Comparison
DealSource Systems vs Grata.
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. This is a category comparison, not a quality one. Grata is very good at what it does and nothing below is an argument that it is not. Every Grata claim was read off grata.com on 18 September 2026.
These are not the same purchase
Grata is software. We are people. The deliverable from Grata is a searchable universe of private companies and a workflow to work it in. The deliverable from us is a conversation with an owner. A database does not make calls, and we do not give your analysts a screen to work in.
The useful question is not which is better. It is which resource you are short of. If you have associates with capacity and no map, buy the map. If you have a thesis, a map and nobody with time to run outreach for six months, the map does not help.
What Grata actually does
In their words: "Grata helps you navigate private markets with confidence. Source deals, streamline diligence, and connect with other dealmakers." Coverage claims from the same page: "22M+ private companies, including the bootstrapped lower middle market", "100M+ global filings", "250K+ Verified dealmakers", "200K+ curated conference lists" described as "Attendee lists from conferences and trade shows", and seller intent signals to "Find companies preparing to sell before they go to market". They cite "over 2000+ global customers, including 35 of the top 40 firms".
One change worth knowing: "Grata and Sourcescrub are joining forces to deliver the market's most complete private company intelligence", and "Sourcescrub is now part of Datasite, and its data and capabilities will be integrated into Grata". If you are evaluating Sourcescrub separately, you are looking at the same group.
No pricing is published.
What we do
DealSource Systems runs origination as a standing function for private equity funds, M&A advisors, boutique investment banks and search funds. AI maps the market against your thesis, scores readiness signals on each company and drafts the approach. Then operators with deal experience review every message before an owner sees it and handle the replies, including the ones that need a real answer about structure or timing.
Pricing is on the site rather than behind a call: 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 term. The engagement we publish in full is Merritt Healthcare Advisors, a healthcare investment bank: 14 qualified founder conversations in the first three weeks, 133 inside 90 days. We are part of Danish Lead Co.
| Grata | DealSource Systems | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Private market intelligence software | A done-for-you origination team |
| What you get | Search, signals and workflow across "22M+ private companies" | Qualified conversations with owners on your thesis |
| Who does the outreach | Your associates | Our operators, under your brand, with every message reviewed |
| Time your team spends | All of it, and that time builds in-house relationships | Approving the thesis and the messaging |
| Published pricing | None published | From $4,000 a month |
| Also useful for | Diligence, market maps, buyer lists, competitor tracking, conferences | Nothing else. Origination only |
| Ownership | Joining forces with Sourcescrub, which is now part of Datasite | Part of Danish Lead Co |
| Best when | Your team has capacity and needs a better map | Your team has a thesis and no capacity to work it |
Where Grata is stronger than us
Coverage of the universe. "22M+ private companies" is a map we do not maintain and could not build per mandate. For market mapping, comparable sets and sizing a thesis before you commit to it, Grata is the better tool by a distance.
Your team keeps the muscle. Every conversation your associates run themselves builds relationships and market knowledge inside your firm. Outsourcing origination does not do that, and it is a genuine cost of what we sell.
Reusability. A licence serves every thesis your firm has, not one. It also serves diligence, competitor tracking and buyer list building, none of which we touch.
Signals we do not own. Seller intent, conference attendee lists and verified dealmaker records are proprietary data assets. We build market maps per mandate; we do not own an equivalent.
Where we are different
Not better, different, and only on one axis: we do the work. The messages get written, reviewed by an operator with deal experience, sent, followed up and answered. The output is a scheduled conversation with an owner, not a list of companies who fit.
On our published engagement that meant 14 qualified founder conversations in three weeks and 133 within 90 days, with no time from the client's own team beyond approving the thesis and the messaging. Whether that is worth more to you than a licence depends entirely on whether your bottleneck is knowing who to call or having someone to call them.
The honest counterweight: we are the newest firm in this category and we publish one documented engagement. Anyone asking for a decade of closed transactions across hundreds of mandates is asking for something we do not have yet.
Most funds end up with one of each
This is the honest answer and it is not a sales line. The firms we speak to that have both use the platform for mapping, sizing and diligence, and the origination firm for sustained owner contact on the one or two theses that actually matter this year. The platform makes a team of four behave like a team of six. The origination firm adds a function the team of four does not have at all.
If you only have budget for one, the test is simple. Ask whether your associates would use a better database this quarter. If the honest answer is that they have no time, the database will not get used, and the constraint is capacity rather than information.
How we checked this
Read on 18 September 2026: grata.com for the positioning, coverage figures, customer counts, seller intent description and the Sourcescrub statement, and grata.com/grata-and-sourcescrub for the Datasite ownership line. No pricing is published on the site, so this page does not state one. Our own numbers come from our published engagement.
Common questions
Is Grata a competitor to DealSource Systems?
Only in the sense that both can absorb the same budget line. Grata sells software your team uses; we sell the team. Most funds that can afford both run one of each.
Can Grata replace an origination firm?
It can if your constraint is information rather than capacity. If your associates have the hours to run six months of owner outreach, a better database makes them meaningfully more effective. If they do not, the licence goes unused.
Has Grata merged with Sourcescrub?
Their site says "Grata and Sourcescrub are joining forces" and that "Sourcescrub is now part of Datasite, and its data and capabilities will be integrated into Grata". So the two platforms sit in the same group.
How much does Grata cost?
They publish no pricing, so we will not state one. Our own pricing is published: from $4,000 a month for a single thesis and $8,000 and above for a dedicated multi-thesis mandate.
Which one produces owner conversations?
We do, because that is the deliverable. Grata produces the target list and the signals; the conversations still have to be created by someone. On our published engagement that was 133 qualified founder conversations inside 90 days.