FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) vs Visible Alpha comparison

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) focuses on Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, and GDP while Visible Alpha specializes in Financials, Analyst Forecasts, and Analyst Price Targets. They overlap in 4 categories, so choose based on your preferred workflow and pricing.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) offers a free tier that lets you get started without paying, while Visible Alpha requires a subscription. If budget is a concern, start with FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) and upgrade later if you need more advanced features.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) is more beginner-friendly with an approachable interface. Both can work for intermediate users.

FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) has a mobile app so you can check your research on the go. Visible Alpha is web-only, so you'll need a browser to access it from mobile devices.

Yes, both platforms offer API access for developers and quants who want to build custom integrations or automate their workflows.

Choose FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) if you need 800,000+ economic data series from 100+ sources, covering topics such as GDP, prices/inflation, employment, exchange rates, and interest rates., and Browse and track data via categories, releases, sources, and tags; series pages show metadata like units/frequency and “last updated / next release” fields.. Go with Visible Alpha if Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered., and VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series. better fits how you invest.

Both cover common asset types. FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) also includes Other. Visible Alpha adds coverage for Stocks.

Visible Alpha offers real-time data feeds, which is essential for active traders. FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) uses delayed or end-of-day data, which works fine for longer-term investors who don't need up-to-the-second quotes.

Both platforms let you export data to spreadsheets (Excel). This is useful for custom analysis or record-keeping.