The short answer
The cheapest stock market data API in 2026 depends on the job. Alpaca's free IEX feed ($0) is the real-time floor (small slice of volume), Finnhub gives free real-time US quotes at 60 calls/minute, Tiingo's free Starter covers 30+ years of EOD, and the cheapest full SIP tape is Alpaca Algo Trader Plus ($99/mo) or Massive (ex-Polygon) Advanced ($199/mo). Every cheap tier hides one deal-breaker. Verified 2026-07-12.
The cheapest stock market data API in 2026 depends on the job. For genuinely-free real-time, Alpaca's IEX feed ($0) is the floor, with the catch that IEX is a small slice of consolidated volume. For free real-time US quotes with a usable rate limit, Finnhub (60 calls/min, $0). For free EOD with 30+ years of history, Tiingo's free Starter tier. For the cheapest path to a full real-time SIP tape, you pay: Alpaca Algo Trader Plus at $99/mo or Polygon (now Massive) Advanced at $199/mo. Every "cheap" tier hides one deal-breaker; the Data Vendor TCO surfaces the all-in number.
TL;DR
| Job | Cheapest option | Price | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free real-time (any) | Alpaca IEX feed | $0 | IEX is a fraction of consolidated volume |
| Free real-time quotes + WebSocket | Finnhub free | $0 | personal/non-commercial use only |
| Free EOD / historical | Polygon Basic, Alpaca | $0 | 5 calls/min; 15-min historical cap (Alpaca) |
| Cheapest full SIP real-time | Alpaca Algo Trader Plus | $99/mo | requires Alpaca brokerage account |
| Flat-rate intraday (delayed) | Polygon Starter | $29/mo | 15-minute delayed until $199 Advanced |
All figures re-verified 2026-07-12 against official pages — including Finnhub's paid ladder (previously not statically verifiable) and Tiingo's corrected tiers (see the change note below). Polygon figures are read from massive.com: Polygon.io rebranded to Massive on 2025-10-30, and polygon.io now redirects there.
The genuinely-free floor: Alpaca IEX
Alpaca's free Basic market-data tier is the IEX feed: real-time data, 200 API calls per minute, and up to 30 symbols over WebSocket, at $0 (verified 2026-07-12, docs.alpaca.markets). It is real-time and it is free, which sounds unbeatable until the catch: IEX is a single exchange representing a small share of US consolidated equity volume, so quotes can diverge from NBBO and last-trade prints miss the off-IEX tape. For research and signal prototyping it is fine; for execution-grade pricing it is not. The full IEX-vs-SIP breakdown is in Alpaca Free Tier: IEX vs SIP 2026.
The other free-tier constraint to know: on Alpaca's free plan, historical data is limited to the latest 15 minutes; older history needs a paid tier.
The best free rate limit: Finnhub
If the bottleneck is calls-per-minute rather than feed quality, Finnhub's free tier gives 60 calls/minute (versus Alpaca's 200 trading-API limit and Polygon's 5), free real-time US quotes, and a free WebSocket. The deal-breaker: the free tier is personal/non-commercial use only. The paid ladder is now verified (2026-07-12, from the pricing page's embedded plan data): Market Data Basic $49.99/mo billed quarterly, Standard $129.99/mo billed quarterly, Professional $199.99/mo billed annually — and even those self-serve plans stay personal-use; commercial use requires Finnhub's written approval. Detail in Is Finnhub Free? 2026.
The cheapest real-time SIP tape
When the strategy needs the full consolidated tape (NBBO-quality quotes, complete trade prints), the genuinely-free options run out and you pay for SIP:
- Alpaca Algo Trader Plus — $99/mo: full SIP across all US exchanges plus the OPRA options feed, 10,000 API calls/minute, unlimited WebSocket subscriptions (verified 2026-07-12). The catch is you need an Alpaca brokerage account.
- Polygon.io (Massive) Advanced — $199/mo: full real-time stocks, unlimited API calls, flat-rate (verified 2026-07-12, massive.com/pricing). The catch is the price step from the $79 Developer tier, which is still 15-minute delayed.
At $99 vs $199 for full real-time, Alpaca is the cheaper SIP path if you are willing to open the brokerage account; Polygon is the data-only flat-rate alternative.
The cheapest fundamentals path
For fundamentals (not just prices), the budget math changed with the 2026-07-12 re-verification. Tiingo's Starter tier is free — 30+ years of EOD history plus the news API, capped at 500 unique symbols/month and 50 requests/hour — and Power is $30/mo ($300/yr) for the full universe. But fundamentals is a separate Tiingo add-on priced on top; it is not bundled into Power, contrary to older snapshots. For documented flat pricing on a fundamentals-first vendor, FMP's repriced ladder starts at $22/mo (billed annually, 300 calls/min, 5-year history; earnings-call transcripts require the $149/mo Ultimate tier). The Data Vendor TCO engine catalogue carries both at the 2026-07-12 snapshot.
