BIS Data Portal vs U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) comparison

BIS Data Portal focuses on Data APIs, Data Visualizations, and Calendar while U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) specializes in Data APIs, Calendar, and Inflation Rates. They overlap in 3 categories, so choose based on your preferred workflow and pricing.

Good news—both BIS Data Portal and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) offer free plans. You can try each platform without commitment and only pay when you need premium features.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is more beginner-friendly with an approachable interface. Both can work for intermediate users.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has a mobile app so you can check your research on the go. BIS Data Portal is web-only, so you'll need a browser to access it from mobile devices.

Yes, both platforms offer API access for developers and quants who want to build custom integrations or automate their workflows.

Choose BIS Data Portal if you need Global BIS macro‑financial time series across topics such as international banking, debt securities, credit, global liquidity, derivatives, property prices, consumer prices, exchange rates, central bank statistics and payment statistics., and Search time series across all topics, refine with filters, and explore data sets by country/topic/key characteristics.. Go with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) if Public Data API v2: JSON and Excel (.xlsx) output; single or batched series; optional calculations, annual averages, aspects & catalog metadata for registered users., and Usage limits (v2): up to 50 series per query, up to 20 years per query, ~50 requests per 10 seconds; daily cap 500 queries (registered) or 25 (unregistered). better fits how you invest.

Both cover Other. BIS Data Portal also includes Currencies, Bonds, Real Estate, Options, and Futures.

Both platforms let you export data to spreadsheets (CSV, Excel, and JSON). This is useful for custom analysis or record-keeping.