Is Alpaca the cheapest data option for an EU retail options trader?

For live US equities plus options at minute resolution, yes in the Data Vendor TCO engine: Alpaca Algo Trader Plus at $99/month ($1,188/year) is the only retail tier that meets the options requirement. A data-only alternative, Massive Stocks Advanced plus Options Advanced, costs $398/month (re-checked 2026-10-11).

Do I need professional market-data rates as a German retail trader?

Usually not while you trade a personal account and are not acting for a firm. Vendors enforce the distinction in their eligibility rules; Massive's Advanced tiers, for example, are sold to non-professional individuals only. Trading through a company or for others changes the classification, so check the subscriber agreement first.

Does § 83 WpHG record-keeping apply to a private algo trader?

§ 83 WpHG is addressed to Wertpapierdienstleistungsunternehmen (investment-services firms), so it does not by itself bind a private individual trading their own account. If you manage money for others or operate through a licensed entity, the obligations differ and you should take advice.

Data Vendor TCO for EU Retail Traders 2026

Education, not investment advice. Past performance does not predict future results. How we check our numbers.

For an EU-based retail trader who needs live US equities plus options, minute bars and 5 years of history, the Data Vendor TCO engine ranks Alpaca Algo Trader Plus first at $99/month ($1,188/year), the only retail tier in its catalogue that meets the options requirement. Every vendor bills in US dollars, so EU buyers pay these list prices plus currency conversion. The subscription is not the whole bill: exchange subscriber classification, options data entitlements and any record-keeping your legal setup requires sit outside every vendor's price card, and they depend on your situation rather than on a published number.

What does the engine pick for an EU retail options stack?

The scenario: a solo trader in Germany, a medium universe (about 500 symbols), minute bars, 5 years of history, live data and options, no futures. Running it through the engine with needs_live=true, needs_options=true, needs_futures=false gives:

Vendor	Tier the engine shows	Monthly (USD)	Annual (USD)	Meets the spec
Alpaca	Algo Trader Plus (SIP feed)	$99	$1,188	Yes
Tiingo	Starter (free)	$0	$0	No: no options
Financial Modeling Prep	Starter	$29	$348	No: no options
Massive (ex Polygon.io)	Stocks Starter	$29	$348	No: options are a separate product
Alpha Vantage	Premium 75	$49.99	$600	No: no options feed
Databento	metered (typical retail)	$125	$1,500	No: options not modelled on this tier

Rows that fail a requirement show the vendor's cheapest tier as a diagnostic, not a recommendation. The engine's vendor snapshot was re-checked against the vendors' pages on 2026-10-11, and the computed block at the foot of this page is the live engine output.

What would a non-Alpaca options stack cost?

The engine evaluates each vendor's stocks retail tiers, so it marks Massive as failing on options. Massive does sell options, as a separate subscription: real-time equities and real-time options together means Stocks Advanced plus Options Advanced, $199 + $199 = $398/month, or $1,920 + $1,920 = $3,840/year on annual billing¹. Both Advanced tiers are limited to non-professional individual users¹. That is the realistic comparison point against Alpaca's $99 bundle when you do not want your data tied to your broker. See Polygon.io Options API Pricing 2026.

Which costs are not on any price card?

Subscriber classification. US market data is licensed differently to professional and non-professional subscribers. Vendors pass this through as eligibility rules; Massive, for example, sells its Advanced tiers to non-professional individuals only and points firms to business plans starting at $2,499/month for stocks¹². If you trade through a company (a GmbH or UG) or for anyone else, check the vendor's subscriber agreement before you buy the retail tier.

Options entitlements. Real-time options data comes from OPRA. Some retail bundles include it (Alpaca's Algo Trader Plus lists the OPRA feed)³; data-only vendors price it as a separate product. Confirm the entitlement, not just the endpoint.

Record-keeping. German record-keeping duties under § 83 WpHG are addressed to Wertpapierdienstleistungsunternehmen, that is, investment-services firms⁴. A private individual trading their own account is not one, so the statute does not itself impose a five-year archive on a hobby algo. Keeping order and decision logs is still good engineering, and if you manage money for others the obligations change completely; take advice for that case.

