VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

MarineTraffic vs ORTEX 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 ORTEX skips.

ORTEX includes Short Interest, Insider Data, Quant, Index Rebalancing, Money Flow, Options & Derivatives, Options, Analyst Recommendations, Analyst Price Targets, News, Calendar, US Government Trades, Screeners, and Blogs 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)..

ORTEX is known for: Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., and Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms..

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.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes
You haven't voted yet
ORTEX logo

ORTEX

public.ortex.com

Hands-on review

Analytics platform focused on short interest and securities lending, with additional coverage of options flow, insider trades, analyst views, and index rebalances. Offers a free tier with limited features, plus paid plans (Basic $39/mo, Advanced $129/mo). Options data is sourced from OPRA and requires agreeing to OPRA terms. API access is available with key-based authentication, and an Excel Add-in (beta) supports short interest data.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
API

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers.
  • Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates.
  • Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms.
  • Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.
  • Configurable stock screener including short-interest columns; results can be exported.

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes
You haven't voted yet
Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data Visualizations, and Data APIs.

Where they differ

MarineTraffic

Distinct strengths include:

  • 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).

ORTEX

Distinct strengths include:

  • Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers.
  • Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates.
  • Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms.
  • Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeMarineTrafficORTEX
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Data Visualizations, Data APIs

Unique: Shipping & Trade, Alerts

Shared: Data Visualizations, Data APIs

Unique: Short Interest, Insider Data, Quant, Index Rebalancing, Money Flow, Options & Derivatives, Options, Analyst Recommendations, Analyst Price Targets, News, Calendar, US Government Trades, Screeners, Blogs

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Other

Stocks, ETFs, Options

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, Mobile, API

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free, Subscription

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

  • Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers.
  • Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates.
  • Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms.
  • Alpha trading signals across themes like Short Squeeze, EPS, RSI, MACD, and Company Events, each with back-tested stats and intraday updates.
  • Configurable stock screener including short-interest columns; results can be exported.
  • Live intraday charts with last price and bid/ask displayed.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

Yes

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do MarineTraffic and ORTEX 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 ORTEX require subscriptions?

Both MarineTraffic and ORTEX keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access MarineTraffic and ORTEX?

Both MarineTraffic and ORTEX support web and mobile access, making it easy to keep tabs on research away from the desk.

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 ORTEX stands out for Short interest and lending analytics including utilization, cost to borrow, shares on loan, and percentage of free float on loan, with intraday and real-time estimates from a large pool of lenders and brokers., Official U.S. exchange-reported short interest (bi-monthly) and European flagged shorts, alongside lending-based estimates., and Options coverage with unusual activity and flow detection; OPRA-sourced data gated by user agreement to OPRA terms..

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.