Cannabis Benchmarks

What Cannabis Benchmarks does

Cannabis Benchmarks, a division of New Leaf Data Services, LLC, is a Price Reporting Agency that produces wholesale cannabis price benchmarks for the North American market. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, the company operates an IOSCO-aligned assessment methodology combining in-field price reporters, a Price Contributor Network of licensed market participants, and data partnerships with exchanges, marketplaces, brokers, vendors, and associations. Its core products are the U.S. Cannabis Spot Index and U.S. Cannabis Implied Forward — weekly assessments reflecting hundreds of transactions and thousands of pounds of wholesale flower — plus the Canada Cannabis Spot Index and state-level indices covering nearly twenty U.S. markets. Historical data extends to April 2015.

The company distributes its data through three subscription tiers: CORE at $80 per month for state-level assessments and interactive charts, PREMIUM at $150 per month for cultivation-method pricing and forward market analysis, and ENTERPRISE on a custom-quote basis providing raw data feeds, historical archives, internal distribution rights, and consulting. Free weekly U.S. and Canadian spot price reports serve as top-of-funnel acquisition. An NLDS Litigation Support Desk, launched in 2025, extends the franchise into legal services. Customers span cultivators, dispensaries and retailers, investors and lenders, debt and equity analysts, lawyers and consultants, accountants, regulators, and crop insurers — a diversified base across at least five verticals.

Cannabis Benchmarks employs between 11 and 50 people with team members distributed across California, Colorado, Texas, New York, and Alberta, Canada, in addition to its Stamford headquarters. Leadership includes CEO Jonathan Rubin (formerly of S&P Global Platts), CFO & General Counsel Ian Laird, and Managing Directors drawn from S&P Global Platts and Bloomberg. The company is privately held with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent company ownership, and operates a sub-brand, Hemp Benchmarks, under the same parent entity.

Name

Cannabis Benchmarks

Legal name

New Leaf Data Services, LLC

Website

https://cannabisbenchmarks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cannabis Benchmarks, a division of New Leaf Data Services, LLC, is the leading Price Reporting Agency for North American wholesale cannabis, producing IOSCO-aligned weekly spot and forward benchmark price assessments. It serves cultivators, retailers, financial institutions, lawyers, regulators, and insurers through tiered CORE, PREMIUM, and ENTERPRISE subscriptions, with historical data extending to April 2015.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stamford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. CORE Subscription: Monthly subscription providing weekly state-level price assessments, week-over-week pricing changes, monthly price changes, and national interactive charts. Priced at $80/month.
2. PREMIUM Subscription: Monthly subscription providing prices by cultivation method and market type, expert analysis and commentary, forward market analysis, and state-level interactive charts. Priced at $150/month.
3. ENTERPRISE Subscription: Custom enterprise subscription providing raw data for internal analysis and planning, historical data beginning April 2015, rights to internal distribution, and custom analysis and consulting. Pricing by quotation.
4. Free Weekly Reports: Free weekly U.S. Spot Price Report and Canadian Spot Price Report with basic market data delivered via email subscription.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cannabis Benchmarks operates as a Price Reporting Agency that produces weekly wholesale cannabis benchmark price assessments for North American markets, including the U.S. Cannabis Spot Index, U.S. Cannabis Implied Forward, and Canada Cannabis Spot Index. These assessments are delivered through tiered subscriptions (CORE, PREMIUM, ENTERPRISE), free weekly reports, interactive charts, and specialized litigation support services, with an IOSCO-aligned methodology drawing on multi-source transaction data.

Product overview

Cannabis Benchmarks operates as a Price Reporting Agency offering a tiered subscription portfolio centered on wholesale cannabis pricing intelligence. The core offering consists of the U.S. Cannabis Spot Index and U.S. Cannabis Implied Forward benchmark price assessments, supplemented by the Canada Cannabis Spot Index. Subscription tiers include CORE ($80/month) for state-level price assessments and basic interactive charts, PREMIUM ($150/month) adding cultivation method pricing, expert analysis, and forward market commentary, and ENTERPRISE (contact for pricing) providing raw historical data feeds and custom consulting. Free resources include the U.S. Spot Price Report and Canada Spot Price Report, along with the Wholesale Market Observer editorial content. Additional offerings include the Interactive Charts platform, Price Contributor Network data-sharing program, and NLDS Litigation Support Desk for legal professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hemp Benchmarks: A separate brand operated under New Leaf Data Services for hemp market pricing data.

