The best ESG data providers in 2026: how the top 10 compare

Best fit

Asset managers who need the ESG rating most widely embedded in fund labeling and index construction.

MSCI's ESG ratings cover more than 17,000 issuers and 999,000 securities worldwide as of its most recent public disclosure, rating each company on an industry-relative AAA-to-CCC scale against peers based on financially relevant ESG factors in the same sector. MSCI has produced a continuous ratings time series since 2007, giving it 18 years of history in developed markets and 12 in emerging markets.

Key features

• AAA-to-CCC industry-relative letter rating, recalculated on an ongoing basis.
• Public methodology and symbols-and-definitions documents, downloadable without a sales call.
• 999,000+ securities mapped across 17,000+ issuers.
• Coverage of both developed and emerging markets, with 18 and 12 years of history respectively.

Pricing

MSCI doesn't publish a price list for ESG Ratings. Access runs through custom enterprise licensing tied to seats, data feed volume, and if a buyer also licenses MSCI's index or analytics products.

Pros

• The most widely cited rating for fund-level ESG labeling and index construction.
• Full methodology published, not withheld behind a login.
• Longest continuous ratings history of any provider in this list, dating to 2007.

Cons

• No public price; every contract is negotiated.
• Methodology revisions can move a company's letter grade without any change in its operations.
• Ratings correlate only loosely with other major providers, a documented problem across the whole category, not unique to MSCI.

Why it's ranked #1. MSCI's 17,000+ issuer count, published methodology, and 18-year developed-market history outweigh Sustainalytics' larger 800-analyst research team; the two are close on raw coverage, but MSCI's ratings sit inside more fund prospectuses today, which is the criterion that decides adoption in this market.

Best fit

Fund managers already reporting through Morningstar's fund-level sustainability tools who want the underlying company data from the same source.

Sustainalytics' research universe covers more than 16,000 companies across public equity, fixed income, and private markets, built by over 800 ESG research analysts working across multiple offices. The ESG Risk Ratings categorize exposure into five absolute risk levels, negligible, low, medium, high, and severe, measuring exposure across more than 20 industry-specific material risks.

Key features

• Five-level absolute risk scale (negligible to severe), distinct from peer-relative letter grades.
• Over 20 industry-specific material risk categories per company.
• 200+ indicators and 1,800+ underlying data points per rating.
• 800+ in-house ESG research analysts.

Pricing

No public price. Sustainalytics sells through custom enterprise contracts, typically bundled with or alongside Morningstar's fund data products.

Pros

• Largest in-house analyst headcount of any provider in this ranking at 800+.
• Absolute risk scale answers a different question than peer-relative letter grades, useful alongside MSCI.
• Deep integration into Morningstar's fund research tools, which many asset managers already pay for.

Cons

• No public pricing, same as most of this category.
• 16,000-company coverage trails FactSet's Truvalue Labs and EcoVadis by a wide margin, though those two measure different things.
• Absolute and relative scales aren't interchangeable, so a portfolio using both MSCI and Sustainalytics needs a team that understands why the same company can look fine on one scale and flagged on the other.

Why it's ranked #2. Sustainalytics' 800+ analysts is the largest research headcount in this ranking, and its five-level absolute risk scale answers a question MSCI's peer-relative letters don't, but its 16,000-company count still sits below MSCI's 17,000+ issuers, which keeps it second on the coverage criterion that leads this list.

Best fit

Analysts who want scores built on direct issuer engagement.

S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment covers more than 13,000 companies globally, with over 3,500 of them directly participating in the assessment through 62 industry-specific questionnaires. Scores run on a 0-to-100 scale, with up to 1,000 transparently disclosed ESG datapoints per assessed company.

Key features

• 0-to-100 CSA score built from 62 industry-specific questionnaires.
• Up to 1,000 disclosed ESG datapoints per assessed company.
• 3,500+ companies directly participate in the assessment.
• Distribution through the S&P Global Sustainable1 platform and S&P Capital IQ Pro.

