The mystery is finally over, and we actually have a real number to look at. For the past several weeks, the tech community has been stuck in a massive guessing game, trying to figure out what Gartner’s “Digital Markets” arm—the powerhouse engine behind household names like Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice—was actually worth. We’ve known for a bit that G2 was the buyer and that the ink was dry on the deal, but the actual financial specifics were guarded like a state secret. It wasn’t until Gartner quietly dropped its most recent SEC filing that the $110 million figure finally saw the light of day. And honestly? That number tells a much more complex story about where the software industry is heading as we move into 2026 than a simple press release ever could.
Think about it: if you’ve ever spent an afternoon hunting for a new CRM or a project management tool, you’ve almost certainly ended up on one of these platforms. They are the undisputed gatekeepers of the “user review” economy. For a titan like Gartner to hand over the keys to its primary rival, G2, for a headline price of $110 million suggests a pretty massive shift in how the consulting giant views its own future. This isn’t just a standard divestiture or a bit of spring cleaning; it’s a loud, clear declaration that the business of “managing reviews” might not fit the high-touch, high-margin consulting model that Gartner wants to double down on for the next decade. It’s a move away from the “volume” game and back into the “expert” game.
Why the Real Story Is Always Buried in the Fine Print of a 10-K Filing
The real meat of the story emerged in a Form 10-K filed on February 12, 2026. There is a certain irony in how corporate communications departments work, isn’t there? Companies absolutely love the splashy, vague press releases that talk about “strategic alignment” and “unlocking synergy,” but they tend to save the actual math for the dense, 100-page regulatory filings that they hope most people won’t have the patience to read. The filing confirmed that the sale officially closed on February 5, 2026. Interestingly enough, while the January announcement was all about the partnership with G2, the actual SEC document doesn’t even mention G2 by name. It treats the entire transaction as a cold, hard financial event: assets out, cash in, move on. It’s business at its most clinical.
One specific detail that caught my eye was the phrasing “before customary purchase price adjustments.” In plain English? That $110 million figure isn’t exactly etched in stone just yet. It’s the headline number, the one for the history books. By the time the lawyers and accountants finish their final rounds of fighting over balance sheet reconciliations and working capital, that number might wiggle a bit in either direction. But even as a ballpark figure, it gives us a very clear valuation of what the “referral” business is worth in today’s crowded market. It’s a significant chunk of change, no doubt, but for a company of Gartner’s massive scale, it feels more like a strategic house-cleaning move than any kind of desperate cash grab. They are streamlining, and they are doing it with surgical precision.
“Consolidation in the software review space isn’t just about traffic; it’s about owning the intent data that drives the entire B2B sales funnel in an increasingly automated world.”
— Industry Analyst Perspective, February 2026
Is Gartner Moving Back to the Ivory Tower? Why They’re Done with the Review Business
You really have to stop and wonder why Gartner—a company that basically invented the industry standard with the “Magic Quadrant”—would want to get out of the software review game entirely. The answer likely lies in the fundamental nature of the “Digital Markets” model itself. Capterra and its siblings operate on a pay-per-click or lead-generation basis. It’s a high-volume, high-traffic game, but it can be incredibly messy behind the scenes. It’s a world defined by constant SEO battles and the whims of ever-changing search engine algorithms. According to data from Statista, global spending on enterprise software was projected to soar past the $1 trillion mark by late 2025. With that much money on the table, the competition for those “top 10” list rankings has become an absolute bloodbath for everyone involved.
Gartner’s core strength, and the thing that makes them the most money, has always been their high-level advisory services—the kind of deep-dive research that CEOs and CIOs are willing to pay millions for. Managing a stable of review sites that primarily cater to small and mid-sized businesses might have started to feel like a massive distraction from their primary mission. By selling these assets to G2, Gartner essentially clears its plate of the “low-end” market so it can focus exclusively on its premium, high-stakes research. It’s a classic corporate play: if a specific business unit doesn’t match your brand’s “prestige” or your target margin profile, you cut it loose, even if it’s currently profitable. And let’s be real, $110 million is a very nice way to pad the balance sheet for the 2026 fiscal year.
