# Finnhub vs Alpha Vantage: Which Wins? (2026) > Finnhub vs Alpha Vantage compares websocket streaming and bulk history against global symbols and technical indicators, priced from each provider's pages. Source: https://www.marketdata.app/alternatives/finnhub-vs-alpha-vantage/ --- (image: Wooden blocks lettered S&P 500, each on a taller stack of coins than the last, against a black background.) - [Alternatives](/alternatives/) # Finnhub vs Alpha Vantage: Streaming Data vs Global Breadth Finnhub vs Alpha Vantage compares websocket streaming and bulk history against global symbols and technical indicators, priced from each provider's pages. - [Max Nowak](/about/), Operations Manager - Last updated September 26, 2026 Finnhub vs Alpha Vantage sets a websocket-streaming API with zero options data against a REST-only API with a thin one. Finnhub wins for real-time SIP streaming and historical bulk data back to 1994; Alpha Vantage wins for a documented free tier, global symbols, and built-in technical indicators. ## Finnhub vs Alpha Vantage: the feature comparison Finnhub streams real-time US SIP data over a websocket and keeps bulk historical files back to 1994, with an official SDK in six languages and its own hosted MCP server. It has no options endpoint at all. Zero of its 116 documented API paths return an option chain, and a 2022 feature request for one is still open. Alpha Vantage covers options through a REALTIME\_OPTIONS endpoint with an optional greeks parameter, plus over 100,000 global symbols; Alpha Vantage technical indicators number more than 50 and ship built into the API, though it has no websocket delivery at any price. | Feature | Finnhub | Alpha Vantage | Market Data | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Real-time US stocks | Real-time via websocket (US SIP) 1 | Real-time on paid plans (gated) 2 | SmartMid (API); IEX quote (Sheets) | | WebSocket streaming | Yes (trades, news, press releases) 3 | No 4 | No 5 | | US options | No options endpoint 6 | Basic, real-time endpoint exists 4 | Excellent, real-time OPRA (Trader+) | | Fundamentals | Excellent, as-reported financials 3 | Good, full financial statements 4 | Earnings only, no financials | | AI agents and MCP | Yes, MCP server + AI copilot 3 | Yes, official hosted MCP server 7 | No | | Free tier | Undocumented; ~60 calls/min (3rd-party) 8 | 25 req/day, EOD only, no real-time 9 | 100 credits/day, 1yr history, delayed | | Cheapest paid plan | $49.99/mo (marketdata-basic) 10 | $41.58/mo (Premium 1, annual) 9 | $12/mo (Starter, annual) | | Cost of real-time stocks + options | Not offered 1 | $166.58/mo (annual) 4 | $30/mo (annual) 11 | | Trustpilot | Not published | 2.4 of 5 (11 reviews) 12 | 4.5 of 5 (110 reviews) 13 | Sources for this table, checked 2026-09-26 1. [finnhub.io/static/swagger.json](https://finnhub.io/static/swagger.json) 2. [alphavantage.co/realtime\_data\_policy/](https://www.alphavantage.co/realtime_data_policy/) 3. [finnhub.io/docs/api](https://finnhub.io/docs/api) 4. [alphavantage.co/documentation/](https://www.alphavantage.co/documentation/) 5. [marketdata.app/llms.txt](/llms.txt) 6. [github.com/finnhubio/Finnhub-API/issues/477](https://github.com/finnhubio/Finnhub-API/issues/477) 7. [github.com/alphavantage/alpha\_vantage\_mcp](https://github.com/alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp) 8. [apicostcalc.com/finnhub.html](https://apicostcalc.com/finnhub.html) 9. [alphavantage.co/premium/](https://www.alphavantage.co/premium/) 10. [finnhub.io/pricing](https://finnhub.io/pricing) 11. [marketdata.app/docs/account/plan-limits/index.md](/docs/account/plan-limits/index.md) 12. [trustpilot.com/review/alphavantage.co](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/alphavantage.co) 13. [trustpilot.com/review/www.marketdata.app](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.marketdata.app) ## What does Finnhub’s free tier actually include? Finnhub’s own pricing page states no free-tier number at all, only a blanket 30-calls-per-second ceiling across every plan. Third parties describe roughly 60 calls a minute for personal, non-commercial use, but the two independent estimates disagree on where the first paid tier starts. Alpha Vantage’s free tier is documented plainly: 25 requests a day, no real-time data. **Finnhub** 5.3/10 Bulk history back to 1994 and a US SIP websocket, with