For media buyers and publishers who often feel like they're negotiating in the dark, SQAD is selling a flashlight.

SQAD, a media forecaster that has been taking its contributor-based methodology onto the web, has launched WebCosts. The new service will aggregate anonymously collected data from publishers and agencies to determine the average CPM for each website.

"There is no better way to determine real value than like-to-like cost comparisons," SQAD CEO Neil Klar told ClickZ. "When it comes right down to it, cost comparison is an undisputed truth."

The new service, which is available to publishers and agencies alike, should be quite popular with the latter group, but it's hard to see the former responding favorably. In a world where transparency has become something of a battle cry, most sellers have been unwilling or unable to give advertisers the data they crave. Complicating the matter further are the legions of ad networks that continue to dominate the space. While buyers may be in the market for an apples-to-apples comparison, it's not clear how ad networks, which are responsible for selling large chunks of inventory on the web, will report prices when many refrain from sharing publisher lists.

Still, the apples-to-apples comparison model does have some promise. Earlier this week, a blog made headlines when it opened a forum for widget makers to share CPM information on Facebook widgets.