In 2026, CoStar and Attom are the two most referenced CRE data platforms in North America. They are not interchangeable. One is the institutional standard for market intelligence. The other is the developer and analyst's workhorse for bulk property data. Choosing the wrong one wastes budget. Using both without knowing where each one wins wastes more.
The One-Line Summary
| Platform | Built For | Best At | Avoid If |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform CoStar | Built For Brokers, investors, institutional teams | Best At Market comps, vacancy data, submarket analytics | Avoid If You're under $5M deal size or need API/bulk data |
| Platform Attom | Built For Developers, analysts, lenders, PropTech | Best At Bulk property records, AVM, foreclosure, API | Avoid If You need live availability/vacancy or CoStar comps |
Pricing (2026)
| Tier | Price | What's Included |
|---|---|---|
| Tier Professional (entry) | Price ~$5K - 15K/yr per user | What's Included Market analytics, comp search, property profiles |
| Tier Suite / Teams | Price $15K - 60K/yr | What's Included + Availability data, tenant data, lease comps |
| Tier Enterprise | Price $60K - $500K+/yr | What's Included Full data stack, API, custom reporting |
CoStar does not publish pricing publicly. All quotes require a sales call. Negotiation is expected - first-year discounts of 20 - 40% are common for new accounts.
| Tier | Price | What's Included |
|---|---|---|
| Tier Starter | Price ~$250 - 500/mo | What's Included Limited API calls, property search, basic AVM |
| Tier Professional | Price ~$1K - 3K/mo | What's Included Full API access, 155M+ property records, AVM, school, risk data |
| Tier Enterprise | Price $5K - 50K+/yr | What's Included Bulk data delivery, custom attributes, SLA |
Attom pricing scales by API call volume and data set access. Bulk data licenses (full dataset delivery) run $10K - 50K/yr depending on attributes.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | CoStar | Attom |
|---|---|---|
| Feature Property records coverage | CoStar 6M+ commercial properties | Attom 155M+ residential + commercial |
| Feature Market availability / vacancy | CoStar Yes Best-in-class | Attom Not available |
| Feature Sales comps | CoStar Yes Institutional quality | Attom Yes Residential + small CRE |
| Feature Lease comps | CoStar Yes (Suite tier+) | Attom Not available |
| Feature AVM (automated valuation) | CoStar Limited | Attom Yes Strong |
| Feature Foreclosure / distressed data | CoStar No | Attom Yes Comprehensive |
| Feature School / neighborhood data | CoStar No | Attom Yes Included |
| Feature Environmental / flood risk | CoStar No | Attom Yes Included |
| Feature API access | CoStar Enterprise only | Attom Yes All paid tiers |
| Feature Bulk data delivery | CoStar Enterprise only | Attom Yes Available |
| Feature Mobile app | CoStar Yes Strong | Attom Limited |
| Feature AI/ML features | CoStar Basic | Attom No Minimal native AI |
When CoStar Wins
You're a broker sourcing deals or running comps above $3M. CoStar's lease comps, availability data, and submarket analytics are irreplaceable at institutional deal sizes. The ability to see live availability in a submarket, filter by tenancy, and pull signed lease comps is the reason every major CBRE and JLL office runs CoStar. There is no cheaper substitute that does the same thing.
You need tenant intelligence. CoStar tracks tenant movement, lease expirations, and space requirements at scale. For landlord-rep brokers, this is the core product.
You're running a deal that needs institutional underwriting support. Lenders and equity investors expect CoStar comp packages. Attom data doesn't carry the same credibility in deal memos.
When Attom Wins
You're building a PropTech product or data pipeline. Attom's API is purpose-built for developers. 155M property records, AVM scores, school ratings, flood zone, and environmental risk in a single API call. CoStar's API is enterprise-gated and expensive. Attom is the default for any startup or lender building automated underwriting or lead-gen tools.
You're targeting residential investors and small CRE (sub-$3M). Attom covers the residential-to-small-commercial segment far better than CoStar's commercial-focused dataset. DSCR lenders, fix-and-flip operators, and small portfolio investors run Attom.
You need bulk distressed/foreclosure data. Attom's foreclosure, bankruptcy, and pre-foreclosure feeds are the market standard. No CoStar equivalent.
You care about cost. $250 - $500/month Attom Starter vs $5K - 15K/year CoStar Professional entry. For deals under $3M, CoStar's premium is rarely justified.
The Stack Play
For most growing CRE teams, the answer isn't either/or - it's sequenced:
- Start with Attom ($250 - 500/mo) - build your data pipeline and property screening layer
- Add Crexi Pro ($299/mo) - get market comps and listing visibility without CoStar pricing
- Upgrade to CoStar when deal sizes consistently exceed $5M and lease comp access becomes the bottleneck
For lender-matching, neither CoStar nor Attom routes your deal to capital. That's where YieldStack connects - AI lender matching against a broad lender and loan-program network, no upfront cost, qualified lender matches after review.
Bottom Line
CoStar is the institutional data layer. Attom is the developer and analyst data layer. They serve different parts of the CRE stack and rarely compete for the same budget line. If you're under $5M in deal size or building anything with an API, start with Attom. If your deals are institutional and you need lease comps that lenders respect, CoStar is the required spend.
Neither one solves lender access. Submit your deal to YieldStack for rapid lender matches across a broad lender and loan-program network - no subscription, no retainer.