VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Tool Comparison

Alpha Vantage vs Unusual Whales comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

Alpha Vantage adds News Sentiment, Splits, IPO, Delisted, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, ETF Holdings, Transcripts, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins coverage that Unusual Whales skips.

Unusual Whales includes Screeners, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Alerts, US Government Trades, 13F, and Education categories that Alpha Vantage omits.

Unusual Whales offers mobile access, which Alpha Vantage skips.

In depth comparison

Alpha Vantage

alphavantage.co

Hands-on review

REST APIs delivering global market data in JSON and CSV. The free tier allows 25 requests per day, while premium plans remove limits and unlock real-time and 15-minute delayed US equities plus real-time US options. Entitlements and account management are handled through the Alpha X Terminal.

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

Equity time series for global stocks (intraday down to 1-minute, plus daily/weekly/monthly) with 20+ years of history, including pre- and post-market support and adjustment toggles for splits and dividends.
US options coverage with real-time and historical data spanning over 15 years, including optional greeks and implied volatility outputs in JSON or CSV.
Fundamentals and corporate actions such as company overviews, financials, dividends, splits, plus ETF profiles and holdings.
Corporate calendars: earnings announcements, IPO schedules, listings, and delisting status.
Alpha Intelligence datasets with market news and sentiment, earnings call transcripts, insider transactions, and daily gainers/losers.

Community votes (overall)

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Unusual Whales

unusualwhales.com

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

Real-time options flow and dark-pool analytics built for active traders. Free plans view delayed data; paid tiers stream live flow, with annual plans unlocking data downloads. The public API is sold separately, and “Periscope” (market-wide SPX exposure) is available as an add-on.

Platforms

WebMobileAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.
Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk.

Community votes (overall)

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Where they differ

Alpha Vantage

Distinct strengths include:

News Sentiment Splits IPO Delisted Inflation Rates Unemployment Rates GDP Interest Rates

Equity time series for global stocks (intraday down to 1-minute, plus daily/weekly/monthly) with 20+ years of history, including pre- and post-market support and adjustment toggles for splits and dividends.
US options coverage with real-time and historical data spanning over 15 years, including optional greeks and implied volatility outputs in JSON or CSV.
Fundamentals and corporate actions such as company overviews, financials, dividends, splits, plus ETF profiles and holdings.
Corporate calendars: earnings announcements, IPO schedules, listings, and delisting status.

Unusual Whales

Distinct strengths include:

Screeners Portfolio Paper Trading Dark Pool & Off-Exchange Alerts US Government Trades 13F Education

Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Alpha Vantage	Unusual Whales
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, News, Calendar, Dividends, Options & Derivatives, Insider Data, APIs & SDKs Unique: News Sentiment, Splits, IPO, Delisted, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, ETF Holdings, Transcripts, Sheets / Excel Add-ins	Shared: Data APIs, News, Calendar, Dividends, Options & Derivatives, Insider Data, APIs & SDKs Unique: Screeners, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Alerts, US Government Trades, 13F, Education
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Stocks, ETFs, Options, Currencies, Cryptos, Commodities, Mutual Funds	Stocks, ETFs, Options
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web, Mobile, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription	Free, Subscription
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Equity time series for global stocks (intraday down to 1-minute, plus daily/weekly/monthly) with 20+ years of history, including pre- and post-market support and adjustment toggles for splits and dividends. US options coverage with real-time and historical data spanning over 15 years, including optional greeks and implied volatility outputs in JSON or CSV. Fundamentals and corporate actions such as company overviews, financials, dividends, splits, plus ETF profiles and holdings. Corporate calendars: earnings announcements, IPO schedules, listings, and delisting status. Alpha Intelligence datasets with market news and sentiment, earnings call transcripts, insider transactions, and daily gainers/losers. Coverage across FX and crypto exchange rates (including intraday), commodities (oil, metals, agriculture), and US macro indicators like GDP, CPI, interest rates, and unemployment.	Unique Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy. Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones. Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals. Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L. Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk. Portfolio Manager with broker linking for IBKR, tastytrade, Fidelity, and Robinhood.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Yes	Yes
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Highlighted

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Alpha Vantage and Unusual Whales both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, News, Calendar, Dividends, Options & Derivatives, Insider Data, and APIs & SDKs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do Alpha Vantage and Unusual Whales require subscriptions?

Both Alpha Vantage and Unusual Whales keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

Unusual Whales ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Alpha Vantage focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Alpha Vantage differentiates itself with Equity time series for global stocks (intraday down to 1-minute, plus daily/weekly/monthly) with 20+ years of history, including pre- and post-market support and adjustment toggles for splits and dividends., US options coverage with real-time and historical data spanning over 15 years, including optional greeks and implied volatility outputs in JSON or CSV., and Fundamentals and corporate actions such as company overviews, financials, dividends, splits, plus ETF profiles and holdings., whereas Unusual Whales stands out for Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy., Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones., and Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals..

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