VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Monday, October 6, 2025

Head-to-head

Investopedia vs SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Investopedia adds Paper Trading, Videos, Newsletters, and Stock Handbook coverage that SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) skips.

SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) includes Regulatory Filings Monitoring, IPO, Secondary Offerings, Insider Data, 13F, 13D/13G, Alerts, Data APIs, and APIs & SDKs categories that Investopedia omits.

Investopedia highlights: Extensive financial dictionary (14,000+ definitions) and more than 36,000 articles, attracting over 40 million monthly readers., Free paper-trading Simulator with $100k in virtual cash, supporting market, limit, and stop orders on delayed data (~20 minutes)., and Assets supported in the Simulator include stocks, options, ETFs, and select cryptocurrencies, limited to NYSE and Nasdaq listings..

SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) is known for: 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)., and Company Search with ‘more search options’, plus dedicated searches for Mutual Funds (prospectuses/proxy voting) and Variable Insurance Products..

Investopedia logo

Investopedia

investopedia.com

Hands-on review

Free financial education site best known for its dictionary, guides, and market explainers. Includes a paper-trading Simulator with $100k virtual cash that supports stocks, ETFs, options, and select crypto on NYSE/Nasdaq (quotes delayed ~20–30 minutes). Investopedia Academy courses were discontinued in June 2024, with past purchasers given access instructions via email.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Extensive financial dictionary (14,000+ definitions) and more than 36,000 articles, attracting over 40 million monthly readers.
  • Free paper-trading Simulator with $100k in virtual cash, supporting market, limit, and stop orders on delayed data (~20 minutes).
  • Assets supported in the Simulator include stocks, options, ETFs, and select cryptocurrencies, limited to NYSE and Nasdaq listings.
  • Option to create public or private games with configurable rules such as margin use, short selling, or options trading, plus leaderboards.
  • Built-in research tools, price charts, company information, and a stock screener integrated with the Simulator.

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SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) logo

SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)

sec.gov

Primary U.S. source for public company, fund, and insider filings. The Full‑Text Search covers filings since 2001 (including exhibits), while the ‘Latest Filings’ view shows near‑real‑time submissions as they are processed. Search tools include Company search, Mutual Fund & Variable Insurance product search, CIK lookup, and RSS subscriptions. Developers can consume JSON via data.sec.gov (Submissions, XBRL Company Facts/Concepts/Frames). Programmatic access must include a descriptive User‑Agent and respect the SEC fair‑access limit (currently 10 requests/sec).

Platforms

Web
API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • 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).

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include News, and Education.

Where they differ

Investopedia

Distinct strengths include:

  • Extensive financial dictionary (14,000+ definitions) and more than 36,000 articles, attracting over 40 million monthly readers.
  • Free paper-trading Simulator with $100k in virtual cash, supporting market, limit, and stop orders on delayed data (~20 minutes).
  • Assets supported in the Simulator include stocks, options, ETFs, and select cryptocurrencies, limited to NYSE and Nasdaq listings.
  • Option to create public or private games with configurable rules such as margin use, short selling, or options trading, plus leaderboards.

SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)

Distinct strengths include:

  • 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).

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeInvestopediaSEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: News, Education

Unique: Paper Trading, Videos, Newsletters, Stock Handbook

Shared: News, Education

Unique: Regulatory Filings Monitoring, IPO, Secondary Offerings, Insider Data, 13F, 13D/13G, Alerts, Data APIs, APIs & SDKs

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptos

Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Closed-End Funds, Bonds, Hedge Funds, Private Funds, Real Estate, Funds

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

Free

Free

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Extensive financial dictionary (14,000+ definitions) and more than 36,000 articles, attracting over 40 million monthly readers.
  • Free paper-trading Simulator with $100k in virtual cash, supporting market, limit, and stop orders on delayed data (~20 minutes).
  • Assets supported in the Simulator include stocks, options, ETFs, and select cryptocurrencies, limited to NYSE and Nasdaq listings.
  • Option to create public or private games with configurable rules such as margin use, short selling, or options trading, plus leaderboards.
  • Built-in research tools, price charts, company information, and a stock screener integrated with the Simulator.
  • Regularly updated financial news coverage and opt-in newsletters, including Investopedia Daily.

Unique

  • 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).
  • EDGAR indexes (daily/full/quarterly) and browsable /Archives paths (raw .txt, SGML headers, HTML index pages; VPRR for scanned paper PDFs).
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Yes

Not yet

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Investopedia and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) both support?

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

Do Investopedia and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) require subscriptions?

Both Investopedia and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access Investopedia and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?

Both Investopedia and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) 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?

Investopedia differentiates itself with Extensive financial dictionary (14,000+ definitions) and more than 36,000 articles, attracting over 40 million monthly readers., Free paper-trading Simulator with $100k in virtual cash, supporting market, limit, and stop orders on delayed data (~20 minutes)., and Assets supported in the Simulator include stocks, options, ETFs, and select cryptocurrencies, limited to NYSE and Nasdaq listings., whereas SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) stands out for 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)., and Company Search with ‘more search options’, plus dedicated searches for Mutual Funds (prospectuses/proxy voting) and Variable Insurance Products..

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.