In recent years, these alternative data providers have revolutionized how businesses and investors glean insights, making them indispensable players in the financial and corporate sectors. But what exactly are they, and why are they important for your data-driven decisions?
With a plethora of options available, choosing the right provider can be difficult. Our comprehensive guide walks you through the some of the most prominent players, their offerings, and how to evaluate them for your specific needs.
Ready to see how PassBy compares for your specific use case? Book a 15-minute walkthrough →
Best alternative data providers list
| Provider | Alternative Data | Pricing |
| PassBy | 94% correlation to ground truth, validated against in-store sensors + sales data15+ data inputs1.5m+ store locations, 1m+ trade areas | 3 tiers: Essential, Premium, Ultimate.Test & Learn (90-day trial) available.See pricing → |
| RavenPack | Monitoring the sentiment of executives about the US economy through earnings calls and conference transcripts.Keep an eye on over 40,000 news sources for any negative updates that could affect more than 7 million companies. | Pricing available on requestTrial period available |
| Neudata | An extensive catalogue featuring detailed reports on over 3,900 trusted data providers and more than 2,800 datasets. | Request a demo and receive a quote |
| ClimateCheck | Offers expert climate risk data, analytics, and reporting services, specifically designed to assess physical climate hazards for real estate investors, lenders, insurers, and consultants. | Pricing available on request |
| Eagle Alpha | Marketplace of over 2,500 alternative data products | Book a demo and receive a quote |
| Earnest Research | Gathers and anonymizes vital datasets to evaluate the U.S. Economy.Part of Consumer Edge. | Limited free versionPricing available on request |
What to compare when evaluating alt data providers
When considering alternative data providers, it’s vital to evaluate a few key aspects to ensure you’re making a well-informed decision.
- First, assess the data quality and coverage. Quality data is both accurate and comprehensive. Look for providers who have established robust data cleaning and verification processes to maintain high data integrity.
- Next, take a look at the range of data types offered. Providers may specialize in various verticals such as finance, retail, or healthcare. If your focus is specific, ensure the provider covers these areas extensively. Additionally, inquire about data sources – are they unique and hard to replicate? This uniqueness can often add significant value.
- Another factor to consider is the ease of integration. Ideally, the provider should offer flexible integration options such as APIs, flat files, or cloud integrations, depending on your infrastructure. Simple and smooth integration can save your team countless hours in setup and maintenance.
- Finally, investigate the level of customer support they provide. Having a dedicated support team can be immensely helpful, especially during the initial stages of integration. Look for providers with a reputation for excellent customer service, who offer timely support and useful guidance.
By considering these factors, you’ll be better equipped to choose a data provider that aligns with your specific needs and objectives.
Ready to see how PassBy compares for your specific use case? Book a 15-minute walkthrough →
Provider-by-provider breakdown
In this section, we take a deeper look into some of the top alternative data providers, giving you a clearer understanding of each and what they offer. This breakdown helps you evaluate which provider suits your specific needs, considering factors like data types, integration capabilities, and industry applications.
PassBy (Almanac) provides foot traffic analytics and consumer spend data by indexing over $1 trillion in transactions. Their suite includes competitive benchmarking, demographic and psychographic profiling, trade area analysis, and 90-day predictive feeds. The platform is bifurcated into two primary lenses: the Brands view, which compares brand performance across different markets, and the Markets view, which evaluates specific retail environments like malls and shopping centers as competitive arenas. Their data is rigorously validated, achieving a 94% correlation to ground truth through the integration of 15+ diverse data inputs. Access is flexible via a dedicated platform, API, cloud delivery, and integrated AI assistants.
Best for: Retail teams (store operations, real estate, and marketing) that require ongoing market intelligence beyond one-time site selection; it is particularly suited for teams that prioritize high-accuracy validation and desire a single source for traffic, spend, and competitive in]telligence.
RavenPack offers a transformative approach by turning unstructured data into actionable insights. Utilizing cutting-edge Natural Language Processing (NLP), it analyzes premium news streams and social media feeds to create metrics related to sentiment, relevance, and novelty. Primarily, this tool is designed to enhance quantitative trading models and risk management dashboards, providing them with the agility to respond to breaking news prior to its widespread market dissemination.
Best for: RavenPack is best for high-frequency or quantitative hedge funds needing sentiment signals.
