Every major LP database compared. Honest pricing. Real limitations.
Preqin vs PitchBook vs Dakota vs everyone else. We surveyed 50+ fund managers, analyzed pricing, and tested the platforms. Here's what nobody else will tell you.
Every vendor claims they're the best. Nobody publishes real pricing.
Review sites are pay-to-play. Top rankings go to highest bidders.
Comparison pages from vendors conveniently omit their own weaknesses
You can't trial most platforms without sitting through sales pitches
By the time you figure out the right tool, you've wasted 3 months
Honest assessments from actual users. We surveyed 50+ fund managers who've used these platforms:
The industry standard for alternative assets data. Best for fundraising mandates and LP allocation intelligence. Interface feels dated but data is comprehensive for institutional LPs.
Pros
Cons
Comprehensive but expensive. Best for deal data and company research. LP data exists but isn't the focus. Price increases 20-30% annually.
Pros
Cons
Built specifically for fundraising. Strong for pension funds and institutional consultants. Less comprehensive for family offices and international LPs.
Pros
Cons
Family office specialist. AI-driven intelligence on 4,300+ family offices. Strong for direct family office outreach but limited institutional coverage.
Pros
Cons
Purpose-built for LP contacts. 19,000+ LPs with verified emails and phones. Monthly pricing without enterprise commitment. Strong family office coverage.
Pros
Cons
Not an LP database but many use it as one. Good for finding people, useless for investment data. Limited InMails and low response rates.
Pros
Cons
There's no universal "best." Here's our recommendation by use case:
Start with LPbacked or similar affordable option. Test data quality with your first 100 outreaches. Upgrade to enterprise if you close and need more.
Consider Dakota or Preqin entry tier. You have budget and need mandate data. Family office supplements still valuable.
Full Preqin or PitchBook makes sense. You need comprehensive allocation intelligence and can justify the cost.
FINTRX or LPbacked. General databases under-index on family offices. Specialized is better.
Preqin has broadest international. LPbacked covers 133 countries. PitchBook is US/Europe heavy.
Unless you're raising $500M+ or have institutional backing, start affordable and scale up. Here's why we built LPbacked:
Test LP data quality at $99/month before committing $20K
19,496 LPs across 133 countries—enough for most raises
Verified emails mean less bounce, more meetings
Cancel anytime—your fundraise timeline shouldn't lock you in
Export data freely—no data hostage situations
No sales calls. See pricing, sign up, start searching.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.
Preqin is generally better for LP-specific data and fundraising mandates. PitchBook excels at deal and company data. For pure LP outreach, Preqin wins. For market research plus LP data, PitchBook might be worth the premium.
Yes, especially for annual contracts. End of quarter is best timing. Multi-year commitments get discounts. But you'll still pay $10K+ minimum for enterprise platforms.
Enterprise databases update quarterly at best. Contact data decays 20-30% annually. Look for platforms that verify contacts continuously, not just at point of upload.
Many fund managers use an affordable daily driver (LPbacked, Sales Navigator) plus Preqin for mandate research. The combination often beats paying for full enterprise access to everything.
There isn't one. Free lists are outdated, incomplete, or lead-gen traps. The closest is manually building from conference lists, press releases, and LinkedIn—but that costs 40+ hours of your time.