VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)View MarketWatch Back to Home

Head-to-head

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) vs MarketWatch comparison

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

Quick takeaways

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) adds Data APIs, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, PMI / ISM, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment, Real Yields, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins coverage that MarketWatch skips.

MarketWatch includes News, Alerts, Screeners, Watchlist, Paper Trading, Financials, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data, Short Interest, IPO, and Newsletters 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..

MarketWatch is known for: Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates..

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.

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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MarketWatch

marketwatch.com

Hands-on review

A global financial-news portal from Dow Jones that combines market data, news, analysis, and investor tools. Real-time Nasdaq last-sale quotes are included, while most other intraday prices run on a standard 15-minute delay. Premium newsletters and in-depth articles are gated behind a subscription. Mobile apps extend the experience with push alerts and watchlist syncing.

Platforms

Web

Mobile

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.
Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

4 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Calendar, Data Visualizations, and Interest Rates plus 1 more area.

Where they differ

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

Distinct strengths include:

Housing & Construction

Retail Sales

Consumer Sentiment

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.

MarketWatch

Distinct strengths include:

Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)	MarketWatch
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Calendar, Data Visualizations, Interest Rates, Yield Curves Unique: Data APIs, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, PMI / ISM, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment, Real Yields, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins	Shared: Calendar, Data Visualizations, Interest Rates, Yield Curves Unique: News, Alerts, Screeners, Watchlist, Paper Trading, Financials, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data, Short Interest, IPO, Newsletters
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Bonds, Commodities, Currencies, Stocks, Other	Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, Commodities, Currencies, Cryptos, Bonds
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, Mobile
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free	Free, Subscription
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique 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. Free Excel add-in enables direct downloads, refreshes, frequency conversions, and growth-rate calculations.	Unique Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools. Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts. Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates. BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes. Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar. ETF and mutual fund research, including top holdings for flagship funds like SPY and a comparison tool for side-by-side analysis.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Yes
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and MarketWatch both support?

Both platforms cover Calendar, Data Visualizations, Interest Rates, and Yield Curves 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 MarketWatch require subscriptions?

Both FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and MarketWatch 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 MarketWatch?

Both FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and MarketWatch 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 MarketWatch stands out for Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

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