Every cheap tier's deal-breaker
The one-line trap per option, so you do not get surprised in production:
| Option | Deal-breaker |
|---|---|
| Alpaca IEX free | IEX volume share is small; not NBBO-grade |
| Finnhub free | personal/non-commercial use only |
| Polygon Basic free | 5 calls/min, end-of-day only |
| Alpaca free historical | latest-15-minutes cap on history |
| Polygon Starter $29 | 15-minute delayed, not real-time |
| Tiingo free | 500 unique symbols/mo + 50 req/hr caps; fundamentals is a paid add-on |
The economics, computed live
The Data Vendor TCO engine ranks the field on annual all-in cost for a small-universe daily-resolution profile, the canonical cheapest-path use case. The verified output block at the foot of the page is computed from the shipped engine bundle, not typed by hand. The engine's vendor snapshot was refreshed on 2026-07-12 and matches the prose above.
What changed as of 2026-07-12
All vendor pages were re-verified on 2026-07-12. Three corrections and confirmations since the 2026-05-25 check:
- Tiingo's tiers are corrected: the old engine snapshot carried a ~$10 entry tier and a ~$50 Power price. Verified from Tiingo's own page data: Starter is free, Power is $30/mo ($300/yr), and $50/mo ($499/yr) is the separate internal-commercial license. Fundamentals is a paid add-on on top of any plan.
- Finnhub's paid ladder is now verified: Market Data Basic $49.99/mo (billed quarterly), Standard $129.99/mo (quarterly), Professional $199.99/mo (annual) — all self-serve plans remain personal-use.
- Alpaca and Massive (ex-Polygon.io) unchanged: free IEX / $99 Algo Trader Plus, and the $0 / $29 / $79 / $199 Stocks ladder with real-time at Advanced.
Decision guidance
- Free, real-time, research-only: Alpaca IEX (accept the volume-share caveat).
- Free, best rate limit, prototyping: Finnhub (personal use only).
- Cheapest full real-time SIP: Alpaca Algo Trader Plus $99/mo (brokerage account required).
- Flat-rate data-only: Polygon (Massive) Starter $29 delayed, Advanced $199 real-time.
- Fundamentals on a budget: Tiingo free Starter plus its fundamentals add-on, or FMP Starter ($22/mo, billed annually).
Related in this series
- Tiingo vs Polygon vs Finnhub 2026: the three-way budget comparison.
- Alpaca Free Tier: IEX vs SIP 2026: the free-feed caveat in depth.
- Polygon.io Pricing Plans 2026: the full Polygon ladder.
- Alpha Vantage vs Twelve Data 2026: two more freemium APIs.
Connects to
- Data Vendor TCO: the engine behind this page's cost block.
- Market Data APIs Compared 2026: the six-vendor survey.
- Zero-Dollar Trading Stack: building entirely on free tiers.
References
- Alpaca. "About Market Data API." docs.alpaca.markets/us/docs/about-market-data-api, verified 2026-07-12 (free IEX, Algo Trader Plus $99/mo, 10,000 calls/min).
- Massive (formerly Polygon.io). "Pricing." massive.com/pricing, verified 2026-07-12 (Basic $0 EOD, Starter $29, Advanced $199 real-time; rebrand official 2025-10-30, polygon.io redirects).
- Finnhub. "Pricing / API docs." finnhub.io/pricing, verified 2026-07-12 from the page's embedded plan data (free 60 calls/min, personal-use restriction; Market Data Basic $49.99/mo quarterly, Standard $129.99/mo quarterly, Professional $199.99/mo annual).
- Tiingo. "Pricing." tiingo.com/about/pricing, verified 2026-07-12 from the page's embedded plan data (free Starter; Power $30/mo or $300/yr; Commercial $50/mo or $499/yr; fundamentals as separate add-on).
