★ BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON ★
VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
Tool comparison edition
Tool Comparison
GuruFocus vs SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)
GuruFocus
Best for stock ideas and screeners
Free • From $549/yr
SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)
Best for regulatory filings monitoring and official sources
Free
Outbound links may include affiliate or sponsor codes.
The verdict
The bottom line
GuruFocus and SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) cover a lot of the same ground (8 shared categories, including institutional ownership, news, and alerts), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. GuruFocus simply does more: 48 categories to SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)'s 10, including stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners, plus a mobile app. SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) counters by being completely free.
Key differences at a glance
- Mobile app
- GuruFocus
- Free trial
- GuruFocus7 days
- Broader coverage
- GuruFocus48 vs 10 categories
- Real-time data
- SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)
- Broker sync
- GuruFocus
- Global coverage
- GuruFocus
Choose
GuruFocus if…
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You care about stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners, things SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) doesn't offer
- You're a long-term investor who cares more about fundamentals than headlines
Choose
SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) if…
- Delayed quotes won't cut it; you need real-time data
- You care about regulatory filings monitoring and official sources, things GuruFocus doesn't offer
Comparison snapshot
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Free • From $549/yr | Free |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | 7 days | — |
Plan limits | 38 limits: Free: portfolio limit: Up to 3 portfolios with 25 stocks each for free members, Free: data api requests: 100/month included in the Free API package +36 more | — |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | Yes | No |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Broker sync | Yes | No |
Integrations | GuruFocus Data API, GuruFocus Excel Add-in +6 more | EDGAR RSS Feeds, data.sec.gov (Submissions & XBRL APIs) +1 more |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | Retail Traders, Pro Retail +9 more | — |
Categories covered | 48 | 10 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | 5 signals: Latency: End of Day, Granularity: EOD +3 more | 5 signals: Latency: Real-time and End of Day, Granularity: EOD +3 more |
Data partners | 5 partners: QuoteMedia, Morningstar +3 more | — |
Capabilities | 8 signals: Custom formulas, Ranking backtests +6 more | — |
Security | Status page and Encryption in transit | Data residency: US and Status page |
| Try it | Visit GuruFocus | Visit SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) |
Standout features
What GuruFocus does best
- Global value-investing research platform with historical financial and valuation data, screeners, charts, comparisons, institutional-investor trading histories, executive trading histories, market valuation data, economic indicators, and industry indicators.
- Large global coverage footprint: GuruFocus says it serves more than 1 million users worldwide, covers 100,000 stocks in 100 markets, tracks 8,000+ institutional investors’ trading histories, and tracks 15,000+ mutual fund holdings; API documentation separately describes 60,000+ companies across 9 regions.
- All-in-One Screener with 500+ filters across fundamentals, valuation, profitability, growth, dividends, guru holdings, insider trades, predefined value screens, custom filters, saved screens, downloadable results, and portfolio workflow integration.
- Screener backtesting for more than 80 countries, with U.S. backtests starting January 1, 2006 and non-U.S. country backtests generally starting January 1, 2016; parameters include stock count, ranking metric, sort order, start/end date, and rebalance frequency.
- GuruFocus states that screener backtests are designed to be free of survivorship bias by considering historical mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, and delistings.
What SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) does best
- Full‑Text Search (since 2001) with fielded filters: word/phrase, company/ticker/CIK/person, filing category/types, filed date ranges, ‘principal executive offices in’ and ‘incorporated in’.
- ‘Latest Filings’ list shows filings as they are submitted (with RSS for any filter; ownership Forms 3/4/5 can be included/excluded/only).
- Company Search with ‘more search options’, plus dedicated searches for Mutual Funds (prospectuses/proxy voting) and Variable Insurance Products.
- CIK Lookup & helper datasets (company_tickers*.json) to map tickers↔CIK (company/fund/series/class).
- Developer APIs on data.sec.gov: submissions by CIK; XBRL endpoints (companyfacts, companyconcept, frames); bulk nightly ZIPs (submissions.zip, companyfacts.zip).
