BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON

Checking

Checked September 24, 2026

Tool Comparison

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) vs Hunter

Paid from
—
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, Mobile, API

Best if

  • You do a lot of your research from your phone
  • You want macro data, data visualizations, and calendar.
Paid from
$34/mo
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, API

Best if

  • You want webhooks and zapier / make.
Our pick for most investors

Start here

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) logo

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

fred.stlouisfed.org

Free · Web · Mobile · API

  • You do a lot of your research from your phone
  • You want macro data, data visualizations, and calendar.

Pick Hunter instead if

Hunter logo

Hunter

hunter.io

Free • From $34/mo · Web · API

  • You want webhooks and zapier / make.

Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.

See alternatives

Other tools you might like

Outbound links may include affiliate or sponsor codes.

Not set on either one? See the top 50 tools, ranked by user votes, or the deals page for big discounts on popular tools.

Our take

The bottom line

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter cover a lot of the same ground (2 shared categories, APIs & data feeds and sheets / excel add-ins), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) simply does more: 7 categories to Hunter's 4, including macro data, data visualizations, and calendar, plus a mobile app. Hunter counters by keeping things simpler.

What readers say

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

No votes yet. Cast the first one.

Hunter

No votes yet. Cast the first one.

Key differences at a glance

Mobile app
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
Broader coverage
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)7 vs 4 categories
Free plan
Both
See the full side-by-side table
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) logo

What FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) does best

  1. Search across and chart hundreds of thousands of economic and financial data series from many official and third-party sources.
  2. Research coverage for macro topics such as GDP, inflation, prices, employment, exchange rates, interest rates, credit, monetary data, and market indicators.
  3. Browsing access to by categories, releases, sources, and tags, with series metadata for units, frequency, last update, and next release where available.
  4. FRED charts for visualization, sharing, embedded graphs, graph images, and saved graph workflows with a free account.
  5. Monitor the economic release calendar for scheduled release dates and times, while accounting for provider timing and availability caveats.
Hunter logo

What Hunter does best

  1. Discovery tools for professional email addresses by company or domain with Domain Search.
  2. Email Finder to return verified or deduced addresses with confidence scores and verification status.
  3. Email verification with SMTP-level checks, source information, and bulk verification workflows.
  4. Tools for running bulk Domain Search, Email Finder, and Email Verifier jobs from CSV, Excel, Numbers, or TXT inputs and export results to CSV.
  5. The Google Sheets add-on to find and verify emails directly from spreadsheets with an API key.

Side by side

Pricing & plans
Starting price
Free
Free • From $34/mo
Free tier
Yes
Yes
Free trial
—
—
Platforms & access
Web app
Yes
Yes
Mobile app
Yes
No
API access
Yes
Yes
Broker sync
—
No
Integrations
Microsoft Excel (FRED Add-in)
Gmail, Outlook +8 more
Coverage & data
Asset types
Other
Other
Target audience
Students/ResearchersAnalystsQuants/Developers
Not specified
Export formats
ExcelImageJSONXML
CSV

Pricing comparison

Free plan
Free
Free
Entry paid plan
—
$34/mo“Starter”
Tier 2
—
$104/mo“Growth”
Top plan
—
$209/mo“Scale”
Custom / enterprise
—
Contact sales“Enterprise”

See for yourself

Side by side

Price, platforms, data, and market coverage.
Show
Side-by-side comparison of FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter
Attribute
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) logo
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
Hunter logo
Hunter
Pricing & plans
Starting price
FreeFree • From $34/mo
Free tier
YesYes
Free trial
——
Plan limits
Free: api key required: Yes and Free: api rate limited: Yes17 limits: Free: credits: 50/month, Free: connected email accounts: 1 +15 more
Platforms & access
Web app
YesYes
Mobile app
YesNo
API access
YesYes
Broker sync
—No
Integrations
Microsoft Excel (FRED Add-in)Gmail, Outlook +8 more
Audience & fit
Experience level
Beginner, Intermediate, AdvancedBeginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Best for
Students/Researchers, Analysts +1 more—
Categories covered
74
Regions
——
Data & capabilities
Security
—Status page
Try itVisit FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)Visit Hunter

