VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, December 8, 2025

Tool Comparison

Alpha Vantage vs USAspending comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Alpha Vantage adds News, News Sentiment, Market Sentiment, Calendar, IPO, Dividends, Splits, Delisted, GDP, Interest Rates, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, Retail Sales, Yield Curves, Options & Derivatives, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, ETF Fundamentals, Financials, Insider Data, Transcripts, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, and Education coverage that USAspending skips.

USAspending includes Data Visualizations, Videos, and Other categories that Alpha Vantage omits.

In depth comparison

Alpha Vantage

alphavantage.co

Hands-on review

Exchange-licensed, API-first market data provider for global equities, ETFs, mutual funds, FX, crypto, options, commodities and macro indicators. Free key covers most datasets with 25 API calls/day; premium membership removes daily limits and unlocks premium endpoints such as realtime/15‑minute delayed US data, intraday history, and options, with separate commercial licensing for business use.

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscriptionOther

Quick highlights

Cloud-native REST APIs for realtime and historical financial data across global stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, FX, cryptocurrencies, commodities, technical indicators and macroeconomic indicators in a single unified portfolio of endpoints.
Global equity time series APIs (daily, weekly, monthly and intraday 1–60 minute bars) with 20+ years of history, optional split/dividend-adjusted prices, and support for extended trading hours where available.
US options data APIs providing realtime and historical option chains with 15+ years of history, full market/volume coverage, and optional Greeks and implied volatility fields in JSON or CSV.
Fundamental data suite covering company overview, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, dividends, splits, shares outstanding, ETF profile & holdings, listing/delisting status, earnings history, earnings estimates, and earnings/IPO calendars.
Alpha Intelligence™ endpoints for market news & sentiment, earnings call transcripts, top gainers/losers, insider transactions, and fixed/sliding-window analytics, built with in‑house AI and quantitative expertise.

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USAspending

usaspending.gov

Official U.S. federal spending open‑data portal mandated by the DATA Act and operated by Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The public REST API powers the site (GET/POST endpoints, JSON responses). Data refreshes daily after a nightly pipeline; underlying source systems update on different cadences (e.g., monthly for Files A/B/C via the DATA Act Broker; next‑day for FPDS contracts; FABS within 2 weeks; FSRS subawards by month‑end; GTAS monthly). Bulk downloads and archives are available for awards back to FY2008.

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

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.
Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.
Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS).

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Where they differ

Alpha Vantage

Distinct strengths include:

News News Sentiment Market Sentiment Calendar IPO Dividends Splits Delisted

Cloud-native REST APIs for realtime and historical financial data across global stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, FX, cryptocurrencies, commodities, technical indicators and macroeconomic indicators in a single unified portfolio of endpoints.
Global equity time series APIs (daily, weekly, monthly and intraday 1–60 minute bars) with 20+ years of history, optional split/dividend-adjusted prices, and support for extended trading hours where available.
US options data APIs providing realtime and historical option chains with 15+ years of history, full market/volume coverage, and optional Greeks and implied volatility fields in JSON or CSV.
Fundamental data suite covering company overview, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, dividends, splits, shares outstanding, ETF profile & holdings, listing/delisting status, earnings history, earnings estimates, and earnings/IPO calendars.

USAspending

Distinct strengths include:

Data Visualizations Videos Other

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.
Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Alpha Vantage	USAspending
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: News, News Sentiment, Market Sentiment, Calendar, IPO, Dividends, Splits, Delisted, GDP, Interest Rates, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, Retail Sales, Yield Curves, Options & Derivatives, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, ETF Fundamentals, Financials, Insider Data, Transcripts, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Education	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: Data Visualizations, Videos, Other
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Currencies, Cryptos, Commodities, Funds	Other
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription, Other	Free
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Cloud-native REST APIs for realtime and historical financial data across global stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, FX, cryptocurrencies, commodities, technical indicators and macroeconomic indicators in a single unified portfolio of endpoints. Global equity time series APIs (daily, weekly, monthly and intraday 1–60 minute bars) with 20+ years of history, optional split/dividend-adjusted prices, and support for extended trading hours where available. US options data APIs providing realtime and historical option chains with 15+ years of history, full market/volume coverage, and optional Greeks and implied volatility fields in JSON or CSV. Fundamental data suite covering company overview, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, dividends, splits, shares outstanding, ETF profile & holdings, listing/delisting status, earnings history, earnings estimates, and earnings/IPO calendars. Alpha Intelligence™ endpoints for market news & sentiment, earnings call transcripts, top gainers/losers, insider transactions, and fixed/sliding-window analytics, built with in‑house AI and quantitative expertise. FX and cryptocurrency APIs for exchange rates plus intraday/daily/weekly/monthly time series, alongside commodities (e.g., crude oil, natural gas, metals, agricultural products) and US economic indicators such as GDP, CPI, inflation, unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, retail sales, durable goods orders and Treasury yields.	Unique 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. Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download. Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS). Entity identifiers: UEI (replaced DUNS on Apr 4, 2022) used for recipients as the governmentwide identifier (via SAM.gov).
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Yes	Not yet
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Alpha Vantage and USAspending both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, 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 USAspending require subscriptions?

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

How can you access Alpha Vantage and USAspending?

Both Alpha Vantage and USAspending prioritize web or desktop access. Investors wanting a mobile-first workflow may need to rely on responsive web views.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Alpha Vantage differentiates itself with Cloud-native REST APIs for realtime and historical financial data across global stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, FX, cryptocurrencies, commodities, technical indicators and macroeconomic indicators in a single unified portfolio of endpoints., Global equity time series APIs (daily, weekly, monthly and intraday 1–60 minute bars) with 20+ years of history, optional split/dividend-adjusted prices, and support for extended trading hours where available., and US options data APIs providing realtime and historical option chains with 15+ years of history, full market/volume coverage, and optional Greeks and implied volatility fields in JSON or CSV., whereas USAspending stands out for 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..

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