VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, October 13, 2025

Head-to-head

Frost & Sullivan vs U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Frost & Sullivan adds Scores, PMI / ISM, Retail Sales, Housing & Construction, Consumer Sentiment, and Newsletters coverage that U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) skips.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) includes Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, and Calendar categories that Frost & Sullivan omits.

Frost & Sullivan highlights: Frost Radar™: a signature benchmarking framework that scores companies on Growth and Innovation. Reports include the PDF download plus an analyst-led Growth Dialog™ session., Online research store with single-purchase studies across industries and themes. Deliverables include Frost Radar reports, market and technology studies, and economic trackers, all offered as PDF downloads with list pricing., and iFrost Industry Research Database: a digital platform for interactive analysis with instant data updates, customizable charts, and what Frost calls “API-driven solutions.”.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is known for: Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP., Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts., and API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout)..

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) keeps a free entry point that Frost & Sullivan lacks.

Frost & Sullivan logo

Frost & Sullivan

frost.com

Global analyst research and benchmarking delivered as one-off PDF reports through their online store, or as part of enterprise subscriptions like Growth Opportunity Analytics and iFrost. Pricing is premium — for example, a Frost Radar report costs around $4,950, while an Economic Tracker study is about $1,500. iFrost is positioned as an interactive, API-driven data platform, though no open developer API is publicly offered.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

One-time
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Frost Radar™: a signature benchmarking framework that scores companies on Growth and Innovation. Reports include the PDF download plus an analyst-led Growth Dialog™ session.
  • Online research store with single-purchase studies across industries and themes. Deliverables include Frost Radar reports, market and technology studies, and economic trackers, all offered as PDF downloads with list pricing.
  • iFrost Industry Research Database: a digital platform for interactive analysis with instant data updates, customizable charts, and what Frost calls “API-driven solutions.”
  • Global Economic Tracker (GET-IT): macroeconomic database covering GDP, inflation, PMIs, retail sales, consumer and business confidence, industrial production, and housing indicators. Data is updated monthly, quarterly, or annually with forecasts included.
  • Growth Opportunity Analytics and Growth Analytics programs: subscription offerings that bundle ongoing research, datasets, and analyst access for enterprise clients.

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U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) logo

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

bea.gov

Official U.S. macroeconomic statistics publisher (U.S. Dept. of Commerce). Offers free interactive tables (iTables) and a REST API with JSON/XML output for GDP, PCE/inflation, personal income/outlays, international transactions (ITA), international investment position (IIP), fixed assets, GDP by industry, and regional accounts. The API requires a 36‑character key and enforces throttling (100 requests/min or 100 MB/min; 429 with Retry‑After). A public release calendar is available (ICS/JSON).

Platforms

Web
API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
  • Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
  • API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
  • Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.
  • Release Schedule provides machine‑readable calendar feeds (ICS/JSON) and shows planned 8:30/10:00 a.m. release times.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include GDP, and Inflation Rates.

Where they differ

Frost & Sullivan

Distinct strengths include:

  • Frost Radar™: a signature benchmarking framework that scores companies on Growth and Innovation. Reports include the PDF download plus an analyst-led Growth Dialog™ session.
  • Online research store with single-purchase studies across industries and themes. Deliverables include Frost Radar reports, market and technology studies, and economic trackers, all offered as PDF downloads with list pricing.
  • iFrost Industry Research Database: a digital platform for interactive analysis with instant data updates, customizable charts, and what Frost calls “API-driven solutions.”
  • Global Economic Tracker (GET-IT): macroeconomic database covering GDP, inflation, PMIs, retail sales, consumer and business confidence, industrial production, and housing indicators. Data is updated monthly, quarterly, or annually with forecasts included.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Distinct strengths include:

  • Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
  • Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
  • API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
  • Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeFrost & SullivanU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: GDP, Inflation Rates

Unique: Scores, PMI / ISM, Retail Sales, Housing & Construction, Consumer Sentiment, Newsletters

Shared: GDP, Inflation Rates

Unique: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Calendar

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Other

Other

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web

Web, API

Pricing

High-level pricing models

One-time, Subscription

Free

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Frost Radar™: a signature benchmarking framework that scores companies on Growth and Innovation. Reports include the PDF download plus an analyst-led Growth Dialog™ session.
  • Online research store with single-purchase studies across industries and themes. Deliverables include Frost Radar reports, market and technology studies, and economic trackers, all offered as PDF downloads with list pricing.
  • iFrost Industry Research Database: a digital platform for interactive analysis with instant data updates, customizable charts, and what Frost calls “API-driven solutions.”
  • Global Economic Tracker (GET-IT): macroeconomic database covering GDP, inflation, PMIs, retail sales, consumer and business confidence, industrial production, and housing indicators. Data is updated monthly, quarterly, or annually with forecasts included.
  • Growth Opportunity Analytics and Growth Analytics programs: subscription offerings that bundle ongoing research, datasets, and analyst access for enterprise clients.
  • Best Practices Awards program: structured recognition for companies across industries, supported by published methodologies and ongoing press releases.

Unique

  • Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
  • Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
  • API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
  • Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.
  • Release Schedule provides machine‑readable calendar feeds (ICS/JSON) and shows planned 8:30/10:00 a.m. release times.
  • Official open‑source SDKs/tools: R package (bea.R) and a Python helper (beaapi) on BEA’s GitHub.
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 Frost & Sullivan and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) both support?

Both platforms cover GDP, and Inflation Rates workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Which tool offers a free plan?

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) offers a free entry point, while Frost & Sullivan requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

How can you access Frost & Sullivan and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)?

Both Frost & Sullivan and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) prioritize web or desktop access. Investors wanting a mobile-first workflow may need to rely on responsive web views.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Frost & Sullivan differentiates itself with Frost Radar™: a signature benchmarking framework that scores companies on Growth and Innovation. Reports include the PDF download plus an analyst-led Growth Dialog™ session., Online research store with single-purchase studies across industries and themes. Deliverables include Frost Radar reports, market and technology studies, and economic trackers, all offered as PDF downloads with list pricing., and iFrost Industry Research Database: a digital platform for interactive analysis with instant data updates, customizable charts, and what Frost calls “API-driven solutions.”, whereas U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) stands out for Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP., Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts., and API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout)..

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.