VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, October 6, 2025

View FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)View Visible Alpha Back to Home

Head-to-head

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) vs Visible Alpha 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, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, PMI / ISM, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment, Yield Curves, and Real Yields coverage that Visible Alpha skips.

Visible Alpha includes Financials, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Analyst Recommendations, Stock Comparison, Blogs, and Playbooks & Case Studies 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..

Visible Alpha is known for: Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered., VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series., and Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app..

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) has a free tier, while Visible Alpha requires a paid plan.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) ships a mobile app. Visible Alpha 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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Visible Alpha

visiblealpha.com

Granular, line‑item consensus from full sell‑side models (7,000+ companies; 250+ contributing brokers) with VA Actuals historicals, Excel add‑in, and enterprise delivery via API/Data Feed/Snowflake. Now part of S&P Global Market Intelligence and available as an add‑on within S&P Capital IQ Pro. Includes modules like Target Price & Ratings and a Line Item Monitor for alerts and revision analysis.

Platforms

Web

Desktop

API

Pricing

Subscription

Quick highlights

Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered.
VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series.
Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app.
Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework.
Company & Line Item Monitor: alerting on threshold changes, dispersion, trend and revision analysis at the metric level.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

4 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, Data Visualizations, and APIs & SDKs plus 1 more area.

Where they differ

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)

Distinct strengths include:

Housing & Construction

Retail Sales

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.

Visible Alpha

Distinct strengths include:

Financials

Analyst Forecasts

Analyst Price Targets

Analyst Recommendations

Stock Comparison

Blogs

Playbooks & Case Studies

Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered.
VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series.
Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app.
Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)	Visible Alpha
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, Data Visualizations, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins Unique: Calendar, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, GDP, Interest Rates, PMI / ISM, Housing & Construction, Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment, Yield Curves, Real Yields	Shared: Data APIs, Data Visualizations, APIs & SDKs, Sheets / Excel Add-ins Unique: Financials, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Analyst Recommendations, Stock Comparison, Blogs, Playbooks & Case Studies
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Bonds, Commodities, Currencies, Stocks, Other	Stocks
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, Mobile, API	Web, Desktop, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	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 Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered. VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series. Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app. Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework. Company & Line Item Monitor: alerting on threshold changes, dispersion, trend and revision analysis at the metric level. Enterprise data delivery: REST API for ad‑hoc queries, file‑based data feeds (S3/SFTP), and Snowflake data shares; feeds/cloud updated throughout the day.
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 Visible Alpha both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, Data Visualizations, APIs & SDKs, and Sheets / Excel Add-ins workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Which tool offers a free plan?

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) offers a free entry point, while Visible Alpha requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

Which tool has mobile access?

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Visible Alpha 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 Visible Alpha stands out for Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered., VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series., and Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app..

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