> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.secapi.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SEC API vs sec-api.io: Speed, Token Efficiency, and Pricing Compared

> First-party head-to-head benchmark (competitor data captured 2026-03-18) showing SEC API is 3.9x-6.4x faster than sec-api.io with 34-38% fewer tokens per response

We ran head-to-head benchmarks comparing SEC API against sec-api.io across the core SEC data operations that matter most to developers and AI agents. The results: **SEC API is 3.9x to 6.4x faster with 34-38% smaller response payloads.**

## Methodology

This is a first-party head-to-head benchmark run by our own canonical harness — not a third-party study. Both APIs were measured under identical conditions so the comparison is apples-to-apples.

* Competitor measurements captured 2026-03-18; re-run before citing as current
* Both APIs tested from the same machine, same network location
* Each operation run 5+ times with p50, p95, p99 latency reported
* Payload size measured as response body bytes
* Token estimate = ceil(payload\_bytes / 4)
* All tests use authenticated API keys on production endpoints
* Reproduction scripts available in our benchmark methodology notes

## Results

### Latency Comparison

| Operation              | SEC API p50 | sec-api.io p50 | Speedup         |
| ---------------------- | ----------- | -------------- | --------------- |
| **Entity Resolution**  | 62ms        | 231ms          | **3.7x faster** |
| **Filing Search**      | 64ms        | 281ms          | **4.4x faster** |
| **Section Extraction** | 64ms        | 348ms          | **5.4x faster** |
| **XBRL-to-JSON**       | 61ms        | 392ms          | **6.4x faster** |

**Overall: 18 wins, 0 losses, 2 ties across our benchmark suite.**

### Token Efficiency

| Operation       | SEC API tokens | sec-api.io tokens | Savings       |
| --------------- | -------------- | ----------------- | ------------- |
| Entity resolve  | 68             | 103               | **34% fewer** |
| Filing search   | 125            | 198               | **37% fewer** |
| Section extract | 450            | 720               | **38% fewer** |
| XBRL parsing    | 310            | 485               | **36% fewer** |

### Why Token Efficiency Matters

When AI agents query SEC data, every byte of the API response consumes tokens. Smaller responses mean:

* **Lower cost** — fewer tokens = lower API bills
* **Faster reasoning** — less context for the model to process
* **More room** — more data fits in the context window

A typical "company briefing" workflow demonstrates this dramatically:

| Approach                       | API calls  | Tokens consumed |
| ------------------------------ | ---------- | --------------- |
| sec-api.io (assemble manually) | 8-12 calls | \~3,000 tokens  |
| SEC API intelligence bundle    | 1 call     | \~800 tokens    |

**Result: 75% fewer tokens, 87% fewer API calls.**

## Pricing Comparison

|                    | sec-api.io           | SEC API                          |
| ------------------ | -------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| **Starter access** | 100 calls (lifetime) | 150 calls (one-time)             |
| **Minimum paid**   | \$49/month           | Pay-as-you-go (\$0.02/call)      |
| **Personal**       | \$49/month           | \$55/month (20% meter discount)  |
| **Business**       | \$199/month          | \$239/month (35% meter discount) |

For light agent usage (200 queries/month):

* sec-api.io: **\$49/month** (minimum tier)
* SEC API PAYG: **\$4.00/month** (92% savings)

## What SEC API Offers That sec-api.io Doesn't

* **Semantic search** — AI-powered filing search using finance-tuned embeddings + vector search
* **Intelligence bundles** — Pre-computed company, security, and earnings briefings
* **MCP integration** — Native agent protocol support for Claude, Cursor, and other AI tools
* **CLI tool** — `npm install -g @secapi/cli` for terminal workflows
* **Filing diff** — Compare two filing versions to see what changed
* **Saved monitors** — Webhook alerts when new filings match your criteria
* **Budget controls** — Spending caps with 75/90/95% threshold alerts
* **4 SDKs** — JavaScript, Python, Go, and Rust (sec-api.io has 2)
* **8 pre-built skills** — Installable workflows for Claude Code, Codex, Cowork

## Try It

```bash theme={null}
# Use an existing API key, or create an account at secapi.ai/signup
export SECAPI_API_KEY="<your-api-key>"

# Your first query
curl "https://api.secapi.ai/v1/entities/resolve?ticker=AAPL" \
  -H "x-api-key: $SECAPI_API_KEY"
```

Create an account at secapi.ai/signup to get an API key.