Best Private Equity Databases in 2026: Preqin vs PitchBook

Why the right private equity database matters

Access to quality GP data is fundamental for LPs, fund-of-funds managers, family offices, and advisory firms. The database you choose shapes which general partners you discover, how you evaluate their track records, and ultimately which managers enter your pipeline. With several platforms competing for this market, it pays to understand what each offers, where they differ, and which fits your workflow and budget. This guide compares the three platforms PE professionals reach for most often: PitchBook, Preqin, and GP Intel.

What to look for in a private equity database

Before comparing vendors, it helps to know which criteria actually matter for GP sourcing and diligence:

• Coverage depth in your target market. A global database with shallow regional data is less useful than a focused one with deep coverage of the markets you invest in.
• Data freshness. Deal and portfolio data ages quickly. How often is it refreshed, and is it verified or scraped?
• Verification. Auto-aggregated data carries errors. Hand-checked exits, buyers, and fund histories are far more reliable for diligence.
• Fund performance and history. Vintages, fund sizes, and realised exits let you judge a manager's track record deal by deal.
• Team and contact data. Partner names, LinkedIn, and email turn research into outreach.
• Pricing and access. Enterprise contracts versus self-serve changes who on your team can actually use the tool.

PitchBook: breadth across asset classes

PitchBook is one of the largest financial data platforms, covering private equity, venture capital, M&A, and public markets. Its strength is breadth: deep deal-level data, company financials, and LP commitment records across the globe. For teams that need a single platform spanning multiple asset classes, PitchBook is comprehensive. The trade-offs are price (enterprise contracts, typically five figures annually) and that European PE coverage, while improving, can be less granular than a specialist platform built for that market.

Preqin: the LP and fundraising standard

Preqin has long been the reference for LP intelligence and fundraising data. Its fund-level performance benchmarks, investor profiles, and fund-terms databases are among the most cited in the industry. Preqin excels for LPs evaluating fund commitments and for GPs researching potential LP targets. Like PitchBook, it carries enterprise pricing and is oriented toward fund-of-funds and institutional LP workflows rather than day-to-day GP sourcing.

GP Intel: built for European GP sourcing

GP Intel is a specialist platform focused on the European private equity GP universe. It tracks 1,000+ GP profiles and 21,000+ portfolio companies across 15+ markets, with fund histories, hand-verified exits, and team-level contacts. Every exit and buyer is checked by hand rather than scraped, which is the data point that matters most for diligence. See, for example, the Ardian or Eurazeo profiles, or read how the data is built in our methodology.

Unlike the broad platforms, GP Intel is designed for users whose primary job is European GP sourcing and portfolio research. It is free to browse every page, with a Pro tier at €29 per month that unlocks exit buyers, multiples, advanced filters, and exports. The full capability list is on the features page.

Fund performance data compared

For judging a manager, the three platforms take different angles. Preqin leads on quartile benchmarks and IRR, TVPI, and DPI series aggregated across funds, which suits LP benchmarking. PitchBook offers fund returns alongside its deal data. GP Intel approaches performance from the deal up: fund vintages and sizes, the full portfolio, and hand-verified exits with buyers, so you can reconstruct a track record deal by deal rather than relying on self-reported metrics. For European mid-market managers in particular, deal-level history is often more complete than aggregated return figures. The fund-by-fund analyses in our blog show what that looks like in practice.

Verifying a GP's track record

A recurring question from diligence teams is how to verify a manager's claimed track record. The reliable approach combines primary sources (the firm's own announcements, regulatory filings) with cross-checks against the counterparties to each deal. GP Intel is built around exactly this: exits, buyers, and entry years are confirmed against primary sources and cross-referenced across the buyer and seller on every transaction, then refreshed weekly. That makes it straightforward to confirm whether a manager actually realised the exits it cites, and to whom. The methodology page documents the verification process in detail.

Pricing compared

Pricing is where the platforms diverge most. Preqin and PitchBook are sold on enterprise contracts, typically five figures per year, each with a sales call and an annual commitment. In the self-serve segment, the closest comparable is Mergr, a US-centric PE and M&A database priced at $150 per month. GP Intel is also self-serve but Europe-deep: free to browse, with Pro at €29 per month (founding rate), paid by card and cancellable anytime. For an individual analyst or a small European-focused team, that difference often decides which tool gets used day to day. Current plans are on the pricing page.

How to choose

The best platform depends on your use case:

• Global multi-asset research across PE, VC, and public markets: PitchBook is the most comprehensive.
• LP intelligence and fund benchmarking: Preqin remains the standard.
• US-centric PE and M&A screening on a self-serve budget: Mergr has the longest track record in that lane.
• European PE GP sourcing and portfolio research at an accessible price: GP Intel is purpose-built for that workflow, and it is the only one of the four whose data is also queryable by AI assistants through a free MCP server.

Many teams use more than one. GP Intel works well as a specialist European layer on top of a broader provider, giving PE teams the depth and verified exits they need without paying for global coverage they do not use. The fastest way to judge fit is to browse the directory and check a few managers you already know.