VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

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

Head-to-head

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

OpenCorporates includes Regulatory Filings Monitoring, 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..

OpenCorporates is known for: 230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links., Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day)., and OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers..

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

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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OpenCorporates

opencorporates.com

The world’s largest open database of legal entities, offering both a public-facing search and an API. Free access is available for personal or public-benefit use, while commercial API access and bulk datasets require a paid plan. Bulk deliveries are provided via SFTP in CSV format, and the platform includes a public status page for web, API, knowledge base, and SFTP availability.

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links.
Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day).
OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers.
Enterprise bulk access via SFTP, with six structured CSV datasets (Companies, Officers, Non-Registered Addresses, Alternative Names, Additional Identifiers, and Relationships).
Relationships dataset includes 30M+ links covering subsidiaries, branches, control statements, and shareholdings, with data from sources like the SEC and UK PSC.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

1 overlap

Both tools cover this research theme.

Data APIs

Where they differ

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

Distinct strengths include:

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.

OpenCorporates

Distinct strengths include:

Regulatory Filings Monitoring

Other

230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links.
Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day).
OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers.
Enterprise bulk access via SFTP, with six structured CSV datasets (Companies, Officers, Non-Registered Addresses, Alternative Names, Additional Identifiers, and Relationships).

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)	OpenCorporates
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs Unique: Calendar, Data Visualizations, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, PMI / ISM, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment, Yield Curves, Real Yields, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins	Shared: Data APIs Unique: Regulatory Filings Monitoring, 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
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 230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links. Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day). OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers. Enterprise bulk access via SFTP, with six structured CSV datasets (Companies, Officers, Non-Registered Addresses, Alternative Names, Additional Identifiers, and Relationships). Relationships dataset includes 30M+ links covering subsidiaries, branches, control statements, and shareholdings, with data from sources like the SEC and UK PSC. Data acquisition ranges from hourly to quarterly; registry ingestion checks run every 5 minutes. Bulk deliveries are typically no more than one month behind official registries.
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 OpenCorporates both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs 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 OpenCorporates require subscriptions?

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

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 OpenCorporates stands out for 230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links., Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day)., and OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers..

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