Yes, Finnhub is free in 2026: it runs one of the more generous free tiers in financial data, widely documented at 60 API calls per minute, covering real-time US stock quotes, company news, basic fundamentals, SEC-filing access, and WebSocket streaming limited to 50 symbols. The catch is scope, not call volume: the free tier is positioned for personal/non-commercial use, and the data that costs real money (detailed financial statements, international markets, and the alternative-data feeds) sits behind paid Premium plans. For a research or learning project, the free tier is genuinely usable; for a commercial product, you upgrade. Compare it against the budget-data field with the Data Vendor TCO.

TL;DR

Question Answer
Is Finnhub free? Yes, a free tier, no card to start
Free rate limit 60 API calls/minute (widely documented)
WebSocket on free Yes, limited to 50 symbols
Free includes Real-time US quotes, company news, basic fundamentals, SEC filings
Free excludes Detailed financials, international markets, alternative data
Commercial use Free tier positioned for personal/non-commercial use
Paid entry Premium plans, public pricing starts around $11.99/mo

The honest summary: free for personal research, paid for commercial scope and depth. The verification caveats below matter because Finnhub's official pages render client-side.

What the free tier actually gives you

Finnhub's free tier is unusually generous on throughput. The widely-documented free rate limit is 60 API calls per minute, well above the typical free-API ceiling (Alpha Vantage's free tier, by contrast, is 25 calls per day). On the free plan you get real-time US stock quotes, company news, basic company fundamentals, SEC-filing access, and a WebSocket trade/quote feed limited to 50 symbols.12

For a single-user research project, a learning exercise, or prototyping a strategy on US equities, that is enough to do real work without paying. The 50-symbol WebSocket limit and the 60/min cap are the two ceilings you will hit first, and both are workable for a focused watchlist.

Verification caveat

Finnhub's pricing and documentation pages render client-side, so the exact free-tier rate limit and the precise commercial-use wording are not machine-readable from the official pages as of May 2026. The 60-calls/minute figure and the personal-use positioning are consistently reported across independent sources and Finnhub's own product descriptions, but treat the exact number and the license term as facts to confirm in your Finnhub dashboard and terms of service before you build a commercial product on the free tier.

What the free tier excludes

The free tier's limits are about data scope, not call volume:

  • Detailed financial statements. Basic fundamentals are free; full financial-statement depth is a paid endpoint.
  • International markets. Real-time international stock feeds are paid, often priced per market.
  • Alternative data. Finnhub's distinctive feeds (social sentiment, insider transactions, congressional/senate trading, earnings-call transcripts, ESG scores) are premium.

So the free tier is a complete US-equities research surface, and a teaser for the alternative-data products that are Finnhub's real differentiator.

Finnhub's paid Premium plans add international coverage, detailed financials, alternative data, unlimited-symbol WebSocket, and higher rate limits. Public pricing starts around $11.99/month and scales up with modular add-ons (e.g. per-market real-time international feeds), with enterprise plans for full-data access.1 Because the pricing page is client-side rendered, the exact current tier prices are not machine-readable from the official page as of May 2026 confirm the live tiers in the Finnhub pricing console.

Where Finnhub's free tier sits in the budget field

The engine block below runs the Data Vendor TCO on a small-universe, daily-resolution, end-of-day scenario: the budget research profile Finnhub's free tier competes in. It ranks the genuinely-free and sub-$30 options (Alpaca's free IEX feed, Tiingo, and the cheap paid entries). Finnhub's free tier is a peer to the $0 end of that ranking, with the advantage of a 60/min limit and real-time US quotes that Alpaca's free IEX feed approximates from a different angle. The output is computed live from the shipped bundle, not typed by hand.

Decision guidance

  • Personal US-equities research or learning? Finnhub free tier: 60/min and real-time US quotes are plenty.
  • Need the alternative-data feeds (sentiment, insider, congressional)? That is Finnhub's paid differentiator; upgrade to Premium.
  • Building a commercial product? The free tier's personal-use positioning means you should price a Premium plan and confirm the commercial license.
  • Comparing budget vendors head-to-head? See the standalone budget-data comparisons linked below.

Connects to

References

Footnotes

  1. Finnhub. "Pricing." finnhub.io, verified 2026-05-25 (page renders client-side; exact tier numbers not machine-readable). https://finnhub.io/pricing 2