Pricing

No public price for CSA data access. It sells through S&P Global's Market Intelligence contracts, which a related S&P Capital IQ Pro review on G2 describes as recurring, license-based, and renewal-dependent: "it is expensive and you have to keep renewing your license to be a part of it," one Senior Associate wrote in a G2 review.

Pros

• Deepest per-company data among providers that rely on direct engagement, up to 1,000 datapoints.
• 0-100 numeric score is easier to benchmark across a portfolio than a letter grade.
• 62 industry-specific questionnaires tailor the assessment more precisely than a one-size-fits-all model.

Cons

• 13,000-company coverage is the second-smallest true "rating" figure in this ranking, behind only ISS ESG.
• Annual questionnaire cycle refreshes slower than continuously monitored competitors like FactSet's Truvalue Labs.
• "Sometimes the value is different from thr reported figures," one Enterprise-tier Accounting user wrote of the underlying S&P Capital IQ Pro data in a G2 review, a data-quality complaint about the same data infrastructure the CSA draws on.

Why it's ranked #3. S&P Global's 3,500-company direct-participation model produces the deepest per-company dataset of the top three, up to 1,000 points per issuer, but its 13,000-company total coverage trails both MSCI's 17,000+ and Sustainalytics' 16,000+, and its annual assessment cycle refreshes slower than either.

Best fit

Workspace terminal users who want ESG scores bundled into data they already pay for.

LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) provides ESG scores and data for more than 16,000 companies, covering 99% of the FTSE All-World Index by market capitalization. The platform draws on 240-plus standardized indicators and 2,000-plus data points, and relaunched its ESG data suite in July 2026, moving the prior methodology to legacy status.

Key features

• 16,000+ companies covered, 99% of the FTSE All-World Index by market cap.
• 240+ standardized ESG indicators, 2,000+ underlying data points.
• Coverage of 1 million-plus fixed income instruments.
• New scoring suite launched July 2026, replacing the legacy Refinitiv ESG scores.

Pricing

No public price for the ESG data suite. It licenses through LSEG's Workspace and Data & Analytics contracts, priced per seat and data-feed scope.

Pros

• 99% FTSE All-World Index coverage by market cap is among the highest index-coverage figures any provider in this list publishes.
• Bundled inside Workspace, so a buyer already paying for LSEG market data adds ESG without a second vendor relationship.
• "It is a very wide database that covers multiple industries, topics, regions etc," one Enterprise-tier Consumer Goods user wrote of LSEG Workspace in a G2 review.

Cons

• The 2026 methodology relaunch means the current scoring suite has a shorter public track record than MSCI's or Sustainalytics'.
• "Our billing period was changed multiple times without our consent," one Small-Business Financial Services user wrote in a G2 review, describing confusion over Refinitiv's billing practices.
• Best used with hands-on onboarding: "Best utilised with 1:1 training," an Enterprise-tier Research Analyst noted of the platform.

Why it's ranked #4. LSEG's 16,000-company count matches Sustainalytics and its 99% FTSE All-World coverage beats every other provider's stated index figure, but a mid-2026 methodology relaunch gives it a shorter proven track record than the three raters ranked above it, which is why it sits fourth.

Best fit

Bloomberg Terminal shops that want ESG scoring without adding a second data vendor to the stack.

Bloomberg's ESG Scores cover more than 12,000 companies, reaching 99% of the Bloomberg World Large & Mid Cap Index by market cap and 90% of Bloomberg's U.S. and European investment-grade bond indices. The methodology weighs 30-plus risk factors treated as financially material by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and also scores 60,000-plus mutual funds and roughly 10,000 ETFs.

