VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Thursday, October 30, 2025

Tool Comparison

marketstack vs USAspending comparison

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

Quick takeaways

marketstack adds Dividends, Splits, ETF Holdings, Interest Rates, Analyst Recommendations, and Analyst Price Targets coverage that USAspending skips.

USAspending includes Data Visualizations, Videos, and Other categories that marketstack omits.

In depth comparison

marketstack

marketstack.com

A global market data API with free and paid tiers. End-of-day coverage spans 15+ years and 500k+ tickers, while intraday and real-time access are unlocked on higher plans. Rate limits apply: 5 requests per second globally, with some endpoints (like ETF holdings) counting as multiple calls. Premium tiers add features like SEC/EDGAR filings, analyst ratings, and bond/index data. Data is sourced from Tiingo for U.S. markets, and uptime is tracked on a public status page.

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

RESTful JSON API with secure API key access, HTTPS transport, and a 5 requests/sec global limit.
End-of-day data with 15+ years of history across 500,000+ tickers, including MIC-level filtering and adjusted fields (open, close, volume).
Intraday data for U.S. markets via IEX, with intervals from 1–60 minutes. Real-time reference prices are derived from IEX feeds; some fields require separate entitlements.
Professional and higher tiers include real-time stock prices with minute-level updates (1 API call per minute rate cap).
Corporate actions endpoints for dividends and stock splits.

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USAspending

usaspending.gov

Official U.S. federal spending open‑data portal mandated by the DATA Act and operated by Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The public REST API powers the site (GET/POST endpoints, JSON responses). Data refreshes daily after a nightly pipeline; underlying source systems update on different cadences (e.g., monthly for Files A/B/C via the DATA Act Broker; next‑day for FPDS contracts; FABS within 2 weeks; FSRS subawards by month‑end; GTAS monthly). Bulk downloads and archives are available for awards back to FY2008.

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure.
Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy.
Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints.
Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.
Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS).

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Where they differ

marketstack

Distinct strengths include:

Dividends Splits ETF Holdings Interest Rates Analyst Recommendations Analyst Price Targets

RESTful JSON API with secure API key access, HTTPS transport, and a 5 requests/sec global limit.
End-of-day data with 15+ years of history across 500,000+ tickers, including MIC-level filtering and adjusted fields (open, close, volume).
Intraday data for U.S. markets via IEX, with intervals from 1–60 minutes. Real-time reference prices are derived from IEX feeds; some fields require separate entitlements.
Professional and higher tiers include real-time stock prices with minute-level updates (1 API call per minute rate cap).

USAspending

Distinct strengths include:

Data Visualizations Videos Other

Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure.
Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy.
Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints.
Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	marketstack	USAspending
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: Dividends, Splits, ETF Holdings, Interest Rates, Analyst Recommendations, Analyst Price Targets	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: Data Visualizations, Videos, Other
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Stocks, ETFs, Bonds, Commodities	Other
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription	Free
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique RESTful JSON API with secure API key access, HTTPS transport, and a 5 requests/sec global limit. End-of-day data with 15+ years of history across 500,000+ tickers, including MIC-level filtering and adjusted fields (open, close, volume). Intraday data for U.S. markets via IEX, with intervals from 1–60 minutes. Real-time reference prices are derived from IEX feeds; some fields require separate entitlements. Professional and higher tiers include real-time stock prices with minute-level updates (1 API call per minute rate cap). Corporate actions endpoints for dividends and stock splits. ETF holdings data (Basic+ plans and above) with identifiers like ISIN and CUSIP; each request consumes 20 API calls.	Unique Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure. Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy. Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints. Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download. Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS). Entity identifiers: UEI (replaced DUNS on Apr 4, 2022) used for recipients as the governmentwide identifier (via SAM.gov).
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 marketstack and USAspending both support?

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

Do marketstack and USAspending require subscriptions?

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

How can you access marketstack and USAspending?

Both marketstack and USAspending 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?

marketstack differentiates itself with RESTful JSON API with secure API key access, HTTPS transport, and a 5 requests/sec global limit., End-of-day data with 15+ years of history across 500,000+ tickers, including MIC-level filtering and adjusted fields (open, close, volume)., and Intraday data for U.S. markets via IEX, with intervals from 1–60 minutes. Real-time reference prices are derived from IEX feeds; some fields require separate entitlements., whereas USAspending stands out for Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure., Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy., and Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

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