VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, October 13, 2025

View European Central Bank (ECB)View U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)Back to Home

Head-to-head

European Central Bank (ECB) vs U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 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, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, and Unemployment Rates coverage that U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) skips.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) includes APIs & SDKs categories that European Central Bank (ECB) omits.

European Central Bank (ECB) 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., and Excel integration via Power Query using CSV endpoints or the application/vnd.ecb.data+csv MIME type..

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is known for: Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP., Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts., and API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout)..

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

Web

API

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

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

bea.gov

Official U.S. macroeconomic statistics publisher (U.S. Dept. of Commerce). Offers free interactive tables (iTables) and a REST API with JSON/XML output for GDP, PCE/inflation, personal income/outlays, international transactions (ITA), international investment position (IIP), fixed assets, GDP by industry, and regional accounts. The API requires a 36‑character key and enforces throttling (100 requests/min or 100 MB/min; 429 with Retry‑After). A public release calendar is available (ICS/JSON).

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.
Release Schedule provides machine‑readable calendar feeds (ICS/JSON) and shows planned 8:30/10:00 a.m. release times.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

View full profile Visit site

Overlap

Shared focus areas

4 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, Calendar, and Inflation Rates plus 1 more area.

Where they differ

European Central Bank (ECB)

Distinct strengths include:

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.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Distinct strengths include:

APIs & SDKs

Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	European Central Bank (ECB)	U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, Calendar, Inflation Rates, GDP Unique: News, Central Bank Watcher, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, Unemployment Rates	Shared: Data APIs, Calendar, Inflation Rates, GDP Unique: APIs & SDKs
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, 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 Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP. Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts. API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout). Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF. Release Schedule provides machine‑readable calendar feeds (ICS/JSON) and shows planned 8:30/10:00 a.m. release times. Official open‑source SDKs/tools: R package (bea.R) and a Python helper (beaapi) on BEA’s GitHub.
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 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) both support?

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

Do European Central Bank (ECB) and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) require subscriptions?

Both European Central Bank (ECB) and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access European Central Bank (ECB) and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)?

Both European Central Bank (ECB) and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 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?

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 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) stands out for Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP., Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts., and API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout)..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

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