Key features

• 12,000+ companies scored, with 99% coverage of the Bloomberg World Large & Mid Cap Index.
• 90% coverage of Bloomberg's U.S. and European investment-grade bond indices.
• 60,000+ mutual funds and roughly 10,000 ETFs scored on the same methodology.
• Government climate scores for 135 countries.

Pricing

Bloomberg doesn't publish ESG-specific pricing; ESG Scores ship as part of a Bloomberg Terminal subscription, which itself sells on a custom enterprise quote.

Pros

• Already inside the Terminal most institutional investors use daily, so no new login or workflow.
• Fund- and ETF-level scoring at a scale, 60,000+ funds, none of the standalone raters in this list match.
• "It contains a ton of information including news, charts, graphs, earnings reports, opinions, research, chat, emails, and live time data," one Investment Banking Associate wrote in a G2 review.

Cons

• 12,000-company coverage is the smallest among the terminal-bundled providers in this ranking.
• Terminal cost is a frequent complaint independent of the ESG module: "Bloomberg is not a cheap tool that everyone can afford," one Portfolio Manager wrote in a G2 review, and a Founder called the price "very high for a normal user to use."
• ESG Scores exist to serve Terminal users first; a buyer who doesn't already run Bloomberg gets little reason to adopt it just for ESG data.

Why it's ranked #5. Bloomberg's 12,000-company coverage is the smallest of the five terminal-bundled and financial-data providers ranked above it, trailing LSEG's 16,000-plus by a wide margin, but its 60,000-fund scoring reach and existing Terminal distribution keep it ahead of the specialist and AI-driven providers ranked below.

Best fit

Teams that need continuous, AI-driven ESG signal monitoring.

FactSet's Truvalue Labs platform tracks more than 260,000 public and private companies, drawing from over 200,000 sources including news, NGO and watchdog publications, trade blogs, and industry press. It processes 4.5 million-plus data points and generates roughly 300,000 signals a month, spanning 26 ESG categories and 16 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Key features

• 260,000+ companies tracked, public and private.
• 200,000+ source publications monitored continuously.
• 4.5 million-plus data points processed and roughly 300,000 signals generated monthly.
• 26 ESG categories mapped to 16 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Pricing

FactSet's Vendr-tracked median contract runs $25,160 a year^*, with a range from $4,200 to $28,179 based on 2026 anonymized buyer data. FactSet prices on quote-based enterprise contracts scaled by user count, data feed volume, and analytics modules, not a published list rate.

Pros

• Largest company coverage of any provider in this ranking, at 260,000-plus.
• Continuous monitoring, roughly 300,000 signals a month, refreshes far faster than annual-cycle competitors.
• One of only two providers in this ranking, alongside EcoVadis, with a public Vendr-tracked price.

Cons

• "It is really expensive. We want to download data from it and it's only possible using vb scripting. To get API access they want us to pay more," one Mid-Market Investment Management user wrote in a G2 review.
• "The data isn't always accurate. Sometimes data is missing and we end up needing to search the internet to find company and financial information," a Mid-Market Financial Services user wrote of FactSet in a G2 review.
• Signal-based coverage answers a different question than a formally researched rating, so a fund relying on FactSet alone for regulatory ESG disclosure may still need a rated provider like MSCI or Sustainalytics alongside it.

Why it's ranked #6. FactSet's 260,000-company coverage beats every other provider in this ranking by more than an order of magnitude, and its 300,000 monthly signals give it the fastest refresh cadence, but it trades formally researched ratings for AI-driven signals, which is why it ranks behind the five analyst-reviewed raters above it.

Best fit

Insurers, lenders, and underwriters who need ESG scores for private companies and SMEs that never publish a sustainability report.

Moody's ESG Solutions, built on the former Vigeo Eiris research now branded V.E, provides access to more than 300 million modelled ESG scores across public and private companies and securities globally. Its ESG Score Predictor was trained on 100,000-plus firms, extends to 220 countries and 12,000 sub-national locations, and generates 50-plus standardized metrics, including an energy transition score and a physical risk management score.

