Polygon.io is a professional-grade market-data API for stocks, options, indices, forex and crypto, prized for tick-level and real-time data. Pricing is a flat monthly subscription per asset class by data latency and depth, not per call. Here's the cost, the free tier, and how to get a key.
| Plan | Price | Scope (per asset class) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic free tier | $0 | 5 calls / min, end-of-day & 15-min delayed |
| Starter | ~$29 / mo | unlimited calls, 15-min delayed, 5 yrs history |
| Developer | ~$79 / mo | real-time, more history, tick data |
| Advanced | ~$199 / mo | full real-time, websockets, deepest history |
The free Basic plan gives 5 API calls per minute with end-of-day and 15-minute-delayed data — no credit card. That's deliberately tight: it's enough to build and test against the API and pull historical bars, but not for live trading or anything needing real-time prices. The free tier is best treated as a development sandbox; you upgrade the moment you need real-time quotes or more than a handful of calls a minute.
1. Sign up at polygon.io with your email.
2. Open the dashboard — an API key is generated automatically.
3. The free Basic plan is active with no credit card.
4. Pass the key as the apiKey query parameter or an Authorization: Bearer header.
Fetch a daily aggregate bar for a stock:
Finnhub has a far more generous free tier (60 calls/min, real-time US quotes) and is cheaper for live dashboards — but less depth on options and tick data. Alpha Vantage is the simplest free option for indicators and FX. Choose Polygon.io when you specifically need real-time, tick-level or options data and can justify a per-asset-class subscription; for personal projects and delayed data, Finnhub or Alpha Vantage are usually the better value.
Yes — the Basic plan: 5 calls/min with end-of-day and 15-minute-delayed data, no credit card. It's a development sandbox; real-time needs a paid plan.
Sign up at polygon.io and a key is generated on your dashboard immediately. Pass it as the apiKey query parameter or an Authorization: Bearer header.
Finnhub is cheaper with a far higher free limit for real-time quotes; Polygon.io has deeper tick-level and options data. Pick Polygon for serious quant/options work, Finnhub for affordable live quotes and news.
A flat monthly subscription per asset class (stocks, options, forex/crypto separately) based on latency, history depth and websocket access — not per call. Multi-asset apps pay for each class.
Not affiliated with Polygon.io. Prices are reference estimates — always verify on the official pricing page.