These lines vary too much by situation to quote a single figure, so this page does not estimate them.

Is the free tier viable from the EU?

For end-of-day research, yes. Alpaca's free Basic plan streams IEX data only, a single exchange rather than the consolidated tape, with SIP history limited to data older than 15 minutes³. Tiingo's free Starter covers 30+ years of end-of-day equities and news within 500 unique symbols a month⁵. Neither covers options, so the free route only works for an equities-only, daily-bar strategy.

What changes for crypto or futures?

Crypto exchanges publish their own REST and WebSocket market data, so a crypto-only stack has no third-party equity-data subscription at all; the cost collapses to exchange fees and storage. A futures stack re-ranks the engine (needs_futures=true): Massive's separate Futures ladder runs $0 to $199/month for CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX¹, and Databento covers more venues on metered or flat plans.

Failure modes

Quoting the subscription as the full cost when your setup triggers professional classification or a separate options entitlement.
Buying a non-professional tier for a company account. Read the eligibility line before subscribing.
Assuming statutory record-keeping applies (or does not) without checking who it addresses. § 83 WpHG targets investment firms.
Treating crypto data costs as comparable to US equities. They are structurally different.

Choosing a Broker API 2026: the five retail broker APIs on the production-bite axes.
Broker APIs Compared 2026: the AI-agent lens: brokers ranked on MCP coverage and order idempotency.
Market Data APIs Compared 2026: the vendor-side comparison this sits on.
BaFin + EU Guide for Retail AI Traders: the regulatory overlay.

Connects to

Data Vendor TCO: re-rank on your own spec.
Alpaca vs Tradier: Options + MCP Coverage: the options-first broker head-to-head.
Polygon.io Pricing 2026: every Massive tier.

References

Massive (formerly Polygon.io). "Pricing" (Stocks and Options Advanced $199/month each, $1,920/year billed annually, non-professional only; Futures ladder). Read 2026-10-11. https://massive.com/pricing ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Massive. "Business Pricing" (Stocks Business $2,499/month). Read 2026-10-11. https://massive.com/business ↩
Alpaca. "About Market Data API" (Basic: IEX feed, SIP history older than 15 minutes, indicative options feed; Algo Trader Plus $99/month: all US exchanges and the OPRA feed). Read 2026-10-11. https://docs.alpaca.markets/us/docs/about-market-data-api ↩ ↩²
Bundesministerium der Justiz. "§ 83 WpHG: Aufzeichnungs- und Aufbewahrungspflicht" (duties addressed to Wertpapierdienstleistungsunternehmen; five-year retention for recordings under paragraphs 3 and 6). Read 2026-10-11. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wphg/__83.html ↩
Tiingo. "Pricing" (Starter free: 500 unique symbols/month, 50 requests/hour, 1,000/day; 30+ years of end-of-day history). Read 2026-10-11. https://www.tiingo.com/about/pricing ↩

Verified engine output

Show the recompute-verified inputs and outputs

Medium universe, minute resolution, 5-year history; live + options, no futures

Inputs
needs_live	true
needs_options	true
needs_futures	false

Result
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

Is Alpaca the cheapest data option for an EU retail options trader?: For live US equities plus options at minute resolution, yes in the Data Vendor TCO engine: Alpaca Algo Trader Plus at $99/month ($1,188/year) is the only retail tier that meets the options requirement. A data-only alternative, Massive Stocks Advanced plus Options Advanced, costs $398/month (re-checked 2026-10-11).
Do I need professional market-data rates as a German retail trader?: Usually not while you trade a personal account and are not acting for a firm. Vendors enforce the distinction in their eligibility rules; Massive's Advanced tiers, for example, are sold to non-professional individuals only. Trading through a company or for others changes the classification, so check the subscriber agreement first.
Does § 83 WpHG record-keeping apply to a private algo trader?: § 83 WpHG is addressed to Wertpapierdienstleistungsunternehmen (investment-services firms), so it does not by itself bind a private individual trading their own account. If you manage money for others or operate through a licensed entity, the obligations differ and you should take advice.