A Monopoly on Intent: How G2 Just Swallowed the Competition Whole
On the other side of this deal, the team over at G2 has to be feeling pretty good about themselves. By absorbing Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice, they haven’t just bought out their competitors—they’ve essentially bought a monopoly on “intent.” In the modern B2B world, “intent data” is the absolute holy grail of marketing. Knowing exactly which company is currently comparing two different accounting software packages is worth its weight in gold to sales teams. A 2024 report by Gartner itself—and yes, the irony is thick here—noted that 75% of organizations were actively looking to consolidate their software vendor lists. Now, G2 has consolidated the very place where those organizations go to do their homework. It’s a brilliant, if aggressive, power move.
But we have to talk about the risk here, because there definitely is one. When one single player owns almost all of the major review platforms, does the “unbiased” nature of those reviews actually stay intact? As a user, if I go to Capterra or G2, I want to feel like I’m getting the unvarnished truth, not a carefully curated list from a single corporate entity that owns the whole ecosystem. G2 is going to have to work incredibly hard to maintain the distinct identities and trust of these brands. If they don’t, they risk turning the entire software discovery process into a giant, pay-to-play advertisement that savvy buyers will eventually just learn to ignore. It’s a delicate balancing act between monetization and credibility.
What exactly did G2 buy from Gartner in this deal?
In short, G2 acquired the entirety of Gartner’s “Digital Markets” division. This includes the “big three” software discovery and review platforms: Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice. These sites are the go-to resources for businesses of all sizes to research, compare, and vet SaaS products based on a mix of user-generated reviews and specific feature sets.
Is that $110 million price tag definitely the final amount?
Not quite, though it’s the number everyone is focusing on. The SEC filing specifically describes the $110 million as being “before customary purchase price adjustments.” This is standard legal-speak meaning the final cash amount could shift slightly based on the actual financial health and working capital of the business at the exact moment the deal closed. We’ll likely see the final, adjusted number in a future quarterly report.
The Death of the Middleman and What This Means for the Future of Buying Software
It’s important to remember that this deal didn’t just happen in a vacuum. We’re currently seeing a much broader trend where the “middlemen” of the tech world are being forced to pick a side and commit to it. In this new landscape, you’re either a massive, all-encompassing platform (which is exactly what G2 is becoming) or you’re a specialized, high-end boutique (which is where Gartner is heading). The middle ground is becoming a very dangerous and lonely place to be. With AI now capable of summarizing thousands of individual reviews in a matter of seconds, the old-school “listicle” model of software comparison is under serious threat. G2 is likely betting that by owning the raw data, they can feed the AI models of the future better than anyone else on the planet.
And what about us—the people who are actually responsible for buying the software? It means we probably need to be a little more skeptical than we used to be. When you see a “Top Rated” badge on a website today, it’s worth remembering that the company behind that badge just spent $110 million to make sure they’re the ones showing it to you. It’s a highly consolidated world now, and while that might make the initial search more convenient, it doesn’t necessarily make it more transparent. But hey, at least we finally know exactly what the price of that influence is. There’s some value in that clarity, even if it feels a bit cynical.
It’ll be fascinating to see how Gartner decides to use that $110 million windfall. Whether they choose to reinvest it into their own AI-driven research capabilities or simply use it to buy back shares and please their investors, the message is undeniable: the era of Gartner as a “mass market” review player is officially over. They’re moving back up to the ivory tower of high-level consulting, and they’re leaving the street-level software fights and SEO battles to G2. Only time will tell if they’ve left too much power on the table or if they’ve gotten out at exactly the right moment.
This article is sourced from various news outlets. Analysis and presentation represent our editorial perspective.