Products and services

• CORE Subscription Monthly subscription providing weekly state-level wholesale cannabis price assessments, week-over-week pricing changes, monthly price changes, and national interactive charts for individual and small-team users needing standardized wholesale pricing data.
• PREMIUM Subscription Monthly subscription providing wholesale cannabis prices broken out by cultivation method (indoor, greenhouse, outdoor) and market type, expert analysis and commentary, forward market analysis, and state-level interactive charts for users needing deeper pricing granularity.
• ENTERPRISE Subscription Custom-priced enterprise subscription providing raw wholesale pricing data for internal analysis and planning, historical data beginning April 2015, rights to internal distribution, and custom analysis and consulting services for institutional clients.
• NLDS Litigation Support Desk Expert litigation support service providing validated wholesale cannabis pricing data and analysis for legal disputes, valuation matters, damages calculations, license applications, and other proceedings requiring defensible price assumptions.
• U.S. Cannabis Spot Index Weekly national assessment of the U.S. spot price paid to cultivators and wholesalers, pre-tax, for one pound of a generic strain with homogenized THC and CBD potency, serving as the headline benchmark for U.S. wholesale cannabis.
• U.S. Cannabis Implied Forward Weekly assessment of the national forward wholesale transactional price that buyers agree to pay, prepay, or would be willing to pay cultivators and wholesalers for one pound of a generic strain to be delivered in the future.
• Canada Cannabis Spot Index Weekly national wholesale price assessment for the Canadian cannabis market in CAD per gram, inclusive of estimated federal and provincial excise taxes, providing a comparable benchmark for the legal Canadian wholesale market.

Quantifiable outcome

• Weekly spot price data reflecting hundreds of transactions and thousands of pounds of wholesale flower

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Exchanges, Marketplaces, Brokers, Vendors & AssociationscoreTechnology or IntegrationData partnerships with exchanges, marketplaces, brokers, vendors and associations to gather comprehensive wholesale transaction data across legal cannabis markets, enhancing data coverage and market representation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• New Frontier Data: Cannabis industry market intelligence and data analytics firm providing market sizing, consumer insights, and forecasting to investors, operators, and regulators. Direct peer in cannabis-specific financial/business data services.
• Hemp Benchmarks: Sister brand operated under the same parent (New Leaf Data Services) using identical IOSCO-aligned methodology to assess wholesale hemp pricing. Direct methodological peer; provides blueprint for Cannabis Benchmarks' adjacent vertical expansion.
• Headset: Cannabis retail and consumer data analytics platform aggregating POS data from dispensaries to deliver market-share, trend, and pricing intelligence. Comparable in serving data-driven decision-making for cannabis operators, though focused on retail rather than wholesale.
• BDSA (BDS Analytics): Cannabis market intelligence provider offering sales tracking, consumer research, and forecasting across U.S. and Canadian markets. Direct competitor in cannabis industry data, with overlapping investor and operator customer base.

Broad incumbents

• S&P Global Platts: Global commodity benchmark leader whose methodology Cannabis Benchmarks explicitly emulates and whose alumni staff the senior team. Largest incumbent that could enter cannabis benchmarks if the market scales sufficiently.
• Argus Media: Independent commodity price reporting agency covering energy, fertilizers, and agricultural markets using IOSCO-aligned methodology. Comparable PRA model; potential entrant into cannabis if market opportunity justifies it.

Regional players

• Flowhub: Cannabis retail management and POS platform providing inventory and sales data to dispensaries. Adjacent data ecosystem player with comparable operator-customer overlap, though U.S.-focused and POS-centric.

Emerging players

• LeafLink: B2B cannabis wholesale marketplace with embedded pricing data and analytics. Emerging competitor that captures transaction-level wholesale data natively, potentially positioning it as a future source for benchmark-quality pricing.
• MJBizDaily (Marijuana Business Daily): Cannabis industry B2B media and research publisher providing market data, operator surveys, and the MJBizCon industry event. Comparable in serving investor/operator data needs, though more editorial than price-assessment-focused.

Others

• Cannabis Benchmarks (peer) — Wholesale Market Observer editorial: Editorial research product from Cannabis Benchmarks itself; relevant as adjacent benchmark journalism that competes with MJBizDaily and Cannabis Industry Journal for mind-share in cannabis B2B research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cannabenchmark
• Facebookfacebook.com/NewLeafDataServices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cannabis-benchmarks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cannabis Benchmarks