BEST INVESTING TOOLS COMPARISON

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Checked September 24, 2026

Tool Comparison

Open Payments (CMS) vs OpenCorporates

Paid from
—
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, API

Best if

  • You want data visualizations and official sources.
Paid from
On request
Free plan
Yes
Platforms
Web, API

Best if

  • You want other.

Pick Open Payments (CMS) if

Open Payments (CMS) logo

Open Payments (CMS)

openpaymentsdata.cms.gov

Free · Web · API

  • You want data visualizations and official sources.

Pick OpenCorporates if

OpenCorporates logo

OpenCorporates

opencorporates.com

Free • Contact for pricing · Web · API

  • You want other.

Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.

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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. Open Payments (CMS) includes data visualizations and official sources, and OpenCorporates includes other.

What readers say

Open Payments (CMS)

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OpenCorporates

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Key differences at a glance

Global coverage
OpenCorporates
Free plan
Both
See the full side-by-side table
Open Payments (CMS) logo

What Open Payments (CMS) does best

  1. Search tools across official Sunshine Act records for payments and ownership interests reported by drug manufacturers, device manufacturers, and group purchasing organizations.
  2. Comparison tools for General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership or Investment Interests across program years.
  3. Lookup tools for physicians, non-physician practitioners, teaching hospitals, manufacturers, products, payment categories, dates, and dollar amounts from the public web tool.
  4. Charts, filters, and downloadable tables to move from a provider, company, or product question into the underlying records.
  5. Download support for bulk datasets when healthcare, pharma, medtech, policy, or compliance workflows need repeatable offline analysis.
OpenCorporates logo

What OpenCorporates does best

  1. Search more than 200 million company records collected from official sources, with provenance and source links.
  2. Use a versioned REST API with API-key authentication and JSON or XML output for company and officer data.
  3. Match company names to legal identifiers with the OpenRefine Reconciliation API.
  4. Receive bulk CSV datasets through SFTP for companies, officers, addresses, alternative names, identifiers, and relationships.
  5. Map subsidiaries, branches, control statements, and shareholdings with the relationships dataset.

Side by side

Pricing & plans
Starting price
Free
Free • Contact for pricing
Free tier
Yes
Yes
Free trial
—
—
Platforms & access
Web app
Yes
Yes
Mobile app
No
No
API access
Yes
Yes
Broker sync
—
No
Integrations
—
OpenRefine
Coverage & data
Asset types
Other
Other
Data freshness
Not specified
End of Day
Data granularity
Not specified
EOD
Export formats
CSVJSON
CSVJSON

Pricing comparison

Free plan
Free
Free“Free (personal & public-benefit use)”
Entry paid plan
—
£225/mo“Essentials (API)”
Tier 2
—
£660/mo“Starter (API)”
Top plan
—
£1200/mo“Basic (API)”
Custom / enterprise
—
Contact sales“Enterprise Bulk (SFTP CSV datasets)”

See for yourself

Side by side

Price, platforms, data, and market coverage.
Show
Side-by-side comparison of Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates
Attribute
Open Payments (CMS) logo
Open Payments (CMS)
OpenCorporates logo
OpenCorporates
Pricing & plans
Starting price
FreeFree • Contact for pricing
Free tier
YesYes
Free trial
——
Plan limits
—9 limits: Essentials (API): api calls per month: 500, Essentials (API): api calls per day: 200 +7 more
Platforms & access
Web app
YesYes
Mobile app
NoNo
API access
YesYes
Broker sync
—No
Integrations
—OpenRefine
Audience & fit
Experience level
Beginner, Intermediate, AdvancedBeginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Best for
——
Categories covered
43
Regions
North AmericaNorth America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa
Data & capabilities
Data quality
—Latency: End of Day and Granularity: EOD
Security
—Status page
Try itVisit Open Payments (CMS)Visit OpenCorporates

Standout features

The best features of Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates.
Show
Open Payments (CMS) logo

What Open Payments (CMS) does best

  1. Search tools across official Sunshine Act records for payments and ownership interests reported by drug manufacturers, device manufacturers, and group purchasing organizations.
  2. Comparison tools for General Payments, Research Payments, and Ownership or Investment Interests across program years.
  3. Lookup tools for physicians, non-physician practitioners, teaching hospitals, manufacturers, products, payment categories, dates, and dollar amounts from the public web tool.
  4. Charts, filters, and downloadable tables to move from a provider, company, or product question into the underlying records.
  5. Download support for bulk datasets when healthcare, pharma, medtech, policy, or compliance workflows need repeatable offline analysis.
OpenCorporates logo

What OpenCorporates does best

  1. Search more than 200 million company records collected from official sources, with provenance and source links.
  2. Use a versioned REST API with API-key authentication and JSON or XML output for company and officer data.
  3. Match company names to legal identifiers with the OpenRefine Reconciliation API.
  4. Receive bulk CSV datasets through SFTP for companies, officers, addresses, alternative names, identifiers, and relationships.
  5. Map subsidiaries, branches, control statements, and shareholdings with the relationships dataset.

All details

Every attribute we track for Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates.
Show
Attribute
Open Payments (CMS) logo
Open Payments (CMS)
OpenCorporates logo
OpenCorporates
Coverage & fit
Asset types
Other
Other
Experience
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced
Regions
North America
North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica
Coverage details
Countries: US
Not specified
Data
Data freshness
Not specified
End of Day
Data granularity
Not specified
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
Not specified
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.

Pricing

Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.
Show
Plan-by-plan pricing comparison of Open Payments (CMS) and OpenCorporates
Tier
Open Payments (CMS) logo
Open Payments (CMS)
OpenCorporates logo
OpenCorporates
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 · +1 more
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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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.