Pick by the unit of the question.
If the question is "how does this industry work and who competes in it?", buy a standardized industry report library such as IBISWorld or GlobalData. If it is "how big is this category in 40 countries, and what do consumers want?", buy a market sizing and consumer database such as Euromonitor Passport or Mintel. If it is "I need a cited number for a slide by Friday", use a statistics portal such as Statista. If you need 1 report a year on a niche market, buy that report from a publisher or an aggregator such as Profound, and skip the subscription.
Compare any 2 market size estimates for the same market before you trust either. Methods and definitions differ by publisher.
Why industry research databases matter
Market entry cases, acquisition models and strategic plans need a market size, a growth rate and a list of competitors. Those 3 numbers set the revenue ceiling in the model and frame the board's question.
An industry research database gives those numbers a named source, a definition and a method. Without one, teams cite whatever figure a search returns. The numbers then disagree across decks, and the debate becomes about whose figure is right instead of whether to invest.
The database also gives a common baseline. When strategy, finance and business units cite the same source, their plans can be compared.
Who buys it
Corporate strategy, corporate development, marketing and insights teams, plus consultants, bankers and lenders who need to understand a client's industry quickly. Consumer goods and retail companies buy market sizing and consumer databases. Professional services firms often buy standardized industry libraries for client-facing teams. Triggers include a planning cycle, a market entry study, a new acquisition target in an unfamiliar sector, and audit or credit work that requires a cited industry outlook.
Before you buy: what teams do without one
Without a subscription, teams use government statistics, company filings, trade association data, free summaries of paid reports and a university or public library's databases. They buy single reports when a project needs one.
That works for occasional questions on large, well-documented industries. A subscription pays when the team needs comparable numbers across many industries or countries, when several teams buy single reports on overlapping topics, or when the numbers go into models and board papers that need a named, defensible source. Ask whether your company already licenses a database through another department before buying.
What good looks like
| Capability | What good looks like | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage of your industries and countries | Your 20 most important industries and countries, each with a current report or dataset and a stated update date. | A large catalog does not help if your niche or country is missing or 3 years old. |
| Stated method and definitions | Each market size shows what is included, the base year, currency, and how the estimate and forecast were built. | Market sizes for the same industry differ by definition. You need to know which one you are citing. |
| Comparable data across markets | The same metrics and taxonomy for every country and category, exportable to Excel. | Market entry choices compare countries and categories side by side. |
| Forecasts | Five-year or longer forecasts with assumptions stated and past forecasts available to check against actuals. | Investment cases depend on growth rates, not only current size. |
| Citation and publication rights | Written permission to quote figures in internal decks, client work or public documents, with a citation format. | Many licenses restrict external use, which matters for consultants and published reports. |
| AI search and assistant access | Natural-language answers that cite the underlying report, plus API or MCP access for your own AI tools. | Teams increasingly ask questions in Copilot or Claude rather than opening a separate portal. |
| Analyst access | A way to ask the analyst who wrote a report about method or definitions. | Board members ask how a number was built. |
How industry research databases are built, and who sells each kind
Vendors in this category can take a labeled Spotlight slot on this guide. How Spotlight works
Standardized industry report libraries
Thousands of industries covered in one template: market size, forecasts, competitors and industry structure, with data exports. IBISWorld and GlobalData work this way.
Fits: Teams that need a fast, consistent briefing on many different industries.
- IBISWorldStrategy, banking and advisory teams that need consistent reports on thousands of industries.
- GlobalDataTeams that want industry, company and market data on one subscription; MarketLine's database is now GlobalData Explorer.
Market sizing and consumer databases
Market sizes and forecasts by category and country, combined with company data, consumer research and analysis. Euromonitor Passport and Mintel work this way.
Fits: Consumer goods, retail and food companies comparing categories across countries.
- Euromonitor InternationalConsumer goods and retail companies comparing category sizes and forecasts across countries.
- MintelFood, drink, beauty and retail teams that need consumer research and category reports.
Statistics portals
A searchable collection of charts and figures drawn from many public and private sources, plus the vendor's own market estimates and reports. Statista works this way.
Fits: Teams that need cited figures for presentations across many topics.
- StatistaIndividuals and teams that need cited figures across many topics, on self-serve or enterprise plans.
Report publishers and aggregators sold by the report
Individual reports bought one at a time from a publisher's store, or sections of reports from many publishers bought through an aggregator. Frost & Sullivan and Profound work this way.
Fits: Teams with occasional, niche questions that do not justify a subscription.
- Frost & SullivanTechnology, industrial and healthcare teams buying growth research reports one at a time.
- Profound by MarketResearch.comTeams that want to buy single chapters, sections or tables from many publishers' reports.
How to choose
Unit of analysis
Industry reports describe how an industry works. Market databases give numbers by category and country. Statistics portals give individual figures. Pick the unit your questions use.
Method transparency
Ask how each market size is built: top-down, bottom-up, surveys or company data. Publishers that show their definitions let you reconcile conflicting figures.
Depth in your sectors and countries
Coverage claims are catalog-wide. Test the 20 industries and countries you care about, and check the date of each report.
