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, and the cheapest full SIP tape is Alpaca Algo Trader Plus ($99/mo) or Polygon Advanced ($199/mo). Every cheap tier hides one deal-breaker.
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 the cheapest path to a full real-time SIP tape, you pay: Alpaca Algo Trader Plus at $99/mo or Polygon 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 |
Alpaca and Polygon figures verified 2026-05-25 against official pages. Finnhub free-tier limit is documented; its paid prices are not statically verifiable (noted below).
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 2026-05-25, 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. For a commercial product you must pay, and the paid prices are not statically verifiable on the JS-rendered pricing page. 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 2026-05-25). 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 2026-05-25, 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-inclusive tier
For fundamentals (not just prices), the budget pick is Tiingo, whose low entry tier is modeled at $10/mo in the Data Vendor TCO engine catalogue (EOD + news), with fundamentals on the higher Power tier (~$50/mo snapshot). Confirm current pricing on Tiingo's page; treat these as the engine snapshot from 2026-04-20.
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 | excludes fundamentals + news APIs |
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 vendor snapshot dates to 2026-04-20; the Alpaca and Polygon figures in the prose above are re-verified to 2026-05-25.
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 Starter $29 delayed, Advanced $199 real-time.
- Fundamentals on a budget: Tiingo entry tier.
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 2026-05-25 (free IEX, Algo Trader Plus $99/mo, 10,000 calls/min).
- Massive (formerly Polygon.io). "Pricing." massive.com/pricing, verified 2026-05-25 (Basic $0 EOD, Starter $29, Advanced $199 real-time).
- Finnhub. "Pricing / API docs." finnhub.io, accessed 2026-05-25 (free 60 calls/min, personal-use restriction; paid prices not statically verifiable).
- Tiingo. "Pricing." tiingo.com/about/pricing, accessed 2026-05-25 (figures from Data Vendor TCO engine snapshot 2026-04-20).
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 | 2026-05-25 |
| 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 | Strong fundamentals + EOD pricing at low cost. Limited intraday. Favorite for long-horizon research. |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › last checked | 2026-04-20 |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Tiingo Starter |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 10 |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes live | false |
| 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 | EOD equities |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | News API included |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3 | Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — official pricing page not machine-readable |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Tiingo Power |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 50 |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes live | false |
| 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 | Intraday bars |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | Crypto data |
| ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 3 | Fundamentals included |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › name | Tiingo Starter |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › monthly | 10 |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › includes live | false |
| 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 | EOD equities |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 2 | News API included |
| ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 3 | Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — official pricing page not machine-readable |
| ranked › row 2 › monthly | 10 |
| ranked › row 2 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 2 › annual total | 120 |
| 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 | 2026-05-25 |
| 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 |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | Subscription option: Standard $199/mo (historical core schemas + 1yr L1 / 1mo L2-L3); $125/mo modeled typical retail metered spend |
| ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3 | Live data + dedicated support on Plus ($1,399/mo, annual); Unlimited $3,500/mo (verified 2026-05-25) |
| 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 |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 2 | Subscription option: Standard $199/mo (historical core schemas + 1yr L1 / 1mo L2-L3); $125/mo modeled typical retail metered spend |
| ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 3 | Live data + dedicated support on Plus ($1,399/mo, annual); Unlimited $3,500/mo (verified 2026-05-25) |
| 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 | 2026-04-20 |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Starter |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 14 |
| 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 | 5 years history |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | 250 API calls/day |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3 | Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — FMP list prices not consistently published |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Premium |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 29 |
| 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 | Full history |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | 750 calls/day |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › name | Ultimate |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › monthly | 79 |
| 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 | Real-time |
| ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 2 | Unlimited calls |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › name | Starter |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › monthly | 14 |
| 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 | 5 years history |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 2 | 250 API calls/day |
| ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 3 | Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — FMP list prices not consistently published |
| ranked › row 4 › monthly | 14 |
| ranked › row 4 › one time | 0 |
| ranked › row 4 › annual total | 168 |
| 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 | Polygon.io |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › url | https://polygon.io |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › short pitch | Flat-rate subscription. Real-time + historical for US equities. Popular retail default. |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › has overage | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › last checked | 2026-05-25 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › name | Stocks Starter |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly | 29 |
| 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 | 15-min delayed market data |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2 | 5 calls/min |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › name | Stocks Developer |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly | 79 |
| 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 | 15-min delayed |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2 | Unlimited API calls |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › name | Stocks Advanced |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › monthly | 199 |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes live | true |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes options | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes futures | false |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 1 | daily |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 2 | minute |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 3 | second |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 4 | tick |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 1 | Full real-time |
| ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 2 | Unlimited API calls |
| 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 › 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 | 5 calls/min |
| 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 | 2026-05-25 |
| 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; Polygon Advanced is $199/mo (verified 2026-05-25).
- 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 low entry tier (around $10/mo in the engine snapshot, fundamentals on the Power tier). Confirm current pricing on Tiingo's page.