VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Tool Comparison

OTC Markets vs SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

OTC Markets adds Order Book / Level II, Ticker Changes, Splits, Dividends, and Screeners coverage that SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) skips.

SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) includes IPO, Secondary Offerings, Insider Data, 13F, 13D/13G, Alerts, and Education categories that OTC Markets omits.

In depth comparison

OTC Markets

otcmarkets.com

Primary operator and market data source for U.S. OTC equities via OTC Link ATS/ECN/NQB (SEC‑regulated ATSs). Commercial data products include Real‑Time Level 1+ (inside quote & trades), Level 2+ (full quote book with MPIDs), 15‑minute delayed Level 1+, End‑of‑Day, reference/security master, and compliance datasets (Blue Sky, Promotion/CE, Compliance Analytics). Delivery options include real‑time multicast feeds, SFTP/FTP files, and a REST Disclosure API. Website provides delayed quotes, corporate actions, screeners and issuer news (DNS).

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

Real‑Time Level 1+ (inside bid/offer + trades) and Level 2+ (full quote book with market participant IDs) data products; Delayed Level 1+ on a 15‑minute basis; End‑of‑Day snapshots.
Level 2 quote montage specification (fields: MPID, price, QAP, size, time‑of‑update) and display requirements.
Reference & pricing files (security master with optional CUSIP), plus End‑of‑Day pricing files; secure SFTP delivery supported.
Disclosure API (REST, JSON/CSV/XML) with app‑key auth; filter by symbol/CUSIP/company; document retrieval; plan‑level rate‑limit guidance.
Compliance & regulatory data: Blue Sky Data (state eligibility monitoring), Promotion Data file (Caveat Emptor/tier/share data), and Compliance Analytics (multi‑factor risk scoring).

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

View full profile Visit site

SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)

sec.gov

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

Primary U.S. source for public company, fund, and insider filings. The Full‑Text Search covers filings since 2001 (including exhibits), while the ‘Latest Filings’ view shows near‑real‑time submissions as they are processed. Search tools include Company search, Mutual Fund & Variable Insurance product search, CIK lookup, and RSS subscriptions. Developers can consume JSON via data.sec.gov (Submissions, XBRL Company Facts/Concepts/Frames). Programmatic access must include a descriptive User‑Agent and respect the SEC fair‑access limit (currently 10 requests/sec).

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Full‑Text Search (since 2001) with fielded filters: word/phrase, company/ticker/CIK/person, filing category/types, filed date ranges, ‘principal executive offices in’ and ‘incorporated in’.
‘Latest Filings’ list shows filings as they are submitted (with RSS for any filter; ownership Forms 3/4/5 can be included/excluded/only).
Company Search with ‘more search options’, plus dedicated searches for Mutual Funds (prospectuses/proxy voting) and Variable Insurance Products.
CIK Lookup & helper datasets (company_tickers*.json) to map tickers↔CIK (company/fund/series/class).
Developer APIs on data.sec.gov: submissions by CIK; XBRL endpoints (companyfacts, companyconcept, frames); bulk nightly ZIPs (submissions.zip, companyfacts.zip).

Community votes (overall)

0% upvotes 0% downvotes

You haven't voted yet

View full profile Visit site

Where they differ

OTC Markets

Distinct strengths include:

Order Book / Level II Ticker Changes Splits Dividends Screeners

Real‑Time Level 1+ (inside bid/offer + trades) and Level 2+ (full quote book with market participant IDs) data products; Delayed Level 1+ on a 15‑minute basis; End‑of‑Day snapshots.
Level 2 quote montage specification (fields: MPID, price, QAP, size, time‑of‑update) and display requirements.
Reference & pricing files (security master with optional CUSIP), plus End‑of‑Day pricing files; secure SFTP delivery supported.
Disclosure API (REST, JSON/CSV/XML) with app‑key auth; filter by symbol/CUSIP/company; document retrieval; plan‑level rate‑limit guidance.

SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)

Distinct strengths include:

IPO Secondary Offerings Insider Data 13F 13D/13G Alerts Education

Full‑Text Search (since 2001) with fielded filters: word/phrase, company/ticker/CIK/person, filing category/types, filed date ranges, ‘principal executive offices in’ and ‘incorporated in’.
‘Latest Filings’ list shows filings as they are submitted (with RSS for any filter; ownership Forms 3/4/5 can be included/excluded/only).
Company Search with ‘more search options’, plus dedicated searches for Mutual Funds (prospectuses/proxy voting) and Variable Insurance Products.
CIK Lookup & helper datasets (company_tickers*.json) to map tickers↔CIK (company/fund/series/class).

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	OTC Markets	SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs, News, Regulatory Filings Monitoring, APIs & SDKs Unique: Order Book / Level II, Ticker Changes, Splits, Dividends, Screeners	Shared: Data APIs, News, Regulatory Filings Monitoring, APIs & SDKs Unique: IPO, Secondary Offerings, Insider Data, 13F, 13D/13G, Alerts, Education
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Stocks, Bonds	Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Closed-End Funds, Bonds, Hedge Funds, Private Funds, Real Estate, Funds
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 Real‑Time Level 1+ (inside bid/offer + trades) and Level 2+ (full quote book with market participant IDs) data products; Delayed Level 1+ on a 15‑minute basis; End‑of‑Day snapshots. Level 2 quote montage specification (fields: MPID, price, QAP, size, time‑of‑update) and display requirements. Reference & pricing files (security master with optional CUSIP), plus End‑of‑Day pricing files; secure SFTP delivery supported. Disclosure API (REST, JSON/CSV/XML) with app‑key auth; filter by symbol/CUSIP/company; document retrieval; plan‑level rate‑limit guidance. Compliance & regulatory data: Blue Sky Data (state eligibility monitoring), Promotion Data file (Caveat Emptor/tier/share data), and Compliance Analytics (multi‑factor risk scoring). Coverage of OTC Link ATS via MIC 'OTCM'; OTC Link ATS/ECN/NQB each operate as SEC‑regulated ATSs.	Unique Full‑Text Search (since 2001) with fielded filters: word/phrase, company/ticker/CIK/person, filing category/types, filed date ranges, ‘principal executive offices in’ and ‘incorporated in’. ‘Latest Filings’ list shows filings as they are submitted (with RSS for any filter; ownership Forms 3/4/5 can be included/excluded/only). Company Search with ‘more search options’, plus dedicated searches for Mutual Funds (prospectuses/proxy voting) and Variable Insurance Products. CIK Lookup & helper datasets (company_tickers*.json) to map tickers↔CIK (company/fund/series/class). Developer APIs on data.sec.gov: submissions by CIK; XBRL endpoints (companyfacts, companyconcept, frames); bulk nightly ZIPs (submissions.zip, companyfacts.zip). EDGAR indexes (daily/full/quarterly) and browsable /Archives paths (raw .txt, SGML headers, HTML index pages; VPRR for scanned paper PDFs).
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Yes
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Highlighted

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do OTC Markets and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) both support?

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

Do OTC Markets and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) require subscriptions?

Both OTC Markets and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access OTC Markets and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings)?

Both OTC Markets and SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) 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?

OTC Markets differentiates itself with Real‑Time Level 1+ (inside bid/offer + trades) and Level 2+ (full quote book with market participant IDs) data products; Delayed Level 1+ on a 15‑minute basis; End‑of‑Day snapshots., Level 2 quote montage specification (fields: MPID, price, QAP, size, time‑of‑update) and display requirements., and Reference & pricing files (security master with optional CUSIP), plus End‑of‑Day pricing files; secure SFTP delivery supported., whereas SEC EDGAR — Company Filings (Full‑Text Search & Search Filings) stands out for Full‑Text Search (since 2001) with fielded filters: word/phrase, company/ticker/CIK/person, filing category/types, filed date ranges, ‘principal executive offices in’ and ‘incorporated in’., ‘Latest Filings’ list shows filings as they are submitted (with RSS for any filter; ownership Forms 3/4/5 can be included/excluded/only)., and Company Search with ‘more search options’, plus dedicated searches for Mutual Funds (prospectuses/proxy voting) and Variable Insurance Products..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.