Rights to use the numbers
Internal decks, client deliverables and published documents need different rights. Some plans include publication rights; others do not.
Delivery
Portal only, Excel exports, API, or connections to AI assistants. Check which delivery routes are in the plan you are quoted and which cost extra.
Subscription or per report
Several publishers sell single reports as well as subscriptions. Count how many reports you bought last year before choosing.
How pricing works
Most publishers in this category sell annual subscriptions after a demo and do not publish enterprise prices. A few publish self-serve prices for single seats, and some offer a free tier with limits.
Many also sell individual reports from an online store, and aggregators sell parts of reports by chapter, section or table. Add-ons are common: API access, consumer survey data, additional countries and publication rights.
Before comparing quotes, count seats, industries, countries, the delivery routes you need and the rights you need for external use.
| Model | How it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Seat-based subscription | Annual subscription priced by the number of named users, with tiers that add content and features. | Which reports, datasets and exports each tier includes, and the cost of adding seats mid-term. |
| Enterprise or content-package license | An organization-wide license, priced by the industries, countries or modules included. | Content outside the package, and whether new modules are included at renewal or sold separately. |
| Single report purchase | Individual reports bought from the publisher's online store, with no subscription. | Sharing limits on single-user report licenses, and whether updates are included. |
| Pay by section | An aggregator sells chapters, sections or tables from many publishers' reports. | Inconsistent definitions across publishers when you combine sections. |
| API or credit-based data access | Data delivered into your systems or AI tools, priced by credits, calls or a custom package. | Limits on storing, redistributing or training models on the data. |
Implementation
- List the questions and industriesCollect the market sizes, industries and countries the team cited over the past year, and the reports bought to get them.
- Check existing licensesAsk the library, finance and marketing teams which databases the company already pays for.
- Test on your own marketsDuring a trial, look up your 20 key industries and countries in each database. Note gaps, report dates and how each defines the market.
- Set citation rulesAgree which source the company uses for which kind of number, and how to cite it in decks and board papers.
- Review use before renewalTrack logins and downloads by team. Cut seats and modules that are not used, or move occasional users to single report purchases.
Confirm before you sign
- Current reports or datasets for your 20 key industries and countries, with publication dates.
- A written description of how market sizes and forecasts are built.
- Export to Excel and PowerPoint included in the plan you are quoted.
- Internal use rights for decks and board papers.
- Publication or client-deliverable rights, if you need them, in writing.
- API or AI assistant access, and its cost.
- Single sign-on and user management for enterprise plans.
- The number of seats included and the cost of adding more.
- Analyst access for questions about method.
- Renewal price cap and notice period.
- What you keep after the subscription ends: downloaded reports, data and citations.
Questions to ask in a demo
- Show us the market size for our core market. What is included, what is excluded, and how was it estimated?
- Show your forecast for this market from 3 years ago next to the actual figure.
- Which of our 20 key industries and countries do you not cover, and how old is your latest report on each?
- Can we put your numbers in a client deliverable, an investor presentation or a published report? Show the clause.
- How do your figures reach our AI assistant or data warehouse, and what does that cost?
- When two of your products give different numbers for the same market, which do we use?
- Can we talk to the analyst who wrote a report? How long does a reply take?
- If we buy single reports instead of a subscription, how many reports does the subscription need to replace to cost less?
Frequently asked questions
What is an industry research database?
A subscription service that publishes reports and data on industries and markets: market size, growth forecasts, competitors, and trends. Products range from standardized reports covering thousands of industries, to market sizing databases by country and category, to statistics portals that collect figures from many sources. Most sell annual subscriptions; many also sell single reports.
Why do market size estimates differ between publishers?
Publishers define markets differently, choose different base years and currencies, and build estimates differently: some add up company revenues, others work down from consumer spending or surveys. Two publishers can report very different sizes for what sounds like the same market. Always check the definition and method before citing a figure, and cite one source consistently across a project.
How much does an industry research database cost?
Enterprise prices are rarely published; most publishers quote an annual subscription after a demo, priced by seats, industries, countries or modules. Some publish self-serve prices for single users or offer a free tier with limits. Single reports are sold separately by several publishers, and aggregators sell parts of reports. Count last year's report purchases before deciding.
What are the alternatives to Statista?
For standardized industry reports, IBISWorld and GlobalData. For market sizes and consumer data by country and category, Euromonitor Passport and Mintel. For buying parts of reports from many publishers, Profound by MarketResearch.com. Free alternatives include government statistics offices, company filings and trade associations, which are often the original sources that statistics portals cite.
Can we use AI tools instead of an industry research database?
A general AI assistant may return a market size with no definition or method attached. Several publishers now deliver their own data into AI tools instead. Euromonitor's Passport Connect delivers answers in Claude and Microsoft Copilot, and Statista's Connect product works through a REST API or MCP. Check whether the answer cites the underlying report.
Sources
Written by Stratrix editors from public sources and checked claim by claim by a second AI model against those sources. Vendors named in the editorial sections did not pay to be included. Spotlight listings are paid and labeled. Methodology and corrections