VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View Open Payments (CMS)View Semrush Back to Home

Head-to-head

Open Payments (CMS) vs Semrush comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Open Payments (CMS) adds Data Visualizations, and Regulatory Filings Monitoring coverage that Semrush skips.

Semrush includes App & Website Traffic, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, and Blogs categories that Open Payments (CMS) omits.

Open Payments (CMS) 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., and Open Data API (ODA) for programmatic access with filtering, querying, and aggregation (SoQL‑style)..

Semrush is known for: Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks., Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4)., and API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing..

Semrush offers mobile access, which Open Payments (CMS) skips.

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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Semrush

semrush.com

Comprehensive SEO, marketing, and web traffic analytics platform. API access for core Analytics and Projects requires a Business plan, with usage billed in API units. Some APIs—like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker—don’t consume units. Enterprise security options include SAML SSO on Guru and Business tiers. A 7-day free trial is available for all paid plans.

Platforms

Web

Mobile

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks.
Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4).
API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing.
Flexible exports in CSV, Excel, and PDF across tools. Position Tracking and Site Audit modules generate PDF reports; Position Tracking also supports direct Google Sheets export.
Google Sheets integration through the App Center ‘AI Automated Data Connector’ for automated reporting pipelines.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, and APIs & SDKs.

Where they differ

Open Payments (CMS)

Distinct strengths include:

Data Visualizations

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.

Semrush

Distinct strengths include:

App & Website Traffic

Sheets / Excel Add-ins

Blogs

Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks.
Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4).
API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing.
Flexible exports in CSV, Excel, and PDF across tools. Position Tracking and Site Audit modules generate PDF reports; Position Tracking also supports direct Google Sheets export.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Open Payments (CMS)	Semrush
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: Data Visualizations, Regulatory Filings Monitoring	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs Unique: App & Website Traffic, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Blogs
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, Mobile, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free	Free, Subscription
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	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.	Unique Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks. Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4). API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing. Flexible exports in CSV, Excel, and PDF across tools. Position Tracking and Site Audit modules generate PDF reports; Position Tracking also supports direct Google Sheets export. Google Sheets integration through the App Center ‘AI Automated Data Connector’ for automated reporting pipelines. Native integrations with Google Analytics and Google Search Console to combine marketing and search performance data.
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 Open Payments (CMS) and Semrush 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 Open Payments (CMS) and Semrush require subscriptions?

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

Which tool has mobile access?

Semrush ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Open Payments (CMS) focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Open Payments (CMS) differentiates itself with 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)., whereas Semrush stands out for Traffic Analytics tools to examine any website’s visitors, sources, engagement metrics, and competitive benchmarks., Rich API suite: Analytics and Projects APIs (Business plan), Trends API, Listing Management, and Map Rank Tracker. Current versions support API key (v3) and OAuth 2.0 with JSON (v4)., and API consumption billed in ‘units’ per request or per line of data. Historical queries cost more; some APIs like Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker are excluded from unit billing..

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