Comparator
Data-Vendor TCO Calculator
Compare Databento vs Polygon vs Alpaca vs Tiingo vs FMP vs Alpha Vantage annual cost. Configure universe, bars, history, real-time. Browser-only. Free.
Transparent by design — computed in your browser from a published formula and sourced rates, not a black box. Data verified May 25, 2026. Sources: Databento pricing ↗ · Polygon.io pricing ↗ · Alpaca data plans ↗ · Tiingo pricing ↗ · FMP pricing ↗ · Alpha Vantage premium ↗ Full methodology →
- Inputs
- Scenario form
- Runtime
- Instant
- Privacy
- Client-side · no upload
- API key
- Not required
- Methodology
- Open →
1 · Describe your data needs
Cheapest qualifying vendor
$0/mo
Alpaca Markets
Free (IEX feed) · $0/yr · vs $79 for Financial Modeling Prep (next-cheapest qualifying)
Up to $2,388/yr saved vs the most expensive qualifying vendor (Polygon.io (Massive)).
2 · Ranked vendors
Based on list pricing as of methodology. No affiliate tags, no sponsored rows.
| Vendor | Recommended tier | Monthly | Annual | Live | Opts | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaca Markets ↗best Broker-bundled market data. Generous free tier via IEX feed; SIP feed requires paid plan. | Free (IEX feed)
| $0 | $0 | ✓ | — | yes |
| Financial Modeling Prep ↗ Fundamentals-heavy. Earnings, filings, transcripts. Price data is a secondary offer. | Ultimate
| $79 | $948 | ✓ | — | yes |
| Databento ↗ Per-unit metered pricing. Strong for institutional-quality tick + L2 data. No subscriptions on base offer. | Databento metered (typical retail)
| $125 | $1,500 | ✓ | — | yes |
| Polygon.io (Massive) ↗ Flat-rate subscription. Real-time + historical for US equities, with a separate Futures product line. Popular retail default. | Stocks Advanced
| $199 | $2,388 | ✓ | — | yes |
| Tiingo ↗ Strong fundamentals + EOD pricing at low cost. Limited intraday. Favorite for long-horizon research. | Tiingo Starter
| $10 | $120 | ✗ | — | no |
| Alpha Vantage ↗ Budget tier with broad coverage. Rate limits tight. Workable for low-frequency research. | Premium 75
| $50 | $600 | ✗ | — | no |
How this ranking works
Each vendor is scored by picking its cheapest tier that satisfies every requirement in your scenario. Tiers that don't meet the requested bar resolution, real-time need, or asset class (options / futures) are skipped. If no tier qualifies, the vendor is shown dimmed with "Fits: no."
Metered vendors like Databento don't have a flat subscription — the displayed monthly is a modeled estimate based on your universe size and resolution. See the methodology page for the exact multipliers and primary-source citations.
Pricing last checked 2026-04-20. Vendor rates drift; always verify on the vendor's pricing page before committing.
How to use
Step-by-step
- 1
Enter your universe size (number of symbols), bar resolution (tick / 1m / daily), history depth (years), and whether you need real-time updates.
- 2
The tool computes per-vendor cost: tier-priced vendors (Polygon, Alpaca, Tiingo, FMP, Alpha Vantage) auto-select cheapest qualifying tier; Databento computes from per-symbol-per-day metering.
- 3
Read the rank-ordered comparison. Lowest cost isn't always the right answer — check coverage gaps in the methodology table.
- 4
Re-run with different universe sizes to find the breakpoint where vendors switch positions. Polygon and Databento often switch ranks at ~50-200 symbols.
- 5
Check the asOfDate. Pricing tables refresh monthly — for current invoice cost, verify against the vendor's pricing page directly.
For agents
Use in an agent
Same math, same result shape as the UI above — as a static ES module. No HTTP request, no auth, no rate limit.
import { compute } from "https://aifinhub.io/engines/data-vendor-tco.js";Contract: /contracts/data-vendor-tco.json Full agent guide →
Glossary references
Terms used by this tool
Questions people ask next
FAQ
How are the tier prices kept current?
Each vendor's pricing page is checked manually on the last business day of every month. The asOfDate field on the methodology page reflects the most recent verification. If a vendor changes pricing mid-month, the tool may lag by up to four weeks.
Why does Databento show metered pricing instead of a tier?
Databento sells per-symbol-per-day historical data and per-message live data. There's no flat tier; the tool computes total cost from your specific universe size, history depth, and resolution. Other vendors (Polygon, Alpaca, Tiingo, FMP, Alpha Vantage) sell flat tiers, so the tool selects the cheapest tier that satisfies your needs.
What's not included in TCO?
Storage costs (your S3 or local disk), bandwidth costs (data egress), redistribution fees (only relevant if you offer the data to clients), and corporate-actions fees (some vendors charge separately). The tool computes vendor invoice cost only.
Why is Polygon ranked above Databento for some workloads?
Polygon's flat tiers can be cheaper than Databento's metered pricing for users who need many symbols across many days. Databento wins on selective, deep-history workflows. The tool reorders rankings per workload — there's no universal 'best vendor'.
Does the tool include free-tier vendors?
Alpha Vantage's free tier (5 calls/min, 500/day) is included for completeness, but the tool will warn that free-tier rate limits typically can't sustain a serious research workflow. Yahoo Finance is excluded entirely — its TOS prohibits commercial automated use, and its data quality has degraded since 2017.
Related deep dive
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