Standout features

The best features of FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter.
Show
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) logo

What FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) does best

  1. Search across and chart hundreds of thousands of economic and financial data series from many official and third-party sources.
  2. Research coverage for macro topics such as GDP, inflation, prices, employment, exchange rates, interest rates, credit, monetary data, and market indicators.
  3. Browsing access to by categories, releases, sources, and tags, with series metadata for units, frequency, last update, and next release where available.
  4. FRED charts for visualization, sharing, embedded graphs, graph images, and saved graph workflows with a free account.
  5. Monitor the economic release calendar for scheduled release dates and times, while accounting for provider timing and availability caveats.
Hunter logo

What Hunter does best

  1. Discovery tools for professional email addresses by company or domain with Domain Search.
  2. Email Finder to return verified or deduced addresses with confidence scores and verification status.
  3. Email verification with SMTP-level checks, source information, and bulk verification workflows.
  4. Tools for running bulk Domain Search, Email Finder, and Email Verifier jobs from CSV, Excel, Numbers, or TXT inputs and export results to CSV.
  5. The Google Sheets add-on to find and verify emails directly from spreadsheets with an API key.

All details

Every attribute we track for FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter.
Show
Attribute
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) logo
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
Hunter logo
Hunter
Coverage & fit
Asset types
Other
Other
Experience
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
Target audience
Students/ResearchersAnalystsQuants/Developers
Not specified
Access & integrations
API protocols
REST
REST
API auth & delivery
Auth: APIKeyDocs
Auth: APIKeyWebhooks
Import methods
Not specified
CSV
Integrations
Microsoft Excel (FRED Add-in)
GmailOutlookZapierMakeMCPGoogle SheetsHubSpotSalesforce+2 more
Export formats
ExcelImageJSONXML
CSV
Plans & trust
Security & compliance
Not specified
Status page
Vendor & support
Federal Reserve Bank of St. LouisCountry: United StatesSupport: Email
Hunter Web Services, Inc.Country: United StatesFounded 2015Support: Email and Chat
Curation ratings
Not specified
Methodology 4/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5

Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.

Pricing

Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.
Show
Plan-by-plan pricing comparison of FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter
Tier
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) logo
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)Cheaper start
Hunter logo
Hunter
Free plan
Freeapi key required: Yes · api rate limited: Yes
Freecredits: 50/month · connected email accounts: 1 · +1 more
Entry paid plan—
$34/mo“Starter”billed: $408/year · credits: 24,000/year · +2 more
Tier 2—
$104/mo“Growth”billed: $1,248/year · credits: 120,000/year · +2 more
Top plan—
$209/mo“Scale”billed: $2,508/year · credits: 300,000/year · +2 more
Custom / enterprise—
Contact sales“Enterprise”pricing: Custom · credits: Custom

Questions we keep getting

What's the difference between FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter?

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) leans toward macro data, data visualizations, and calendar, while Hunter puts more weight on APIs & data feeds, webhooks, and zapier / make. They overlap in 2 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.

How much do FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter cost?

Good news: both FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.

Can I use FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) or Hunter on my phone?

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. Hunter doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web and API.

Do FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter have APIs?

Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.

Should I choose FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) or Hunter?

It depends on what you're after. Pick FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) if macro data and data visualizations matter to you; go with Hunter if you'd rather have webhooks and zapier / make. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.

Can I export data from FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Hunter?

Yes, both export to spreadsheets (FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data): Excel; Hunter: CSV), which is handy if you like running your own numbers.

Feedback

Spot stale pricing, missing features, or a comparison that feels off? Send feedback on the verdict, table, alternatives, or recommendation.

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.