A crypto API sells live and historical prices for coins such as bitcoin and ether, not the US stocks and options we sell. Market Data does not sell crypto data at all: our API and Sheets add-on cover only US stocks and options, plus ETFs and mutual funds. We ranked 11 crypto APIs that do sell it, and Twelve Data ranks first, on 1,900+ pairs streamed over a websocket.
Crypto is marked Coming Soon in our own site navigation, as are forex and futures. We have told prospects “US markets only” every year from 2022 to 2026, including prospects writing from the UK, Poland, Hungary and Saudi Arabia. If you also need US stocks or options, our stock API and options API are worth a look; for coins, use one of the 11 below.
How did we rank the crypto APIs?
We scored each provider from 0 to 10 on five criteria. Crypto coverage and real-time delivery each count double. History and cost each count one and a half, and developer experience counts once. A 10 is the best offering among these providers, checked against each one’s own pricing page on 26 September 2026.
Which crypto API ranks best?
| Rank | Provider | Score | Best for | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twelve Data | 7.7 | 1,900+ crypto pairs with websocket streaming | $66/mo |
| 2 | Alpaca | 6.8 | Free real-time and historical crypto data | $99/mo |
| 3 | Tiingo | 6.3 | Crypto across 160+ venues at a flat price | $25/mo |
| 4 | EODHD | 6.1 | Cheap delayed crypto alongside global EOD data | $16.58/mo |
| 4 | Financial Modeling Prep | 6.1 | 4,500+ cryptos with fundamentals in one API | $22/mo |
| 6 | Finnhub | 5.7 | Crypto via websocket with 6 SDK languages | $49.99/mo |
| 7 | Alpha Vantage | 5.3 | Crypto alongside 100,000+ global symbols | $41.58/mo |
| 8 | Massive | 4.9 | Crypto bundled with stocks, options, and forex | $23.20/mo |
| 9 | Yahoo Finance | 4.7 | Free crypto quotes, no signup, unofficial | $9.95/mo |
| 10 | Barchart | 3.8 | Sales-assisted spot crypto alongside futures | $8.25/mo |
| 10 | Unusual Whales | 3.8 | Crypto whale and flow tracking | $42/mo |
The six highest-ranked providers, side by side:
| Feature | Twelve Data | Alpaca | Tiingo | EODHD | Financial Modeling Prep | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forex | Excellent, 1,300+ pairs 1 | Basic, rates only | Good, 140+ pairs since 2020 2 | Good, 1,100+ pairs 3 | 1,500+ pairs, websocket top tier 4 | Good; premium + websocket 5 |
| Crypto | Excellent, 1,900+ pairs 1 | Good, real-time + historical | Good, 160+ venues 6 | Good 3 | 4,500+ cryptos, websocket top tier 4 | Good; websocket + premium history 5 |
| Futures | No | No | No | No | Basic, ~40 commodities, not futures | No 5 |
| WebSocket streaming | Yes, wss stream 1 | Yes, both tiers 7 | Yes, multiple feeds 8 | Yes, ALL-IN-ONE+ only 9 | Yes, top tier only, 1 connection 4 | Yes (trades, news, press releases) 10 |
| Official SDKs | Python, Node.js, Go, Java, R, CLI 11 | Python, JS, Go, C#, Java 12 | None official; community only 13 | Python, Node.js, R, PHP, C#, Java, MATLAB 14 | Community only (Py, JS, Go, PHP, C#) 15 | Python, Go, JS, Ruby, Kotlin, PHP 10 |
| Free tier | 800 req/day, trial symbols only 16 | Yes, IEX equities + indicative options 7 | 1,000 req/day, DOW 30 fundamentals 17 | 20 calls/day, 1yr history 9 | 250 calls/day, EOD only 18 | Undocumented; ~60 calls/min (3rd-party) 19 |
| Cheapest paid plan | $66/mo (Grow, annual) 16 | $99/mo (Algo Trader Plus) 7 | $25/mo (Power, annual) 17 | $16.58/mo (EOD, annual) 9 | $22/mo (Starter, annual) 18 | $49.99/mo (marketdata-basic) 20 |
Sources for this table, checked 2026-09-26
- twelvedata.com/
- tiingo.com/
- eodhd.com/lp/historical-eod-api
- site.financialmodelingprep.com/developer/docs/forex-websocket
- finnhub.io/static/swagger.json
- tiingo.com/documentation/general/changelog
- alpaca.markets/data
- tiingo.com/documentation/
- eodhd.com/pricing
- finnhub.io/docs/api
- twelvedata.com/docs
- github.com/alpacahq
- tiingo.com/documentation/appendix/integrations
- eodhd.com/financial-apis/quick-start-with-our-financial-data-apis
- github.com/FinancialModelingPrepAPI/Financial-Modeling-Prep-API
- twelvedata.com/pricing
- tiingo.com/about/pricing
- site.financialmodelingprep.com/developer/docs/pricing
- apicostcalc.com/finnhub.html
- finnhub.io/pricing
Twelve Data
7.7/10 1,900+ crypto pairs stream over websocket, but real access starts at the $66/mo Grow plan since the free tier is trial symbols only.