no published free-tier limit. Real-time stock prices ×2 5/10 Historical depth ×1.5 8/10 Breadth ×1 7/10 Price for value ×2 4/10 Developer experience ×1.5 8/10 Reliability and reputation ×1.5 1/10 Strengths - Bulk data back to 1994 - Real-time via websocket (US SIP) - 6 official SDK languages Weaknesses - No free-tier limit published on its own pricing page - 1.5/5 on SourceForge and Slashdot Finnhub is the deepest historical and streaming choice here: bulk downloads back to 1994, real-time trades over websocket, and an official SDK in six languages including Go and Kotlin. Finnhub pricing is modular and sold per data category rather than one ladder, and its cheapest published SKU is [$49.99 a month on Finnhub’s pricing page](https://finnhub.io/pricing) for basic market data, though the feature list behind that price isn’t published either. Reviews are thin and rough. Both SourceForge and Slashdot rate it 1.5 out of 5, two reviews each, dated 2026, and both cite delayed feeds and a websocket news feed that runs old items rather than real-time ones. **Alpha Vantage** 5.2/10 20+ years of history and global symbols, but real-time is gated and unconfirmed in feed basis. Real-time stock prices ×2 4/10 Historical depth ×1.5 8/10 Breadth ×1 6/10 Price for value ×2 5/10 Developer experience ×1.5 6/10 Reliability and reputation ×1.5 3/10 Strengths - 100,000+ international symbols - 20+ years of history claimed - 50+ built-in technical indicators Weaknesses - Free tier capped at 25 requests/day - No websocket delivery - Trustpilot 2.4/5 (11 reviews) Alpha Vantage’s free tier caps requests at 25 a day with no real-time data, and paid access starts at [$49.99 a month on Alpha Vantage’s pricing page](https://www.alphavantage.co/premium/), $41.58 billed annually. What it adds over Finnhub is reach: 100,000-plus global symbols, full income-statement and balance-sheet fundamentals, and a hosted MCP server for AI agents. Its Trustpilot rating is 2.4 out of 5 on 11 reviews, with complaints about stale “real-time” data and slow support. ## Why do we refer commercial use of Finnhub and Alpha Vantage to a partner? We stopped selling to business customers ourselves in February 2025, when IEX ended free redistribution of real-time stock prices for business use. From then on, every business plan carried exchange fees per customer and compliance work our small team could not carry. So we refer commercial buyers to our partner Intrinio. Between 1 and 25 September 2026 we sent it 22 commercial enquiries, about one a day. The test we apply is display: if other people see the prices, or scores built from them, the use is commercial. ## Is there a way to test our real-time options first? Not on our trial. In September 2026 a prospect asked whether he could try real-time options on the 30-day trial before paying $75 for a month. Real-time options need the OPRA entitlement, and only a paid Trader plan can sign it, so trial options data is at least a day old. What covers that test instead is our refund: a full refund within 14 days of purchase. Even after paying, two steps come before real-time options switch on, the OPRA subscriber agreement and a self-certification of non-professional status, usually approved within a business day. ## Should you choose Finnhub or Alpha Vantage? Choose Finnhub for websocket streaming, deep historical bulk files, or a broad alternative-data catalog like transcripts and congressional trading. Choose Alpha Vantage for international symbols, technical indicators, or an options endpoint, thin as it is. Neither is close on chain depth. Market Data covers neither job as broadly: we are US stocks and options only, with no websocket streaming, no MCP server, no bulk-file downloads, and no alternative-data catalog, and commercial plans begin at $333 per month through our partner Intrinio rather than a self-serve checkout. Where we do lead both is options depth: real-time OPRA chains with greeks on every quote, though the 30-day trial never includes real-time options. Our [options data API](/data/options/) page lines up what a chain costs. Both providers also sit in our ranking of [financial data providers](/alternatives/financial-data-providers/), and the [best stock API](/alternatives/best-stock-api/) comparison scores all of them, Finnhub and Alpha Vantage included, on the same six criteria.