EFEarnings Feed

Sep 24, 2025 · 7 min read

BamSEC vs Earnings Feed: Which SEC Filing Tool is Right for You?

An honest comparison of BamSEC and Earnings Feed—features, pricing, and which tool fits your research workflow.

If you're researching SEC filings, you've probably heard of BamSEC. It's been the go-to tool for professional investors for years—and for good reason. But at $828/year, it's not cheap, and it's worth asking: is there a free alternative that gets the job done?

This guide compares BamSEC and Earnings Feed honestly. We'll cover what each tool does well, where they differ, and which one makes sense for your research needs.

Quick Summary

Feature BamSEC Earnings Feed
Price $828/year ($69/month) Free
Best for Deep document research, comparing filings Real-time monitoring, tracking companies
Document search Excellent cross-filing search Basic feed filtering
Real-time alerts Manual refresh required Instant updates
Company profiles Organized summaries Full profiles with filings, ownership, stock data
Document comparison Yes (redline view) No
Mobile experience Good Excellent

Bottom line: BamSEC excels at searching within documents and comparing filings side-by-side. Earnings Feed excels at knowing when filings happen and tracking companies over time. Many serious investors use both.

What is BamSEC?

BamSEC launched in 2016 as a better way to read SEC filings. The name stands for "Better Access to Material SEC filings," and the tool delivers on that promise.

BamSEC's core strength is making SEC documents readable. Instead of wrestling with the SEC's clunky EDGAR interface, you get clean formatting, searchable text, and organized navigation. You can search across multiple filings at once—find every mention of "goodwill impairment" across a company's last five 10-Ks, for example.

In 2021, BamSEC was acquired by Tegus, a market intelligence platform. Then in 2024, AlphaSense acquired Tegus for $930 million. Despite the acquisitions, BamSEC continues to operate as a standalone product with its own pricing.

BamSEC Pricing

  • Free tier: Limited access, watermarked documents
  • Pro: $828/year ($69/month billed annually)
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing through AlphaSense

The Pro plan unlocks full document search, redline comparisons, and unlimited access. Most individual investors and small teams use the Pro plan.

What is Earnings Feed?

Earnings Feed is a free SEC filings tracker built for real-time monitoring. Instead of searching through historical documents, Earnings Feed shows you what's filing right now—and alerts you the moment companies you care about submit something new.

The platform launched in 2024 with a simple premise: the SEC makes all this data public for free, so accessing it shouldn't cost thousands of dollars. Core features include:

  • Live filings feed: See every SEC filing as it hits EDGAR, within seconds
  • Company profiles: All filings, stock data, and ownership info in one place
  • Watchlists: Track specific companies and get updates when they file
  • Research hubs: Browse filings by form type, exchange, or industry

Earnings Feed is completely free. No credit card required, no feature limits, no ads.

Feature Comparison

Document Search

BamSEC: Excellent

This is BamSEC's killer feature. You can search for specific text across multiple filings and jump directly to the highlighted passage. Want to find every time Apple mentioned "artificial intelligence" in their 10-Ks? BamSEC handles that easily.

The search works across different document types too—search a 10-K and its exhibits simultaneously, or compare how risk factors evolved across years.

Earnings Feed: Basic

Earnings Feed lets you filter the live feed by company name, ticker, or keywords, but it doesn't search within documents. You can find filings quickly, but you'll need to read the actual documents to find specific passages.

Winner: BamSEC (by a wide margin for document search)

Real-Time Monitoring

BamSEC: Manual

BamSEC shows recent filings, but you need to refresh the page or check back periodically. There's no push notification system—you're responsible for checking whether something new appeared.

For time-sensitive filings like 8-Ks announcing earnings or executive departures, this delay can matter.

Earnings Feed: Instant

The live feed updates automatically as filings hit EDGAR. You can watch it stream in real-time, or set up a watchlist to focus on specific companies. Filings appear within seconds of SEC publication.

For investors who need to know immediately when something files—especially 8-Ks, 13Ds, or S-1 amendments—this speed advantage is significant.

Winner: Earnings Feed

Document Comparison

BamSEC: Yes

BamSEC offers "redline" comparison views that highlight what changed between two versions of a filing. This is invaluable for tracking how risk factors evolved, what got added to an S-1 amendment, or how MD&A language shifted quarter-over-quarter.

