VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Saturday, November 1, 2025

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Tool Comparison

Sensor Tower vs U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Sensor Tower adds App & Website Traffic coverage that U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) skips.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) includes Data APIs, GDP, Inflation Rates, and Calendar categories that Sensor Tower omits.

In depth comparison

Sensor Tower logo

Sensor Tower

sensortower.com

Mobile app and web intelligence platform covering downloads, usage, advertising, and audience trends. A limited free tier is available, while enterprise add-ons include App Teardown and expanded ASO capabilities such as unlimited keyword tracking and custom alerts. Data is delivered via Connect APIs and scheduled feeds with daily refreshes, available in CSV/Parquet and through Snowflake integration.

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

  • App download estimates and advertising intelligence, with insights into audience and market share.
  • App performance tracking for ASO workflows, including keyword opportunities, competitive benchmarking, and Apple Search Ads analysis. Free sign-ups provide limited access.
  • Usage insights built from panel data, showing daily and hourly patterns such as retention, time spent, and session frequency.
  • Advertising insights covering share of voice across networks, creative tracking, and messaging trends.
  • Web Insights module that measures cross-platform behavior across desktop web, mobile web, and apps, with deduplicated user benchmarking.

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U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) logo

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

bea.gov

Official U.S. macroeconomic statistics publisher (U.S. Dept. of Commerce). Offers free interactive tables (iTables) and a REST API with JSON/XML output for GDP, PCE/inflation, personal income/outlays, international transactions (ITA), international investment position (IIP), fixed assets, GDP by industry, and regional accounts. The API requires a 36‑character key and enforces throttling (100 requests/min or 100 MB/min; 429 with Retry‑After). A public release calendar is available (ICS/JSON).

Platforms

WebAPI

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
  • Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
  • API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
  • Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.
  • Release Schedule provides machine‑readable calendar feeds (ICS/JSON) and shows planned 8:30/10:00 a.m. release times.

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Where they differ

Sensor Tower

Distinct strengths include:

App & Website Traffic
  • App download estimates and advertising intelligence, with insights into audience and market share.
  • App performance tracking for ASO workflows, including keyword opportunities, competitive benchmarking, and Apple Search Ads analysis. Free sign-ups provide limited access.
  • Usage insights built from panel data, showing daily and hourly patterns such as retention, time spent, and session frequency.
  • Advertising insights covering share of voice across networks, creative tracking, and messaging trends.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

Distinct strengths include:

Data APIsGDPInflation RatesCalendar
  • Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
  • Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
  • API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
  • Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeSensor TowerU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: APIs & SDKs

Unique: App & Website Traffic

Shared: APIs & SDKs

Unique: Data APIs, GDP, Inflation Rates, Calendar

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

  • App download estimates and advertising intelligence, with insights into audience and market share.
  • App performance tracking for ASO workflows, including keyword opportunities, competitive benchmarking, and Apple Search Ads analysis. Free sign-ups provide limited access.
  • Usage insights built from panel data, showing daily and hourly patterns such as retention, time spent, and session frequency.
  • Advertising insights covering share of voice across networks, creative tracking, and messaging trends.
  • Web Insights module that measures cross-platform behavior across desktop web, mobile web, and apps, with deduplicated user benchmarking.
  • Connect APIs and scheduled feeds with daily updates, available in CSV or Parquet formats, and direct integration with Snowflake.

Unique

  • Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP.
  • Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts.
  • API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout).
  • Interactive Data Tables (iTables) for building custom tables; download as CSV, Excel, or PDF.
  • Release Schedule provides machine‑readable calendar feeds (ICS/JSON) and shows planned 8:30/10:00 a.m. release times.
  • Official open‑source SDKs/tools: R package (bea.R) and a Python helper (beaapi) on BEA’s GitHub.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

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Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Sensor Tower and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) both support?

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

Do Sensor Tower and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) require subscriptions?

Both Sensor Tower and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access Sensor Tower and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)?

Both Sensor Tower and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 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?

Sensor Tower differentiates itself with App download estimates and advertising intelligence, with insights into audience and market share., App performance tracking for ASO workflows, including keyword opportunities, competitive benchmarking, and Apple Search Ads analysis. Free sign-ups provide limited access., and Usage insights built from panel data, showing daily and hourly patterns such as retention, time spent, and session frequency., whereas U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) stands out for Free REST API with JSON or XML responses, plus meta‑data methods (dataset list, parameter list/values); browser use supported via CORS/JSONP., Official datasets: NIPA/GDP, NI underlying detail, personal income & outlays (incl. PCE price indexes), Fixed Assets, International Transactions (ITA), International Investment Position (IIP), GDP by Industry, and Regional accounts., and API key (36‑character UserID) with documented throttling: 100 requests/min OR 100 MB/min OR 30 errors/min; throttled requests return HTTP 429 with Retry‑After (~1‑hour timeout)..

Keep exploring

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

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

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.