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.
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 and FMP show up at $120 to $168 but with 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
Try These Tools
Run the numbers next
Broker API Comparator
Alpaca vs IBKR vs Tradier vs Schwab vs Robinhood — compare auth, rate limits, order types, market data, MCP, and fees before wiring a line of code.
Execution Simulator
Model realistic order fills — square-root market impact, linear temporary impact, latency jitter, partial fills, and queue position. See the real cost.
Sources & References
- Databento Pricing — Databento (2026)
- Polygon.io Pricing — Polygon.io (2026)
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