VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)View Open Payments (CMS)Back to Home

Head-to-head

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) vs Open Payments (CMS) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) adds Shipping & Trade, Education, and Blogs coverage that Open Payments (CMS) skips.

Open Payments (CMS) includes APIs & SDKs, and Regulatory Filings Monitoring categories that Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) omits.

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) highlights: Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification., Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans., and Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs..

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)..

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)

oec.world

A global trade and economic complexity platform with rich visualizations, country and product rankings, and an API. Pro plans unlock the latest monthly and subnational datasets, while Premium adds company-level Bill of Lading data and bulk downloads. Academic discounts and enterprise options with SSO support are also available.

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification.
Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans.
Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs.
REST API with a free tier for historical data and Pro/Premium tokens for the latest datasets, subnational access, and higher query volumes.
Data downloads in CSV, Excel, or JSON, with bulk access and larger query limits available for subscribers.

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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

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)

Distinct strengths include:

Shipping & Trade

Education

Blogs

Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification.
Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans.
Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs.
REST API with a free tier for historical data and Pro/Premium tokens for the latest datasets, subnational access, and higher query volumes.

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

Attribute	Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC)	Open Payments (CMS)
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data Visualizations, Data APIs Unique: Shipping & Trade, Education, Blogs	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, API	Web, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription	Free
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification. Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans. Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs. REST API with a free tier for historical data and Pro/Premium tokens for the latest datasets, subnational access, and higher query volumes. Data downloads in CSV, Excel, or JSON, with bulk access and larger query limits available for subscribers. Support for multiple HS revisions (from HS92 through HS2022) with well-documented historical ranges.	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.
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 Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) 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 Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) and Open Payments (CMS) require subscriptions?

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

How can you access Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) and Open Payments (CMS)?

Both Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) and Open Payments (CMS) 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?

Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) differentiates itself with Visualizations and rankings based on Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), with reports by HS classification., Monthly international trade data and subnational coverage across 30+ countries available on Pro plans., and Premium tier adds company-level U.S. Bill of Lading data through a Company Explorer sourced from U.S. Customs., 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.