Earnings Feed: No

Earnings Feed doesn't currently offer document comparison. You can see all of a company's filings, but comparing them side-by-side requires manual effort.

Winner: BamSEC

Company Research

BamSEC: Organized summaries

BamSEC creates "tear sheets" that pull key information from filings into a summary view. You can quickly see cap tables, segment breakdowns, and key metrics without opening the full document.

Earnings Feed: Comprehensive profiles

Company profiles on Earnings Feed include all SEC filings, stock price data, ownership information, industry classification, and company history. It's a broader view but less focused on extracting specific financial data.

Winner: Tie (different approaches, both useful)

Pricing

BamSEC: $828/year

The free tier is too limited for serious research—watermarks and restricted search make it more of a trial than a usable product. Most users need the Pro plan.

Earnings Feed: Free

Everything is free. No trials, no credit card, no paywalls. The team plans to add premium features eventually, but core functionality will remain free.

Winner: Earnings Feed

Mobile Experience

BamSEC: Good

BamSEC works on mobile browsers and documents are readable, though the interface is optimized for desktop research sessions.

Earnings Feed: Excellent

Built mobile-first with a responsive interface. Checking the live feed or your watchlist on your phone works as well as on desktop.

Winner: Earnings Feed

Who Should Use BamSEC?

BamSEC is worth the $828/year if you:

  • Do deep document research: Searching across multiple filings for specific clauses, comparing language between periods, or building diligence materials
  • Work in finance professionally: Analysts, lawyers, and compliance teams who spend hours inside SEC documents
  • Need document comparison: Tracking changes between S-1 amendments, proxy revisions, or quarterly risk factors
  • Focus on historical analysis: Understanding how a company's disclosures evolved over years

If you're doing serious due diligence on an investment or preparing materials for a transaction, BamSEC's search and comparison features justify the cost.

Who Should Use Earnings Feed?

Earnings Feed makes more sense if you:

  • Want real-time awareness: Knowing immediately when companies file 8-Ks, 13Ds, or earnings releases
  • Track a portfolio of companies: Maintaining a watchlist and seeing their filings in one feed
  • Are cost-conscious: Individual investors or students who can't justify $828/year
  • Research on mobile: Checking filings on your phone during market hours
  • Need quick company overviews: Finding a company's recent filings, stock price, and basic info fast

For monitoring and staying current, Earnings Feed delivers more value than BamSEC at no cost.

Can You Use Both?

Yes—and many serious investors do.

A common workflow:

  1. Earnings Feed alerts you that a company filed an 8-K
  2. You click through to see what type of filing it is
  3. For deeper research, you open BamSEC to search the document or compare it to prior filings
  4. Back in Earnings Feed, you track the company on your watchlist for future filings

The tools complement each other. Earnings Feed tells you what just happened, BamSEC helps you understand what it means in detail.

Feature Gap Analysis

What BamSEC Has That Earnings Feed Doesn't

  • Full-text document search: Search within and across SEC documents
  • Redline comparisons: See exactly what changed between filings
  • Excel table extraction: Pull data tables into spreadsheets
  • Earnings transcripts: Some plans include call transcripts
  • Historical depth: Deeper archive of older filings

What Earnings Feed Has That BamSEC Doesn't

  • Free access: No subscription required
  • Real-time streaming: Instant awareness of new filings
  • Mobile-optimized interface: Full functionality on phones
  • Industry and exchange hubs: Browse filings by sector or listing venue
  • Integrated stock data: Price charts alongside filings

The Verdict

There's no single "best" SEC filing tool—it depends on your research style and budget.

Choose BamSEC if you need to search within documents, compare filings, or do professional-grade due diligence. The $828/year is worth it for heavy users.

Choose Earnings Feed if you want to track filings in real-time, monitor a watchlist, or access SEC data without paying. The free tier covers most individual investor needs.

Use both if you're serious about SEC research. Let Earnings Feed handle the monitoring and alerts; let BamSEC handle the deep document work.

Try Earnings Feed Free

Ready to track SEC filings in real-time? Create a free watchlist and see every filing the moment it hits EDGAR. No credit card required.

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