  2. Finnhub. "API Documentation: rate limit." finnhub.io, verified 2026-05-25. https://finnhub.io/docs/api/rate-limit

Verified engine output

Show the recompute-verified inputs and outputs
Budget research profile: small universe, daily bars, EOD (the field Finnhub's free tier competes in)
Inputs
universesmall
resolutiondaily
needs_live0
history2-year
Result
scenario › universesmall
scenario › resolutiondaily
scenario › history2-year
scenario › needs livefalse
scenario › needs optionsfalse
scenario › needs futuresfalse
ranked › row 1 › vendor › idalpaca
ranked › row 1 › vendor › nameAlpaca Markets
ranked › row 1 › vendor › urlhttps://alpaca.markets
ranked › row 1 › vendor › short pitchBroker-bundled market data. Generous free tier via IEX feed; SIP feed requires paid plan.
ranked › row 1 › vendor › has overagefalse
ranked › row 1 › vendor › last checked2026-05-25
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › nameFree (IEX feed)
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly0
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes livetrue
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1IEX feed only (subset of volume)
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2Free with Alpaca brokerage account
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › nameAlgo Trader Plus (SIP feed)
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly99
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes livetrue
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes optionstrue
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 3second
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 4tick
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1Full SIP consolidated tape
ranked › row 1 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2Options chains included
ranked › row 1 › tier › nameFree (IEX feed)
ranked › row 1 › tier › monthly0
ranked › row 1 › tier › includes livetrue
ranked › row 1 › tier › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 1 › tier › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 1 › tier › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 1 › tier › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 1 › tier › notes › row 1IEX feed only (subset of volume)
ranked › row 1 › tier › notes › row 2Free with Alpaca brokerage account
ranked › row 1 › monthly0
ranked › row 1 › one time0
ranked › row 1 › annual total0
ranked › row 1 › meets resolutiontrue
ranked › row 1 › meets livetrue
ranked › row 1 › meets optionstrue
ranked › row 1 › meets futurestrue
ranked › row 1 › meets alltrue
ranked › row 2 › vendor › idtiingo
ranked › row 2 › vendor › nameTiingo
ranked › row 2 › vendor › urlhttps://www.tiingo.com
ranked › row 2 › vendor › short pitchStrong fundamentals + EOD pricing at low cost. Limited intraday. Favorite for long-horizon research.
ranked › row 2 › vendor › has overagefalse
ranked › row 2 › vendor › last checked2026-04-20
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › nameTiingo Starter
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly10
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1EOD equities
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2News API included
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — official pricing page not machine-readable
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › nameTiingo Power
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly50
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1Intraday bars
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2Crypto data
ranked › row 2 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 3Fundamentals included
ranked › row 2 › tier › nameTiingo Starter
ranked › row 2 › tier › monthly10
ranked › row 2 › tier › includes livefalse
ranked › row 2 › tier › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 2 › tier › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 2 › tier › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 1EOD equities
ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 2News API included
ranked › row 2 › tier › notes › row 3Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — official pricing page not machine-readable
ranked › row 2 › monthly10
ranked › row 2 › one time0
ranked › row 2 › annual total120
ranked › row 2 › meets resolutiontrue
ranked › row 2 › meets livetrue
ranked › row 2 › meets optionstrue
ranked › row 2 › meets futurestrue
ranked › row 2 › meets alltrue
ranked › row 3 › vendor › iddatabento
ranked › row 3 › vendor › nameDatabento
ranked › row 3 › vendor › urlhttps://databento.com
ranked › row 3 › vendor › short pitchPer-unit metered pricing. Strong for institutional-quality tick + L2 data. No subscriptions on base offer.
ranked › row 3 › vendor › has overagetrue
ranked › row 3 › vendor › last checked2026-05-25
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › nameDatabento metered (typical retail)
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly125
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes livetrue
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futurestrue
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 3second
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 4tick
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 5level2
ranked › row 3 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 1Usage-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 2Subscription 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 3Live 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 4Per-GB cost scales aggressively with universe and resolution
ranked › row 3 › tier › nameDatabento metered (typical retail)
ranked › row 3 › tier › monthly125
ranked › row 3 › tier › includes livetrue
ranked › row 3 › tier › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 3 › tier › includes futurestrue
ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 3second
ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 4tick
ranked › row 3 › tier › resolutions › row 5level2
ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 1Usage-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 2Subscription 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 3Live data + dedicated support on Plus ($1,399/mo, annual); Unlimited $3,500/mo (verified 2026-05-25)
ranked › row 3 › tier › notes › row 4Per-GB cost scales aggressively with universe and resolution
ranked › row 3 › monthly13
ranked › row 3 › one time0
ranked › row 3 › annual total150
ranked › row 3 › meets resolutiontrue
ranked › row 3 › meets livetrue
ranked › row 3 › meets optionstrue
ranked › row 3 › meets futurestrue
ranked › row 3 › meets alltrue
ranked › row 4 › vendor › idfmp
ranked › row 4 › vendor › nameFinancial Modeling Prep
ranked › row 4 › vendor › urlhttps://site.financialmodelingprep.com
ranked › row 4 › vendor › short pitchFundamentals-heavy. Earnings, filings, transcripts. Price data is a secondary offer.
ranked › row 4 › vendor › has overagefalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › last checked2026-04-20
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › nameStarter