Data & access details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | StocksETFsBondsMutual FundsOptionsFundsOther | StocksETFsMutual FundsClosed-End FundsBondsHedge FundsPrivate FundsReal Estate+1 more |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Target audience | Retail TradersPro RetailLong-term InvestorsValue InvestorsQuality InvestorsDividend InvestorsAnalystsQuants/Developers+3 more | Not specified |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North America |
Coverage details | Identifiers: Ticker and CIK | Countries: US4 exchangesIdentifiers: Ticker |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | End of Day | Real-timeEnd of Day |
Data granularity | EOD | EOD |
Pricing sources | ExchangeVendorModel | Not specified |
Data partners | QuoteMediaMorningstarRefinitivFREDSEC / local regulators | Not specified |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | REST |
API auth & delivery | Auth: APIKeySDKs: Python and GoDocs | Auth: None600 req/min |
Import methods | CSVBrokerOAuthManual | Not specified |
Integrations | GuruFocus Data APIGuruFocus Excel Add-inGuruFocus Google Sheets Add-onSnapTradeSchwabFidelityRobinhoodInteractive Brokers | EDGAR RSS Feedsdata.sec.gov (Submissions & XBRL APIs)EDGAR Public Dissemination Service (PDS) |
Export formats | CSVExcelJSON | JSONXMLPDF |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | Status pageEncryption in transit | Data residency: USStatus page |
Capability signals | Custom formulasRanking backtestsUniverse builderFactors: Value, Quality, Momentum, and GrowthBroker syncMulti-currencyYield curvesAI summaries: Transcripts | Not specified |
Vendor & support | GuruFocus.com, LLCCountry: United StatesFounded 2004Support: Email, Chat, Phone, and Forum | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)Country: USSupport: Email and Phone |
Curation ratings | Not specified | Methodology 5/5Reliability 5/5UX 4/5 |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing breakdown
$549/yr
Starting price
Plans & pricing
- portfolio limit: Up to 3 portfolios with 25 stocks each for free members
- data api requests: 100/month included in the Free API package
- +1 more
- billing: Annual only
- data api requests: 200/month included with Premium membership
- +2 more
- billing: Annual only
- data api requests: 500/month included with Premium Plus membership
- +2 more
- billing: Annual only
- data api requests: 2,000/month included with Professional membership
- requests: 100/month
- billing: Billed annually
- canada add on: $100/month
- +8 more
- billing: Billed annually
- initial top up: $100 credit
- company profile: $0.10/request
- +11 more
Free
Lower starting price
Plans & pricing
Coverage overlap
Shared categories
8Where the two tools cover the same ground.
GuruFocus strengths
40What you only get with GuruFocus.
SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) strengths
2What you only get with SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings).
Community category leaders
Vote sentiment comparison
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between GuruFocus and SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?
GuruFocus leans toward stock ideas, screeners, and ETF screeners, while SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) puts more weight on regulatory filings monitoring, IPO, and corporate actions & special situations. They overlap in 8 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do GuruFocus and SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) cost?
Good news: both GuruFocus and SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Can I use GuruFocus or SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) on my phone?
GuruFocus lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web and API.
Do GuruFocus and SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) have APIs?
Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.
Should I choose GuruFocus or SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?
It depends on what you're after. Pick GuruFocus if stock ideas and screeners matter to you; go with SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) if you'd rather have regulatory filings monitoring and official sources. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
What asset classes do GuruFocus and SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) cover?
Both cover stocks, ETFs, bonds, and mutual funds. GuruFocus also handles options and other. SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) adds closed-end funds, hedge funds, and private funds on top.
Does GuruFocus or SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) have real-time data?
SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) offers real-time data, which matters if you trade actively. GuruFocus runs on delayed or end-of-day data, which is perfectly fine for longer-term investors who don't live and die by the tick.
Which covers international markets: GuruFocus or SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?
GuruFocus has documented international coverage (North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, and more), so it's the safer bet if you hold non-US stocks. SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) is more region-specific, mainly North America.
Can I export data from GuruFocus and SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?
GuruFocus exports to CSV and Excel. SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) is stingier about getting data out.
Can GuruFocus or SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) connect to my broker?
GuruFocus syncs with brokers automatically. With SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings), you're entering holdings by hand or importing files.
Which has a better stock screener: GuruFocus or SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?
GuruFocus has a stock screener for surfacing ideas; SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) doesn't, and focuses its energy elsewhere.
Can I track my portfolio with GuruFocus or SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?
GuruFocus handles portfolio tracking. SEC EDGAR - Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) is really a research tool; you'd track your portfolio elsewhere.
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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.