The short answer
For backtesting data in 2026, Alpaca free IEX plus Tiingo's free Starter tier is the zero-cost daily-resolution default, Polygon.io (Massive) flat files are the flat-rate workhorse for minute-to-tick history, Databento is the only realistic tick and order-book source at retail, and Nasdaq Data Link has a strong free fundamentals tier. Survivorship and look-ahead bias decide whether any of it means anything.
For backtesting data in 2026, the cheapest source that does not poison your results wins, and most retail backtests are wrong because of the data, not the strategy. Alpaca's free IEX feed plus Tiingo's free Starter tier is the zero-cost default for daily-resolution research, with one big caveat (IEX is a fraction of consolidated volume). Polygon.io flat files are the flat-rate workhorse for minute-to-tick history. Databento is the only realistic route to tick and order-book history at retail scale, billed by data volume. Nasdaq Data Link carries a strong free tier for fundamentals and alternative data. Whatever you choose, the survivorship and look-ahead traps below decide whether the backtest means anything. Price the standalone-vendor route in the Data-Vendor TCO Calculator.
The data decides the backtest, not the strategy
Three data defects invalidate more retail backtests than any modeling error:
- Survivorship bias. A dataset that only contains today's listed symbols silently drops every company that delisted, merged, or went bankrupt. Backtesting a long-equity strategy on a survivor-only universe inflates returns because the losers are gone. You need point-in-time constituents.
- Look-ahead bias. Using data that was not yet available at the decision timestamp (restated fundamentals, end-of-day prices for an intraday decision) leaks the future into the past. Restated financials are the classic offender; you need as-reported, point-in-time fundamentals.
- Partial-tape sampling. A feed that covers a sliver of volume (IEX is roughly 4% of the consolidated tape) produces prices that look real but are not the prices a SIP-tape strategy would have transacted at.
This roundup ranks sources on published pricing, documented coverage, and which of these traps each one helps or hurts. No backtest result is asserted; the survivorship and look-ahead points are structural facts about data shape, not a study we ran.
The headline table
All figures are vendor list prices and documented coverage; verification dates are per source below (Polygon/Massive flat-file entitlements re-verified 2026-10-11; Databento 2026-07-25; Alpaca and Tiingo 2026-07-12).
| Source | Resolution | History | Cheapest entry | Survivorship-safe? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaca (free IEX) | daily, minute | multi-year | $0 | partial tape only |
| Tiingo | daily, minute | 30+ yr EOD (fundamentals is an add-on) | free Starter ($30/mo Power for the full universe) | needs point-in-time check |
| Polygon.io (Massive) flat files | day/minute bars → trades → quotes | 5 / 10 years, all history (from 2003) on Advanced | $29 / $79 / $199/mo | full SIP tape |
| Databento | daily → L2/tick | full | usage-based (or $199/mo Standard flat) | full tape, point-in-time |
| Nasdaq Data Link | daily + alt data | 10+ years (premium feeds) | free tier + a la carte | depends on dataset |
Verify on the vendor page before committing; backtest data terms and history depth change between tiers.
Who wins for which backtest
Profile: daily-resolution idea generation, zero budget
Alpaca free IEX + Tiingo's free Starter (30+ years of EOD history plus the news API, capped at 500 unique symbols/month). Total $0/mo, the cheapest credible starting point for directional, daily-bar research; note that Tiingo's fundamentals is a separate paid add-on. The hard caveat: IEX is a partial tape, so any result that depends on exact fills or intraday microstructure is not trustworthy on this data. Fine for "does this signal have any edge at all," not for "what would this have returned." Promote to the SIP tape before you believe a number.
Profile: minute-to-tick history at a predictable flat rate
Polygon.io (now Massive) flat files: daily S3 files of US stock day and minute aggregates from the $29 Starter tier (5 years), trades from the $79 Developer tier (10 years), and NBBO quotes on the $199 Advanced tier, where history for every dataset reaches back to September 10, 2003. Files for a trading day land by about 11:00 ET the next morning. See Massive Flat Files 2026 for the full entitlement table. Flat-rate billing means a speculative re-run does not surprise you on the invoice, which is the practical edge over metered vendors for iterative research. See Polygon.io Pricing 2026.
