CrowdIntelComparison
CrowdIntel vs Synthesis: investigation product vs unified trading API
Synthesis is a unified API for Polymarket and Kalshi — build wallets, place orders, stream data. CrowdIntel is a browseable investigation product for end users, journalists, and researchers. Different products, different buyers.
TL;DR
- •Synthesis is a unified Polymarket + Kalshi trading API — create wallets, place orders, and stream data over REST + WebSocket.
- •CrowdIntel is a finished, browseable investigation product for traders, journalists, and researchers.
- •Synthesis is infrastructure you build on; CrowdIntel is the research layer someone already built.
Short answer
Synthesis (synthesis.trade) is a unified prediction-market API covering Polymarket and Kalshi. Its docs confirm core capabilities: create wallets, place orders, stream real-time data, and manage positions, with WebSocket support for live balances, orderbooks, and trade data. Authentication supports three methods: Project API Keys (backend), Session Tokens (frontend), and Account API Keys (backend user operations). CrowdIntel is a browseable investigation product — it indexes Polymarket trades, runs a multi-signal statistical engine, traces funding graphs, and publishes named investigations. Use Synthesis if you're building your own trading app across venues; use CrowdIntel if you want the investigation layer someone else already built.
Side by side
| Criterion | CrowdIntel | Synthesis |
|---|---|---|
| Primary audience | Traders, journalists, researchers | Developers building on prediction markets |
| Interface | Browseable web dashboard | REST + WebSocket API |
| Venues covered | Polymarket only | Polymarket + Kalshi |
| Investigation dossiers | Yes — published case file | No — raw data only |
| Funding-graph analysis | Yes | Not advertised |
| Shrinkage win rate | Yes | Raw stats only |
| Order placement | No (research only) | Yes |
| Auth methods | Free browsing, no keys | Project API Keys, Session Tokens, Account API Keys |
| Public pricing | Free | Check synthesis.trade for API tier pricing |
Choose CrowdIntel if you want…
- •A finished investigation product — browseable dossiers and published cases
- •An independent research layer you can read and cite
- •Funding-graph tracing and shrinkage-adjusted win rates out of the box
- •Something to share, not an API to integrate
Choose Synthesis if you want…
- •A single API covering Polymarket and Kalshi — no custom indexer required
- •Create wallets, place orders, and manage positions programmatically
- •WebSocket streams for live balances, orderbooks, and trade data
- •Flexible auth: project keys for backends, session tokens for frontends, account keys for user operations
- •Building your own app, bot, or agent on prediction-market rails
Frequently asked
Are CrowdIntel and Synthesis direct competitors?
Partial overlap. Both touch Polymarket wallet data. Synthesis is primarily a trading API and developer platform; CrowdIntel is a finished research dashboard. If you're building your own app, Synthesis is the lower-level tool. If you want to read investigations, CrowdIntel is the higher-level one.
Does Synthesis cover Kalshi?
Yes — Synthesis exposes unified endpoints for Polymarket and Kalshi. CrowdIntel is Polymarket-only because Polymarket's on-chain data is what enables the wallet forensics we do.
Can I power my own product with Synthesis and read CrowdIntel alongside?
Yes, and that's a reasonable pairing. Ingest data via Synthesis; use CrowdIntel as a research layer your users can navigate to for context.
Bottom line
Building your own app or bot? Synthesis. Want investigations to read and cite? CrowdIntel. They stack cleanly.
See the Polymarket data yourself
CrowdIntel indexes every on-chain Polymarket trade — 1.6B+ and counting. Browse whales, watch insider alerts, and read public funding-cluster investigations. Free, no login.