Axial, Grata, and SourceScrub do different jobs. Axial shows you deals that M&A advisors are selling now, and charges buyers a success fee when one closes. Grata and SourceScrub are databases of private companies, most of them not for sale, for reaching owners directly. Datasite now owns both and is merging SourceScrub into Grata. Choose Axial for live deals and Grata for owner outreach.
What does each one do?
| Tool | What you get | Is the company for sale? | How you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axial | Teasers from M&A advisors, matched to your criteria | Yes, in a process | No subscription; success fee on deals it sourced |
| Grata | Search across 22 million+ private companies | Usually not | Annual subscription; price not published |
| SourceScrub | 17 million companies from 290,000 sources and lists | Usually not | Annual subscription; price not published |
Coverage numbers are each vendor's own homepage claim as of September 2026. Grata and SourceScrub state different counts on different pages, so treat them as ranges.
Grata and SourceScrub are now one company
Datasite bought Grata in June 2025 and bought SourceScrub in August 2025. Datasite said SourceScrub's data "will be integrated into Grata."
In September 2026, SourceScrub still had its own site and pricing page. Some of its product pages now redirect to Grata. Before you sign or renew a multiyear SourceScrub contract, ask the account team when it moves to Grata and what happens to your saved lists.
For most buyers, the real choice is now Axial or Grata.
When is Axial the right choice?
When you want deals that are already for sale. Axial says it brings 12,000+ deals to market a year from 3,500+ advisory firms, with $500,000 to $25 million of EBITDA. Advisors choose which buyers see each teaser.
You pay nothing until you close.
The success fee follows the Lehman scale: $200,000 on a $10 million deal, by Axial's own example. Axial's terms apply the fee for 18 months after it first shows you a deal. Our BizBuySell vs Axial comparison works through the fee at other deal sizes.
When is Grata the right choice?
When you want to find companies before they are for sale. Grata searches by what a company does, not by its industry code. That finds the add-on targets that never hire an advisor.
That job is large.
Add-ons made up 72.9% of all U.S. buyouts in 2025, according to PitchBook data cited by Cherry Bekaert. A platform company that needs ten add-ons cannot wait for ten advisors to call.
A database gives you names, not intent. You still write to each owner, and most will say no. Our guide to finding add-on acquisition targets covers the outreach.
Pick by the job, not the brand
Decision rule
- You want deals already in a sale process: Axial. Put the success fee in your model.
- You are building a platform through add-ons: Grata. Budget time for owner outreach, not only the subscription.
- You already pay for SourceScrub: keep it through the migration, then compare the merged Grata product at renewal.
- You have one analyst and no outreach capacity: do not buy a database. Its names sit unused.
- You want both live deals and fewer false positives: add a source that screens deals against your criteria.
What none of them shows you
Axial shows the deals its advisor members send you. Grata shows companies, not which ones are for sale. Many lower-middle-market deals are sold by brokers and advisors who use neither.
Where PrivSource fits
PrivSource is a sourcing agent for lower middle market M&A. Our AI sourcing agent tracks down deals from brokers, M&A advisors, and bankers across the market. It brings you only the ones that fit your mandate, with why each fits and the gap.
Your mandate is free, the subscription is flat, and we never charge a success fee. Apply for buy-side access.
