--- title: "Trading Economics API Alternative: Scored Releases" description: "A Trading Economics API alternative for US macro traders: scored releases, a live calendar, Treasury auctions and an MCP server, from a free key to $39.99." source: Helious canonical: "https://helious.io/compare/trading-economics-api" --- Helious vs Trading Economics # A Trading Economics API alternative for traders who need the US print, read Trading Economics is the widest macro database you can rent, with twenty million series across 196 countries. The price is quoted, not published, there is no free tier any more, and every number arrives as a number. If your trading is US releases, rates and auctions, you are paying for breadth you will never query. The short answer Trading Economics wins on breadth and loses on price and reading. Its own page says API pricing is adjusted to the features you use, your request volume and your distribution; third parties report entry plans from about $149 a month billed yearly, with the live calendar on higher tiers. Helious covers the US macro job from a free key, $14.99 on Starter and $39.99 on Pro: the calendar with the actual the second it prints, every release scored against its own history, Treasury auctions read within seconds, the curve and its regime, and an MCP server so an AI agent can ask for any of it in plain words. ## Side by side Helious Trading Economics Monthly price for the data a macro trader needs Free key $0; Starter $14.99; Pro $39.99 a month Quoted, not published; reported from about $149 a month billed yearly Cost per year About $180 on Starter or $480 on Pro paid monthly, 25% off paid yearly Reported from about $1,788, billed yearly Free tier Yes, 100 credits a month on a free key, no card No; a trial capped at 100 requests Economic calendar with forecast, prior and live result Yes, every US release with forecast, prior and the actual the second it lands Yes, 196 countries, the core product Releases scored on print, in standard deviations Yes, every US release, against its own history No, forecast and actual only; the surprise is your work Treasury auction results with the tail and bidders Yes, within seconds: tail, bid to cover, bidder split and a verdict Not covered Treasury curve and regime Yes, 3 month bill to 30 year bond, 2s10s, and the regime named Bond yields as series, no regime Answers open with a plain sentence Yes, every answer opens with the finished sentence, then the numbers No, numbers only MCP server for AI agents Yes, 24 tools at one address, no glue code No official server History 7 days free, 12 months Starter, 24 months Pro, 10 years Ultimate Decades, 20 million series Calls a minute 60 free, 90 Starter, 120 Pro, 300 Ultimate, per key Set by the plan Live stream Yes, a WebSocket on Pro and Ultimate Yes, calendar updates on higher tiers Redistribution Personal on Free to Pro; Ultimate at $99 allows redistribution Priced by distribution ## Where each one wins Where Trading Economics wins - Breadth nobody else matches: 196 countries, twenty million series, forecasts and markets in one API. - If you need Brazil CPI, Turkish rates and Japanese trade in the same model, this is the database. - Excel and every major language have a maintained client. Where Helious wins - A free key and a published price: $0, $14.99 or $39.99 a month, against a quote that starts around $149 billed yearly. - Every US release arrives scored in standard deviations against its own history, so the surprise is already measured. - Treasury auctions are read within seconds, with the tail, the bid to cover, the bidder split and a verdict, which the macro databases do not carry at all. - Every answer opens with a plain sentence, so a person or an AI agent gets the point without rebuilding the maths. - An MCP server with 24 tools, so Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can read the desk at one address. ## Which should you choose **Go with Trading Economics** if you model many countries at once, you need deep global history and forecasts, and the subscription is a firm expense. **Go with Helious** if you trade US rates, Treasuries, index futures or FX around the US calendar, you want the print read as it lands, and you want a price you can see before you sign up. ## FAQ ### What is the best Trading Economics API alternative? For global breadth there is no cheap substitute. For the US macro job, meaning the calendar with the live result, releases scored on print, Treasury auctions, the curve and an MCP server for your AI, Helious covers it from a free key, with Starter at $14.99 and Pro at $39.99 a month. ### How much does the Trading Economics API cost? Trading Economics does not publish its API prices. Its page says pricing is adjusted to the features you use, your request volume and your distribution. Third-party comparisons in October 2026 report entry plans from about $149 a month billed yearly, with the live calendar on higher tiers and no free tier. Ask the vendor for a quote. ### Does Trading Economics score economic releases? No. It returns the forecast, the previous value and the actual. Working out how big a surprise that was, against that release’s own history, is left to you. Helious returns the surprise in standard deviations on every US release the moment it prints. ### Does Helious cover other countries? Helious is a US macro product: US releases, the Treasury market, Fed speakers, index futures and the dollar. It carries selected overseas prints where they move US markets, but it is not a 196-country database and does not try to be. ### Can I use both? Yes, and some desks do: Trading Economics for the global model, Helious for the US print read as it lands, the auctions and the curve. The free key costs nothing to run alongside. [Get a free API key →](https://helious.io/developers/) There is a longer piece on [what is the best financial news source](https://helious.news/blog/what-is-the-best-financial-news-source) if you want the whole category. Or go and look at the live [news feed](https://helious.io/news), the [economic calendar](https://helious.io/calendar) and the [Treasury auction results](https://helious.io/auctions). Competitor names are the trademarks of their respective owners. Prices shown are approximate list prices as of October 2026 and change without notice. Check each provider for current pricing. This is our own view of the market, offered as general information and not financial advice.