Profile: tick and order-book history at retail scale
Databento. The realistic route to tick + L2 history, under usage-based pricing (pay per GB on uncompressed binary size), with a flat $199/mo Standard plan (live + historical) and $125 in free credits for new signups for historical pulls. Budget carefully: metered billing punishes speculative re-queries, so pull once and cache locally. See Polygon.io vs Databento vs Alpaca 2026.
Profile: fundamentals and alternative data, low budget
Nasdaq Data Link (formerly Quandl). A strong free tier of open datasets from central banks, governments, and publishers, plus premium feeds sold a la carte with no extra charge for API access on top of the data subscription. Good for fundamentals and macro overlays; for point-in-time fundamentals, confirm the specific dataset is as-reported, not restated.
The synthetic-data alternative
When you do not have enough history, or you want to stress a strategy against regimes the tape never produced, synthetic data is the answer, not more curve-fitting on the same 10 years. The Synthetic Market Data Generator produces price paths you can backtest against, and Synthetic Data: GARCH vs GBM covers which generator matches which assumption. This is also how you avoid overfitting a single historical path, which the Backtest Overfitting Score measures.
Validation matters more than the vendor
A clean data source feeding an overfit validation procedure still produces a fiction. Whatever vendor you pick, the backtest is only as good as the walk-forward discipline around it. See Walk-Forward Validation Cookbook and Backtest Overfitting: PBO Explained before you trust any equity curve.
Price the standalone route
If you want a data feed not tied to your broker, the Data-Vendor TCO Calculator ranks the vendors for your scenario. The verified output block below is computed live from that engine for a live, options-included, no-futures profile; flip the inputs to match your universe and resolution before subscribing.
Related in this series
- Market Data APIs Compared 2026: six vendors on price, resolution, and coverage.
- Synthetic Data: GARCH vs GBM for Backtests: generating data when history runs out.
- Walk-Forward Validation Cookbook: the validation discipline that makes the data worth using.
Connects to
- Data-Vendor TCO Calculator: ranks standalone backtest-data vendors for your scenario.
- Synthetic Market Data Generator: produces price paths when history is short.
- Backtest Overfitting Score: measures whether the result is overfit to one path.
Sources
- Alpaca Markets. Data plans (free IEX feed, partial tape; SIP feed on paid plan). https://alpaca.markets/data (verified 2026-07-12).
- Tiingo. Pricing (free Starter: 30+ yr EOD + news, 500 unique symbols/mo; Power $30/mo; fundamentals as separate add-on). https://www.tiingo.com/about/pricing (verified 2026-07-12).
- Massive (formerly Polygon.io). Pricing and flat-file plan-access tables (Starter $29 day and minute aggregates, 5 years; Developer $79 adds trades, 10 years; Advanced $199 adds quotes, all history from 2003-09-10; polygon.io redirects since the 2025-10-30 rebrand). https://massive.com/docs/flat-files/stocks/trades (verified 2026-10-11).
- Databento. Pricing (usage-based per GB on uncompressed binary size; Standard $199/mo flat, live + historical; $125 free historical credits for new signups). https://databento.com/pricing (verified 2026-07-25).
- Nasdaq Data Link. API getting started and pricing (free open datasets; premium feeds a la carte, no extra charge for API access). https://data.nasdaq.com/ (accessed 2026-05-25).
Editorial independence
AI Fin Hub Research maintains editorial independence across sponsor relationships. Vendor placements in tools and comparators are not altered by sponsor payments. Disclosures at /sponsor-disclosure/.
