FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) adds Calendar, Data Visualizations, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, PMI / ISM, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment, Yield Curves, Real Yields, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins coverage that Listen Notes skips.
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Sunday, October 5, 2025
Head-to-head
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) vs Listen Notes comparison
Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.
Quick takeaways
Listen Notes includes Alerts, Education, and Other categories that FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) omits.
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) highlights: Access to over 840,000 time series from more than 100 official and third-party sources, all browsable and downloadable online., Official REST API covering both FRED and ALFRED, with endpoints for categories, releases, series, and sources., and Flexible output formats including JSON, XML, Excel, and CSV for easy integration..
Listen Notes is known for: Podcast API v2: search, directory, insights; official client libraries; OpenAPI spec & mock server for keyless testing., Pricing tiers with concrete quotas: FREE (300 req/mo), PRO (base fee with 5k req/mo included + tiered overages), ENTERPRISE (annual contract, larger quotas, relaxed caching/no-logo)., and Plan-based search result caps & rate limits: FREE up to 30 results/query (2 req/s, 20 req/min); PRO up to 300 results/query (medium rate limit); ENTERPRISE up to 10,000 results/query (high rate limit)..
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
fred.stlouisfed.org
One of the most trusted sources of macroeconomic and market data worldwide. FRED offers free access to charts, releases, Excel add-ins, and a public API. An API key (free) is required, with standard rate limits. ALFRED, the companion service, provides vintage datasets so you can see what was known at any point in time.
Categories
Platforms
Web
Mobile
API
Pricing
Free
Quick highlights
- Access to over 840,000 time series from more than 100 official and third-party sources, all browsable and downloadable online.
- Official REST API covering both FRED and ALFRED, with endpoints for categories, releases, series, and sources.
- Flexible output formats including JSON, XML, Excel, and CSV for easy integration.
- ALFRED (the archival database) provides point-in-time vintages, letting you track historical revisions exactly as they were published.
- Maps API delivers regional datasets with GeoJSON shapefiles for states, counties, MSAs, and more.
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Listen Notes
listennotes.com
Podcast search engine plus developer Podcast API (search/directory/insights) and purchasable datasets. Free plan allows light testing; PRO is a metered subscription with tiered overages and specific search‑result/rate‑limit allowances; Enterprise relaxes caching/logo rules and increases quotas & SLAs. Listen Alerts monitors 3.6M+ podcasts for keyword mentions with email/RSS and Zapier/IFTTT hooks. Datasets can be exported as CSV/SQLite for analytics, PR/sales, and finance alt‑data use cases. API base URL is https://listen-api.listennotes.com/api/v2 with API‑key auth.
Categories
Platforms
Web
API
Mobile
Pricing
Free
Subscription
One-time
Quick highlights
- Podcast API v2: search, directory, insights; official client libraries; OpenAPI spec & mock server for keyless testing.
- Pricing tiers with concrete quotas: FREE (300 req/mo), PRO (base fee with 5k req/mo included + tiered overages), ENTERPRISE (annual contract, larger quotas, relaxed caching/no-logo).
- Plan-based search result caps & rate limits: FREE up to 30 results/query (2 req/s, 20 req/min); PRO up to 300 results/query (medium rate limit); ENTERPRISE up to 10,000 results/query (high rate limit).
- Advanced fields & endpoints on higher tiers: transcripts, batch fetch, RSS/large image, email, latest_episode_id, Listen Score & Global Rank.
- Listen Alerts: 24/7 monitoring of new episodes mentioning keywords; daily email digests, per‑alert RSS feeds; connects via Zapier/IFTTT and RSS to Slack/Trello/Airtable etc.
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Overlap
Shared focus areas
2 overlapsMutual strengths include Data APIs, and APIs & SDKs.
Where they differ
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
Distinct strengths include:
Calendar
Data Visualizations
Inflation Rates
Unemployment Rates
GDP
Interest Rates
PMI / ISM
Housing & Construction
- Access to over 840,000 time series from more than 100 official and third-party sources, all browsable and downloadable online.
- Official REST API covering both FRED and ALFRED, with endpoints for categories, releases, series, and sources.
- Flexible output formats including JSON, XML, Excel, and CSV for easy integration.
- ALFRED (the archival database) provides point-in-time vintages, letting you track historical revisions exactly as they were published.
Listen Notes
Distinct strengths include:
- Podcast API v2: search, directory, insights; official client libraries; OpenAPI spec & mock server for keyless testing.
- Pricing tiers with concrete quotas: FREE (300 req/mo), PRO (base fee with 5k req/mo included + tiered overages), ENTERPRISE (annual contract, larger quotas, relaxed caching/no-logo).
- Plan-based search result caps & rate limits: FREE up to 30 results/query (2 req/s, 20 req/min); PRO up to 300 results/query (medium rate limit); ENTERPRISE up to 10,000 results/query (high rate limit).
- Advanced fields & endpoints on higher tiers: transcripts, batch fetch, RSS/large image, email, latest_episode_id, Listen Score & Global Rank.
Feature-by-feature breakdown
| Attribute | FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) | Listen Notes |
|---|---|---|
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets | Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: Calendar, Data Visualizations, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, PMI / ISM, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment, Yield Curves, Real Yields, Sheets / Excel Add-ins | Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: Alerts, Education, Other |
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes | Bonds, Commodities, Currencies, Stocks, Other | Other |
Experience levels Who each product is built for | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Platforms Where you can access the product | Web, Mobile, API | Web, API, Mobile |
Pricing High-level pricing models | Free | Free, Subscription, One-time |
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor | Unique
| Unique
|
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 FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Listen Notes both support?
Both platforms cover Data APIs, and APIs & SDKs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.
Do FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Listen Notes require subscriptions?
Both FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Listen Notes keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.
How can you access FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Listen Notes?
Both FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Listen Notes support web and mobile access, making it easy to keep tabs on research away from the desk.
What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) differentiates itself with Access to over 840,000 time series from more than 100 official and third-party sources, all browsable and downloadable online., Official REST API covering both FRED and ALFRED, with endpoints for categories, releases, series, and sources., and Flexible output formats including JSON, XML, Excel, and CSV for easy integration., whereas Listen Notes stands out for Podcast API v2: search, directory, insights; official client libraries; OpenAPI spec & mock server for keyless testing., Pricing tiers with concrete quotas: FREE (300 req/mo), PRO (base fee with 5k req/mo included + tiered overages), ENTERPRISE (annual contract, larger quotas, relaxed caching/no-logo)., and Plan-based search result caps & rate limits: FREE up to 30 results/query (2 req/s, 20 req/min); PRO up to 300 results/query (medium rate limit); ENTERPRISE up to 10,000 results/query (high rate limit)..
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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.