The short version
The two solve different problems, and most serious US CRE brokers who prospect actively run both.
- CoStar: the industry-standard database for listings, sale and lease comparables, ownership records, tenancy, and market analytics. Founded 1987. It is the backbone of almost every US CRE brokerage's desktop research, and that is not going to change.
- SCAYLED: the territory intelligence platform for industrial and logistics teams. It maps occupiers around a listing or target area, returns the verified decision-maker for each, and monitors a territory for the signals that precede a move, so brokers reach occupiers before the requirement reaches the open market.
The question isn't "which one should I buy." It's "what am I trying to do on this listing." The answer usually involves both.
What each tool actually does
CoStar is genuinely the best at
- Looking up a specific property's sale and lease history, comparables, ownership
- Accessing the industry's largest listing database (including LoopNet + CoStar Go)
- Pulling market analytics, absorption trends, vacancy rates, rent growth
- Running desktop due diligence across a market or submarket
- Matching tenancies in known CoStar-covered buildings
- Enterprise reporting and market analysis for institutional owners
For aggregate market work, CoStar is unmatched. When you need to pull DFW absorption numbers for a pitch deck or check lease comps on a warehouse in Chicago, nothing else comes close.
SCAYLED is built for
- Mapping every occupier in the precinct around a listing (Neighbour Scan)
- Scanning any target area, estate, or occupier set directly, not only around a listing (Target Scan)
- Returning the verified decision-maker at each operator (VP Operations, Facility Manager, Managing Director, Regional Director, GM)
- Monitoring a territory for the signals that precede a move, refreshed fortnightly (Movement Signals)
- Flagging same-building and adjacent matches, the highest-converting leads in industrial
- Drafting personalised outreach sent from the broker's own inbox, with cross-broker send protection
SCAYLED exists to close the gap CoStar leaves open: the prospecting and territory work of turning an address or a patch into named, verified conversations, and of seeing a move coming before the requirement hits the open market. Not analytics, not comps. The live occupier layer.
Where the overlap is
More overlap than most competitor pairs, but still narrow. CoStar does cover tenancies in its curated database, so for a Class A industrial park in Dallas or a well-covered office tower in Manhattan, CoStar will show you the tenant roster and sometimes contact info. But for the long tail of small-to-mid-size industrial operators, owner-occupied warehouses, family-owned logistics, and any submarket that isn't core CoStar territory, the tenancy coverage gets thin fast. That long tail is where most industrial and logistics outreach actually happens.
SCAYLED's edge is that long tail, and the fact that the platform works from any address or target area, returns contact-ready decision-makers rather than just tenant names, and keeps watching those occupiers for the signals that precede a move.
Feature comparison
| Feature | CoStar | SCAYLED |
|---|---|---|
| Listings database (for-lease, for-sale) | ✅ Industry standard | ❌ Not covered |
| Sale & lease comparables | ✅ Industry standard | ❌ Not covered |
| Ownership records | ✅ Comprehensive | ❌ Not covered |
| Market analytics (absorption, vacancy, rent) | ✅ Comprehensive | ❌ Not covered |
| Tenancy data (covered buildings) | ✅ Strong in core markets | ⚠️ Overlap zone |
| Occupier mapping (any address or target area) | ❌ Not the model | ✅ Any US precinct |
| Decision-maker contact at each operator | ⚠️ Limited, varies by market | ✅ Per-scan, verified |
| Verified email addresses for outreach | ⚠️ Some, inconsistent | ✅ Verified, deliverable |
| Same-building match flagging | ❌ Not automated | ✅ Automatic |
| Movement signals (signals that precede a move) | ❌ Not covered | ✅ Refreshed fortnightly |
| Outreach draft generation | ❌ Not covered | ✅ Personalised, from your inbox |
| CRM for deal tracking | ⚠️ CoStar CRM add-on | ✅ Built-in |
| Pricing model | Enterprise subscription, negotiated per brokerage | Per-broker platform, access by request |
Pricing breakdown
CoStar
Per-seat enterprise pricing, negotiated per brokerage. CoStar doesn't publish list pricing, but based on broker surveys and public disclosures:
- Individual brokers / boutique firms: roughly $500 to $1,500 USD per user per month (varies by market access and modules)
- Mid-size brokerages: bundled enterprise contracts
- Larger brokerages: enterprise agreements into five or six figures per month
Almost always paid at the brokerage level rather than out of an individual broker's pocket.
SCAYLED
- Access by request, priced per broker rather than as an enterprise contract
- First three occupier requirements free, so the platform is judged on live conversations
- Team and fund options for brokerages that want shared territory coverage
The practical difference:CoStar is a boardroom decision at the brokerage level. SCAYLED is a broker-level decision. A broker can sign up and be running scans the same day; CoStar usually requires a procurement conversation with the firm's leadership.
When to use which
You've just been briefed on a listing and need to prospect before it goes live
→ SCAYLED. Map the occupiers in the precinct, get the verified decision-maker for each, and call the same-building and adjacent operators first. This is the core Neighbour Scan workflow.
A client wants a comprehensive market analysis for a submarket
→ CoStar. Absorption, vacancy, rent growth, comparables, the aggregate market picture SCAYLED doesn't do.
A vendor wants a CMA before signing a listing agreement
→ CoStar. Sale and lease comparables are CoStar's core strength.
You're going after an off-market acquisition target
→ Both. CoStar for the ownership record. SCAYLED for the operator currently inside the building.
You're pitching for a new mandate against a competing brokerage
→ Both.Walking in with a pre-built target list is the strongest pitch move in transactional brokerage. Teams that pair CoStar's market picture with a named, verified prospect set typically win the mandate over the team that walks in with just a market overview.
You're tracking market movements in DFW industrial over the last year
→ CoStar. Historic sales, leases, rent growth, absorption. CoStar Analytics is built for this.
You're calling on a vacant building to find the owner
→ CoStar for the owner. SCAYLED for the surrounding operators who'd pay to expand next door.
How to think about the two together
SCAYLED was not built to replace CoStar. It is built to do the thing CoStar does not: turn a listing or a target patch into named, verified decision-makers, and keep watching those occupiers for the signals that precede a move, so a broker reaches them before the requirement reaches the open market.
Honest constraint: SCAYLED does not replace CoStar for market analytics, comparables, or ownership records. If you do mostly advisory work, CoStar is what you need. If you do mostly transactional work with heavy outreach, SCAYLED is what you need. Most serious teams already have CoStar, and add SCAYLED for the prospecting and territory layer it does not cover. Signup is free, and the first three occupier requirements are free, so the platform can be judged on live conversations rather than a pitch.
Scayled Research