VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, October 6, 2025

View CME FedWatch Tool View Unusual Whales Back to Home

Head-to-head

CME FedWatch Tool vs Unusual Whales comparison

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

Quick takeaways

CME FedWatch Tool adds Central Bank Watcher, Interest Rates, and Data Visualizations coverage that Unusual Whales skips.

Unusual Whales includes Screeners, Options & Derivatives, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Alerts, News, US Government Trades, Insider Data, 13F, Education, and Dividends categories that CME FedWatch Tool omits.

CME FedWatch Tool highlights: Meeting‑by‑meeting probabilities of FOMC target‑rate outcomes implied by Fed Funds futures., Compare view (current vs 1‑day/1‑week/1‑month ago) and Historical panel., and Fed ‘Dot Plot’ chart plus table view..

Unusual Whales is known for: Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy., Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones., and Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals..

Unusual Whales offers mobile access, which CME FedWatch Tool skips.

CME FedWatch Tool

cmegroup.com

Official CME probabilities for upcoming FOMC decisions, derived from 30‑Day Fed Funds (ZQ) futures. Web tool provides meeting‑by‑meeting probability matrices, comparisons over time, a historical download, and a Dot Plot view. A paid REST API is available for programmatic access. CME documents the probability‑tree methodology clearly; API snapshots update on business days at ~01:45 UTC. Media usage asks attribution to “CME FedWatch.”

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

Meeting‑by‑meeting probabilities of FOMC target‑rate outcomes implied by Fed Funds futures.
Compare view (current vs 1‑day/1‑week/1‑month ago) and Historical panel.
Fed ‘Dot Plot’ chart plus table view.
One‑click PDF generation of the current page and Excel downloads for historical probabilities.
Transparent methodology: unconditional probabilities via a binary probability tree built from implied EFFR, assuming 25 bp step sizes.

Community votes (overall)

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Unusual Whales

unusualwhales.com

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

Real-time options flow and dark-pool analytics built for active traders. Free plans view delayed data; paid tiers stream live flow, with annual plans unlocking data downloads. The public API is sold separately, and “Periscope” (market-wide SPX exposure) is available as an add-on.

Platforms

Web

Mobile

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.
Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

3 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, and Calendar.

Where they differ

CME FedWatch Tool

Distinct strengths include:

Central Bank Watcher

Interest Rates

Data Visualizations

Meeting‑by‑meeting probabilities of FOMC target‑rate outcomes implied by Fed Funds futures.
Compare view (current vs 1‑day/1‑week/1‑month ago) and Historical panel.
Fed ‘Dot Plot’ chart plus table view.
One‑click PDF generation of the current page and Excel downloads for historical probabilities.

Unusual Whales

Distinct strengths include:

Screeners

Options & Derivatives

Portfolio

Paper Trading

Dark Pool & Off-Exchange

Alerts

News

US Government Trades

Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy.
Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones.
Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals.
Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	CME FedWatch Tool	Unusual Whales
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Calendar Unique: Central Bank Watcher, Interest Rates, Data Visualizations	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Calendar Unique: Screeners, Options & Derivatives, Portfolio, Paper Trading, Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Alerts, News, US Government Trades, Insider Data, 13F, Education, Dividends
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Futures	Stocks, ETFs, Options
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web, Mobile, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription	Free, Subscription
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Meeting‑by‑meeting probabilities of FOMC target‑rate outcomes implied by Fed Funds futures. Compare view (current vs 1‑day/1‑week/1‑month ago) and Historical panel. Fed ‘Dot Plot’ chart plus table view. One‑click PDF generation of the current page and Excel downloads for historical probabilities. Transparent methodology: unconditional probabilities via a binary probability tree built from implied EFFR, assuming 25 bp step sizes. FedWatch REST API (OAuth2) with endpoints for /forecasts and /meetings (future/history); extended history available.	Unique Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy. Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones. Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals. Options Profit Calculator to model multi-leg strategies, Greeks, and payoff P/L. Paper trading for both stocks and options to test ideas without risk. Portfolio Manager with broker linking for IBKR, tastytrade, Fidelity, and Robinhood.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Yes
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Highlighted

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do CME FedWatch Tool and Unusual Whales both support?

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

Do CME FedWatch Tool and Unusual Whales require subscriptions?

Both CME FedWatch Tool and Unusual Whales keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

Unusual Whales ships a dedicated mobile experience, while CME FedWatch Tool focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

CME FedWatch Tool differentiates itself with Meeting‑by‑meeting probabilities of FOMC target‑rate outcomes implied by Fed Funds futures., Compare view (current vs 1‑day/1‑week/1‑month ago) and Historical panel., and Fed ‘Dot Plot’ chart plus table view., whereas Unusual Whales stands out for Live options flow across all US options exchanges, with a status indicator so you know the feed is healthy., Dark-pool tape plus ‘Dark Pool Levels’ to surface recent prints and ticker-specific liquidity zones., and Options and stock screeners with filters for premium, volume, open interest, IV rank, and common technicals..

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