Is the Poloniex API free?

Yes — the Poloniex API itself is free. You only pay trading fees on orders it places, and read-only market-data endpoints cost nothing.

How do I get a Poloniex API key?

Log in to Poloniex, open the API management section in account settings, create a key with the permissions you need, copy the secret once, and restrict it to your server IP.

Poloniex API — how to get keys, cost & fees

✓ Last verified: 2026-07-15· Source: official provider pricing page· Auto-monitored — report change →

Poloniex is a long-established exchange with a spot and futures API over REST and WebSocket, covering a wide range of altcoin pairs.

What the API does & cost

Use	Cost
Market data	Free
Spot taker	~0.2% (tiered)
Futures taker	~0.0375%
API access	Free

⚠️ The Poloniex API is free to use — you only pay trading fees on the trades it places. Fees, tiers and limits change; confirm on the official Poloniex docs. Read-only market-data endpoints cost nothing. · Report outdated price →

Poloniex has been through several ownership changes — pin to the current official API docs, as older third-party wrappers often point at deprecated endpoints.

How to get your Poloniex API keys

Security — read this

Never share your secret — it's shown once and can't be recovered (regenerate if leaked). For data-only bots enable read-only. Always whitelist your server IP, and never enable withdrawals on an API key unless you truly need it.

Alternatives

Gate and KuCoin cover similar altcoin breadth. Compare the big three first: Binance, Bybit, OKX. For pure price data, CoinGecko is simpler.

← All crypto exchange APIs · trade safely — size positions with RektCalc.

Not affiliated with Poloniex. Prices are reference estimates — verify on the official site.