- Crypto coverage ×2
- 10/10
- Real-time ×2
- 8/10
- History ×1.5
- 7/10
- Cost ×1.5
- 4/10
- Developer experience ×1
- 9/10
Strengths
- 1,900+ crypto pairs
- WebSocket streaming plus a documented MCP server
Weaknesses
- Free tier restricted to trial symbols only
- Entry paid tier is $66-79/month
Twelve Data streams 1,900+ crypto pairs over a websocket, more symbols than any other provider we scored. Real access starts on the $66-a-month Grow plan, billed annually, because the free tier is limited to trial symbols rather than the full crypto catalogue.
Alpaca
6.8/10 Real-time and historical crypto ship free on the Basic plan, and historical crypto data needs no API key at all.
- Crypto coverage ×2
- 4/10
- Real-time ×2
- 9/10
- History ×1.5
- 3/10
- Cost ×1.5
- 10/10
- Developer experience ×1
- 9/10
Strengths
- Real-time crypto bars/quotes/trades/orderbook on the free Basic plan
- Historical crypto data needs no API key
Weaknesses
- Only 20+ crypto assets across 56 trading pairs
- A 2023 GitHub bug report described a 7-hour gap in hourly BTC/USD bar data
Alpaca ships real-time and historical crypto quotes free on its Basic plan, and historical crypto needs no API key at all. Alpaca is a brokerage first, and its market data page sells no Google Sheets or Excel add-on.
Tiingo
6.3/10 160+ crypto venues stream over websocket on the same $25/mo Power plan that covers everything else Tiingo sells.
- Crypto coverage ×2
- 6/10
- Real-time ×2
- 7/10
- History ×1.5
- 7/10
- Cost ×1.5
- 6/10
- Developer experience ×1
- 5/10
Strengths
- 160+ crypto venues
- WebSocket delivery on multiple feeds
Weaknesses
- No official SDK, community-maintained only
- No Trustpilot page found for independent reputation
Tiingo streams 160+ crypto venues over websocket. It is the same $25-a-month Power plan, billed annually, that Tiingo sells for stocks and forex. Among providers with real venue breadth, it is the cheapest real-time crypto feed we found.
EODHD
6.1/10 Crypto is 1-minute-delayed from $29.99/mo, with true real-time websocket crypto gated to the $99.99/mo ALL-IN-ONE plan.
- Crypto coverage ×2
- 6/10
- Real-time ×2
- 6/10
- History ×1.5
- 6/10
- Cost ×1.5
- 5/10
- Developer experience ×1
- 8/10
Strengths
- 1-minute-delayed forex/crypto from the $29.99/mo Extended tier
- Official SDKs in 7 languages plus a 72-tool MCP server
Weaknesses
- Real-time websocket crypto needs the top $99.99/mo plan
- No dedicated crypto pair count published
EODHD prices crypto from every coin’s own trading start, one-minute delayed from $29.99 a month. True real-time crypto over websocket is gated to the $99.99-a-month ALL-IN-ONE plan, the only self-serve tier where EODHD turns on streaming at all.
