Small research teams (2-5 people) can replace FactSet with Koyfin at $299 per month per seat and save 60% or more. In addition to cost savings, teams moving from FactSet to Koyfin get a platform that is faster to load, easier to navigate without training, and accessible by every team member rather than just one or two super users.
Utilization problem
FactSet costs between $19,500 to $25,000 per seat per year, which works out to $78,000 to $100,000 for a 4-person team. Pricing reflects institutional depth via attribution analysis, individual fixed income, CDS spreads, options and derivatives pricing, and quantitative screening using custom formulas.
Most small research teams use a fraction of what they pay for. Their daily work is to screen stocks, pull consensus estimates, track earnings, analyze financial statements, and monitor funds. For teams whose work stays within those boundaries, a full FactSet license covers more than they need.
The interface adds a second layer to the problem. FactSet is designed for institutional analysts who manage portfolio attribution and quantitative research workflows. Moving on to common search tasks requires more steps than most small teams expect, screens can be slow to load during periods of high usage, and the learning curve is steep enough that most companies 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 data from S&P Capital IQ, the same primary provider that FactSet uses for stock metrics. What this means practically for the research team:
- Stock research and screening. Over 5,000 data points across valuation, profitability, growth and leverage ratios. The analyst estimates forward EPS, revenue, EBITDA, margins and estimated revision date. Percentile rankings show where a stock’s current valuation stands relative to its ten-year history, and are a reference point that fundamental analysts check daily.
- Earnings and events. Quarterly results versus estimates, earnings surprise data, guidance changes, and earnings calendars. Internal coefficient data for model pattern analysis 4.
- Fund and SMA research. ETFs, mutual funds, and over 11,000 US SMAs with holdings, performance and fee data.
For stock spreads: clean swap at 80% lower cost
For small equity research teams focused on screening, estimates, earnings, and insider transactions, Koyfin is a direct alternative to FactSet at 80% lower cost.
Data quality is maintained because Koyfin derives stock metrics from data from S&P Capital IQ, the same underlying provider. The interface is faster to load and easier to navigate without training, so every analyst on the team works directly in the platform instead of routing requests through a dedicated power user.
The price for a 4-person team ranges from $78,000 to $100,000 per year to $14,352.
For multi-asset teams: Determine the correct size of the FactSet footprint
For multi-asset research teams, the most cost-effective approach is to keep one to two FactSet seats for attribution and individual fixed income while moving everything else to Koyfin.
Attribution analysis, SMA analyzes of individual municipal bonds, and derivatives pricing require data infrastructure that budget-level platforms have not built. Those who stay in FactSet. The rest of the team’s workflow moves to Koyfin.
For a team of 4, one FactSet seat covers the analyst who runs the attribution and individual bond work. The other three move to Koyfin. The 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 free 7-day trial specifically for this purpose: pull up a team’s actual coverage universe, run daily used earnings screens, and check the estimated audit history of a few current positions. This exam covers the core of the equity research workflow. If it works against the team’s real data, the switch is straightforward.
