform covering private and public companies, investors, deals, and M&A activity.
  • APIs and enterprise data feeds providing structured access to company, funding, and investor datasets.
  • Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets.
  • Salesforce integration to embed company and investor insights into CRM workflows.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot Graph Connector to surface CB Insights data directly inside Copilot experiences.

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Variant logo

Variant

variantinsights.com

Invite- and approval-based platform for professional and student investors. Variant combines an AI-powered “Catalyst Finder” with buyside discussions and a predictions marketplace focused on public-company outcomes and earnings sentiment. All content is user-generated (never investment advice), with strict prohibitions against material non-public information. Access is available via professional approval, student programs at select universities, or invite-only flows.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Other

Quick highlights

  • AI Catalyst Finder scans filings, transcripts, and other documents to surface potential catalysts in public-company situations.
  • Buyside discussion area with differentiated views and thousands of investor comments.
  • Predictions marketplace where users forecast outcomes and track sentiment on upcoming earnings events.
  • Structured prediction markets focused on company-specific outcomes and event-driven scenarios.
  • Access models include professional approval-based signup, student signup at partner universities, and invite-only admission.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

1 overlap

Both tools cover this research theme.

Where they differ

CB Insights

Distinct strengths include:

Data APIs
Sheets / Excel Add-ins
Screeners
Data Visualizations
Acquisitions
Newsletters
  • Global company intelligence platform covering private and public companies, investors, deals, and M&A activity.
  • APIs and enterprise data feeds providing structured access to company, funding, and investor datasets.
  • Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets.
  • Salesforce integration to embed company and investor insights into CRM workflows.

Variant

Distinct strengths include:

Stock Ideas
Market Sentiment
Forums
  • AI Catalyst Finder scans filings, transcripts, and other documents to surface potential catalysts in public-company situations.
  • Buyside discussion area with differentiated views and thousands of investor comments.
  • Predictions marketplace where users forecast outcomes and track sentiment on upcoming earnings events.
  • Structured prediction markets focused on company-specific outcomes and event-driven scenarios.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeCB InsightsVariant
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: AI

Unique: Data APIs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Screeners, Data Visualizations, Acquisitions, Newsletters

Shared: AI

Unique: Stock Ideas, Market Sentiment, Forums

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, Other

Stocks

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web, Mobile, API

Web

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Subscription

Other

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Global company intelligence platform covering private and public companies, investors, deals, and M&A activity.
  • APIs and enterprise data feeds providing structured access to company, funding, and investor datasets.
  • Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets.
  • Salesforce integration to embed company and investor insights into CRM workflows.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot Graph Connector to surface CB Insights data directly inside Copilot experiences.
  • Snowflake data delivery with feeds optimized for AI and analytics use cases.

Unique

  • AI Catalyst Finder scans filings, transcripts, and other documents to surface potential catalysts in public-company situations.
  • Buyside discussion area with differentiated views and thousands of investor comments.
  • Predictions marketplace where users forecast outcomes and track sentiment on upcoming earnings events.
  • Structured prediction markets focused on company-specific outcomes and event-driven scenarios.
  • Access models include professional approval-based signup, student signup at partner universities, and invite-only admission.
  • Strict community standards: insights and analysis only, no investment advice, and zero tolerance for MNPI.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do CB Insights and Variant both support?

Both platforms cover AI workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do CB Insights and Variant require subscriptions?

Neither platform maintains a free tier. Budget for a subscription to unlock the research coverage highlighted in this comparison.

Which tool has mobile access?

CB Insights ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Variant focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

CB Insights differentiates itself with Global company intelligence platform covering private and public companies, investors, deals, and M&A activity., APIs and enterprise data feeds providing structured access to company, funding, and investor datasets., and Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets., whereas Variant stands out for AI Catalyst Finder scans filings, transcripts, and other documents to surface potential catalysts in public-company situations., Buyside discussion area with differentiated views and thousands of investor comments., and Predictions marketplace where users forecast outcomes and track sentiment on upcoming earnings events..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.

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.