Tool Comparison
Open Payments (CMS) vs USAspending
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, API
Best if
- You want regulatory filings monitoring.
- Paid from
- —
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, API
Best if
- You want videos and other.
Pick Open Payments (CMS) if
Open Payments (CMS)
Free · Web · API
- You want regulatory filings monitoring.
Pick USAspending if
USAspending
Free · Web · API
- You want videos and 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 USAspending cover a lot of the same ground (3 shared categories, APIs & data feeds, data visualizations, and official sources), so for the basics you won't go far wrong with either. Open Payments (CMS) includes regulatory filings monitoring, and USAspending includes videos and other.
What readers say
Open Payments (CMS)
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USAspending
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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 USAspending does best
- Search federal awards, recipients, agencies, accounts, contracts, grants, loans, direct payments, insurance, and other assistance records.
- Advanced Search filters such as award type, date, place of performance, NAICS, PSC, Assistance Listing, agency, recipient, and disaster-emergency funding codes.
- Explore spending through Spending Explorer, agency profiles, and federal-account profiles before opening awards and recipients.
- The public REST API V2 with JSON responses for award and account workflows; current endpoint docs say authorization is not required.
- Download award archives, filtered awards, account data, search results, award profiles, and database files.
Side by side
Pricing comparison
See for yourself
Side by side
Price, platforms, data, and market coverage.ShowHide
Side by side
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Free | Free |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | — | — |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | No | No |
API access | Yes | Yes |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | — |
Categories covered | 4 | 5 |
Regions | North America | North America |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | — | Latency: End of Day and Granularity: EOD |
| Try it | Visit Open Payments (CMS) | Visit USAspending |
Standout features
The best features of Open Payments (CMS) and USAspending.ShowHide
Standout features
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 USAspending does best
- Search federal awards, recipients, agencies, accounts, contracts, grants, loans, direct payments, insurance, and other assistance records.
- Advanced Search filters such as award type, date, place of performance, NAICS, PSC, Assistance Listing, agency, recipient, and disaster-emergency funding codes.
- Explore spending through Spending Explorer, agency profiles, and federal-account profiles before opening awards and recipients.
- The public REST API V2 with JSON responses for award and account workflows; current endpoint docs say authorization is not required.
- Download award archives, filtered awards, account data, search results, award profiles, and database files.
All details
Every attribute we track for Open Payments (CMS) and USAspending.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | Other | Other |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Regions | North America | North America |
Coverage details | Countries: US | Countries: US |
| 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: None |
Export formats | CSVJSON | CSVJSON |
| Plans & trust | ||
Vendor & support | Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. Department of Health & Human ServicesCountry: USSupport: Email and Phone | U.S. Department of the Treasury - Bureau of the Fiscal ServiceCountry: USSupport: Email |
Curation ratings | Methodology 5/5Reliability 5/5UX 4/5 | Methodology 5/5Reliability 5/5UX 4/5 |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing
Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.ShowHide
Pricing
| Tier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free | Free |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between Open Payments (CMS) and USAspending?
Open Payments (CMS) leans toward APIs & data feeds, data visualizations, and regulatory filings monitoring, while USAspending puts more weight on APIs & data feeds, data visualizations, and videos. They overlap in 3 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do Open Payments (CMS) and USAspending cost?
Good news: both Open Payments (CMS) and USAspending have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Do Open Payments (CMS) and USAspending 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 USAspending?
It depends on what you're after. Pick Open Payments (CMS) if regulatory filings monitoring matter to you; go with USAspending if you'd rather have videos and other. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
Can I export data from Open Payments (CMS) and USAspending?
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.