VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Programmatic picks

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) logo

Alternatives to Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)

Curated replacements ranked by category overlap, pricing, and platform access. Use this list to stress-test Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) against peers before committing to a long-term plan.

Quick takeaways

MarineTraffic is the closest drop-in replacement with overlapping coverage in Data Visualizations, Data APIs, and Shipping & Trade while adding Alerts coverage and Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters. and Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive. features (category overlap ~75%).

Free tiers remain available through MarineTraffic, ORTEX, Visual Capitalist, ETF Action, Trackinsight, Office of Financial Research (U.S. Treasury), Stock Unlock, FlightAware, Listen Notes, Semrush, FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), Similarweb, BIS Data Portal (Bank for International Settlements), ECB Data Portal, USAspending, CFPB Consumer Complaint Database, Fiscal.ai, and Open Payments (CMS) for side-by-side testing.

Need mobile access? MarineTraffic, ORTEX, and Stockopedia bring phone-ready workflows that Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) lacks.

Round out your stack with new coverage areas like Alerts, Short Interest, Insider Data, and Quant.

#1 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 752
Category overlap: 75%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs
Shipping & Trade

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • MarineTraffic adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Alerts coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters., Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive., and CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000)..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Education and Blogs.

Adds coverage: Alerts

Standout features: Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters., Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive., CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000)., and Past Track playback varies by plan: Free (1 day), Essential (7 days), Enterprise (up to 5 years, in 7-day playback windows).

#2 Alternative

Hands-on Tested
Free Tier
Similarity score 712
Category overlap: 60%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs
Blogs

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • ORTEX adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Short Interest, Insider Data, and Quant coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., and Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade and Education.

Adds coverage: Short Interest, Insider Data, Quant, and Index Rebalancing

Standout features: Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms., and Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.

#3 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 712
Category overlap: 75%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Education
Blogs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Newsletters coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Well-known for data-rich charts, maps, and infographics across markets, energy, technology, and macroeconomics., Coverage spans major themes like GDP trends, market share breakdowns, commodities, and economic freedom indices., and VC+ membership unlocks The Trendline newsletter (twice weekly), monthly market outlooks, special research dispatches, archives, and member-only events..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Data APIs and Shipping & Trade.

Adds coverage: Newsletters

Standout features: Well-known for data-rich charts, maps, and infographics across markets, energy, technology, and macroeconomics., Coverage spans major themes like GDP trends, market share breakdowns, commodities, and economic freedom indices., VC+ membership unlocks The Trendline newsletter (twice weekly), monthly market outlooks, special research dispatches, archives, and member-only events., and Ad-free browsing included with VC+ for a cleaner reading experience.

#4 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 692
Category overlap: 60%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs
Blogs

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Expands into ETF Overview, ETF Performance, and ETF Holdings coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Global ETF ‘Channels’ taxonomy with category reports and dashboards (Size & Style US/Global, Region & Country, Sector & Industry, Thematic, Fixed Income, Non‑Traditional, Commodities, Crypto)., Look‑through analytics on fund holdings for factor/style, sector/industry, country, concentration; portfolio overlap analysis across funds or entire models., and Flows & trading dashboards (volumes/ADV); flows noted as T+1 timing in daily updates..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade and Education.

Adds coverage: ETF Overview, ETF Performance, ETF Holdings, and ETF Fundamentals

Standout features: Global ETF ‘Channels’ taxonomy with category reports and dashboards (Size & Style US/Global, Region & Country, Sector & Industry, Thematic, Fixed Income, Non‑Traditional, Commodities, Crypto)., Look‑through analytics on fund holdings for factor/style, sector/industry, country, concentration; portfolio overlap analysis across funds or entire models., Flows & trading dashboards (volumes/ADV); flows noted as T+1 timing in daily updates., and Live pricing on platform pages via Polygon.io FMV quotes (real‑time-ish indicative).

#5 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 692
Category overlap: 60%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs
Blogs

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Expands into ETF Screeners, ETF Overview, and ETF Performance coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Global ETF Screener: filter by theme, sustainability (ESG), exposure and benchmark; database spans 12,000+ global ETFs., Compare ETFs: side‑by‑side comparisons (up to 5) with **Export to Excel** from the compare pages., and Lists (watchlists): create, share publicly, and **export to Excel**; plan limits vary by tier..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade and Education.

