VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ A CURATED DIRECTORY OF FINANCIAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES ★

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Saturday, December 27, 2025

Tool Comparison

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) vs Macrotrends comparison

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

Quick takeaways

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) adds Calendar, Alerts, Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins coverage that Macrotrends skips.

Macrotrends includes Screeners, Financials, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, and Consumer Sentiment categories that FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) omits.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) ships a mobile app. Macrotrends is web/desktop only.

In depth comparison

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.

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Macrotrends

macrotrends.net

Free web-based portal for long-run charts and datasets across stocks, commodities, indices, FX, and macro indicators. Many series span 50–100+ years. Features include a stock screener and CSV downloads. Some content is gated by registration, and Terms mention fee-based premium products. No public API is advertised.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

FreeOther

Quick highlights

Interactive charts for stocks, commodities, indices, currencies, crypto, and macroeconomic data, often with history spanning back 50–100 years.
Free stock screener with 50+ filters covering fundamentals, technicals, and performance; includes U.S. and international equities.
Company profile pages combine daily prices, dividends, and full annual/quarterly financial statements, with fundamentals sourced from Zacks.
Macro indicator pages cite primary data sources such as BEA (GDP), University of Michigan (consumer sentiment), and Optimal Blue (mortgage rates).
CSV downloads available for many “Global Metrics” datasets via a dedicated download link.

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Where they differ

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

Distinct strengths include:

Calendar Alerts Data APIs 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.

Macrotrends

Distinct strengths include:

Screeners Financials Housing & Construction Retail Sales Consumer Sentiment

Interactive charts for stocks, commodities, indices, currencies, crypto, and macroeconomic data, often with history spanning back 50–100 years.
Free stock screener with 50+ filters covering fundamentals, technicals, and performance; includes U.S. and international equities.
Company profile pages combine daily prices, dividends, and full annual/quarterly financial statements, with fundamentals sourced from Zacks.
Macro indicator pages cite primary data sources such as BEA (GDP), University of Michigan (consumer sentiment), and Optimal Blue (mortgage rates).

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)	Macrotrends
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, Data Visualizations Unique: Calendar, Alerts, Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins	Shared: Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, Data Visualizations Unique: Screeners, Financials, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Other	Stocks, ETFs, Commodities, Currencies, Cryptos
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
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free	Free, Other
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	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.	Unique Interactive charts for stocks, commodities, indices, currencies, crypto, and macroeconomic data, often with history spanning back 50–100 years. Free stock screener with 50+ filters covering fundamentals, technicals, and performance; includes U.S. and international equities. Company profile pages combine daily prices, dividends, and full annual/quarterly financial statements, with fundamentals sourced from Zacks. Macro indicator pages cite primary data sources such as BEA (GDP), University of Michigan (consumer sentiment), and Optimal Blue (mortgage rates). CSV downloads available for many “Global Metrics” datasets via a dedicated download link. Certain index charts update intramonth, with hourly refreshes for the current month.
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 Macrotrends both support?

Both platforms cover Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, and Data Visualizations 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 Macrotrends require subscriptions?

Both FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Macrotrends 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 Macrotrends focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) differentiates itself with 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., whereas Macrotrends stands out for Interactive charts for stocks, commodities, indices, currencies, crypto, and macroeconomic data, often with history spanning back 50–100 years., Free stock screener with 50+ filters covering fundamentals, technicals, and performance; includes U.S. and international equities., and Company profile pages combine daily prices, dividends, and full annual/quarterly financial statements, with fundamentals sourced from Zacks..

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