sec-api.io alternative for SEC EDGAR filings and XBRL company facts

Fairquery · Updated October 19, 2026

Who each tool fits best

The sec-api.io points below come from the sec-api.io pricing page and home page; the Fairquery points from the EDGAR Actor Store page.

sec-api.io and the Fairquery EDGAR Actor compared

Facts about sec-api.io come from its own public pages, checked on 2026-10-19; each row names its sources, and the full list of sources with check dates is at the end of this page. Plans and prices can change, so check sec-api.io’s pricing page before you decide.

What it costs: four example workloads

On the Fairquery side, prices are pay-per-event on Apify (checked 2026-10-19 on the Store page). On the sec-api.io side, figures are from the pricing page with annual billing selected (the page also has a monthly toggle). Apify Free includes $5/month prepaid usage per Apify pricing.

This is not a like-for-like comparison. A sec-api.io plan buys a multi-API platform (search, stream, converters). The Fairquery Actor buys structured rows for companies you already named. Free SEC.gov access remains available to everyone under the SEC fair-access policy.

How the Fairquery EDGAR Actor works

• You pass companies. Tickers (AAPL), CIKs (320193) or name fragments.
• It resolves each one through the SEC company tickers map and fetches submissions and/or companyfacts.
• It emits typed rows: company, filing, fact, optional text_excerpt, or error with a machine-readable code.
• You control volume: formTypes, since, maxFilingsPerCompany, metrics, maxFactsPerMetric.
• It is polite to SEC: identifies as Fairquery and throttles to ≤5 requests/second.
• It is automation-friendly: Apify Schedule, Apify API, or Apify MCP.

Limits: no full-text search, no push stream, no playground of its own; fact coverage follows what companyfacts publishes. Details: guide and Store page.

How to start

1. Open the EDGAR Actor on the Apify Store and sign in to Apify.
2. Enter companies. A minimal input:

{
  "companies": ["AAPL", "MSFT"],
  "mode": "both",
  "formTypes": ["10-K", "10-Q"],
  "since": "2023-01-01",
  "maxFilingsPerCompany": 5,
  "metrics": ["Assets", "NetIncomeLoss", "EarningsPerShareDiluted"],
  "includeTextExcerpt": false
}

3. Run it and read the dataset rows (type = company, filing, fact, or error).
4. Optional: schedule it, cap max cost per run, or call it from an agent through Apify MCP.
5. Or skip the Actor and use the free Python script in the EDGAR guide.

FAQ

Is the Fairquery EDGAR Actor a drop-in replacement for sec-api.io?

No. sec-api.io is a full commercial SEC EDGAR platform: Query API, real-time filing stream, optional full-text search on Business plans, XBRL-to-JSON, section extraction, PDF generation, MCP, and 400+ form types with 30+ years of history. The Fairquery Actor resolves tickers, CIKs or names via the official SEC APIs and returns company, filing and XBRL fact rows as a pay-per-event Apify dataset. It replaces sec-api.io only if that narrower job is what you need.

Does Fairquery offer full-text search or a real-time filing stream?

No. Full-text search across filing bodies and a push-based real-time stream are sec-api.io features (full-text search starts on the Business Internal Use plan on their pricing page). The Fairquery Actor fetches submissions and companyfacts for the companies you name, on each run.

How much does it cost compared with sec-api.io?

On Apify, Fairquery charges $0.0015 per resolved company, $0.001 per filing row, $0.0002 per financial fact and $0.002 per optional text excerpt, plus a $0.00005 Actor-start fee; error rows are free. Apify's Free plan includes $5 of monthly prepaid usage, enough for about 3,300 company resolutions if you request companies only. sec-api.io's Free plan is 100 lifetime API calls; paid plans on the pricing page (annual billing selected, checked 2026-10-19) start at $49/month billed yearly ($588/year) for Personal & Startups and $199/month billed yearly ($2,388/year) for Business Internal Use. The page also offers monthly billing. Compare what you need, not only the price.

Can I get SEC EDGAR data for free without either product?

Yes. The SEC publishes company_tickers.json, submissions and companyfacts under fair-access rules (identify your User-Agent, throttle requests). The Fairquery guide walks through a free Python script against those endpoints. sec-api.io and the Fairquery Actor are convenience layers on top of that public data.

Do both products have an MCP server?

sec-api.io lists an MCP server on every plan, including Free, on its pricing page. The Fairquery Actor is called through Apify MCP (mcp.apify.com) with your Apify token; it has no Fairquery-branded MCP server of its own.

Which form types does the Fairquery Actor cover?

You choose the form filter. The default is 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K; you can pass other form types or an empty list for all forms returned by the company's SEC submissions feed. That is not the same as sec-api.io's Query API over all 400+ form types with full-text search.

Is Fairquery affiliated with sec-api.io?

No. sec-api.io is a trademark of its owner. Fairquery is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by sec-api.io. The name is used only to compare the two products.

Sources

1. sec-api.io pricing page: Free plan (100 API calls); Personal & Startups and Business Internal Use annual prices; product matrix (Query, Full-Text Search, Stream, XBRL-to-JSON, MCP, form coverage); rate limits by plan. Checked 2026-10-19.
2. sec-api.io home page: product positioning as a commercial SEC EDGAR API with search, stream and XBRL tools. Checked 2026-10-19.
3. Fairquery SEC EDGAR Filings & XBRL Company Facts on the Apify Store: pay-per-event prices, input, output, limitations. Checked 2026-10-19.
4. Apify pricing page: Free plan includes $5 of monthly prepaid platform usage that can be spent on Store Actors. Checked 2026-10-19.
5. Fairquery guide: SEC EDGAR company facts by ticker: how to call the official SEC APIs yourself and how the Actor wraps them. Checked 2026-10-19.

See also all Fairquery tools, all guides and tools for AI agents.