Neudata: Unlike providers that sell their own data, Neudata is a data-scouting platform. They help firms find, evaluate, and manage relationships with niche data vendors. They specialize in the “compliance and sourcing” leg of the data journey, helping users avoid the legal hurdles of sourcing alternative data while providing independent rankings of data quality.
Best for: Neudata is best for institutional data buyers looking to discover and vet new vendors.
ClimateCheck provides granular climate risk assessments specifically for the real estate and insurance sectors. Their data looks up to 40 years into the future to predict how specific environmental hazards will impact the value and insurability of a property. It is highly valued for underwriting, due diligence, and ESG reporting.
Best for: ClimateCheck is best for REITs and lenders managing physical asset risk
Eagle Alpha serves as a comprehensive bridge between alternative data vendors and buyers. Beyond their marketplace, they provide “Data Strategy” consulting and tools to help firms integrate diverse datasets—ranging from maritime tracking to app usage—into their existing investment processes.
Best for: multi-strategy asset managers wanting a broad marketplace
Earnest Research focuses on “ground truth” consumer behavior. By analyzing massive panels of transaction data, they offer a clear view of where consumers are spending money in real-time. Their platform allows for deep-dives into customer loyalty, cross-shopping behavior, and brand-switching trends.
Best for: Earnest Research is best for corporate strategy and buy-side analysts tracking real-time retail performance.
PassBy
PassBy delivers valuable market intelligence tailored for the US retail sector with its innovative Almanac platform. This self-serve resource empowers store operations, real estate, and marketing teams by offering a unified perspective on brand performance, evolving market trends, and competitive landscape.
Accurate data
PassBy’s accuracy validation is the most transparent in the market. The 94% correlation to ground truth is achieved by validating against hundreds of thousands of in-store sensors and sales data records using over 15 independent data inputs. Most competitors either do not disclose their validation methodology or validate against a smaller, less diverse set of ground truth sources.
Consumer spend
PassBy takes it a step further by indexing over $1 trillion in consumer spending data in addition to tracking alt data foot traffic. This empowers teams to understand if the foot traffic truly results in purchases. Partnering with Stanford’s NeuralProphet team, PassBy offers a 90-day predictive feed that provides forward-looking visitor estimates. This allows for proactive planning rather than just relying on reactive reports.
Accessible
PassBy excels in providing flexible access options. In addition to the Almanac platform and typical API/cloud solutions, it seamlessly integrates with AI assistants like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini. This enables teams to inquire about market insights through conversational interactions within their current workflows.
Pricing: Discover our three-tier pricing options – Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. We also offer a Test & Learn feature, providing teams with 90 days to explore Almanac access while evaluating our platform. See pricing →
Ideal for: Teams and analysts seeking reliable and verified US foot traffic data and spending insights, with a self-serve platform offering predictive features and adaptable data delivery options.
FAQ
Can alternative data providers offer real-time data insights?
Absolutely! One of the defining features of many top alternative data providers is their ability to offer real-time data insights. This capability allows businesses and investors to make informed decisions quickly, capitalizing on market trends as they happen. Providers harness cutting-edge technology, like advanced data analytics and machine learning, to deliver timely and actionable insights.
What distinguishes top alternative data providers from others?
Top alternative data providers distinguish themselves through the quality and reliability of the data they offer. They often go the extra mile to ensure their datasets are accurate, timely, and relevant, which can be crucial for industries relying on real-world insights to drive decisions. These providers typically use sophisticated methodologies and technologies to aggregate and analyze data, delivering insights that are both predictive and prescriptive.
How do alternative data providers price their services?
Typically, these providers use diverse pricing models tailored to a variety of client needs. These pricing types include:
Subscription-Based Models where clients pay a recurring fee for continued access to data sets. This model often includes updates and support, making it appealing for ongoing data needs.
Pay-Per-Use: Some providers offer pricing based on the volume or frequency of data usage. This can be an attractive option for companies that have fluctuating data needs or that prefer cost predictability.
Tiered Pricing: In a tiered model, clients can choose from various service levels with corresponding price points. This structure allows businesses to select a package that fits their specific requirements and budget.
Custom Pricing: For complex or high-volume data needs, providers may offer customized pricing solutions. This involves negotiations based on the specific scale and scope of the data purchased, ensuring tailored solutions for large enterprises.