Alpha Vantage is a popular stock, forex, crypto and technical-indicator data API with a genuinely usable free tier — which is why it's a go-to for finance side-projects, dashboards and backtests. Pricing is a flat monthly subscription by rate limit, not per call. Here's the cost, the free tier, and how to get a key.
| Plan | Price | Rate limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free free tier | $0 | ~25 requests / day, 5 / min |
| Premium 75 | ~$49.99 / mo | 75 requests / min |
| Premium 150 | ~$99.99 / mo | 150 requests / min |
| Premium 600+ | ~$249.99+ / mo | 600–1,200 / min |
The free key gives around 25 requests per day at 5 requests per minute, across stocks, FX, crypto, fundamentals and 50+ technical indicators — no credit card. That's tight for production but perfectly fine for a personal dashboard, a daily cron, or backtesting where you cache the data. The daily cap is the binding limit for most free users, so design around batching and caching rather than live polling.
1. Go to alphavantage.co/support/#api-key.
2. Enter your email and a short description of what you're building.
3. A free API key is issued instantly on the page — no email confirmation step.
4. Append it as the apikey query parameter on every request.
Fetch a daily stock time series:
Finnhub has a generous free tier (60 calls/min) and is strong for real-time quotes and company news. Polygon.io is the choice for high-frequency, tick-level and options data, but priced higher. Twelve Data sits in between with a friendly free tier. For crypto prices specifically, CoinGecko is usually cheaper and simpler. Alpha Vantage wins on breadth (stocks + FX + crypto + indicators) and the instant free key.
Yes — ~25 requests/day at 5/min, no credit card, covering stocks, FX, crypto and technical indicators. Good for dashboards and backtests with caching.
Visit alphavantage.co/support/#api-key, enter your email and a use description, and a free key is issued instantly. Pass it as the apikey query parameter.
Finnhub's free per-minute limit (60/min) is higher for live quotes; Alpha Vantage offers broader data types (indicators, fundamentals, FX) on free. Pick by what data you need and your call pattern.
By a flat monthly subscription based on requests-per-minute throughput — not per API call. Once on a plan you can make unlimited calls within the rate limit.
Not affiliated with Alpha Vantage. Prices are reference estimates — always verify on the official pricing page.