Market Sizing Analysis

Market Sizing Data Sources

Curated list of credible sources for market research and sizing analysis.

Industry Research Reports

Premium Research Firms

Gartner (https://www.gartner.com)

• Technology market forecasts and sizing

• Magic Quadrants for competitive positioning

• Typical cost: $5K-$50K per report

• Best for: Enterprise software, IT services, emerging tech

Forrester (https://www.forrester.com)

• Business technology and digital transformation

• Wave evaluations for vendor comparison

• Typical cost: $3K-$30K per report

• Best for: Marketing tech, customer experience, B2B

IDC (https://www.idc.com)

• IT market intelligence and sizing

• Detailed segment breakdowns

• Typical cost: $4K-$40K per report

• Best for: Hardware, software, IT services

McKinsey (https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights)

• Free insights and reports

• Strategic industry analysis

• Best for: Industry trends, macroeconomic context

Accessible Research

Statista (https://www.statista.com)

• Cost: $39/month individual, $199/month business

• Coverage: 80,000+ topics across industries

• Best for: Quick market size estimates, charts, trends

CB Insights (https://www.cbinsights.com)

• Cost: Custom pricing (typically $10K+/year)

• Coverage: Venture capital, startup markets

• Best for: Emerging markets, competitive intelligence

PitchBook (https://pitchbook.com)

• Cost: Institutional pricing

• Coverage: Private company valuations, M&A, VC

• Best for: Startup valuations, funding trends

Grand View Research (https://www.grandviewresearch.com)

• Cost: $2K-$5K per report

• Coverage: B2C and emerging markets

• Best for: Consumer markets, healthcare, cleantech

Government and Public Data

U.S. Government Sources

U.S. Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov)

• Free, authoritative demographic data

• Economic census every 5 years

• Best for: Business counts, demographics, spending

Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov)

• Free employment and economic data

• Industry-specific statistics

• Best for: Employment trends, wages, productivity

SEC EDGAR (https://www.sec.gov/edgar)

• Free public company filings

• 10-K, 10-Q reports with segment revenue

• Best for: Validating market size with public company data

Data.gov (https://www.data.gov)

• Free government datasets

• Aggregates across agencies

• Best for: Specialized industry data

International Sources

OECD (https://data.oecd.org)

• Free international economic data

• Best for: Cross-country comparisons

World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org)

• Free global development data

• Best for: Emerging markets, macro trends

Eurostat (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat)

• Free European Union statistics

• Best for: European market sizing

Trade Associations

Industry associations often publish market research:

Software & SaaS

• Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA)

• Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)

E-commerce & Retail

• National Retail Federation (NRF)

• Digital Commerce 360

Financial Services

• American Bankers Association (ABA)

• Financial Technology Association (FTA)

Healthcare

• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)

• American Hospital Association (AHA)

Manufacturing

• National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)

• Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC)

Company and Customer Data

B2B Databases

LinkedIn Sales Navigator ($99/month)

• Company and employee counts

• Industry filters

• Best for: B2B customer counting

ZoomInfo (Custom pricing)

• Company databases with firmographics

• Contact data

• Best for: B2B TAM calculations

Crunchbase ($29-$99/month)

• Startup company data

• Funding and employee information

• Best for: Tech startup markets

BuiltWith ($295-$995/month)

• Technology usage data

• Website analytics

• Best for: Technology adoption sizing

Consumer Data

Euromonitor (Custom pricing)

• Consumer market research

• Best for: B2C product markets

Nielsen (Custom pricing)

• Consumer behavior and media

• Best for: CPG, retail, media markets

Mintel (Custom pricing)

• Consumer trends and insights

• Best for: B2C products and services

Search and Discovery Tools

Market Research Aggregators

Research and Markets (https://www.researchandmarkets.com)

• Aggregates reports from 100+ publishers

• $500-$10K per report

• Search across all major research firms

MarketsandMarkets (https://www.marketsandmarkets.com)

• Custom and syndicated research

• $4K-$10K per report

• Good for niche B2B markets

Free Search Tools

Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com)

• Free academic research

• Best for: Emerging technologies, academic validation

SSRN (https://www.ssrn.com)

• Free working papers

• Best for: Financial services, economics

arXiv (https://arxiv.org)

• Free preprints in CS, physics, etc.

