VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Thursday, October 30, 2025

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Tool Comparison

CME FedWatch Tool vs Visible Alpha 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 Calendar coverage that Visible Alpha skips.

Visible Alpha includes Financials, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Analyst Recommendations, Stock Comparison, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Blogs, and Playbooks & Case Studies categories that CME FedWatch Tool omits.

CME FedWatch Tool has a free tier, while Visible Alpha requires a paid plan.

In depth comparison

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

WebAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

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.

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Visible Alpha

visiblealpha.com

Granular, line‑item consensus from full sell‑side models (7,000+ companies; 250+ contributing brokers) with VA Actuals historicals, Excel add‑in, and enterprise delivery via API/Data Feed/Snowflake. Now part of S&P Global Market Intelligence and available as an add‑on within S&P Capital IQ Pro. Includes modules like Target Price & Ratings and a Line Item Monitor for alerts and revision analysis.

Platforms

WebDesktopAPI

Pricing

Subscription

Quick highlights

Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered.
VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series.
Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app.
Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework.
Company & Line Item Monitor: alerting on threshold changes, dispersion, trend and revision analysis at the metric level.

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Where they differ

CME FedWatch Tool

Distinct strengths include:

Central Bank Watcher Interest Rates Calendar

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.

Visible Alpha

Distinct strengths include:

Financials Analyst Forecasts Analyst Price Targets Analyst Recommendations Stock Comparison Sheets / Excel Add-ins Blogs Playbooks & Case Studies

Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered.
VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series.
Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app.
Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	CME FedWatch Tool	Visible Alpha
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Data Visualizations Unique: Central Bank Watcher, Interest Rates, Calendar	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Data Visualizations Unique: Financials, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Analyst Recommendations, Stock Comparison, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Blogs, Playbooks & Case Studies
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Futures	Stocks
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web, Desktop, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription	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 Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered. VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series. Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app. Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework. Company & Line Item Monitor: alerting on threshold changes, dispersion, trend and revision analysis at the metric level. Enterprise data delivery: REST API for ad‑hoc queries, file‑based data feeds (S3/SFTP), and Snowflake data shares; feeds/cloud updated throughout the day.
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 CME FedWatch Tool and Visible Alpha both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, 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?

CME FedWatch Tool offers a free entry point, while Visible Alpha requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

How can you access CME FedWatch Tool and Visible Alpha?

Both CME FedWatch Tool and Visible Alpha 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?

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 Visible Alpha stands out for Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered., VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series., and Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app..

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