★ BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON ★
VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
Tool comparison edition
Tool Comparison
CB Insights vs Trading Economics
Pick CB Insights if
CB Insights
Best for screeners and data visualizations
Contact for pricing · Web · Mobile · API
- You care about screeners, data visualizations, and corporate actions & special situations, things Trading Economics doesn't offer
Pick Trading Economics if
Trading Economics
Best for macro data and calendar
Free • From $149/mo · Web · Mobile · Desktop · 67% positive (3 votes)
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You'd rather start free and only pay if you outgrow it
- You care about macro data, calendar, and alerts, things CB Insights doesn't offer
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
See alternativesOutbound links may include affiliate or sponsor codes.
The verdict
The bottom line
CB Insights and Trading Economics cover a lot of the same ground (3 shared categories, APIs & data feeds, sheets / excel add-ins, and AI research), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. Trading Economics simply does more: 12 categories to CB Insights's 7, including macro data, calendar, and alerts. CB Insights counters by keeping things simpler.
Key differences at a glance
- Real-time data
- Trading Economics
- Free plan
- Trading Economics
- Broader coverage
- Trading Economics12 vs 7 categories
- Desktop app
- Trading Economics
- Asset coverage
- Trading EconomicsAdds bonds and commodities
Comparison snapshot
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Contact for pricing | Free • From $149/mo |
Free tier | No | Yes |
Free trial | — | — |
Plan limits | 3 limits: Browser Analyst: pricing: Request pricing, Enterprise Platform: pricing: Request pricing +1 more | — |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Desktop app | No | Yes |
Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Integrations | Salesforce, Microsoft Excel +6 more | Microsoft Excel (Add-In), Excel Online / Office 365 (Web Add-In) +6 more |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | Retail Traders, Institutional Investors +3 more |
Categories covered | 7 | 12 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | — | Latency: Streaming and Real-time |
Capabilities | — | Credit ratings |
| Try it | Visit CB Insights | Visit Trading Economics |
Standout features
What CB Insights does best
- Research private and public companies, investors, funding rounds, M&A, business relationships, earnings, markets, and competitive landscapes.
- Use company profiles, market analytics, visual dashboards, deal insights, and sector tracking to map markets and competitors.
- Use Mosaic Score and other proprietary measures to evaluate private-company health and growth signals.
- Use Strategy Terminal, Browser Analyst, ChatCBI, and team-of-agents workflows for AI-assisted scouting, briefs, trend discovery, and market analysis.
- Pull CB Insights data into workflows through Excel, Salesforce, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Snowflake, Zapier, Affinity, A2A, MCP-style, and data-solution integrations where licensed.
What Trading Economics does best
- Browse macro indicators, economic calendars, forecasts, markets, news, credit ratings, and country data from a public web interface.
- Use REST API access for economic indicators, FX, stock indexes, government bond yields, commodities, company financials, dividends, IPOs, and splits.
- Request JSON, CSV, or XML output through API parameters and authenticate with an API key in the query string or Authorization header.
- Stream live markets, calendar events, news, and earnings releases through WebSocket channels with client key and secret credentials.
- Start with guest:guest for limited sample access, including a highly restricted market-streaming topic, before evaluating paid API plans.
Data & access details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksOther | StocksBondsCommoditiesCurrenciesOther |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Not specified | Retail TradersInstitutional InvestorsAnalystsQuants/DevelopersStudents/Researchers |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica |
Coverage details | Not specified | Identifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Not specified | StreamingReal-time |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | Not specified | RESTWebSocket |
API auth & delivery | Not specified | Auth: APIKeySDKs: Python, R, and TS120 req/minDocs |
Integrations | SalesforceMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft 365 CopilotSnowflakeAffinityZapierA2AMCP | Microsoft Excel (Add-In)Excel Online / Office 365 (Web Add-In)Google SheetsTableauChainlinkChatGPTClaudeMCP |
Export formats | Not specified | CSVExcelJSONXML |
| Plans & trust | ||
Capability signals | Not specified | Credit ratings |
Vendor & support | CB Information Services, Inc.Country: United StatesSupport: Email and Phone | IECONOMICS INC |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing breakdown
—
Starting price
Plans & pricing
- pricing: Request pricing
- pricing: Request pricing
- pricing: Request pricing
$149/mo
Starting price
Plans & pricing
Coverage overlap
Shared categories
3Where the two tools cover the same ground.
CB Insights strengths
4What you only get with CB Insights.
Trading Economics strengths
9What you only get with Trading Economics.
Community category leaders
Vote sentiment comparison
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between CB Insights and Trading Economics?
CB Insights leans toward APIs & data feeds, sheets / excel add-ins, and screeners, while Trading Economics puts more weight on macro data, calendar, and alerts. They overlap in 3 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
Is CB Insights or Trading Economics free to use?
Trading Economics has a free tier, so you can get started without paying anything. CB Insights is paid-only. If budget matters, start with Trading Economics and see how far it takes you before opening your wallet.
Do CB Insights and Trading Economics have APIs?
Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.
Should I choose CB Insights or Trading Economics?
It depends on what you're after. Pick CB Insights if screeners and data visualizations matter to you; go with Trading Economics if you'd rather have macro data and calendar. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do CB Insights and Trading Economics cover?
Both cover stocks and other. Trading Economics adds bonds, commodities, and currencies on top.
Does CB Insights or Trading Economics have real-time data?
Trading Economics offers real-time data, which matters if you trade actively. CB Insights runs on delayed or end-of-day data, which is perfectly fine for longer-term investors who don't live and die by the tick.
Can I export data from CB Insights and Trading Economics?
Trading Economics exports to CSV and Excel. CB Insights is stingier about getting data out.
Which has a better stock screener: CB Insights or Trading Economics?
CB Insights has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; Trading Economics doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.
Other tools you might like
These profiles share overlapping coverage with both sides of this matchup.
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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.