VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ A CURATED DIRECTORY OF FINANCIAL TOOLS ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Friday, December 12, 2025

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Tool Comparison

CB Insights vs USAspending 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 USAspending skips.

USAspending includes APIs & SDKs, Videos, and Other categories that CB Insights omits.

USAspending keeps a free entry point that CB Insights lacks.

CB Insights ships a mobile app. USAspending is web/desktop only.

In depth comparison

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

WebMobileAPI

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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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

CB Insights

Distinct strengths include:

Sheets / Excel Add-ins Screeners Acquisitions Newsletters AI

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.

USAspending

Distinct strengths include:

APIs & SDKs 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	CB Insights	USAspending
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: APIs & SDKs, Videos, Other
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
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 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	Not yet	Not yet
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do CB Insights and USAspending 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?

USAspending 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 USAspending 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 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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