Financial Modeling Prep
6.1/10 4,500+ cryptocurrencies come with a documented websocket feed, but that streaming is reserved for the top tier.
- Crypto coverage ×2
- 8/10
- Real-time ×2
- 6/10
- History ×1.5
- 5/10
- Cost ×1.5
- 5/10
- Developer experience ×1
- 6/10
Strengths
- 4,500+ cryptocurrencies claimed
- Crypto websocket feed documented alongside forex and stocks
Weaknesses
- Websocket streaming is top-tier only
- No official SDK, community-maintained wrappers only
FMP lists more than 4,500 cryptocurrencies with a documented websocket feed, the broadest symbol count here by a wide margin. That streaming needs FMP’s own top-tier plan, a signed declaration form and 1-connection team approval, so the breadth and the real-time access are not the same purchase.
Finnhub
5.7/10 Crypto reaches websocket delivery and premium history, but Finnhub's own pricing page names no crypto-specific price.
- Crypto coverage ×2
- 6/10
- Real-time ×2
- 6/10
- History ×1.5
- 5/10
- Cost ×1.5
- 4/10
- Developer experience ×1
- 8/10
Strengths
- Crypto available via websocket plus premium history
- 6 official SDK languages (Python, Go, JS, Ruby, Kotlin, PHP)
Weaknesses
- No free-tier limit published on finnhub.io/pricing itself
- 1.5/5 rating on SourceForge and Slashdot
Finnhub reaches crypto over websocket with premium historical candles, but Finnhub’s own pricing page names no crypto-specific price; its published SKUs start at $49.99 a month for a different data market entirely.
Alpha Vantage, Massive, Yahoo Finance, Barchart and Unusual Whales round out the ranking. Alpha Vantage’s crypto endpoints exist but need the $41.58-a-month Premium plan; Massive bundles roughly 600 pairs into the same Currencies subscription as forex; Yahoo Finance’s free quote pages carry no confirmed delay figure or history; and Barchart and Unusual Whales both treat crypto as a secondary feature behind futures and options flow.
Is there a free crypto price api?
Alpaca is the one clean case: real-time and historical crypto ship free on its Basic plan, no card required for the historical side. Twelve Data and most others put real crypto symbols behind a paid tier, keeping only trial data free.
Which cryptocurrency api is cheapest for real-time streaming?
Tiingo’s $25-a-month Power plan, billed annually, is the cheapest paid real-time crypto feed with real venue breadth. Alpaca’s real-time crypto is free, but it covers far fewer pairs, and it has no Sheets or Excel delivery.
What stops some developers from using our API for any asset class?
The exchanges treat a data product as controlled when the vendor can show that one customer device at a time reads the data and none of it is passed on. That status is what keeps our real-time prices low, so each account accepts one IP address and no serverless functions.
The rule has a cost, and we have watched it. In September 2026 a customer calling our API from Google Apps Script, whose outbound IP addresses rotate, hit the limit. We explained why and pointed him to our Sheets add-on, which refreshes safely. Thirty-three minutes later he wrote that Massive allowed his setup, and asked us to cancel.
How do we handle commercial requests for the data we do sell?
We refer you to our partner Intrinio. We made that change in February 2025, after IEX ended free redistribution of real-time stock prices for business use, because exchange compliance for business customers was more than our small team could handle.
The volume is steady: from 1 to 25 September 2026 we passed on 22 commercial enquiries. Each one described a product that would show prices, or something built from them, to other people.
Where does Market Data fit if you trade crypto and US options?
Nowhere, for the crypto leg. Our Starter plan, $12 a month billed annually, gets you real-time US stocks, but never a coin. The ranking of financial data providers compares all of these companies across every asset class, and our own best stock API ranking is the place to look once coins aren’t the whole job.