VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View OpenCorporates View USAspending Back to Home

Head-to-head

OpenCorporates vs USAspending comparison

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

Quick takeaways

OpenCorporates adds Regulatory Filings Monitoring coverage that USAspending skips.

USAspending includes APIs & SDKs, Data Visualizations, and Videos categories that OpenCorporates omits.

OpenCorporates highlights: 230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links., Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day)., and OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers..

USAspending is known for: Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure., Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy., and Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints..

OpenCorporates

opencorporates.com

The world’s largest open database of legal entities, offering both a public-facing search and an API. Free access is available for personal or public-benefit use, while commercial API access and bulk datasets require a paid plan. Bulk deliveries are provided via SFTP in CSV format, and the platform includes a public status page for web, API, knowledge base, and SFTP availability.

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links.
Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day).
OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers.
Enterprise bulk access via SFTP, with six structured CSV datasets (Companies, Officers, Non-Registered Addresses, Alternative Names, Additional Identifiers, and Relationships).
Relationships dataset includes 30M+ links covering subsidiaries, branches, control statements, and shareholdings, with data from sources like the SEC and UK PSC.

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USAspending

usaspending.gov

Official U.S. federal spending open‑data portal mandated by the DATA Act and operated by Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The public REST API powers the site (GET/POST endpoints, JSON responses). Data refreshes daily after a nightly pipeline; underlying source systems update on different cadences (e.g., monthly for Files A/B/C via the DATA Act Broker; next‑day for FPDS contracts; FABS within 2 weeks; FSRS subawards by month‑end; GTAS monthly). Bulk downloads and archives are available for awards back to FY2008.

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure.
Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy.
Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints.
Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.
Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS).

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Data APIs, and Other.

Where they differ

OpenCorporates

Distinct strengths include:

Regulatory Filings Monitoring

230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links.
Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day).
OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers.
Enterprise bulk access via SFTP, with six structured CSV datasets (Companies, Officers, Non-Registered Addresses, Alternative Names, Additional Identifiers, and Relationships).

USAspending

Distinct strengths include:

APIs & SDKs

Data Visualizations

Videos

Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure.
Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy.
Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints.
Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	OpenCorporates	USAspending
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, Other Unique: Regulatory Filings Monitoring	Shared: Data APIs, Other Unique: APIs & SDKs, Data Visualizations, Videos
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, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription	Free
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique 230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links. Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day). OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers. Enterprise bulk access via SFTP, with six structured CSV datasets (Companies, Officers, Non-Registered Addresses, Alternative Names, Additional Identifiers, and Relationships). Relationships dataset includes 30M+ links covering subsidiaries, branches, control statements, and shareholdings, with data from sources like the SEC and UK PSC. Data acquisition ranges from hourly to quarterly; registry ingestion checks run every 5 minutes. Bulk deliveries are typically no more than one month behind official registries.	Unique Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure. Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy. Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints. Bulk data: Award Data Archive (pre‑generated, by agency/fiscal year), Custom Award Data, Custom Account Data, and full Database Download. Award coverage: contracts, contract IDVs, grants, direct payments, loans, insurance, other financial assistance; prime awards and subawards (FSRS). Entity identifiers: UEI (replaced DUNS on Apr 4, 2022) used for recipients as the governmentwide identifier (via SAM.gov).
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 OpenCorporates and USAspending both support?

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

Do OpenCorporates and USAspending require subscriptions?

Both OpenCorporates and USAspending keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access OpenCorporates and USAspending?

Both OpenCorporates and USAspending 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?

OpenCorporates differentiates itself with 230M+ company records spanning 145+ jurisdictions, aggregated from 140+ official registries with full provenance and source links., Versioned REST API with JSON (default) or XML output; API keys required. Free tier provides up to 200 requests per month (50 per day)., and OpenRefine Reconciliation API allows entity-matching from company names to legal identifiers., whereas USAspending stands out for Advanced Search & profiles across awards, recipients, agencies, federal accounts; filters include date, place of performance, NAICS/PSC, Assistance Listing (formerly CFDA), DEFC for COVID/infrastructure., Spending Explorer and Agency/Federal Account profiles for top‑down views of obligations/outlays and drill‑downs by budget hierarchy., and Public REST API that powers the website (GET & POST endpoints; JSON responses); tutorial and contracts for commonly used endpoints..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

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