VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View MarineTrafficView Open Payments (CMS)Back to Home

Head-to-head

MarineTraffic vs Open Payments (CMS) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

MarineTraffic adds Shipping & Trade, and Alerts coverage that Open Payments (CMS) skips.

Open Payments (CMS) includes APIs & SDKs, and Regulatory Filings Monitoring categories that MarineTraffic omits.

MarineTraffic highlights: Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters., Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive., and CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000)..

Open Payments (CMS) is known for: Three core datasets each year: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership/Investment Interests., Web search/explorer with filtering and charts; program year downloads available from the portal., and Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style)..

MarineTraffic ships a mobile app. Open Payments (CMS) is web/desktop only.

MarineTraffic logo

MarineTraffic

marinetraffic.com

Global AIS vessel tracking platform with map views, alerts, voyage history, and data exports. Many features are plan-gated: CSV export quotas, Past Track history, detailed Route Forecasts, and the number of Custom Areas you can define. API access is available with an API key, and mobile apps provide push notifications.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters.
  • Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive.
  • CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000).
  • Past Track playback varies by plan: Free (1 day), Essential (7 days), Enterprise (up to 5 years, in 7-day playback windows).
  • Route Forecast tools: Basic shows path previews; Essential and Enterprise unlock ETA and speed details.

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Open Payments (CMS) logo

Open Payments (CMS)

openpaymentsdata.cms.gov

U.S. federal open‑data program (Affordable Care Act ‘Sunshine Act’) that publishes financial relationships between drug/device manufacturers (and GPOs) and healthcare providers (physicians, NPPs since PY2021, and teaching hospitals). CMS publishes the prior program year’s full datasets on or before June 30 each year and issues a January refresh. Data are accessible via the web search tool, bulk downloads, and a REST Open Data API (filter, query, aggregate).

Platforms

Web
API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Three core datasets each year: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership/Investment Interests.
  • Web search/explorer with filtering and charts; program year downloads available from the portal.
  • Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style).
  • Publication cadence: initial annual publication on/around June 30 for the prior year, plus a January data refresh.
  • Pre‑publication workflow: 45‑day recipient review & dispute (Apr 1–May 15) + 15‑day correction window (May 16–May 30).

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data Visualizations, and Data APIs.

Where they differ

MarineTraffic

Distinct strengths include:

Shipping & Trade
Alerts
  • Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters.
  • Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive.
  • CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000).
  • Past Track playback varies by plan: Free (1 day), Essential (7 days), Enterprise (up to 5 years, in 7-day playback windows).

Open Payments (CMS)

Distinct strengths include:

APIs & SDKs
Regulatory Filings Monitoring
  • Three core datasets each year: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership/Investment Interests.
  • Web search/explorer with filtering and charts; program year downloads available from the portal.
  • Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style).
  • Publication cadence: initial annual publication on/around June 30 for the prior year, plus a January data refresh.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeMarineTrafficOpen Payments (CMS)
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Data Visualizations, Data APIs

Unique: Shipping & Trade, Alerts

Shared: Data Visualizations, Data APIs

Unique: APIs & SDKs, Regulatory Filings Monitoring

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, Mobile, API

Web, API

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters.
  • Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive.
  • CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000).
  • Past Track playback varies by plan: Free (1 day), Essential (7 days), Enterprise (up to 5 years, in 7-day playback windows).
  • Route Forecast tools: Basic shows path previews; Essential and Enterprise unlock ETA and speed details.
  • Custom Areas can be created or imported (KMZ/KML/GEOJSON/WKT), with plan limits from 1 area (Essential) up to 2,000 (Enterprise).

Unique

  • Three core datasets each year: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership/Investment Interests.
  • Web search/explorer with filtering and charts; program year downloads available from the portal.
  • Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style).
  • Publication cadence: initial annual publication on/around June 30 for the prior year, plus a January data refresh.
  • Pre‑publication workflow: 45‑day recipient review & dispute (Apr 1–May 15) + 15‑day correction window (May 16–May 30).
  • Supplemental/lookup tables (e.g., Covered Recipient Profile Supplement; distinct physician profile) to aid joins.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do MarineTraffic and Open Payments (CMS) both support?

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

Do MarineTraffic and Open Payments (CMS) require subscriptions?

Both MarineTraffic and Open Payments (CMS) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

MarineTraffic ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Open Payments (CMS) focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

MarineTraffic differentiates itself with Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters., Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive., and CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000)., whereas Open Payments (CMS) stands out for Three core datasets each year: General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership/Investment Interests., Web search/explorer with filtering and charts; program year downloads available from the portal., and Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style)..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.

Recommended tools

These profiles share overlapping coverage with both sides of this matchup.

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.