VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) vs ORTEX comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) adds Central Bank Watcher, Interest Rates, and Yield Curves coverage that ORTEX skips.

ORTEX includes Short Interest, Insider Data, Quant, Data Visualizations, Index Rebalancing, Money Flow, Options & Derivatives, Options, Analyst Recommendations, Analyst Price Targets, US Government Trades, Screeners, and Blogs categories that Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) omits.

Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) highlights: Data Download Program (DDP) with custom or preformatted packages, available in Excel, CSV, or XML., H.15 Selected Interest Rates, including daily Treasury constant-maturity yields., and H.4.1 Factors Affecting Reserve Balances (the Fed balance sheet), updated weekly every Thursday at 4:30 p.m..

ORTEX is known for: Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., and Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms..

ORTEX offers mobile access, which Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) skips.

Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) logo

Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov)

federalreserve.gov

Hands-on review

The official website of the U.S. central bank. Through its Data Download Program (DDP), the Fed offers public access to many of its most important statistical releases in Excel, CSV, or XML formats. Key datasets include interest rates, the Fed balance sheet, commercial bank assets, foreign exchange rates, industrial production, and financial accounts. The site also hosts FOMC calendars, meeting minutes, press releases, speeches, and other policy materials.

Platforms

Web
API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Data Download Program (DDP) with custom or preformatted packages, available in Excel, CSV, or XML.
  • H.15 Selected Interest Rates, including daily Treasury constant-maturity yields.
  • H.4.1 Factors Affecting Reserve Balances (the Fed balance sheet), updated weekly every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
  • H.8 Assets & Liabilities of Commercial Banks, with detailed weekly data and customizable downloads.
  • Foreign exchange reference rates (H.10 weekly and G.5 monthly), with scheduled update times and public downloads.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes
You haven't voted yet
ORTEX logo

ORTEX

public.ortex.com

Hands-on review

Analytics platform focused on short interest and securities lending, with additional coverage of options flow, insider trades, analyst views, and index rebalances. Offers a free tier with limited features, plus paid plans (Basic $39/mo, Advanced $129/mo). Options data is sourced from OPRA and requires agreeing to OPRA terms. API access is available with key-based authentication, and an Excel Add-in (beta) supports short interest data.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers.
  • Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates.
  • Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms.
  • Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.
  • Configurable stock screener including short-interest columns; results can be exported.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes
You haven't voted yet
Overlap

Shared focus areas

3 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, Calendar, and News.

Where they differ

Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov)

Distinct strengths include:

  • Data Download Program (DDP) with custom or preformatted packages, available in Excel, CSV, or XML.
  • H.15 Selected Interest Rates, including daily Treasury constant-maturity yields.
  • H.4.1 Factors Affecting Reserve Balances (the Fed balance sheet), updated weekly every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
  • H.8 Assets & Liabilities of Commercial Banks, with detailed weekly data and customizable downloads.

ORTEX

Distinct strengths include:

  • Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers.
  • Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates.
  • Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms.
  • Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeFederal Reserve Board (FRB.gov)ORTEX
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Data APIs, Calendar, News

Unique: Central Bank Watcher, Interest Rates, Yield Curves

Shared: Data APIs, Calendar, News

Unique: Short Interest, Insider Data, Quant, Data Visualizations, Index Rebalancing, Money Flow, Options & Derivatives, Options, Analyst Recommendations, Analyst Price Targets, US Government Trades, Screeners, Blogs

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Bonds, Currencies, Other

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

Free, Subscription

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Data Download Program (DDP) with custom or preformatted packages, available in Excel, CSV, or XML.
  • H.15 Selected Interest Rates, including daily Treasury constant-maturity yields.
  • H.4.1 Factors Affecting Reserve Balances (the Fed balance sheet), updated weekly every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
  • H.8 Assets & Liabilities of Commercial Banks, with detailed weekly data and customizable downloads.
  • Foreign exchange reference rates (H.10 weekly and G.5 monthly), with scheduled update times and public downloads.
  • G.17 Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization, published monthly with full release schedules and data formats.

Unique

  • Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers.
  • Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates.
  • Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms.
  • Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.
  • Configurable stock screener including short-interest columns; results can be exported.
  • Live intraday charts with last price and bid/ask displayed.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Yes

Yes

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) and ORTEX both support?

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

Do Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) and ORTEX require subscriptions?

Both Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) and ORTEX keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

ORTEX ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Federal Reserve Board (FRB.gov) differentiates itself with Data Download Program (DDP) with custom or preformatted packages, available in Excel, CSV, or XML., H.15 Selected Interest Rates, including daily Treasury constant-maturity yields., and H.4.1 Factors Affecting Reserve Balances (the Fed balance sheet), updated weekly every Thursday at 4:30 p.m., whereas ORTEX stands out for Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., and Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms..

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.