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Insider Trading Data APIs Compared (2026)
Updated 2026-07-12. By Theodor Nielsen, founder of Form4API. Pricing and features checked July 2026 from each provider's public pages.
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Six providers come up most often when developers evaluate U.S. insider trading data: Form4API, sec-api.io, EODHD, EdgarTools, Earnings Feed, and SEC Daily API. They differ mainly on delivery (webhooks vs polling vs daily batch), latency transparency (a measured, published number vs a marketing claim), and form-type breadth (insider-specialist vs full SEC corpus). Form4API is the only one of the six with both HMAC-signed webhooks and a rolling, publicly measured ingestion-latency figure.
The comparison table
All six ultimately source U.S. insider transactions from the same place: the SEC's free, public EDGAR system. What differs is the work layered on top — parsing, joining, delivery speed, and how honestly each provider represents that speed.
| Dimension | Form4API | sec-api.io | EODHD | EdgarTools | Earnings Feed | SEC Daily API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price (paid) | $49/mo (Pro) | $49/mo annual, $55/mo monthly | $59.99/mo (insider data requires the Fundamentals tier) | Free — open source, no paid tier | $10/mo | $29/mo |
| Free tier | 500 calls/day, forever, no card | 100 calls total (one-time trial, not recurring) | 20 calls/day, but insider data isn’t included until $59.99/mo | Unlimited, no key required | 15 req/min | 1,000 calls/month |
| Real-time delivery | Webhooks (HMAC-signed, 5 retries over ~29h) | WebSocket stream, Business tier ($199+/mo) only — no webhooks | None — daily batch refresh | None — you poll or run it locally | None — poll only | None — poll only, market hours only |
| Latency (measured vs asserted) | Measured, published live on /status — p50 ~59s / p95 ~92s over a rolling 7 days (as of July 2026) | "~300ms" asserted for their indexing step; not a full-pipeline claim and not independently verified | Same-day or next-day batch (self-described) | As fast as SEC EDGAR itself; you own the poll interval | "Within 60 seconds" asserted, unverified | "Within minutes," Mon–Fri 6am–10pm ET only |
| Form coverage | Form 4 + Form 144 + 13F-HR | 400+ form types, incl. AAER & SEC enforcement datasets | Form 4 only | Broad — 10-K/8-K/XBRL, Form 3/4/5, 13F, ADV, more | Form 3/4/5 | Form 3/4/5 among 150+ form types |
| History depth | 3+ years | 2003–present (11.4M transactions) | Uneven — large caps 5–11 years, newer names as little as ~12 months (self-acknowledged gap) | Full EDGAR archive | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| MCP / AI tooling | MCP server — 27 tools + 6 prompts | Official Python/Node SDKs; no MCP server found | Official Python/Node/C#/Java SDKs; no MCP server for insider data | Ships its own MCP server + AI skills | Not found | Not found |
Sourced from each provider's own public pricing/docs pages as of July 2026. Vendors change pricing and features often — verify current details on the provider's site before deciding.
The providers
sec-api.io
The broadest SEC-filing specialist here: 400+ form types, Form 3/4/5 history back to 2003, and dedicated AAER/enforcement datasets. Its real-time option is a WebSocket stream on the $199+/mo Business tier, not a webhook, and its free tier is a one-time 100-call trial rather than an ongoing daily allowance. See the full sec-api.io comparison.
EODHD
A broad market-data platform (prices, fundamentals, options) where insider transactions are a minor, Form-4-only add-on gated behind the $59.99/mo Fundamentals tier, refreshed on a daily batch rather than in real time. A reasonable choice if insider data is a nice-to-have alongside prices and fundamentals you already need. See the full EODHD comparison.
EdgarTools
A free, open-source (MIT) Python library with broad SEC form coverage, no key, and no rate limit — genuinely excellent for ad-hoc research if you're comfortable running Python locally. It's a library, not a hosted service: no webhooks, no push, no SLA. See the full EdgarTools comparison.
Earnings Feed
A cheap, newer entrant ($10–50/mo) with copy similar to Form4API's own positioning — filings within roughly 60 seconds of SEC acceptance — but poll-only, with no webhook product and no disclosed company background found.
SEC Daily API
Another cheap, newer entrant ($29–199/mo) covering 150+ form types including Form 3/4/5. Ingestion only runs during market hours (Mon–Fri, 6am–10pm ET), so overnight and weekend filings wait until the next window opens; also poll-only, no webhooks.
How this was checked
Every figure above was pulled directly from each provider's own public pricing page or documentation, checked July 2026. Latency figures marked "asserted" are the provider's own marketing claim, not independently verified against a live pipeline; Form4API's figure is a rolling measurement published on its own status page, which anyone can check at any time. Pricing, limits, and features change — treat this table as a starting point, not a substitute for reading each provider's current docs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to sec-api.io for insider trading data?
It depends on what sec-api.io is being used for. If the goal is real-time push delivery (webhooks) for U.S. insider transactions specifically, Form4API is the closer fit — sec-api.io’s real-time option is a WebSocket stream gated behind its $199+/mo Business tier, with no webhook product. If the goal is breadth across 400+ SEC form types, enforcement/AAER datasets, or Form 4 history back to 2003, sec-api.io remains the stronger choice; Form4API doesn’t compete on that breadth. See the full sec-api.io comparison for the detail.
Is there a free SEC Form 4 API?
Yes, in a few different shapes. EdgarTools is a free, open-source Python library with no key and no rate limit, but it’s a library you run and poll yourself, not a hosted push service. Form4API’s free tier is 500 calls/day with no credit card, ongoing rather than a one-time trial. sec-api.io’s free tier is 100 calls total, one time. EODHD’s free tier doesn’t include insider data at all — that requires its $59.99/mo Fundamentals plan.
Do any insider trading APIs offer real-time webhooks?
Among the providers checked in July 2026, Form4API is the only one offering HMAC-signed webhooks on its API by default. sec-api.io offers WebSocket streaming instead of webhooks, and only on its $199+/mo tier. EODHD, Earnings Feed, and SEC Daily API are poll-only with no push option. EdgarTools is a local library with no push mechanism at all, by design.
How is Form4API’s ingestion latency measured?
Form4API publishes its own ingestion latency — the time from a Form 4 becoming public on SEC EDGAR’s getcurrent feed to it being available in the API and webhook — as a rolling measurement on the /status page, not as a one-time marketing claim. As of a recent 7-day window that was p50 ~59 seconds and p95 ~92 seconds. That’s different from a competitor asserting a fixed number like "300ms" without a live, ongoing measurement backing it.