Best FactSet Alternatives for Small Research Teams (2026)
May 14, 2026
Small research teams (2 to 5 people) can replace FactSet with Koyfin at $299/month per seat and save 60% or more. Beyond the cost reduction, teams moving from FactSet to Koyfin get a platform that is faster to load, easier to navigate without training, and accessible to every member of the team rather than one or two power users.
The utilization problem
FactSet costs $19,500 to $25,000 per seat per year, which works out to $78,000 to $100,000 for a 4-person team. The pricing reflects institutional depth across attribution analysis, individual fixed income, CDS spreads, options and derivatives pricing, and quantitative screening with custom formulas.
Most small research teams use a fraction of what they pay for. Their daily work is screening equities, pulling consensus estimates, tracking earnings, analyzing financial statements, and monitoring funds. For teams whose work stays within those boundaries, the full FactSet license covers more than they need.
The interface adds a second layer to the problem. FactSet was designed for institutional analysts running portfolio attribution and quantitative research workflows. Navigating to common research tasks takes more steps than most small teams expect, screens can be slow to load during high-use periods, and the learning curve is steep enough that most firms end up with one or two people who know the platform while the rest of the team works around them.
What Koyfin covers
Koyfin is built on S&P Capital IQ data, the same underlying provider FactSet uses for equity metrics. What that means in practice for a research team:
- Equity research and screening. 5,000+ data points across valuation, profitability, growth, and leverage ratios. Analyst estimates with forward EPS, revenue, EBITDA, margins, and estimate revision history. Percentile rankings show where a stock’s current valuation sits relative to its own 10-year history, a reference point fundamental analysts check daily.
- Earnings and events. Quarterly results versus estimates, earnings surprise data, guidance changes, and earnings calendars. Insider transaction data for Form 4 pattern analysis.
- Fund and SMA research. ETFs, mutual funds, and 11,000+ US SMAs with holdings, performance, and fee data.
For equity teams: A clean swap at 80% less cost
For small equity research teams focused on screening, estimates, earnings, and insider transactions, Koyfin is a direct replacement for FactSet at 80% lower cost.
Data quality holds because Koyfin sources equity metrics from S&P Capital IQ data, the same underlying provider. The interface is faster to load and easier to navigate without training, so every analyst on the team works in the platform directly rather than routing requests through a dedicated power user.
A 4-person team goes from $78,000-$100,000 per year to $14,352.
For multi-asset teams: right-size the FactSet footprint
For multi-asset research teams, the most cost-efficient approach is keeping 1 to 2 FactSet seats for attribution and individual fixed income while moving everything else to Koyfin.
Attribution analysis, individual muni bond SMA analytics, and derivatives pricing require data infrastructure that budget-tier platforms have not built. Those stay in FactSet. The rest of the team’s workflow moves to Koyfin.
For a 4-person team, one FactSet seat covers the analyst running attribution and individual bond work. The other three move to Koyfin. Annual cost drops from $78,000-$100,000 to $30,264-$35,764.
How to evaluate
The only question worth answering is whether Koyfin covers the team’s specific workflow. Koyfin offers a 7-day free trial specifically for this: pull the team’s actual coverage universe, run the earnings screens used daily, and check estimate revision history for a few current positions. That test covers the core of the equity research workflow. If it works against the team’s real data, the switch is straightforward.
FAQ
- What is the best FactSet alternative for a small equity research team?
For small equity research teams (2 to 5 people) focused on screening, analyst estimates, earnings analysis, and insider transactions, Koyfin replaces FactSet at $299/month per seat. Koyfin sources equity data from S&P Capital IQ (the same provider FactSet uses for many metrics) and covers 5,000+ data points.
- What is the best FactSet alternative for a small multi-asset research team?
For small multi-asset research teams (2 to 5 people), the best alternative is a stack: Koyfin Advisor Pro for the equity, fund, SMA, and broad fixed income workflow, paired with 1 to 2 reduced FactSet seats for attribution analysis, individual muni bond SMA analytics, and derivatives. This approach reduces total platform spend by 60% or more while preserving the institutional capabilities that multi-asset teams use daily.
- Can Koyfin replace FactSet for equity research?
Koyfin replaces FactSet for the daily equity research workflow: screening, analyst estimates, consensus data, earnings tracking, insider transactions, and charting. For teams whose daily work is equity and fund research, the data coverage transfers without gaps.
- How much can a small research team save by switching from FactSet to Koyfin?
A 4-person equity research team replacing FactSet with Koyfin Advisor Pro saves 80% or more, from $78,000-$100,000 per year to $14,352 per year. A multi-asset team keeping 1 FactSet seat and moving 3 seats to Koyfin saves approximately 60 to 65%.
- Can a small multi-asset research team replace FactSet entirely with Koyfin?
Teams whose research focus is primarily equities, funds, SMAs, and broad fixed income can replace FactSet entirely. Teams with attribution analysis, individual fixed income, or derivatives in daily use keep 1 to 2 FactSet seats for those workflows and move everything else to Koyfin.
Editorial note
Our insights are derived solely from historical information and analyst predictions, employing an impartial approach. Please note that our articles do not serve as financial guidance.