BuiltWith

BuiltWith is a bootstrapped, founder-run web technology profiler and lead intelligence database. It crawls and indexes the technology stacks of hundreds of millions of websites — CMS, analytics, ecommerce platforms, CDNs, ad tech, frameworks, and more — and makes that data queryable for prospecting, market research, and competitive analysis. Founded in 2007 in Sydney by Gary Brewer (sole founder and developer) with Andrew Rogers later joining as co-founder, the company has never raised external funding and operates with a headcount of under 10.

Single-domain technology lookup showing current and historical tech stack by category (analytics, CMS, hosting, CDN, advertising, payments, etc.). Bulk list generation filtered by technology combinations, geography, employee count, revenue, and technology spend signals. TrendsPro product surfaces technology adoption and churn trends over time. Relationship mapping identifies sites sharing analytics IDs, IP blocks, or tracking scripts. Technology alerts notify users when a target domain adds or drops a tracked technology. Chrome extension for in-browser point lookups. CRM export and basic Salesforce/HubSpot integration. List upload for reverse-lookup (identify tech stack for a proprietary domain list).

BuiltWith launched an official MCP server in May 2025 (hosted at api.builtwith.com/mcp), requiring a Bearer API key. The server exposes at minimum: domain lookup, lists-api (sites using a technology with filters for OTHERTECHS, SPEND, REVENUE, EMPLOYEES), and ask-api (natural language list queries, e.g. 'Magento websites in Spain'). Supports both hosted (no local Node process needed) and self-hosted deployment. Agent auth flow allows temporary token generation without pasting an API key. Compatible with Claude, Cursor, Cline, and any MCP-compliant client. The underlying REST API covers 13 endpoints including domain lookup, live detection, relationships, keywords, trends, company-to-URL resolution, trust/fraud signals, redirects, tags, recommendations, and ecommerce product search. API uses a credit-consumption model on top of subscription tiers; heavy bulk usage can exhaust credits quickly. A community-maintained TypeScript SDK (builtwith-api on npm) wraps all 13 methods. API quality is functional but not enterprise-grade: rate limits apply at standard tiers, dedicated endpoints for higher throughput require enterprise contracts, and documentation is sparse relative to peers.

Three list/pro subscription tiers, reportedly as of 2025–2026: Basic ~$295/month (two technology filters, fixed scope); Pro ~$495/month (full-featured, most popular, expanded filter combinations); Team ~$995/month (multi-seat, unlimited enterprise access). Free tier available for single-domain lookups with no bulk export or API access — functions more as a product trial than a usable free plan. API access requires a paid plan; credits are consumed per call with heavier endpoints (historical data, bulk lists) consuming more. Vendr transaction data pegs average annual spend around $5,100 with a ceiling around $9,500. Discounts available on annual billing. No publicly listed enterprise or custom-data pricing.

Native CRM export to Salesforce and HubSpot. Chrome browser extension for point-in-browser lookups. REST API (13 endpoints) for custom integrations. Official MCP server for AI agent workflows. No native Slack, Zapier, or webhook integrations documented publicly. Middleware or custom API work required for any pipeline beyond CRM export.

No publicly documented SOC 2, ISO 27001, or GDPR certification pages found on the BuiltWith site. Infrastructure historically hosted via OVH (French provider); frontend runs on IIS/ASP.NET with MongoDB and MS SQL data stores. Given the company's scale (under 10 employees, no enterprise compliance pages), formal third-party security certifications are not publicly attested. Data BuiltWith collects and sells is web-crawled public technographic data — not personal data in the GDPR sense — which reduces but does not eliminate compliance considerations for enterprise buyers. Treat as unverified on SOC 2/ISO 27001; conduct vendor security questionnaire before enterprise procurement.

Founded July 2007 in Sydney, Australia by Gary Brewer (founder, sole developer, and effectively the entire engineering and support team). Andrew Rogers joined as co-founder circa 2011. The company has never raised external funding and has operated profitably at minimal headcount (reportedly 2–4 people). Revenue reportedly reached ~$14M ARR in 2023 and ~$22.6M in 2024 per third-party estimates (Latka; unverified by BuiltWith directly). Acquired UnderTheSite.com in 2012. Notable customers reportedly include Google, Meta, and Amazon for competitive intelligence use cases, per third-party review sites; BuiltWith does not publish a customer list.

Moderate. BuiltWith is directly useful for a firm's deal sourcing and market mapping workflows: an analyst can query 'all companies using [specific industrial IoT platform / quantum software stack / defense-grade comms protocol]' and generate a prospect list in minutes. For a firm's sectors (semiconductors, defense tech, advanced comms, space), the signal quality depends on whether target companies have meaningful public web presence — many do not (defense primes, classified programs, hardware-first companies). The MCP server integration is a real differentiator: analysts can pipe technographic queries directly into Claude or Cursor for AI-assisted market scans without leaving their workflow. Limitations on security certifications and enterprise access controls reduce suitability for workflows touching sensitive firm data, but given this tool handles only public-domain output data, sensitivity is Low. Best used as a deal-sourcing signal layer and market sizing input, not as a primary data source for sectors with minimal web-facing infrastructure.

Data is crawled periodically, not live — detection can lag weeks or months behind actual technology changes. Basic plan limits users to two technology filters, severely constraining complex queries. API uses a credit model that creates unpredictable costs at scale. No enterprise-grade SSO or access controls documented — unsuitable for shared team deployments without careful key management. No publicly attested SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification. Sparse customer support (founder-run, minimal staffing). Coverage gaps in hardware-centric, defense, and classified sectors where target companies have limited or non-representative public web presence — directly relevant to a firm's portfolio universe. Historical data depth, while a differentiator, still has gaps for low-profile or recently launched companies.