Adds coverage: ETF Screeners, ETF Overview, ETF Performance, and ETF Holdings

Standout features: Global ETF Screener: filter by theme, sustainability (ESG), exposure and benchmark; database spans 12,000+ global ETFs., Compare ETFs: side‑by‑side comparisons (up to 5) with **Export to Excel** from the compare pages., Lists (watchlists): create, share publicly, and **export to Excel**; plan limits vary by tier., and Portfolio Insights (Premium): portfolio analytics across more fund data, customization, and **Excel export**.

Similarity score 674
Category overlap: 60%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs
Blogs

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into APIs & SDKs, Interest Rates, and Yield Curves coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Short‑term Funding Monitor (STFM): curated repo/CP/CD/FF market charts plus **open REST API** (JSON, HTTPS) with series search, metadata, and spread endpoints; no tokens required., U.S. Money Market Fund Monitor: interactive holdings transparency by asset type, counterparty, country; per‑chart **CSV download**., and Hedge Fund Monitor (HFM): aggregated Form PF and related series via an **open REST API** (JSON) organized by datasets and mnemonics..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade and Education.

Adds coverage: APIs & SDKs, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, and Scores

Standout features: Short‑term Funding Monitor (STFM): curated repo/CP/CD/FF market charts plus **open REST API** (JSON, HTTPS) with series search, metadata, and spread endpoints; no tokens required., U.S. Money Market Fund Monitor: interactive holdings transparency by asset type, counterparty, country; per‑chart **CSV download**., Hedge Fund Monitor (HFM): aggregated Form PF and related series via an **open REST API** (JSON) organized by datasets and mnemonics., and OFR Financial Stress Index (FSI): **daily** global market‑based stress index built from 33 variables; FSI values publish with a ~**two‑business‑day** lag.

#7 Alternative

Hands-on Tested
Free Tier
Similarity score 672
Category overlap: 60%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Education
Blogs

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Comparison, and ETF Overview coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Coverage of more than 130,000 stocks and ETFs across 65 global exchanges., Portfolio tracking through manual entry or broker connections (via SnapTrade integration)., and Custom watchlists with event notifications and alerts..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Data APIs and Shipping & Trade.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Comparison, ETF Overview, and ETF Holdings

Standout features: Coverage of more than 130,000 stocks and ETFs across 65 global exchanges., Portfolio tracking through manual entry or broker connections (via SnapTrade integration)., Custom watchlists with event notifications and alerts., and Proprietary “Insights Score” summarizing a company’s fundamentals at a glance.

#8 Alternative

Analyst Pick
Hands-on Tested
Similarity score 668
Category overlap: 60%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Education
Blogs

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Stockopedia adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Ideas, and Financials coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Equity screener with more than 350 ratios and over 65 prebuilt “GuruScreens.”, StockRanks™ system rates every stock on Quality, Value, and Momentum, with additional risk ratings and style classifications., and Portfolios (“Folios”) track performance with time-weighted returns and integrate company announcements and reporting calendars..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Data APIs and Shipping & Trade.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Ideas, Financials, and Scores

Standout features: Equity screener with more than 350 ratios and over 65 prebuilt “GuruScreens.”, StockRanks™ system rates every stock on Quality, Value, and Momentum, with additional risk ratings and style classifications., Portfolios (“Folios”) track performance with time-weighted returns and integrate company announcements and reporting calendars., and Unlimited custom alerts on price moves or any screenable fundamental/technical rule, with delivery by email or in-app notification.