Verified engine output
Show the recompute-verified inputs and outputs
| universe | small |
|---|---|
| resolution | daily |
| needs_live | false |
| needs_options | false |
| needs_futures | false |
| scenario › universe | small |
|---|---|
| scenario › resolution | daily |
| scenario › history | 5-year |
| scenario › needs live | false |
| scenario › needs options | false |
| 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 | 2026-07-12 |
| 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 | Free (IEX feed) |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › monthly | 0 |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › includes options | false |
| 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 › notes › row 1 | IEX feed only (subset of volume) |
| ranked › row 1 › tier › notes › row 2 | Free with Alpaca brokerage account |
| ranked › row 1 › monthly | 0 |
| ranked › row 1 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 1 › annual total | 0 |
| 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 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 | 2026-07-12 |
| 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 › 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 › 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 | true |
| ranked › row 2 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 2 › meets options | true |
| ranked › row 2 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 2 › meets all | true |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › id | databento |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › name | Databento |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › url | https://databento.com |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › short pitch | Per-unit metered pricing. Strong for institutional-quality tick + L2 data. No subscriptions on base offer. |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › has overage | true |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › last checked | 2026-07-12 |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Databento metered (typical retail) |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 125 |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futures | true |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 4 | tick |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 5 | level2 |
| ranked › row 3 › 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 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | Flat plans: Standard $179/mo (live + historical; 16+ yrs L0, 1 yr L1, 1 mo L2-L3); Plus $1,500/mo and Unlimited $4,000/mo on annual contracts (verified 2026-07-12) |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3 | $125/mo here models typical retail metered spend (medium universe, minute bars) |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 4 | Per-GB cost scales aggressively with universe and resolution |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › name | Databento metered (typical retail) |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › monthly | 125 |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › includes futures | true |
| 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 › resolutions › row 4 | tick |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 5 | level2 |
| ranked › row 3 › 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 3 › tier › notes › row 2 | Flat plans: Standard $179/mo (live + historical; 16+ yrs L0, 1 yr L1, 1 mo L2-L3); Plus $1,500/mo and Unlimited $4,000/mo on annual contracts (verified 2026-07-12) |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 3 | $125/mo here models typical retail metered spend (medium universe, minute bars) |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 4 | Per-GB cost scales aggressively with universe and resolution |
| ranked › row 3 › monthly | 13 |
| ranked › row 3 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 3 › annual total | 150 |
| ranked › row 3 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 3 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 3 › meets options | true |
| ranked › row 3 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 3 › meets all | true |
| 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 | 2026-07-12 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Starter |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 22 |
| 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 › notes › row 1 | Billed annually ($22/mo equivalent) |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | 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 | 59 |
| 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 › notes › row 1 | Billed annually |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | 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 | 149 |
| 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 › notes › row 1 | 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 | 22 |
| 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 › notes › row 1 | Billed annually ($22/mo equivalent) |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 2 | 5 years history |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 3 | 300 API calls/min |
| ranked › row 4 › monthly | 22 |
| ranked › row 4 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 4 › annual total | 264 |
| ranked › row 4 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 4 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 4 › meets options | true |
| ranked › row 4 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 4 › meets all | true |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › id | polygon |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › name | Massive (formerly Polygon.io) |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › url | https://massive.com |
| ranked › row 5 › 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 5 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › last checked | 2026-07-12 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers (7 items) | [...] |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › name | Stocks Starter |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › monthly | 29 |
| 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 › asset class | stocks |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › notes › row 1 | 15-min delayed market data |
| ranked › row 5 › tier › notes › row 2 | Unlimited API calls |
| ranked › row 5 › monthly | 29 |
| ranked › row 5 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 5 › annual total | 348 |
| ranked › row 5 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 5 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 5 › meets options | true |
| ranked › row 5 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 5 › meets all | true |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › id | alpha-vantage |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › name | Alpha Vantage |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › url | https://www.alphavantage.co |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › short pitch | Budget tier with broad coverage. Rate limits tight. Workable for low-frequency research. |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › last checked | 2026-07-12 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Premium 75 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 49.99 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futures | false |
| 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 › notes › row 1 | 75 calls/min, no daily limit |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | Free key capped at 25 calls/day, 5/min |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Premium 1200 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 249.99 |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1 | 1,200 calls/min, no daily limit |
| ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | Rate-tiered ladder: $99.99/150, $149.99/300, $199.99/600, $249.99/1200 |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › name | Premium 75 |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › monthly | 49.99 |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › includes live | false |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 1 | 75 calls/min, no daily limit |
| ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 2 | Free key capped at 25 calls/day, 5/min |
| ranked › row 6 › monthly | 50 |
| ranked › row 6 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 6 › annual total | 600 |
| ranked › row 6 › meets resolution | true |
| ranked › row 6 › meets live | true |
| ranked › row 6 › meets options | true |
| ranked › row 6 › meets futures | true |
| ranked › row 6 › meets all | true |
Computed live at build time.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest real-time stock API in 2026?
- Alpaca's free IEX feed is $0 and real-time, but IEX is a small share of consolidated volume. For the full SIP tape, the cheapest is Alpaca Algo Trader Plus at $99/mo; Massive (ex-Polygon.io) Advanced is $199/mo (verified 2026-07-12).
- Is there a free stock market data API?
- Yes, several. Alpaca's IEX feed and Polygon's Basic tier are $0; Finnhub's free tier gives 60 calls/min with real-time US quotes. Each has a caveat: volume share, end-of-day-only, or personal-use restriction.
- Which free tier has the best rate limit?
- Finnhub at 60 calls/minute, versus Alpaca's 200 trading-API limit and Polygon's 5 calls/minute on the free Basic tier.
- Cheapest API with fundamentals?
- Tiingo's Starter tier is free and Power is $30/mo (verified 2026-07-12), but fundamentals is a separate Tiingo add-on priced on top of any plan. For documented flat fundamentals pricing, FMP starts at $22/mo billed annually; earnings-call transcripts require its $149/mo Ultimate tier.