VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 19, 2025

View Open Payments (CMS)View Visible Alpha Home My Collections

Head-to-head

Open Payments (CMS) vs Visible Alpha comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Open Payments (CMS) adds Regulatory Filings Monitoring coverage that Visible Alpha skips.

Visible Alpha includes Financials, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Analyst Recommendations, Stock Comparison, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Blogs, and Playbooks & Case Studies 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)..

Visible Alpha is known for: Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered., VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series., and Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app..

Open Payments (CMS) has a free tier, while Visible Alpha requires a paid plan.

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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Visible Alpha

visiblealpha.com

Granular, line‑item consensus from full sell‑side models (7,000+ companies; 250+ contributing brokers) with VA Actuals historicals, Excel add‑in, and enterprise delivery via API/Data Feed/Snowflake. Now part of S&P Global Market Intelligence and available as an add‑on within S&P Capital IQ Pro. Includes modules like Target Price & Ratings and a Line Item Monitor for alerts and revision analysis.

Platforms

Web

Desktop

API

Pricing

Subscription

Quick highlights

Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered.
VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series.
Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app.
Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework.
Company & Line Item Monitor: alerting on threshold changes, dispersion, trend and revision analysis at the metric level.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

3 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, and Data Visualizations.

Where they differ

Open Payments (CMS)

Distinct strengths include:

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.

Visible Alpha

Distinct strengths include:

Financials

Analyst Forecasts

Analyst Price Targets

Analyst Recommendations

Stock Comparison

Sheets / Excel Add-ins

Blogs

Playbooks & Case Studies

Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered.
VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series.
Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app.
Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Open Payments (CMS)	Visible Alpha
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Data Visualizations Unique: Regulatory Filings Monitoring	Shared: Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, Data Visualizations Unique: Financials, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Analyst Recommendations, Stock Comparison, Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Blogs, Playbooks & Case Studies
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Other	Stocks
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web, Desktop, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	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 Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered. VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series. Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app. Target Price & Ratings: consensus rating distributions, target prices and valuation context with an ‘Open Entitlements’ contributor‑visibility framework. Company & Line Item Monitor: alerting on threshold changes, dispersion, trend and revision analysis at the metric level. Enterprise data delivery: REST API for ad‑hoc queries, file‑based data feeds (S3/SFTP), and Snowflake data shares; feeds/cloud updated throughout the day.
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 Visible Alpha both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs, APIs & SDKs, and Data Visualizations workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Which tool offers a free plan?

Open Payments (CMS) offers a free entry point, while Visible Alpha requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

How can you access Open Payments (CMS) and Visible Alpha?

Both Open Payments (CMS) and Visible Alpha 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?

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 Visible Alpha stands out for Deep, line‑item consensus built from full working sell‑side models; 7,000+ companies, 250+ contributing brokers, 1M+ consensus line items; 170+ industries covered., VA Actuals: stitched historical fundamentals not always disclosed in filings, integrated with forward estimates for seamless time series., and Excel Add‑in with real‑time updating of figures, pre‑built templates, and one‑click tear‑sheets/export from the web app..

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