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly14
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 15 years history
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2250 API calls/day
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 3Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — FMP list prices not consistently published
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › namePremium
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly29
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 1Full history
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2750 calls/day
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › nameUltimate
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › monthly79
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes livetrue
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 3second
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 1Real-time
ranked › row 4 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 2Unlimited calls
ranked › row 4 › tier › nameStarter
ranked › row 4 › tier › monthly14
ranked › row 4 › tier › includes livefalse
ranked › row 4 › tier › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 4 › tier › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 4 › tier › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 15 years history
ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 2250 API calls/day
ranked › row 4 › tier › notes › row 3Price unconfirmed 2026-05-25 — FMP list prices not consistently published
ranked › row 4 › monthly14
ranked › row 4 › one time0
ranked › row 4 › annual total168
ranked › row 4 › meets resolutiontrue
ranked › row 4 › meets livetrue
ranked › row 4 › meets optionstrue
ranked › row 4 › meets futurestrue
ranked › row 4 › meets alltrue
ranked › row 5 › vendor › idpolygon
ranked › row 5 › vendor › namePolygon.io
ranked › row 5 › vendor › urlhttps://polygon.io
ranked › row 5 › vendor › short pitchFlat-rate subscription. Real-time + historical for US equities. Popular retail default.
ranked › row 5 › vendor › has overagefalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › last checked2026-05-25
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › nameStocks Starter
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly29
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 115-min delayed market data
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 25 calls/min
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › nameStocks Developer
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly79
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 3second
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 115-min delayed
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2Unlimited API calls
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › nameStocks Advanced
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › monthly199
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes livetrue
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 3second
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › resolutions › row 4tick
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 1Full real-time
ranked › row 5 › vendor › tiers › row 3 › notes › row 2Unlimited API calls
ranked › row 5 › tier › nameStocks Starter
ranked › row 5 › tier › monthly29
ranked › row 5 › tier › includes livefalse
ranked › row 5 › tier › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 5 › tier › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 5 › tier › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 5 › tier › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 5 › tier › notes › row 115-min delayed market data
ranked › row 5 › tier › notes › row 25 calls/min
ranked › row 5 › monthly29
ranked › row 5 › one time0
ranked › row 5 › annual total348
ranked › row 5 › meets resolutiontrue
ranked › row 5 › meets livetrue
ranked › row 5 › meets optionstrue
ranked › row 5 › meets futurestrue
ranked › row 5 › meets alltrue
ranked › row 6 › vendor › idalpha-vantage
ranked › row 6 › vendor › nameAlpha Vantage
ranked › row 6 › vendor › urlhttps://www.alphavantage.co
ranked › row 6 › vendor › short pitchBudget tier with broad coverage. Rate limits tight. Workable for low-frequency research.
ranked › row 6 › vendor › has overagefalse
ranked › row 6 › vendor › last checked2026-05-25
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › namePremium 75
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › monthly49.99
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 175 calls/min, no daily limit
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 1 › notes › row 2Free key capped at 25 calls/day, 5/min
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › namePremium 1200
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › monthly249.99
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes livefalse
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › resolutions › row 3second
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 11,200 calls/min, no daily limit
ranked › row 6 › vendor › tiers › row 2 › notes › row 2Rate-tiered ladder: $99.99/150, $149.99/300, $199.99/600, $249.99/1200
ranked › row 6 › tier › namePremium 75
ranked › row 6 › tier › monthly49.99
ranked › row 6 › tier › includes livefalse
ranked › row 6 › tier › includes optionsfalse
ranked › row 6 › tier › includes futuresfalse
ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 1daily
ranked › row 6 › tier › resolutions › row 2minute
ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 175 calls/min, no daily limit
ranked › row 6 › tier › notes › row 2Free key capped at 25 calls/day, 5/min
ranked › row 6 › monthly50
ranked › row 6 › one time0
ranked › row 6 › annual total600
ranked › row 6 › meets resolutiontrue
ranked › row 6 › meets livetrue
ranked › row 6 › meets optionstrue
ranked › row 6 › meets futurestrue
ranked › row 6 › meets alltrue

Computed live at build time.

Frequently asked questions

Is Finnhub free in 2026?
Yes. Finnhub offers a free tier with a widely-documented 60 API calls/minute, covering real-time US stock quotes, company news, basic fundamentals, SEC filings, and a 50-symbol WebSocket feed.
What is the Finnhub free tier rate limit?
Widely reported as 60 API calls per minute. Because the official pages render client-side, confirm the exact current limit in your Finnhub dashboard before relying on it.
Can I use the Finnhub free tier commercially?
The free tier is positioned for personal/non-commercial use. For a commercial product, price a Premium plan and confirm the commercial license in Finnhub's terms of service.
What does the free tier exclude?
Detailed financial statements, international markets, unlimited-symbol WebSocket, and the alternative-data feeds (sentiment, insider transactions, congressional trading, transcripts, ESG) are paid.
How much do Finnhub paid plans cost?
Public pricing starts around $11.99/month and scales with modular add-ons; exact current tiers are not machine-readable from the official page as of May 2026 — confirm in the pricing console.