★ BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON ★
VOL. XCIV, NO. 247
Tool comparison edition
Tool Comparison
Open Payments (CMS) vs OpenCorporates
Pick Open Payments (CMS) if
Open Payments (CMS)
Free · Web · API
- You care about data visualizations and official sources, things OpenCorporates doesn't offer
Pick OpenCorporates if
OpenCorporates
Free • Contact for pricing · Web · API
- You care about other, something Open Payments (CMS) doesn't offer
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
See alternativesOutbound links may include affiliate or sponsor codes.
Our take
The bottom line
Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates cover a lot of the same ground (2 shared categories, APIs & data feeds and regulatory filings monitoring), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. The real difference is focus: only Open Payments (CMS) gives you data visualizations and official sources, and only OpenCorporates gives you other.
What readers say
Open Payments (CMS)
Vote once to reveal the community verdict.
OpenCorporates
Vote once to reveal the community verdict.
Key differences at a glance
- Global coverage
- OpenCorporates
- Free plan
- Both
See for yourself
How they stack up
The side-by-side table: pricing, platforms, data, and coverage at a glance.ShowHide
How they stack up
The side-by-side table: pricing, platforms, data, and coverage at a glance.| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Free | Free • Contact for pricing |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | — | — |
Plan limits | — | 8 limits: Essentials (API): api calls per month: 500, Essentials (API): api calls per day: 200 +6 more |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | No | No |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Broker sync | — | No |
Integrations | — | OpenRefine |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | — |
Categories covered | 4 | 3 |
Regions | North America | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | Latency: End of Day and Granularity: EOD | Latency: End of Day and Granularity: EOD |
Security | Data residency: US | Status page |
| Try it | Visit Open Payments (CMS) | Visit OpenCorporates |
Where each one shines
What Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates each do best.ShowHide
Where each one shines
What Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates each do best.What Open Payments (CMS) does best
- Search tools across official Sunshine Act records for payments and ownership interests reported by drug manufacturers, device manufacturers, and group purchasing organizations.
- Comparison tools for General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership or Investment Interests across program years.
- Lookup tools for physicians, non-physician practitioners, teaching hospitals, manufacturers, products, payment categories, dates, and dollar amounts from the public web tool.
- Charts, filters, and downloadable tables to move from a provider, company, or product question into the underlying records.
- Download support for bulk datasets when healthcare, pharma, medtech, policy, or compliance workflows need repeatable offline analysis.
What OpenCorporates does best
- Search tools across a public legal-entity database advertised at 200M+ company records aggregated from official registries with provenance and source links.
- The versioned REST API with API-key authentication and JSON or XML output for company and officer data workflows.
- OpenRefine Reconciliation API to match company names to legal identifiers during entity-resolution work.
- Access to enterprise bulk data through SFTP-delivered CSV datasets for companies, officers, addresses, alternative names, identifiers, and relationships.
- Relationship data for subsidiaries, branches, control statements, shareholdings, and ownership-mapping workflows.
Every detail we compared
Every tracked attribute for Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates, side by side.ShowHide
Every detail we compared
Every tracked attribute for Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates, side by side.| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | Other | Other |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Regions | North America | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica |
Coverage details | Countries: US | Not specified |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | End of Day | End of Day |
Data granularity | EOD | EOD |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | REST |
API auth & delivery | Auth: None | Auth: APIKey |
Integrations | Not specified | OpenRefine |
Export formats | CSVJSON | CSVJSON |
| Plans & trust | ||
Security & compliance | Data residency: US | Status page |
Vendor & support | Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. Department of Health & Human ServicesCountry: USSupport: Email and Phone | OpenCorporates LtdCountry: United KingdomFounded 2010Support: Email |
Curation ratings | Methodology 5/5Reliability 5/5UX 4/5 | Not specified |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
What you'll actually pay
Plans, billing, trials, and per-month pricing for both tools.ShowHide
What you'll actually pay
Plans, billing, trials, and per-month pricing for both tools.| Tier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free | Free“Free (personal & public-benefit use)” |
| Entry paid plan | — | £225/mo“Essentials (API)”api calls per month: 500 · api calls per day: 200 |
| Tier 2 | — | £660/mo“Starter (API)”api calls per month: 2,500 · api calls per day: 500 · +1 more |
| Top plan | — | £1200/mo“Basic (API)”api calls per month: 5,000 · api calls per day: 1,000 · +1 more |
| Custom / enterprise | — | Contact sales“Enterprise Bulk (SFTP CSV datasets)” |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates?
Open Payments (CMS) leans toward APIs & data feeds, data visualizations, and regulatory filings monitoring, while OpenCorporates puts more weight on APIs & data feeds, regulatory filings monitoring, and other. They overlap in 2 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates cost?
Good news: both Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Do Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates have APIs?
Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.
Should I choose Open Payments (CMS) or OpenCorporates?
It depends on what you're after. Pick Open Payments (CMS) if data visualizations and official sources matter to you; go with OpenCorporates if you'd rather have other. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
Which covers international markets: Open Payments (CMS) or OpenCorporates?
OpenCorporates has documented international coverage (North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, and more), so it's the safer bet if you hold non-US stocks. Open Payments (CMS) is more region-specific, mainly North America.
Can I export data from Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates?
Yes, both export to spreadsheets (CSV), which is handy if you like running your own numbers.
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Feedback
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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.