The short answer
Financial Modeling Prep and Alpha Vantage are budget data APIs with different free tiers: Alpha Vantage is capped at 25 requests/day with rate-tiered premium plans ($49.99 to $249.99/month), while FMP allows 250 requests/day and leans fundamentals-first (verified 2026-05-25). FMP wins on free-tier volume and fundamentals depth; Alpha Vantage wins on transparent, rate-tiered pricing.
Financial Modeling Prep and Alpha Vantage are two budget financial-data APIs with very different free tiers and posture: Alpha Vantage's free key is hard-capped at 25 requests/day (5 requests/minute) and its premium plans are priced by per-minute rate ($49.99/month for 75/min up to $249.99/month for 1,200/min), while Financial Modeling Prep's free tier allows 250 requests/day and it leans fundamentals-first (statements, filings, transcripts), both verified 2026-05-25. Alpha Vantage's premium pricing is fully published and rate-tiered; FMP's exact plan prices are not consistently shown across public sources, so this page quotes only what FMP documents directly. FMP wins on free-tier volume and fundamentals depth; Alpha Vantage wins on transparent, rate-tiered premium plans. Model the cost for your universe in the Data Vendor TCO.
TL;DR
| Dimension | Financial Modeling Prep | Alpha Vantage |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 250 requests/day | 25 requests/day, 5/min |
| Premium pricing model | per-plan (prices vary by source) | per-minute rate tiers |
| Cheapest published premium | not consistently documented publicly | $49.99/mo (75 requests/minute) |
| Top published premium | not consistently documented publicly | $249.99/mo (1,200 requests/minute) |
| Data emphasis | fundamentals (statements, filings, transcripts) | prices, indicators, FX, fundamentals |
| Free-tier daily volume | higher (250/day) | lower (25/day) |
Alpha Vantage figures verified 2026-05-25 against its premium pricing page. FMP's free-tier daily limit is documented; its exact premium prices are not consistently shown on accessible public sources, so they are not quoted here.
The free tier is the clearest difference
Alpha Vantage's free key is tightly capped: 25 API requests per day and 5 requests per minute, with the daily cap removed only on premium (verified 2026-05-25). That is enough to evaluate the API or run a tiny daily job, not to power an active research loop.
Financial Modeling Prep's free tier allows 250 requests per day, an order of magnitude more daily volume than Alpha Vantage's free key (verified 2026-05-25). For a low-volume agent or a daily batch over a modest universe, FMP's free tier goes much further before you hit a wall.
Premium pricing: transparent vs varies-by-source
Alpha Vantage publishes a clean rate-tiered premium ladder (verified 2026-05-25): $49.99/month for 75 requests/minute, $99.99/month for 150/minute, $149.99/month for 300/minute, $199.99/month for 600/minute, and $249.99/month for 1,200/minute, all with no daily limit. You pay for per-minute throughput, and the tiers are listed plainly.
Financial Modeling Prep's exact premium plan prices are not consistently documented across accessible public sources, so this page does not quote a specific FMP premium price. FMP organizes paid plans around data depth and coverage (US-only versus global, history length, intraday, transcripts, bulk delivery) rather than a single rate number. Confirm current FMP plan prices on its official pricing page before budgeting.
Data emphasis: fundamentals vs broad indicators
Financial Modeling Prep leans fundamentals-first: financial statements, filings, earnings-call transcripts, and corporate calendars are core, with price data a secondary offer (verified 2026-05-25). If your agent reasons over fundamentals and filings, FMP's coverage depth is the draw.
Alpha Vantage spans prices, a large technical-indicator library, FX and crypto, and some fundamentals, with the free key's 25/day cap being the practical constraint rather than coverage. For indicator-heavy or FX work on a published rate budget, Alpha Vantage's tiers fit cleanly.
How to choose
- Want the larger free daily allowance: FMP (250/day vs 25/day).
- Fundamentals, filings, transcripts depth: FMP (fundamentals-first).
- Want transparent, rate-tiered premium pricing: Alpha Vantage ($49.99-$249.99/mo by per-minute rate).
- Indicator-heavy or FX work on a known rate budget: Alpha Vantage premium.
- Evaluating before paying: FMP's 250/day free tier tests more than Alpha Vantage's 25/day.
The decision reduces to "do I need fundamentals depth and free-tier headroom (FMP) or transparent rate-tiered premium pricing for price and indicator data (Alpha Vantage)." Verify FMP's current plan prices directly, since they are not consistently shown on public sources.
Connects to
- Alpha Vantage vs Twelve Data 2026: Alpha Vantage against another budget API.
- Cheapest Stock Market Data API 2026: the budget-data field.
- Tiingo vs Polygon vs Finnhub 2026: the budget-data three-way.
- Data Vendor TCO: model the effective annual cost for your universe.
Verified figures
Alpha Vantage's free-tier limits (25 requests/day, 5/minute) and premium ladder ($49.99/mo 75/min, $99.99/mo 150/min, $149.99/mo 300/min, $199.99/mo 600/min, $249.99/mo 1,200/min, no daily limit) were verified on its premium pricing page on 2026-05-25. FMP's 250-requests/day free tier and fundamentals-first posture were verified the same day; FMP's exact premium plan prices are not consistently shown on accessible public sources and are therefore not quoted, rather than estimated.
References
- Alpha Vantage. "Premium API Key." verified 2026-05-25 (free 25 requests/day, 5/min; premium $49.99/mo 75/min, $99.99/mo 150/min, $149.99/mo 300/min, $199.99/mo 600/min, $249.99/mo 1,200/min, no daily limit). https://www.alphavantage.co/premium/
- Financial Modeling Prep. "Pricing Plans / FAQs." verified 2026-05-25 (free tier 250 requests/day; fundamentals-first coverage; exact premium plan prices not consistently shown on accessible public sources). https://site.financialmodelingprep.com/pricing-plans
Frequently asked questions
- Financial Modeling Prep vs Alpha Vantage: which has the better free tier?
- FMP for daily volume: its free tier allows 250 requests/day versus Alpha Vantage's 25 requests/day (5/minute). FMP's free tier tests far more before hitting a limit (verified 2026-05-25).
- What does Alpha Vantage premium cost?
- Alpha Vantage publishes rate-tiered premium plans: $49.99/month for 75 requests/minute, $99.99/month for 150/minute, $149.99/month for 300/minute, $199.99/month for 600/minute, and $249.99/month for 1,200/minute, all with no daily limit (verified 2026-05-25).
- What does Financial Modeling Prep premium cost?
- FMP's exact premium plan prices are not consistently documented across accessible public sources, so they are not quoted here. FMP organizes paid plans by data depth and coverage rather than a single rate number; confirm current prices on its official pricing page (verified 2026-05-25).
- Which is better for fundamentals data, FMP or Alpha Vantage?
- FMP. It leans fundamentals-first with financial statements, filings, earnings-call transcripts, and corporate calendars as core offerings; price data is a secondary offer. Alpha Vantage covers fundamentals too but is constrained on the free key by its 25/day cap (verified 2026-05-25).