Comparison
Compare deal origination.
DealSource Systems wrote this page and DealSource Systems is one of the firms on it. That belongs in the first line, not in a footnote. Every published comparison in this category that we could find was written by a firm that appears in its own list. SourceCo publishes one against Axial, CapTarget and Equimatch; TruSight publishes one titled "Why TruSight deal sourcing is better". That is normal, and it is fine as long as the reader is told. The rule here is simple: every claim about another firm is quoted from that firm's own live site, checked on 18 September 2026, and every page names the places where the other firm is the better buy.
Two different things get sold under the same words, and confusing them is the expensive mistake in this category.
Done-for-you origination firms supply the people. The deliverable is a conversation with an owner who was not running a process. You are buying capacity and judgement, priced as a retainer, a success fee, or both.
Data and software platforms supply the map. The deliverable is a searchable universe of private companies and a workflow to track them. Your associates still write the approach, chase the replies and qualify the owner. You are buying leverage for people you already employ.
A database does not make calls, and an origination firm does not give your analysts a screen to work in. Most funds we speak to end up running one of each. Pick the row below that matches the gap you actually have.
Done-for-you origination firms
Our own category. Each of these sells the work, not a login.
CAPTARGET
The longest-running firm in the category, flat retainer and no success fees, now part of SourceCo.
Read the comparison ServiceSourceCo
Runs both sides of the table, owners pay nothing, and it has just acquired CAPTARGET.
Read the comparison ServiceTruSight
13,000 intermediary relationships and a decade of on-market coverage we simply do not have.
Read the comparison ServiceCT Acquisitions
No retainer at all. A short, vetted buyer list paid only on close, concentrated in the trades.
Read the comparison ServiceOutSearched
Embedded business development under your own brand, and buy-side advisory that runs to LOI.
Read the comparison ServiceKiya
Deliberately small, founder-led calls, and the most hand-made approach in the category.
Read the comparisonData and software platforms
A different category, and a good one. These are the tools your own team uses to find and track targets. They are on this page because buyers compare us to them, not because we think they are substitutes.
Grata
The strongest private company search on the market, now joining forces with Sourcescrub.
Read the comparison PlatformPitchBook
The reference dataset for private capital markets. Different job from ours, and it does it well.
Read the comparison PlatformAxial
A private deal network with no access fee. Intermediated flow, and you pay only when you close.
Read the comparison PlatformSourcescrub
Sources-first data built on conference and award lists. Now joining forces with Grata.
Read the comparisonHow the order was set
Roughly by how often each firm comes up when buyers research this category. It is an editorial order, not a ranking, and it says nothing about which one fits your mandate. Read the rows, not the sequence.
What this page will not do
It will not tell you who is best, because that depends on a mandate we have not seen. It will not price other firms, because most of them publish no prices and we are not going to invent them. It will not claim a win on every row: we are the newest firm in this category and our published proof is a single documented engagement, which is a real disadvantage against a firm that has been doing this since 2009.
If you want the longer essay on how the category works rather than a firm-by-firm comparison, read deal origination firms compared, then come back here for the detail.
Where we sit
DealSource Systems runs done-for-you origination for private equity funds, M&A advisors, boutique investment banks and search funds. AI maps the market, scores readiness signals and drafts the approach. Operators with deal experience review every message before an owner sees it and handle the replies. Pricing is published: from $4,000 a month for a single thesis, $8,000 and above for a dedicated multi-thesis mandate, no success fee, 90-day minimum. The proof we publish is the Merritt Healthcare Advisors engagement: 14 qualified founder conversations in the first three weeks and 133 inside 90 days. We are part of Danish Lead Co.
Common questions
Who wrote this comparison?
DealSource Systems did, and DealSource Systems appears in it. We think a comparison written by a participant is fine as long as the participant says so, states the criteria, and names where the competition wins. All three are done here.
Where do the competitor facts come from?
Each firm's own live website, read on 18 September 2026. Quotes are verbatim. Nothing is estimated. Where a firm publishes no pricing, these pages say "none published" rather than guessing a number.
Why are data platforms on a page about origination firms?
Because buyers compare us to them, so pretending the question does not exist helps nobody. Grata, PitchBook, Axial and Sourcescrub are not weaker versions of an origination firm. They are a different purchase, and for a team with spare capacity they are often the better one.
What does DealSource Systems charge?
From $4,000 a month for a single thesis, and $8,000 and above for a dedicated multi-thesis mandate. No success fee. There is a 90-day minimum term.