VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ A CURATED DIRECTORY OF FINANCIAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES ★

PRICE: 0 CENTS

Friday, December 26, 2025

Tool Comparison

European Central Bank (ECB) vs FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

European Central Bank (ECB) adds News, Central Bank Watcher, and Yield Curves coverage that FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) skips.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) includes Data Visualizations, Alerts, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins categories that European Central Bank (ECB) omits.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) offers mobile access, which European Central Bank (ECB) skips.

In depth comparison

European Central Bank (ECB)

ecb.europa.eu

The official portal of the European Central Bank, including its Data Portal. Provides free access to monetary policy information, publications, and structured datasets. Data is available through a public SDMX 2.1 REST API with CSV and SDMX-JSON formats, bulk downloads, and chart-level exports. Key scheduled releases include €STR at 08:00 CET, FX reference rates around 16:00 CET, and daily euro area yield curves at 12:00 CET.

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Public SDMX 2.1 REST API with access to the ECB Data Portal (data-api.ecb.europa.eu). Existing SDW endpoints continue to work with unchanged syntax.
Flexible format support including SDMX-ML, SDMX-JSON, CSV, and pivot-table-optimized CSV. Supports HTTP compression for efficient transfers.
Excel integration via Power Query using CSV endpoints or the application/vnd.ecb.data+csv MIME type.
Bulk dataset downloads available directly from dataset pages, including CSV and SDMX 2.1 exports.
€STR (Euro Short-Term Rate) published daily at 08:00 CET, with revisions at 09:00 CET if errors exceed 2 basis points.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

View full profile Visit site

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

fred.stlouisfed.org

Free macroeconomic and financial time-series database and tooling operated by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Access via web UI, iOS/Android apps, a Microsoft Excel add-in, and a REST API. Some features (dashboards, data lists, saved graphs/maps) and API key management require a free FRED account; all API requests require an API key and are rate-limited. Usage is subject to the FRED Services Terms of Use (including restrictions on scraping and on certain copyrighted series).

Platforms

WebMobileAPI

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

800,000+ economic data series from 100+ sources, covering topics such as GDP, prices/inflation, employment, exchange rates, and interest rates.
Browse and track data via categories, releases, sources, and tags; series pages show metadata like units/frequency and “last updated / next release” fields.
Graphing and sharing options include embeddable graphs and graph-image links.
Economic release calendar with scheduled release dates/times (US Central Time) and a data-provider caveat for availability.
Account tools can provide email notifications for series updates.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

View full profile Visit site

Where they differ

European Central Bank (ECB)

Distinct strengths include:

News Central Bank Watcher Yield Curves

Public SDMX 2.1 REST API with access to the ECB Data Portal (data-api.ecb.europa.eu). Existing SDW endpoints continue to work with unchanged syntax.
Flexible format support including SDMX-ML, SDMX-JSON, CSV, and pivot-table-optimized CSV. Supports HTTP compression for efficient transfers.
Excel integration via Power Query using CSV endpoints or the application/vnd.ecb.data+csv MIME type.
Bulk dataset downloads available directly from dataset pages, including CSV and SDMX 2.1 exports.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

Distinct strengths include:

Data Visualizations Alerts APIs & SDKs Sheets / Excel Add-ins

800,000+ economic data series from 100+ sources, covering topics such as GDP, prices/inflation, employment, exchange rates, and interest rates.
Browse and track data via categories, releases, sources, and tags; series pages show metadata like units/frequency and “last updated / next release” fields.
Graphing and sharing options include embeddable graphs and graph-image links.
Economic release calendar with scheduled release dates/times (US Central Time) and a data-provider caveat for availability.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	European Central Bank (ECB)	FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, Calendar, Interest Rates, Inflation Rates, GDP, Unemployment Rates Unique: News, Central Bank Watcher, Yield Curves	Shared: Data APIs, Calendar, Interest Rates, Inflation Rates, GDP, Unemployment Rates Unique: Data Visualizations, Alerts, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Bonds, Currencies, Other	Other
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	Free
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Public SDMX 2.1 REST API with access to the ECB Data Portal (data-api.ecb.europa.eu). Existing SDW endpoints continue to work with unchanged syntax. Flexible format support including SDMX-ML, SDMX-JSON, CSV, and pivot-table-optimized CSV. Supports HTTP compression for efficient transfers. Excel integration via Power Query using CSV endpoints or the application/vnd.ecb.data+csv MIME type. Bulk dataset downloads available directly from dataset pages, including CSV and SDMX 2.1 exports. €STR (Euro Short-Term Rate) published daily at 08:00 CET, with revisions at 09:00 CET if errors exceed 2 basis points. Euro foreign exchange reference rates updated around 16:00 CET on working days, provided for information purposes.	Unique 800,000+ economic data series from 100+ sources, covering topics such as GDP, prices/inflation, employment, exchange rates, and interest rates. Browse and track data via categories, releases, sources, and tags; series pages show metadata like units/frequency and “last updated / next release” fields. Graphing and sharing options include embeddable graphs and graph-image links. Economic release calendar with scheduled release dates/times (US Central Time) and a data-provider caveat for availability. Account tools can provide email notifications for series updates. FRED API supports REST over HTTPS and returns XML or JSON; it can query both FRED and ALFRED (archival/vintage) datasets.
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 European Central Bank (ECB) and FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, Calendar, Interest Rates, Inflation Rates, GDP, and Unemployment Rates workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do European Central Bank (ECB) and FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) require subscriptions?

Both European Central Bank (ECB) and FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) ships a dedicated mobile experience, while European Central Bank (ECB) focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

European Central Bank (ECB) differentiates itself with Public SDMX 2.1 REST API with access to the ECB Data Portal (data-api.ecb.europa.eu). Existing SDW endpoints continue to work with unchanged syntax., Flexible format support including SDMX-ML, SDMX-JSON, CSV, and pivot-table-optimized CSV. Supports HTTP compression for efficient transfers., and Excel integration via Power Query using CSV endpoints or the application/vnd.ecb.data+csv MIME type., whereas FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) stands out for 800,000+ economic data series from 100+ sources, covering topics such as GDP, prices/inflation, employment, exchange rates, and interest rates., Browse and track data via categories, releases, sources, and tags; series pages show metadata like units/frequency and “last updated / next release” fields., and Graphing and sharing options include embeddable graphs and graph-image links..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.