Worked examples, in AI in Markets
Market Data Vendor TCO: Worked Examples
There is no single cheapest data vendor, only a cheapest vendor for a specific profile. These scenarios fix a universe size, a data resolution, and whether a live feed is required, then rank the vendors that meet all three by annual cost. Metered vendors like Databento swing the most because their cost scales with universe and resolution. The profiles below are chosen to put different vendors at the top, which is the point.
3 examples. Published May 26, 2026. Updated Jul 12, 2026. By AI Fin Hub Research.
Worked examples
See the inputs and outcome together
Each scenario keeps the starting point, the outcome, and the actual lesson in one place so the page reads like a decision notebook, not a data dump.
- 1
Small universe, minute bars, no live feed
A part-time researcher backtesting a handful of names on minute bars, with no need for a real-time feed. The lightest possible profile.
Alpaca free IEX feed $0/year, then Databento metered $300, Polygon Starter $348.
Universe
Small
Resolution
Minute
Needs live feed
No
Needs options
No
The bundled free tier wins outright at zero cost because a small minute-bar backtest does not need a paid feed. Below a real-time requirement, a broker-bundled feed almost always beats a standalone data vendor.
- 2
Medium universe, tick data, live feed
A serious intraday strategy needing real-time tick data across a medium universe. This is where metered pricing starts to bite.
Alpaca SIP feed $1,188/year, Polygon Advanced $2,388, Databento metered $6,000.
Universe
Medium
Resolution
Tick
Needs live feed
Yes
Needs options
No
Databento jumps to $6,000 because its metered cost scales with both a bigger universe and tick resolution, while Polygon and Alpaca stay flat-rate. When you go to tick data on many names, flat-rate subscriptions overtake pay-as-you-go.
- 3
Small universe, minute bars, live plus options
A small live-trading account that also needs options chains. The options requirement filters out most cheap tiers.
Only Alpaca Algo Trader Plus at $1,188/year meets all requirements; cheaper tiers fail the options filter.
Universe
Small
Resolution
Minute
Needs live feed
Yes
Needs options
Yes
Tiingo shows up at $0 and FMP at $264, but both carry a meets-all flag of false because they do not carry the live options feed. The ranking is worthless until you read the requirements flag: a cheaper headline price that fails your filter is not an option at all.
Patterns
Run the numbers next
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Questions people ask next
What is the cheapest market data API?
There is no single cheapest market-data vendor, only the cheapest one for a specific profile. For a small minute-bar backtest with no live feed, Alpaca's free IEX feed wins at $0/year. But as you add a real-time feed, a larger universe or tick resolution, the winner flips: for medium-universe tick data with a live feed, Alpaca's SIP feed at $1,188/year beats Polygon and Databento.
Polygon vs Databento vs Alpaca: which is cheapest for market data?
It depends on your profile. For a small minute-bar profile with no live feed, Alpaca's free IEX feed is $0 while Databento metered is $300 and Polygon Starter $348. For medium-universe tick data with a live feed, Alpaca SIP is $1,188, Polygon Advanced $2,388, and Databento jumps to $6,000 because its metered cost scales with both universe and resolution.
Why does metered market-data pricing get so expensive?
Metered vendors like Databento charge based on usage, so their cost scales with both universe size and data resolution. They win on the lightest profiles but lose big as you add names and granularity: Databento is $300 for a small minute-bar backtest but jumps to $6,000 for medium-universe tick data, while flat-rate subscriptions from Polygon and Alpaca stay fixed and overtake pay-as-you-go.
Why does a cheaper data vendor sometimes not count as an option?
Because a headline price is worthless if the vendor cannot meet your requirements. The tool filters out tiers that fail your resolution, live-feed, options or futures needs and flags whether each vendor meets all of them. In the options example Tiingo shows up at $0 and FMP at $264 but with a meets-all flag of false because they lack the live options feed, so the only valid choice is Alpaca Algo Trader Plus at $1,188.
Sources
- Databento Pricing , Databento (2026)
- Massive (formerly Polygon.io) Pricing , Massive (2026)
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