VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Saturday, November 1, 2025

Tool Comparison

Calcbench vs FOIAsearch comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Calcbench adds Financials, Improved Filings, Management Compensation, Acquisitions, Ticker Changes, Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, and Blogs coverage that FOIAsearch skips.

FOIAsearch includes Alerts, and Watchlist categories that Calcbench omits.

In depth comparison

Calcbench logo

Calcbench

calcbench.com

SEC-filings and earnings‑release data platform built for analysts. Coverage includes as‑reported financial statements, footnotes/disclosures text, segments & breakouts, earnings press‑release numerics (incl. non‑GAAP and guidance), proxies, 8‑Ks, and SEC comment letters. ‘Trace’ any number back to the source filing. Point‑in‑time fundamentals with publication timestamps are available for backtests. Excel (Windows) add‑in is full‑featured; Office 365 (Mac/Web) and Google Sheets add‑ins are lighter. API access is separate from standard subscriptions.

Platforms

WebDesktopAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

  • As‑reported financials with drill‑through ‘Trace to source’ into the filing; multi‑company time‑series and standardized metrics.
  • Interactive disclosures/footnotes search across 10‑K/10‑Q (and other docs); segment & geographic breakouts.
  • Earnings press‑release data within minutes of wire: GAAP, non‑GAAP, guidance, KPIs; model‑ready via Excel or API.
  • Point‑in‑time fundamentals: standardized metrics stamped with first‑available timestamps to avoid look‑ahead bias.
  • Auditor & auditor‑fee dataset with flags; M&A purchase‑price‑allocation dataset.

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FOIAsearch logo

FOIAsearch

foiasearch.com

Free SEC‑FOIA log search with investor‑oriented alerts. Tracks FOIA requests filed with the SEC (post‑Oct 1, 2019), highlights requests denied under Exemption 7(A) (B7A)—a known signal of ongoing enforcement activity—and offers alerts for portfolio tickers and issuer‑relations (‘IR Watch’) plus monthly Prominent Reporter Alerts. Built by Edwin Dorsey (The Bear Cave).

Platforms

Web

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

  • Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’.
  • ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers.
  • ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case).
  • Monthly ‘Prominent Reporter Alerts’ to see what journalists are requesting before stories publish.
  • B7A (FOIA Exemption 7(A)) call‑outs; academic work shows B7A denials are predictive of ongoing/future SEC investigations.

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Where they differ

Calcbench

Distinct strengths include:

  • As‑reported financials with drill‑through ‘Trace to source’ into the filing; multi‑company time‑series and standardized metrics.
  • Interactive disclosures/footnotes search across 10‑K/10‑Q (and other docs); segment & geographic breakouts.
  • Earnings press‑release data within minutes of wire: GAAP, non‑GAAP, guidance, KPIs; model‑ready via Excel or API.
  • Point‑in‑time fundamentals: standardized metrics stamped with first‑available timestamps to avoid look‑ahead bias.

FOIAsearch

Distinct strengths include:

  • Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’.
  • ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers.
  • ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case).
  • Monthly ‘Prominent Reporter Alerts’ to see what journalists are requesting before stories publish.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeCalcbenchFOIAsearch
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Flags, Regulatory Filings Monitoring

Unique: Financials, Improved Filings, Management Compensation, Acquisitions, Ticker Changes, Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Blogs

Shared: Flags, Regulatory Filings Monitoring

Unique: Alerts, Watchlist

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks

Stocks

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web, Desktop, API

Web

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free, Subscription

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • As‑reported financials with drill‑through ‘Trace to source’ into the filing; multi‑company time‑series and standardized metrics.
  • Interactive disclosures/footnotes search across 10‑K/10‑Q (and other docs); segment & geographic breakouts.
  • Earnings press‑release data within minutes of wire: GAAP, non‑GAAP, guidance, KPIs; model‑ready via Excel or API.
  • Point‑in‑time fundamentals: standardized metrics stamped with first‑available timestamps to avoid look‑ahead bias.
  • Auditor & auditor‑fee dataset with flags; M&A purchase‑price‑allocation dataset.
  • Excel add‑in (Windows, full), Office 365 add‑in (Mac/Web, limited), and Google Sheets add‑on; Python API client.

Unique

  • Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’.
  • ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers.
  • ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case).
  • Monthly ‘Prominent Reporter Alerts’ to see what journalists are requesting before stories publish.
  • B7A (FOIA Exemption 7(A)) call‑outs; academic work shows B7A denials are predictive of ongoing/future SEC investigations.
  • Covers SEC FOIA requests filed after Oct 1, 2019; links back to the official SEC FOIA Logs page for provenance.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

Not yet

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Calcbench and FOIAsearch both support?

Both platforms cover Flags, and Regulatory Filings Monitoring workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do Calcbench and FOIAsearch require subscriptions?

Both Calcbench and FOIAsearch keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access Calcbench and FOIAsearch?

Both Calcbench and FOIAsearch 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?

Calcbench differentiates itself with As‑reported financials with drill‑through ‘Trace to source’ into the filing; multi‑company time‑series and standardized metrics., Interactive disclosures/footnotes search across 10‑K/10‑Q (and other docs); segment & geographic breakouts., and Earnings press‑release data within minutes of wire: GAAP, non‑GAAP, guidance, KPIs; model‑ready via Excel or API., whereas FOIAsearch stands out for Unified search of SEC FOIA Logs with lists for ‘All Requests’ and ‘B7A Exempt Requests’., ‘Protect My Portfolio’ email alerts on FOIA activity tied to saved companies/tickers., and ‘IR Watch’ alerts when hedge funds, research firms, or reporters FOIA your company (IR use‑case)..

Keep exploring

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.