Verified engine output
Show the recompute-verified inputs and outputs
| needs_live | true |
|---|---|
| needs_options | true |
| needs_futures | false |
| scenario › universe | medium |
|---|---|
| scenario › resolution | minute |
| scenario › history | 5-year |
| scenario › needs live | true |
| scenario › needs options | true |
| scenario › needs futures | false |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › id | alpaca |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › name | Alpaca Markets |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › url | https://alpaca.markets |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › short pitch | Broker-bundled market data. Generous free tier via IEX feed; SIP feed requires paid plan. |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › last checked | 2026-10-11 |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Free (IEX feed) |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 0 |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1 | IEX feed only (subset of volume) |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | Free with Alpaca brokerage account |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Algo Trader Plus (SIP feed) |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 99 |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes options | true |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 4 | tick |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1 | Full SIP consolidated tape |
| ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | Options chains included |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › name | Algo Trader Plus (SIP feed) |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › monthly | 99 |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › includes options | true |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › resolutions › row 4 | tick |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › notes › row 1 | Full SIP consolidated tape |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › notes › row 2 | Options chains included |
| ranked › row 1 › monthly | 99 |
| ranked › row 1 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 1 › annual total | 1188 |
| ranked › row 1 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 1 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 1 › meets options | true |
| ranked › row 1 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 1 › meets history | true |
| ranked › row 1 › history verified | false |
| ranked › row 1 › meets all | true |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › id | tiingo |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › name | Tiingo |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › url | https://www.tiingo.com |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › short pitch | EOD + news at low cost, with IEX-sourced real-time on every plan. Fundamentals is a separate add-on. Favorite for long-horizon research. |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › last checked | 2026-10-11 |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Tiingo Starter (free) |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 0 |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › history years | 30 |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1 | Free tier: 50 req/hr, 1,000 req/day, 500 unique symbols/mo |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | 30+ years EOD equities; news API included |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3 | IEX-sourced real-time WebSocket on every plan (subset of consolidated volume) |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Tiingo Power |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 30 |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1 | $30/mo ($300/yr): 10,000 req/hr, 100k req/day, 40 GB/mo bandwidth cap |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | Intraday IEX bars + crypto |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 3 | Fundamentals is a separate add-on (not included) |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 4 | Commercial license (internal use, max 2 devs) is $50/mo ($499/yr) |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › name | Tiingo Starter (free) |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › monthly | 0 |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › history years | 30 |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 1 | Free tier: 50 req/hr, 1,000 req/day, 500 unique symbols/mo |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 2 | 30+ years EOD equities; news API included |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 3 | IEX-sourced real-time WebSocket on every plan (subset of consolidated volume) |
| ranked › row 2 › monthly | 0 |
| ranked › row 2 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 2 › annual total | 0 |
| ranked › row 2 › meets resolution | false |
| ranked › row 2 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 2 › meets options | false |
| ranked › row 2 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 2 › meets history | true |
| ranked › row 2 › history verified | true |
| ranked › row 2 › meets all | false |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › id | polygon |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › name | Massive (formerly Polygon.io) |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › url | https://massive.com |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › short pitch | Flat-rate subscription. Real-time + historical for US equities, with a separate Futures product line. Popular retail default. Rebranded from Polygon.io on 2025-10-30. |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › last checked | 2026-10-11 |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers (7 items) | [...] |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › name | Stocks Starter |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › monthly | 29 |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › asset class | stocks |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › history years | 5 |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 1 | 15-min delayed market data |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 2 | Unlimited API calls |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 3 | 5 years history; WebSockets, flat files, second aggregates |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 4 | $288/yr billed annually |
| ranked › row 3 › monthly | 29 |
| ranked › row 3 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 3 › annual total | 348 |
| ranked › row 3 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 3 › meets live | false |
| ranked › row 3 › meets options | false |
| ranked › row 3 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 3 › meets history | true |
| ranked › row 3 › history verified | true |