#9 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 610
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • FlightAware adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into APIs & SDKs, Alerts, and Satellite / Geospatial coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Live flight tracking and flight-status pages with dedicated views for cancellations and delays, plus the signature MiseryMap® for U.S. air traffic disruptions., Premium subscriptions unlock unlimited flight alerts and access to three, five, or eight months of historical flight data., and AeroAPI (v4) provides RESTful access to current and historical flight data with JSON responses and API key authentication..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: APIs & SDKs, Alerts, and Satellite / Geospatial

Standout features: Live flight tracking and flight-status pages with dedicated views for cancellations and delays, plus the signature MiseryMap® for U.S. air traffic disruptions., Premium subscriptions unlock unlimited flight alerts and access to three, five, or eight months of historical flight data., AeroAPI (v4) provides RESTful access to current and historical flight data with JSON responses and API key authentication., and FlightAware Firehose delivers a continuous enterprise-grade feed of real-time, historical, and predictive flight data over secure TCP/SSL connections.

#10 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 610
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data APIs
Education

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Listen Notes adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into APIs & SDKs, Alerts, and Other coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Podcast API v2: search, directory, insights; official client libraries; OpenAPI spec & mock server for keyless testing., Pricing tiers with concrete quotas: FREE (300 req/mo), PRO (base fee with 5k req/mo included + tiered overages), ENTERPRISE (annual contract, larger quotas, relaxed caching/no-logo)., and Plan-based search result caps & rate limits: FREE up to 30 results/query (2 req/s, 20 req/min); PRO up to 300 results/query (medium rate limit); ENTERPRISE up to 10,000 results/query (high rate limit)..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Data Visualizations, Shipping & Trade, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: APIs & SDKs, Alerts, and Other

Standout features: Podcast API v2: search, directory, insights; official client libraries; OpenAPI spec & mock server for keyless testing., Pricing tiers with concrete quotas: FREE (300 req/mo), PRO (base fee with 5k req/mo included + tiered overages), ENTERPRISE (annual contract, larger quotas, relaxed caching/no-logo)., Plan-based search result caps & rate limits: FREE up to 30 results/query (2 req/s, 20 req/min); PRO up to 300 results/query (medium rate limit); ENTERPRISE up to 10,000 results/query (high rate limit)., and Advanced fields & endpoints on higher tiers: transcripts, batch fetch, RSS/large image, email, latest_episode_id, Listen Score & Global Rank.

#11 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 610
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data APIs
Blogs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Semrush adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into App & Website Traffic, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks., Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4)., and API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Data Visualizations, Shipping & Trade, and Education.

Adds coverage: App & Website Traffic, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins

Standout features: Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks., Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4)., API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing., and Flexible exports in CSV, Excel, and PDF across tools. Position Tracking and Site Audit modules generate PDF reports; Position Tracking also supports direct Google Sheets export.

#12 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 598
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Calendar, Inflation Rates, and Unemployment Rates coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Access to over 840,000 time series from more than 100 official and third-party sources, all browsable and downloadable online., Official REST API covering both FRED and ALFRED, with endpoints for categories, releases, series, and sources., and Flexible output formats including JSON, XML, Excel, and CSV for easy integration..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: Calendar, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, and GDP

Standout features: Access to over 840,000 time series from more than 100 official and third-party sources, all browsable and downloadable online., Official REST API covering both FRED and ALFRED, with endpoints for categories, releases, series, and sources., Flexible output formats including JSON, XML, Excel, and CSV for easy integration., and ALFRED (the archival database) provides point-in-time vintages, letting you track historical revisions exactly as they were published.

#13 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 598
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Expands into App & Website Traffic, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Website traffic and engagement analytics, including keyword research, referral sources, and a free traffic checker tool., APIs available in REST and Batch modes: REST delivers JSON responses, while Batch handles large CSV reports., and Webhook support for subscribing to daily or monthly data releases, with options to manage subscriptions directly..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: App & Website Traffic, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins

Standout features: Website traffic and engagement analytics, including keyword research, referral sources, and a free traffic checker tool., APIs available in REST and Batch modes: REST delivers JSON responses, while Batch handles large CSV reports., Webhook support for subscribing to daily or monthly data releases, with options to manage subscriptions directly., and Data Exporter for no-code bulk exports, including scheduled email delivery and CSV downloads.