Key features

• 300 million-plus modelled ESG scores across public and private entities.
• ESG Score Predictor trained on 100,000-plus companies, extending to 220 countries and 12,000 sub-national locations.
• 615 NACE 4 industry classifications for granular sector modeling.
• 50-plus standardized metrics, including a dedicated energy transition score and physical risk score.

Pricing

No public price. Moody's ESG Solutions sells through enterprise licensing, typically bundled with or adjacent to Moody's credit-rating and risk-analytics contracts.

Pros

• Coverage no directly researched rating can match, by definition, since modeling extends reach to companies with no public disclosure at all.
• Purpose-built for private-market and SME risk use cases that MSCI, Sustainalytics, and S&P Global don't directly serve.
• Integration with Moody's existing credit-rating infrastructure, useful for lenders already using Moody's for credit risk.

Cons

• Modelled scores trade precision for reach; a predicted score for a company with no disclosure carries a lower evidentiary standard than MSCI's or Sustainalytics' analyst-reviewed ratings.
• No public price, and no independent review presence on G2, Capterra, or TrustRadius to check buyer sentiment against.
• Best suited to private-market and underwriting use cases, a narrower fit for portfolio managers screening large-cap public equities.

Why it's ranked #7. Moody's 300 million-plus modelled scores outreach every rated provider in this list by orders of magnitude, but modeling carries a different evidentiary standard than FactSet's continuously monitored signals or MSCI's analyst-reviewed ratings, which keeps it behind the six providers built on direct research above it.

Best fit

Procurement and supply-chain teams scoring suppliers, not portfolio managers screening public equities.

EcoVadis has rated more than 175,000 companies across 180-plus countries and 230-plus industries, screening as many as 3 million suppliers in aggregate for its enterprise clients. Its methodology combines AI analysis of roughly 3 million documents a month, monitored by 500-plus in-house analysts, translating into a bronze-to-platinum medal system layered on a 0-100 supplier score.

Key features

• 175,000+ companies rated across 180+ countries and 230+ industries.
• Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum medal tiers on a 0-100 supplier score.
• 500+ in-house sustainability analysts reviewing AI-flagged documents.
• 3 million documents processed monthly across 8 languages.

Pricing

EcoVadis' Vendr-tracked median contract runs $29,082 a year^*, with a range from $28,604 to $34,951. Program-level pricing scales sharply with supplier volume, per Vendr's 2026 buyer-data analysis:

• $10,000 to $30,000 annually for 1 to 50 suppliers.
• $30,000 to $80,000 for 51 to 200 suppliers.
• $75,000 to $200,000 for 201 to 500 suppliers.
• $200,000-plus for enterprise programs above 500 suppliers.

A separate self-serve "Rate My Company" tier starts at €279 a year, per G2's pricing page.

Pros

• Largest directly researched, analyst-reviewed coverage figure in this ranking at 175,000-plus companies.
• "EcoVadis is both thorough and legitimate, requiring backup for declarations and allowing adjustments if needed," a Senior Director of Global Sustainability wrote in a G2 review.
• Purpose-built corrective action tools a generic investment-grade rating does not offer.

Cons

• "The assessment is time consuming and this affects small companies significantly," an IT Manager wrote in a G2 review.
• "The package price is quite expensive for small industries," a Small Business reviewer wrote in a G2 review, and G2's aggregated pros-and-cons summary describes the pricing as expensive relative to smaller buyers' budgets.
• "The reasons given for a document's rejection are quite generic, making it hard to determine exactly what needs improvement," an Enterprise-tier Manufacturing reviewer wrote in a G2 review.

Why it's ranked #8. EcoVadis' 175,000-plus rated companies is the largest directly researched coverage figure in this entire ranking, ahead of Sustainalytics, MSCI, and S&P Global combined, but it scores supply-chain risk for procurement buyers. The six investment-grade raters above it score investment risk for portfolio managers, and that is why it ranks eighth, behind them and ahead only of the disclosure platform and governance specialist below it.