| ranked › row 3 › meets all | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › id | fmp |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › name | Financial Modeling Prep |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › url | https://site.financialmodelingprep.com |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › short pitch | Fundamentals-heavy. Earnings, filings, transcripts. Price data is a secondary offer. |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › last checked | 2026-10-11 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Starter |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 29 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › history years | 5 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1 | $29/mo monthly billing; $19/mo billed annually |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | Up to 5 years history |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3 | 300 API calls/min |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Premium |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 69 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › history years | 30 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1 | $69/mo monthly billing; $49/mo billed annually |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | Up to 30 years history |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 3 | 750 calls/min |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › name | Ultimate |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › monthly | 139 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › history years | 30 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 1 | $139/mo monthly billing; $99/mo billed annually |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 2 | Real-time |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 3 | 3,000 calls/min |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 4 | Earnings-call transcripts require this tier |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › name | Starter |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › monthly | 29 |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › history years | 5 |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 1 | $29/mo monthly billing; $19/mo billed annually |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 2 | Up to 5 years history |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 3 | 300 API calls/min |
| ranked › row 4 › monthly | 29 |
| ranked › row 4 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 4 › annual total | 348 |
| ranked › row 4 › meets resolution | false |
| ranked › row 4 › meets live | false |
| ranked › row 4 › meets options | false |
| ranked › row 4 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 4 › meets history | true |
| ranked › row 4 › history verified | true |
| ranked › row 4 › meets all | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › id | alpha-vantage |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › name | Alpha Vantage |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › url | https://www.alphavantage.co |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › short pitch | Budget tier with broad coverage. Rate limits tight. Workable for low-frequency research. |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › last checked | 2026-10-11 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Premium 75 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 49.99 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1 | 75 calls/min, no daily limit |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | Free key capped at 25 requests/day |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Premium 1200 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 249.99 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1 | 1,200 calls/min, no daily limit |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | Rate-tiered ladder: $99.99/150, $149.99/300, $199.99/600, $249.99/1200 |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › name | Premium 75 |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › monthly | 49.99 |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › notes › row 1 | 75 calls/min, no daily limit |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › notes › row 2 | Free key capped at 25 requests/day |
| ranked › row 5 › monthly | 49.99 |
| ranked › row 5 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 5 › annual total | 599.88 |
| ranked › row 5 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 5 › meets live | false |
| ranked › row 5 › meets options | false |
| ranked › row 5 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 5 › meets history | true |
| ranked › row 5 › history verified | false |
| ranked › row 5 › meets all | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › id | databento |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › name | Databento |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › url | https://databento.com |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › short pitch | Per-unit metered pricing. Strong for institutional-quality tick + L2 data. No subscriptions on base offer. |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › has overage | true |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › last checked | 2026-10-11 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Databento metered (typical retail) |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 125 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futures | true |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 4 | tick |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 5 | level2 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1 | Usage-metered: historical is pay-as-you-go priced per GB (uncompressed binary), no subscription required; $125 free credits on signup (6-month expiry) |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | Flat plans: Standard $199/mo (live + historical; 16+ yrs L0, 12 mo L1, 1 mo L2-L3); Plus $1,750/mo and Unlimited $4,500/mo on annual contracts (verified 2026-10-11) |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3 | $125/mo here models typical retail metered spend (medium universe, minute bars) |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 4 | Per-GB cost scales aggressively with universe and resolution |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › name | Databento metered (typical retail) |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › monthly | 125 |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › includes futures | true |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 4 | tick |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 5 | level2 |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 1 | Usage-metered: historical is pay-as-you-go priced per GB (uncompressed binary), no subscription required; $125 free credits on signup (6-month expiry) |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 2 | Flat plans: Standard $199/mo (live + historical; 16+ yrs L0, 12 mo L1, 1 mo L2-L3); Plus $1,750/mo and Unlimited $4,500/mo on annual contracts (verified 2026-10-11) |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 3 | $125/mo here models typical retail metered spend (medium universe, minute bars) |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 4 | Per-GB cost scales aggressively with universe and resolution |
| ranked › row 6 › monthly | 125 |
| ranked › row 6 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 6 › annual total | 1500 |
| ranked › row 6 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 6 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 6 › meets options | false |
| ranked › row 6 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 6 › meets history | true |
| ranked › row 6 › history verified | false |
| ranked › row 6 › meets all | false |
Computed live at build time.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest backtesting data source in 2026?
- Alpaca's free IEX feed plus Tiingo's free Starter tier (30+ years of EOD plus news, 500 unique symbols/month), $0/mo all in — verified 2026-07-12; Tiingo's fundamentals is a separate paid add-on. The caveat is decisive: IEX is roughly 2-5% of the consolidated tape, fine for daily-bar idea generation but not for any result depending on exact fills or intraday microstructure. Move to the full SIP tape before trusting a return number.
- Which data source avoids survivorship bias for equity backtests?
- Whichever gives you point-in-time index constituents that still contain delisted and merged names. Full-tape vendors like Polygon and Databento carry the complete universe; a survivor-only dataset quietly drops the losers and inflates returns. For fundamentals, confirm the dataset is as-reported, not restated, or you reintroduce look-ahead bias.
- When should I use synthetic data instead of historical data?
- When history is too short to test a strategy, or when you want to stress it against regimes the tape never produced. Synthetic generation also breaks the habit of overfitting one historical path. Use the Synthetic Market Data Generator, then check the result with the Backtest Overfitting Score.