How much does S&P Capital IQ cost in 2026?
S&P Global does not publish Capital IQ Pro prices. A pricing aggregator estimated $12,000 to $30,000 a user a year in March 2026 (CostBench), and another 2026 guide puts access at about $13,000 a year and up (PageCrawl). Team contracts with add-ons cost more.
Why is Capital IQ pricing not public?
Capital IQ is sold as a tailored package. Wall Street Prep describes its pricing as tier-based and customized to each client's profile and use case, which is why no rate card exists (Wall Street Prep). The quote depends on seats, datasets, Excel plug-in use, the length of the contract and how much your firm already buys from S&P Global.
How much does a Capital IQ seat cost?
The estimates cluster in the low tens of thousands of dollars per user per year. CostBench gives $12,000 to $30,000 a user a year as of March 2026 (CostBench). PageCrawl lists S&P Capital IQ at about $13,000 a year and up (PageCrawl). Multi-user and corporate licences scale well above a single seat.
Be careful with lower figures you may see. CostBench itself warns that some tier names and prices on AI-generated sites do not come from any official S&P publication (CostBench). Figures near $1,000 to $2,000 a user a year are close to the monthly per-user prices some sites quote, so check which unit a source means.
| Tool | Reported or published price | Best for | Main gap | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P Capital IQ Pro | About $12,000 to $30,000 a user a year, quote-based | Public company comps, screening, Excel models | Price; private-company coverage | CostBench |
| FactSet | About $12,000 a year | Analytics and portfolio work | No clear entry-level pricing | PageCrawl |
| Bloomberg Terminal | About $24,000 to $32,000 a seat a year | Live markets, news and messaging | Usually a 2-year contract | PageCrawl |
| Koyfin | $299 a month a seat for teams of 2 to 5 | Charting and fundamentals for small teams | Built for public equities | Koyfin |
| Tamarly Intelligence | Free for 7 days, then $399 a month on Level 3 | Sourced reads on private companies, funds and sectors | No market prices or Excel data feed | Tamarly |
Prices above are reported by third parties, several of which sell competing tools. Check current terms with each vendor.
Is Capital IQ cheaper than FactSet or Bloomberg?
Capital IQ usually sits between FactSet's entry price and a Bloomberg Terminal. Wall Street Prep cites $12,000 a year for a full FactSet subscription and $27,660 a year for 1 Bloomberg licence (Wall Street Prep). Our guides on FactSet's cost and the Bloomberg Terminal's cost break those figures down.
The cheaper choice depends on the job. Analysts who live in Excel comps and screens often prefer Capital IQ. Traders who need live prices and messaging need Bloomberg. Teams that build portfolio analytics lean to FactSet.
What do Capital IQ users say?
S&P Capital IQ Pro holds 4.3 out of 5 on G2 across 68 reviews. G2's comparison notes that several reviewers call it expensive but say the breadth of data and features justifies the cost (G2). Praise centers on data breadth, the Excel plug-in and benchmarking.
The recurring complaints are cost, slow loading on some pages, a learning curve when moving from the legacy platform and private-company coverage that reviewers say could be better. That last point matters for venture and lower-middle-market work, where Capital IQ's strength in listed companies counts for less.
How can an individual get Capital IQ access?
S&P Global sells Capital IQ to firms, and individuals rarely get a quote that makes sense. The common route for students is a university library licence. NYU's business data guide, for example, gives Capital IQ access to members with a university login on and off campus (NYU Libraries). These licences are for academic use, so they end when you leave.
For professional work on a budget, the options are cheaper public-equity tools such as Koyfin, which says it sources its equity data from S&P Capital IQ (Koyfin), or free primary records such as SEC EDGAR.
When should you keep Capital IQ?
Keep Capital IQ if your team builds comps and models in Excel every day, screens listed companies across many markets or relies on its transaction and capital structure data. Those are the jobs it was built for, and switching costs are real once models are wired to its plug-in. Reviewers who call it expensive still rate it highly for that work.
A cheaper setup is worth testing if most of your research is on private companies, if only 1 or 2 people use it, or if you mainly need filings you can read for free on EDGAR.
Where does Tamarly Intelligence fit?
Tamarly Intelligence is Tamarly's research platform on companies, funds, countries and markets, built from official filings and open data. Every figure links to the filing or record it came from, and when Tamarly does not cover a company it says so. It covers 19,910 company pages, 2,888 funds and 15,359 fund managers from SEC filings, with 13F institutional holders on company pages and a deals database built from SEC merger filings.
Tamarly does not replace Capital IQ for public-company modelling. It shows no market prices, has no Excel data feed and offers no trading tools. It suits analysts who need sourced reads on private companies, funds and sectors and who want to see the record behind each number. Level 3 costs $399 a month after a 7-day trial that needs no card. Our guide on how to research a private company shows the method.
Research private companies from their filings, free for 7 days
Frequently asked questions
How much is Capital IQ per user?
S&P Global does not publish seat prices. CostBench estimated $12,000 to $30,000 a user a year in March 2026 (CostBench). Volume discounts lower the per-seat price for larger teams, while add-on datasets raise it.
Can students use Capital IQ for free?
Often, through a university library licence. NYU, for example, provides Capital IQ access to members with a university login (NYU Libraries). Check your own library's database list, and note that these licences are for academic use only.
Is Capital IQ good for private companies?
It covers private companies, but G2 reviewers name private-company coverage as an area that could be better (G2). Its main strength is listed companies, comps and Excel modelling. For small private companies, check the primary filings as well.
About the author. Melvine Manchau is the founder of Tamarly and author of the Tamarly Newsletter. He previously worked at PwC, Salesforce, BlackRock/eFront and Lazard.
About Tamarly Research. Tamarly Research is part of Tamarly Media, which holds no investment positions. Tamarly is a New York research house that studies how AI is changing regulated institutions.