Best fit

Corporates responding to investor-driven climate disclosure requests who need a free, standardized reporting channel.

CDP, founded in 2000 as the Carbon Disclosure Project, ran the world's first independent environmental disclosure system and remains free for companies to respond to. In 2025, more than 23,100 organizations responded to CDP's questionnaires, including 22,000-plus companies and nearly 11,000 SMEs on a simplified track. Disclosing companies span 75% of the S&P 500 and 78% of the STOXX Europe 600 by index weight.

Key features

• Free for responding companies; CDP monetizes investor and enterprise access to the resulting dataset.
• 22,000+ companies disclosed in 2025, plus nearly 11,000 SMEs on a simplified track.
• 1,000+ cities, states, and regions disclosing alongside corporates.
• Disclosed companies span 75% of the S&P 500 and 78% of the STOXX Europe 600 by index weight.

Pricing

Disclosure is free for responding companies. CDP charges investors and enterprise users for access to the underlying scored dataset through separate licensing, with no public list price for that access tier.

Pros

• Free entry point for companies, unlike every other provider in this ranking except the self-serve tier of EcoVadis.
• 26 years of continuous operation since its 2000 founding, the longest track record of any provider in this list alongside MSCI's predecessor lineage.
• Underlying data other raters, including several ranked above it here, draw on directly.

Cons

• Scores disclosure completeness and quality, a narrower evidentiary standard than a fully researched rating.
• No independent review presence on G2, Capterra, or TrustRadius to check against.
• A company's CDP participation says more about its willingness to disclose than about its underlying ESG performance, a distinction the other raters in this list are built to correct for.

Why it's ranked #9. CDP's 22,000-plus disclosing companies outnumber every rated provider in this list except FactSet, EcoVadis, and Moody's modelled reach, but it scores disclosure quality, which is why it sits below every investment-grade and supplier rating in this ranking and ahead only of ISS ESG's narrower governance focus.

Best fit

Governance and proxy-voting teams who need disclosure-quality scoring more than broad portfolio-wide ESG screening.

ISS ESG's Corporate Rating covers 5,200 companies and other issuers, the smallest coverage figure of any provider in this ranking, drawn from mainstream filings, sustainability reports, integrated reports, and publicly available policies. The methodology examines 380-plus individual ESG factors, though only roughly 240 are assessed per company, concentrated on disclosure practices and transparency.

Key features

• 5,200 companies and issuers covered.
• 380+ individual factors in the full framework, roughly 240 assessed per company based on industry.
• Disclosure-quality and transparency focus, distinct from performance-based risk ratings.
• Deep integration with ISS's existing proxy-voting and governance research infrastructure.

Pricing

No public price. ISS ESG sells through enterprise licensing, commonly bundled with ISS's proxy-voting and governance research products for institutional investors.

Pros

• Deepest governance and disclosure-quality lineage in this ranking, predating the ESG label itself.
• Focused factor set, roughly 240 per company, avoids diluting governance analysis across unrelated categories.
• Tight integration with proxy-voting workflows many institutional investors already run through ISS.

Cons

• 5,200-company coverage is the smallest of any provider in this ranking, a fraction of MSCI's 17,000-plus or Sustainalytics' 16,000-plus.
• Measures disclosure quality and transparency more than independently verified performance, a narrower claim than a full ESG risk rating.
• No public pricing and no independent review presence on G2, Capterra, or TrustRadius to check against.

Why it's ranked #10. ISS ESG's 5,200-company coverage is the smallest in this ranking, a fraction of the 12,000-plus every terminal-bundled competitor above it covers, and its disclosure-quality focus answers a narrower question than the risk ratings ranked above it, though its governance depth keeps it ahead of nothing else on this list precisely because every provider above it covers more ground.