• Best for: AI/ML, scientific markets

Competitive Intelligence

Public Company Analysis

Yahoo Finance (Free)

• Public company financials

• Segment revenue from earnings

Seeking Alpha (Free + Premium)

• Earnings transcripts

• Analyst estimates

Public company investor relations

• Annual reports (10-K)

• Investor presentations

Private Company Intelligence

PrivCo (Custom pricing)

• Private company financials

• M&A transaction data

Owler (Free + Premium)

• Company profiles and news

• Revenue estimates

SimilarWeb (Free + Premium)

• Website traffic analytics

• Best for: Online business sizing

Survey and Primary Research

Survey Tools

SurveyMonkey ($25-$75/month)

• DIY surveys

• Best for: Customer willingness to pay

Typeform ($25-$83/month)

• Conversational surveys

• Best for: User research

Qualtrics (Enterprise pricing)

• Professional research platform

• Best for: Large-scale studies

Panel Providers

Respondent.io ($100-$200 per response)

• Recruit professionals for interviews

• Best for: B2B customer research

UserTesting ($49 per participant)

• User research and testing

• Best for: Product validation

Google Surveys ($0.10-$3.50 per response)

• Quick consumer surveys

• Best for: Basic consumer insights

Data Quality Checklist

When evaluating sources:

Authority

• [ ] Who published the research?

• [ ] What's their reputation?

• [ ] Do they have industry expertise?

Methodology

• [ ] How was data collected?

• [ ] What's the sample size?

• [ ] When was research conducted?

Recency

• [ ] Is data current (< 2 years old)?

• [ ] Has market changed significantly?

• [ ] Are growth rates still applicable?

Consistency

• [ ] Do multiple sources agree?

• [ ] Are definitions consistent?

• [ ] Do numbers triangulate?

Relevance

• [ ] Does it match your market definition?

• [ ] Is geography appropriate?

• [ ] Are segments aligned?

Free vs. Paid Strategy

Start with free sources:

1. Government data for customer counts

2. Public company filings for segment revenue

3. Trade associations for industry trends

4. Google Scholar for academic research

Upgrade to paid when:

• Raising institutional funding (investors expect premium sources)

• Need detailed segment breakdowns

• Market is niche or emerging

• Free sources are outdated or insufficient

Cost-effective approach:

• Buy 1-2 key reports that cover your core market

• Use free sources for triangulation

• Supplement with primary research (customer interviews)

• Cite mix of free and paid sources

Citation Best Practices

Always cite sources in market sizing:

Format:

Market Size: $X.XB
Source: [Publisher], [Report Name], [Date]
URL: [link if available]

Example:

Email Marketing Software TAM: $7.5B (2024)
Source: Gartner, "Market Share: Email Marketing Software, Worldwide, 2024"
Note: Includes all email marketing software revenue globally

Include:

• Publisher and report name

• Publication date

• Geography and scope

• Any adjustments made

• Link to source (if public)

Keeping Research Current

Set Google Alerts

• Industry keywords

• Company names

• Market terms

Follow Research Firms

• Twitter accounts

• LinkedIn updates

• Free newsletter summaries

Track Public Companies

• Earnings calendars

• Investor relations pages

• Annual reports

Join Industry Groups

• LinkedIn groups

• Slack communities

• Trade associations

Review Annually

• Update market size with new data

• Adjust growth assumptions

• Revisit methodology if market changed

Emergency Research Guide

Need market size in < 2 hours?

1. Check Statista (15 min) - Quick industry overview

2. Find public companies (30 min) - Get segment revenue from 10-Ks

3. LinkedIn search (20 min) - Count potential B2B customers

4. Google Scholar (20 min) - Find academic papers

5. Calculate bottom-up (30 min) - Customers × Price

6. Triangulate (15 min) - Compare sources

Document everything:

• Write down all sources

• Note all assumptions

• Show your methodology

• Caveat data quality

Better to have a defensible estimate with clear limitations than no data at all.