Similarity score 586
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into Calendar, Central Bank Watcher, and Housing & Construction coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include SDMX RESTful API for programmatic access to data & metadata; supports JSON, XML, CSV output; interactive API docs provided., Bulk downloads: each topic downloadable as a zipped CSV or SDMX file; topical packages show last‑updated stamps., and Release calendar with upcoming/past releases; exportable (CSV/Excel) and accessible via API; RSS feed available..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: Calendar, Central Bank Watcher, Housing & Construction, and Inflation Rates

Standout features: SDMX RESTful API for programmatic access to data & metadata; supports JSON, XML, CSV output; interactive API docs provided., Bulk downloads: each topic downloadable as a zipped CSV or SDMX file; topical packages show last‑updated stamps., Release calendar with upcoming/past releases; exportable (CSV/Excel) and accessible via API; RSS feed available., and Portal exports: Excel/CSV for selected time series (up to 4,500 series per export); Tables & Dashboards can be exported as PDF.

#15 Alternative

Similarity score 586
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Subscription

Why investors switch

  • CB Insights adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Screeners, and Acquisitions coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Global company intelligence platform covering private and public companies, investors, deals, and M&A activity., APIs and enterprise data feeds providing structured access to company, funding, and investor datasets., and Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Screeners, Acquisitions, and Newsletters

Standout features: Global company intelligence platform covering private and public companies, investors, deals, and M&A activity., APIs and enterprise data feeds providing structured access to company, funding, and investor datasets., Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets., and Salesforce integration to embed company and investor insights into CRM workflows.

#16 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 586
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into APIs & SDKs, Central Bank Watcher, and Inflation Rates coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Open SDMX 2.1 REST API with discovery & retrieval modes; single entry point at data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/ and rich query parameters (e.g., startPeriod/endPeriod, updatedAfter, includeHistory, detail, firstNObservations/lastNObservations)., Format flexibility via content negotiation and the `format` query param: SDMX‑JSON, CSV, and SDMX‑ML (structure‑specific and generic)., and Interactive portal with export of data (CSV, XLS long/wide, SDMX) and export of visuals (PNG, PDF, PowerPoint)..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: APIs & SDKs, Central Bank Watcher, Inflation Rates, and Interest Rates

Standout features: Open SDMX 2.1 REST API with discovery & retrieval modes; single entry point at data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/ and rich query parameters (e.g., startPeriod/endPeriod, updatedAfter, includeHistory, detail, firstNObservations/lastNObservations)., Format flexibility via content negotiation and the `format` query param: SDMX‑JSON, CSV, and SDMX‑ML (structure‑specific and generic)., Interactive portal with export of data (CSV, XLS long/wide, SDMX) and export of visuals (PNG, PDF, PowerPoint)., and Comprehensive euro‑area macro & markets coverage: HICP inflation, key & market interest rates, exchange rates (reference rates), GDP and labor indicators, plus euro‑area yield curves (spot/forward/par).

#17 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 580
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into APIs & SDKs, Videos, and Other coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure., Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy., and Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: APIs & SDKs, Videos, and Other

Standout features: Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure., Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy., Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints., and Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.

#18 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 578
Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into APIs & SDKs and Regulatory Filings Monitoring coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Interactive explorer to filter, chart trends over time, map by geography, and read consented narratives., Programmatic access via the Consumer Complaint Database Search API; results available as JSON, CSV, XLS, or XLSX., and Daily refresh cadence; complaints published after a response or after 15 days; complaints referred to other regulators are not published..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: APIs & SDKs and Regulatory Filings Monitoring

Standout features: Interactive explorer to filter, chart trends over time, map by geography, and read consented narratives., Programmatic access via the Consumer Complaint Database Search API; results available as JSON, CSV, XLS, or XLSX., Daily refresh cadence; complaints published after a response or after 15 days; complaints referred to other regulators are not published., and Detailed fields: product/sub‑product, issue/sub‑issue, company, dates (received/sent to company), state/ZIP (privacy rules), submission channel, tags (e.g., Servicemember, Older American), company public response, response category, timeliness, and (if consented) complaint narrative.

