VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

CB Insights vs Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

CB Insights adds Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Screeners, Acquisitions, Newsletters, and AI coverage that Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) skips.

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) includes Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs categories that CB Insights omits.

CB Insights highlights: 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..

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) is known for: Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification., Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans., and Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs..

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) keeps a free entry point that CB Insights lacks.

CB Insights ships a mobile app. Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) is web/desktop only.

CB Insights logo

CB Insights

cbinsights.com

An enterprise-grade market intelligence platform covering both private and public companies. CB Insights combines company profiles, deal tracking, and predictive scoring with AI-powered search and visual analytics. APIs and enterprise integrations (Salesforce, Excel, Snowflake, Microsoft 365 Copilot) are available on paid plans. A 10-day free trial is offered for new users.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Subscription

Quick highlights

  • 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.
  • Salesforce integration to embed company and investor insights into CRM workflows.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot Graph Connector to surface CB Insights data directly inside Copilot experiences.

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Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) logo

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)

oec.world

A global trade and economic complexity platform with rich visualizations, country and product rankings, and an API. Pro plans unlock the latest monthly and subnational datasets, while Premium adds company-level Bill of Lading data and bulk downloads. Academic discounts and enterprise options with SSO support are also available.

Platforms

Web
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification.
  • Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans.
  • Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs.
  • REST API with a free tier for historical data and Pro/Premium tokens for the latest datasets, subnational access, and higher query volumes.
  • Data downloads in CSV, Excel, or JSON, with bulk access and larger query limits available for subscribers.

Community votes (overall)

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, and Data Visualizations.

Where they differ

CB Insights

Distinct strengths 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.
  • Microsoft Excel add-in to pull in CB Insights company data, Mosaic Scores, and taxonomies directly into spreadsheets.
  • Salesforce integration to embed company and investor insights into CRM workflows.

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)

Distinct strengths include:

  • Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification.
  • Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans.
  • Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs.
  • REST API with a free tier for historical data and Pro/Premium tokens for the latest datasets, subnational access, and higher query volumes.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeCB InsightsObservatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Data APIs, Data Visualizations

Unique: Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Screeners, Acquisitions, Newsletters, AI

Shared: Data APIs, Data Visualizations

Unique: Shipping & Trade, Education, Blogs

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, Other

Other

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web, Mobile, API

Web, API

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Subscription

Free, Subscription

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • 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.
  • Salesforce integration to embed company and investor insights into CRM workflows.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot Graph Connector to surface CB Insights data directly inside Copilot experiences.
  • Snowflake data delivery with feeds optimized for AI and analytics use cases.

Unique

  • Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification.
  • Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans.
  • Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs.
  • REST API with a free tier for historical data and Pro/Premium tokens for the latest datasets, subnational access, and higher query volumes.
  • Data downloads in CSV, Excel, or JSON, with bulk access and larger query limits available for subscribers.
  • Support for multiple HS revisions (from HS92 through HS2022) with well-documented historical ranges.
Tested

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Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do CB Insights and Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, and Data Visualizations workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Which tool offers a free plan?

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offers a free entry point, while CB Insights requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

Which tool has mobile access?

CB Insights ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

CB Insights differentiates itself with 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., whereas Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) stands out for Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification., Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans., and Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs..

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.