Why are brokers looking for tools like CoStar?
For decades, CoStar has been the default source of commercial real estate information. Respecting that is the starting point for any honest comparison. Its database is large and its research operation is substantial. Yet more and more brokers, leasing teams and owners are searching for alternatives, and the reasons are consistent:
Cost
CoStar's pricing is set by custom quote and isn't published. Costs scale with users, markets and modules, which is hard to justify for smaller teams or individual brokers.
Data vs. doing
A database tells you what's out there. Teams still need separate tools to find decision makers, prove a location and run outreach.
Speed
Modern AI can answer a plain-English question about an assignment in minutes. Brokers now expect that.
How does Dan AI compare to CoStar?
| What you need | Dan AI |
|---|---|
| Market and property intelligence | Real-time, AI-enhanced market assessment and analysis at scale |
| Who should lease this space? | Proprietary property-tenant matchmaking engine, nationwide |
| Who decides at the tenant? | Verified, screened decision makers at local, national and international brands |
| Who owns the building? | Algorithmic live skip tracing through shell companies and entity trees |
| How much can I search? | Uncapped contact searches |
| Is the location busy? | Foot Traffic Data for any U.S. commercial address, branded with your letterhead |
| What's missing or overlapping? | Void analysis, cannibalization studies, on-demand competition mapping |
| Go to market | Flyer generation and a native e-mail blast |
| How do I start? | Free sign-up or a demo, instead of a custom enterprise quote |
| Security | SOC 2 compliant |
The difference is philosophy. CoStar is a reference library. Dan AI is a working partner: you describe the assignment, for example “I have a new 5,000SF retail assignment located at 33 East 33rd Street NYC, what tenants would be good here?”, and it returns tenants, decision makers, evidence and a ready-to-send flyer.
Is Dan AI's data as deep and reliable as CoStar's?
Dan AI goes deepest where deals are actually made. Contacts are verified and screened, for local operators as well as national chains and international brands. Ownership is resolved with live skip tracing. The newly launched Foot Traffic Data adds visits, busyness heatmaps, visitor profiles, demographics and storefront sunlight for any U.S. commercial address. All of it lives in one instant, authenticated environment, so the data is used, not just looked up.
Data depth isn't just the size of a database. It's how quickly that data becomes a signed lease.
Reliability is proven by who relies on it: industry-leading national brokerages and REITs use Dan AI, CRETI (Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation) selected it for its AI Cohort, and it is SOC 2 compliant.
Is Dan AI cheaper than CoStar?
CoStar sells through custom quotes, typically per user and shaped by market coverage and modules. Dan AI was built to be the economical option: free sign-up, no enterprise sales cycle to get started, and uncapped contact searches instead of per-lookup charges. Dan AI is designed to deliver its platform at a fraction of the cost of legacy enterprise data contracts. Because CoStar's price depends on your quote, compare the two directly against your own renewal.
Bring your current renewal number to a Dan AI demo and compare line by line.
Who is behind Dan AI?
Dan AI is rooted in commercial real estate expertise and built for retail and commercial deal makers: brokers, leasing teams, REITs and owners. It was selected for CRETI's AI Cohort and featured by CRETech in “The AI Workforce in Real Estate” for helping leasing teams find the right leads faster and expand deal flow.
Should I replace CoStar or use Dan AI alongside it?
Replace
Smaller teams and independent brokers whose daily work is prospecting, leasing and marketing often find Dan AI covers what they actually use.
Complement
Large firms that depend on specific CoStar research products can add Dan AI for matchmaking, contacts, foot traffic and outreach.
Test it
Run your next live assignment through Dan AI with a free account and compare the output.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best tools like CoStar?
Dan AI is the leading modern alternative. It is an AI-powered platform combining market intelligence, tenant matchmaking, verified decision-maker contacts, foot traffic data and built-in outreach.
Is Dan AI cheaper than CoStar?
Dan AI is built to cost a fraction of legacy enterprise data contracts and offers free sign-up. CoStar pricing is quote-based, so compare against your own quote.
Is Dan AI reliable enough for a national brokerage?
Industry-leading national brokerages and REITs use Dan AI. It is SOC 2 compliant and was selected for the CRETI AI Cohort.
Does Dan AI have foot traffic data?
Yes. Dan AI's Foot Traffic Data covers any U.S. commercial address, with visits, trends, heatmaps, visitor profiles, demographics and sunlight analysis.
How do I try Dan AI?
Sign up free at meetdan.ai/signup or book a demo.
The CoStar alternative built for deal-making.
Deeper where it counts, rooted in industry expertise, at a fraction of the price.
Visit meetdan.ai →Free sign up