#19 Alternative

Analyst Pick
Hands-on Tested
Free Tier
Similarity score 578
Category overlap: 40%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free and Subscription

Why investors switch

  • Fiscal.ai adds mobile access for on-the-go monitoring.
  • Expands into Screeners, Stock Comparison, and Portfolio coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Global market coverage for more than 100,000 stocks, ETFs, and funds., Detailed company fundamentals including segments and KPIs for over 2,000 firms, with historical depth expanding by plan tier., and AI Copilot and automated summaries to speed up research; monthly prompt allowances scale with subscription level, with custom summaries on higher tiers..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: Screeners, Stock Comparison, Portfolio, and Watchlist

Standout features: Global market coverage for more than 100,000 stocks, ETFs, and funds., Detailed company fundamentals including segments and KPIs for over 2,000 firms, with historical depth expanding by plan tier., AI Copilot and automated summaries to speed up research; monthly prompt allowances scale with subscription level, with custom summaries on higher tiers., and Analyst data including forward estimates, revisions, price targets, and ratings.

#20 Alternative

Free Tier
Similarity score 578
Category overlap: 50%

Shared coverage

Data Visualizations
Data APIs

Assets: Other

Experience: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced

Platforms: Web and API

Pricing: Free

Why investors switch

  • Expands into APIs & SDKs and Regulatory Filings Monitoring coverage beyond what Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers.
  • Standout features include Three core datasets each year: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership/Investment Interests., Web search/explorer with filtering and charts; program year downloads available from the portal., and Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style)..
  • Pair it with Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) if you still need Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs.

Adds coverage: APIs & SDKs and Regulatory Filings Monitoring

Standout features: Three core datasets each year: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership/Investment Interests., Web search/explorer with filtering and charts; program year downloads available from the portal., Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style)., and Publication cadence: initial annual publication on/around June 30 for the prior year, plus a January data refresh.

Coverage Snapshot

Where alternatives already align

Most shared categories across the top matches.

Data Visualizations×18
Data APIs×17
Blogs×8
Education×4
Shipping & Trade×1

New angles introduced

Categories the alternatives add beyond Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).

APIs & SDKs+10
Alerts+7
Screeners+6
Calendar+5
Portfolio+5
Analyst Price Targets+4
Analyst Recommendations+4
ETF Holdings+4

Access & Pricing

Free options

18/20

18 of 20 alternatives keep a free tier for trials.

Mobile ready

9/20

9 alternatives bring native mobile access.

API availability

17/20

17 of the shortlisted tools expose API endpoints for automation-heavy workflows.

Quality checks

2 starred / 4 tested

2 tools are flagged as analyst picks; 4 have been hands-on tested.

Avg. coverage overlap

51%

Average percentage of categories shared with the base tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best alternatives to Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)?

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) users most often consider MarineTraffic, ORTEX, and Visual Capitalist as their go-to alternatives.

Which alternatives keep a free tier?

MarineTraffic, ORTEX, Visual Capitalist, ETF Action, Trackinsight, Office of Financial Research (U.S. Treasury), Stock Unlock, FlightAware, Listen Notes, Semrush, FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data), Similarweb, BIS Data Portal (Bank for International Settlements), ECB Data Portal, USAspending, CFPB Consumer Complaint Database, Fiscal.ai, and Open Payments (CMS) offer a free plan or trial option, making them easy to test before committing to a paid subscription.

Which workflows do the top Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) alternatives cover?

Expect deep coverage across Blogs, Data APIs, Data Visualizations, Education, and Shipping & Trade, so you can port most Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) workflows without much friction.

Information

About Me

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I'm an independent investor with a soft spot for coding and the stock market - especially value investing (as you can probably tell from the tools I've collected here, haha). Hopefully you'll find something useful or interesting along the way.

Find me here:

Got questions or suggestions? I'm all ears!

Missing a Tool?

Discovered a gem I don't have here yet? Drop the link below and I'll check it out ASAP. Tagging me on X works too! Can't wait to see what you've found!

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Starred Tools

These are my top picks. Tools I've tested thoroughly and found to be excellent. They do their job really well, and I use them a lot. If you're not already familiar with them, I highly recommend checking them out.

Tested Tools

These are tools I've tried and found to be solid, but not standout. Think of them as passing an initial quality screen: worth exploring, though not all will be exceptional.

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.