Deal sourcing tools charge buyers in one of three ways: a success fee when you buy a company, a monthly fee, or a price you get only by asking for a quote. Axial charges no subscription, but its success fee comes to $150,000 on a $5 million purchase. Listing sites and buyer communities cost $0 to $40 a month. Grata, PitchBook, and Inven do not publish prices, so ask for the price per seat per year in writing.
What does each tool cost a buyer?
| Tool | How it charges | Price for buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Axial | Success fee on deals first found on Axial | $0 up front; $150,000 on a $5M deal |
| PrivSource | Flat subscription | Free to start; $299 a month; no success fee |
| Searchfunder | Membership | Basic $4 a month; Professional $19 a month |
| DealStream | Membership | Free; Pro $40 a month or $400 a year |
| BizBuySell | Membership | Free; Edge from $20 a month |
| Grata | Quote on request | Not published |
| PitchBook | Quote on request | Not published; quoted by seats and firm type |
| SourceScrub | Quote on request | Not published; Vendr buyer data shows a $14,569 median a year |
| Inven | Quote on request | Not published |
| Private Equity Info | Quote on request | Not published |
| Affinity (CRM) | Per user, billed yearly | $2,000, $2,300, or $2,700 per user a year |
Sources: each vendor's own site, checked November 12, 2026. The SourceScrub figure comes from what buyers reported to Vendr, with a range of $4,050 to $77,363. Datasite, which owns Grata, bought SourceScrub in August 2025 to fold it into Grata.
How does the Axial success fee work?
Axial's buyer page says it has "no upfront costs, subscriptions, or commitments." You pay only when you buy a company you first found on Axial. The fee follows the Lehman scale: 5% of the first $1 million of the price, 4% of the second million, 3% of the third, 2% of the fourth, and 1% of everything above $4 million.
| Purchase price | Axial fee | Share of price |
|---|---|---|
| $3 million | $120,000 | 4.0% |
| $5 million | $150,000 | 3.0% |
| $10 million | $200,000 | 2.0% |
Axial's own example is a $200,000 fee on a $10 million purchase. When you buy a company through Axial, you can earn success fee credits that lower your later fees, and the credits last five years. Axial decides case by case which purchases earn credits.
Is a success fee cheaper than a subscription?
It depends on how many companies you buy. A success fee costs nothing if you buy nothing, while a subscription costs the same every month whether you buy or not.
Take one $5 million purchase over three years. Axial's fee is $50,000 + $40,000 + $30,000 + $20,000 + $10,000, which adds up to $150,000. You pay it when you buy, and only if you first found the company on Axial. A $299 monthly subscription costs $299 × 36 months, or $10,764, and you pay it whether you buy or not. If you buy nothing in those three years, the success fee is $0 and the subscription is still $10,764.
The success fee passes $10,764 on any purchase above about $215,000. Above that price, one purchase costs you more under a success fee than three years of the subscription.
Many buyers use both kinds of tool. Add the success fee to your numbers before you sign a letter of intent, because it changes the price you can afford to pay.
What do the cheaper tools give you?
They give you public listings and a community of other buyers. DealStream Pro unlocks 18,000+ premium listings for $40 a month, and BizBuySell Edge adds valuation reports from $20 a month. Searchfunder has a Basic plan at $4 a month and a Professional plan at $19 a month.
These tools show you what brokers post publicly. BizBuySell's median sale price in Q3 2026 was $350,000, so most of the businesses there are small. Our BizBuySell vs Axial comparison explains when each one makes sense.
Why don't the databases publish prices?
Each quote depends on your team. PitchBook's pricing page says the price depends on the number of seats and the type of firm. Grata publishes its plans but not their prices, and Inven and Private Equity Info ask you to contact them.
Before you sign, ask the vendor three questions:
- What does each extra seat cost?
- Do contact exports cost extra?
- How much does the price go up when you renew?
Our list of Axial alternatives for buyers compares what each source finds.
Where PrivSource fits
PrivSource uses an AI agent to search broker, M&A advisor, and banker websites for deals that match what you want to buy. Advisors also send us deals that are not posted anywhere, for buyers whose criteria match.
Telling us what you want to buy is free, and it shows you the kinds of deals the search finds for you. The full search costs $299 a month, and members never pay a success fee. Apply for buy-side access.
