VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) vs Social Blade 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 Social Blade skips.

Social Blade includes App & Website Traffic 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..

Social Blade is known for: Track creator stats across YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook, including estimated earnings and growth projections., Top lists and platform rankings with SB Rank/grade and live subscriber/follower counts (list lengths vary by plan)., and Favorites dashboard with plan-based limits and ad-free browsing for premium members..

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

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) logo

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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Social Blade logo

Social Blade

socialblade.com

Analytics for social channels including YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook. Features include rankings, projections, and estimated earnings. Premium expands historical data access (daily charts up to three years for YouTube, ten years for other platforms), increases favorite slots, removes ads, and includes Business API credits. A free tier is available with limited history and functionality.

Platforms

Web
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Track creator stats across YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook, including estimated earnings and growth projections.
  • Top lists and platform rankings with SB Rank/grade and live subscriber/follower counts (list lengths vary by plan).
  • Favorites dashboard with plan-based limits and ad-free browsing for premium members.
  • Historical data access: free users get 14 days of tabular data plus weekly/monthly charts, while paid tiers unlock up to three years of daily history for YouTube and up to ten years for other platforms.
  • Downloadable YouTube Report Cards as PDFs and Custom Reports (influencer finder) exportable to Excel.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

1 overlap

Both tools cover this research theme.

Where they differ

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

Distinct strengths include:

  • 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.

Social Blade

Distinct strengths include:

  • Track creator stats across YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook, including estimated earnings and growth projections.
  • Top lists and platform rankings with SB Rank/grade and live subscriber/follower counts (list lengths vary by plan).
  • Favorites dashboard with plan-based limits and ad-free browsing for premium members.
  • Historical data access: free users get 14 days of tabular data plus weekly/monthly charts, while paid tiers unlock up to three years of daily history for YouTube and up to ten years for other platforms.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeFRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)Social Blade
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: App & Website Traffic

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

  • Track creator stats across YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook, including estimated earnings and growth projections.
  • Top lists and platform rankings with SB Rank/grade and live subscriber/follower counts (list lengths vary by plan).
  • Favorites dashboard with plan-based limits and ad-free browsing for premium members.
  • Historical data access: free users get 14 days of tabular data plus weekly/monthly charts, while paid tiers unlock up to three years of daily history for YouTube and up to ten years for other platforms.
  • Downloadable YouTube Report Cards as PDFs and Custom Reports (influencer finder) exportable to Excel.
  • Business API offering profile statistics and top lists via REST, with authentication through client ID and token. Credits are consumed per profile or top list; some endpoints are free to query.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

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Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Social Blade 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 Social Blade require subscriptions?

Both FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and Social Blade 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 Social Blade 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 Social Blade stands out for Track creator stats across YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook, including estimated earnings and growth projections., Top lists and platform rankings with SB Rank/grade and live subscriber/follower counts (list lengths vary by plan)., and Favorites dashboard with plan-based limits and ad-free browsing for premium members..

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.