Best Financial Data APIs for Developers in 2026
In January 2026, our research team analyzed 28 financial data APIs serving developers, fintech startups, and trading platforms. We evaluated solutions based on pricing accessibility, developer experience, and real-time data availability.
Our analysis focused on APIs that balance affordability with production-ready features, assessing each provider using the following weighted factors:
| Rank | Provider | Pricing | Global Coverage | Historical Range | AI Integration | Developer Experience | Real-Time Access | Specialty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lambda Finance | $0–$19/mo | 10,000+ tickers | Real-time + historic | Native Claude MCP | 5 min setup | Free tier included | AI-first API with MCP server |
| 2 | Financial Modeling Prep | $0–$99/mo | 70,000+ securities | 30+ years | Standard REST | Comprehensive docs | Real-time on $49+ plans | Institutional-grade fundamentals |
| 3 | Twelve Data | $0–$832/mo | 80,000+ symbols | 30+ years | Standard REST + WebSocket | SDKs + live examples | Real-time + intraday | Low-latency streaming |
| 4 | EODHD | $0–$99/mo | 150,000+ tickers | 30+ years | Standard REST | Simple JSON API | Delayed free, real-time $29+ | Affordable historical data |
| 5 | Tiingo | $0–$30/mo | 40,000+ symbols | 15+ years | Standard REST | Clean API design | IEX intraday | Point-in-time fundamentals |
| 6 | Marketstack | $0–$9.99/mo | 30,000+ tickers | 15+ years | Standard REST | 5-minute integration | Real-time on paid | Simple REST for beginners |
We rank-ordered the providers using this algorithm and present the top six options below. The table shows our top performers, followed by detailed reviews of each API.
Top Financial Data APIs for Developers in 2026
| Rank | Provider | Pricing | API Rate Limits | Global Coverage | Historical Range | AI Integration | Developer Experience | Real-Time Access | Specialty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lambda Finance | $0–$19/mo | 50–100 req/min | 10,000+ tickers | Real-time + historic | Claude MCP native | 5 min setup | Free tier included | AI-first API with MCP server |
| 2 | Financial Modeling Prep | $0–$99/mo | 250–3,000 req/min | 70,000+ securities | 30+ years | Standard REST | Comprehensive docs | Real-time on $49+ plans | Institutional-grade fundamentals |
| 3 | Twelve Data | $0–$832/mo | 8–10,946 req/min | 80,000+ symbols | 30+ years | Standard REST | WebSocket + SDKs | Real-time + intraday | Developer-friendly pricing tiers |
| 4 | EODHD | $0–$99/mo | 100K req/day | 150,000+ tickers | 30+ years | Standard REST | Simple JSON API | Delayed on free, real-time $29+ | Affordable historical data |
| 5 | Tiingo | $0–$30/mo | Unlimited on paid | 40,000+ symbols | 15+ years | Standard REST | Clean API design | IEX intraday | Academic-friendly pricing |
| 6 | Marketstack | $0–$9.99/mo | 100–unlimited/mo | 30,000+ tickers | 15+ years | Standard REST | 5-minute integration | Real-time on paid | Simple REST for beginners |
Company Reviews
1. Lambda Finance, for AI-Powered Financial Analysis
Lambda Finance stands apart as the only financial API built natively for AI assistants like Claude. Their MCP (Model Context Protocol) server connects directly to Claude Desktop, enabling natural-language queries like “Analyze TSLA fundamentals” or “Show me tech stocks with unusual volume” without writing code.
For developers building AI-powered fintech apps, Lambda offers 10 specialized tools covering real-time quotes, earnings transcripts, financial statements, news feeds, and stock screening—all accessible through simple API calls or conversational AI prompts.
The free tier provides 50 requests per month with full access to all 10 tools, making it ideal for prototyping. The Pro plan scales to 100 requests per minute and 1,000 daily requests for $19/month, with priority support and commercial-use rights. Setup takes under 5 minutes, and responses are clean JSON designed for LLM consumption.
- Location: Remote
- Year Founded: 2024
- Price Range: $0–$19/month
- API Rate Limits: 50 requests/month (Free), 100 req/min (Pro)
- Data Coverage: Real-time stock data, fundamentals, earnings transcripts, news
- Specialty: First Claude MCP-native financial API
Summary of Online Reviews: Early adopters praise Lambda’s “seamless Claude integration” and “intuitive API design.” Some users want expanded international exchange coverage beyond major US markets.
2. Financial Modeling Prep (FMP), for Institutional-Grade Fundamentals
Financial Modeling Prep delivers deep fundamental data with 100+ endpoints covering financial statements, ratios, DCF valuations, earnings call transcripts, insider transactions, and SEC filings. Its key strength is breadth and depth: 30+ years of history, quarterly and annual breakdowns, and as-reported GAAP data alongside standardized metrics.
Pricing starts with a free tier offering 250 calls per day for end-of-day data. Starter ($19/month) adds 300 calls per minute and 5 years of historical data, Premium ($49/month) unlocks intraday charts and technical indicators, and Ultimate ($99/month) includes global markets, transcripts, filings, and 1-minute intraday data.
- Location: Remote
- Year Founded: 2017
- Price Range: $0–$99/month
- API Rate Limits: 250/day (Free), 300–3,000 req/min (Paid)
- Data Coverage: 70,000+ securities, global exchanges, 30+ years historical
- Specialty: Institutional-grade fundamentals
Summary of Online Reviews: Users highlight “unmatched fundamental depth” and “reliable uptime.” Some note real-time data requires higher-tier plans.
3. Twelve Data, for WebSocket Streaming
Twelve Data focuses on low-latency streaming via WebSocket connections, supporting stocks, forex, and crypto with broad global coverage. It also includes technical indicators, fundamentals, and market movers (gainers, losers, most active).
Plans scale from a free tier (8 API + 8 trial WebSocket credits per minute, 800 calls/day) to Pro ($191/month annual billing) and Ultra ($832/month) for expanded datasets. Twelve Data offers SDKs across many languages and spreadsheet add-ons.
- Location: Remote
- Year Founded: 2018
- Price Range: $0–$832/month
- API Rate Limits: 8 req/min (Free), 1,597–10,946 req/min (Paid)
- Data Coverage: 80,000+ symbols, 84 exchanges, 30+ years historical
- Specialty: WebSocket streaming with ~170ms latency
Summary of Online Reviews: Developers appreciate the “developer-first design” and transparent credit model. Some mention fundamentals require higher-tier plans.
4. EODHD (EOD Historical Data), for Affordable Historical Access
EODHD specializes in long-range historical end-of-day data at budget-friendly prices, covering a wide range of global assets. It includes fundamentals, indicators, screening, dividends/splits, and options data, with simple REST endpoints returning JSON/CSV.
Pricing starts with a free plan (20 calls/day, past-year data). Paid plans include a historical package ($19.99/month) and an All-In-One tier ($99.99/month) that adds real-time feeds, intraday, fundamentals, and news.
- Location: Remote
- Year Founded: 2018
- Price Range: $0–$99.99/month
- API Rate Limits: 20/day (Free), 100,000/day (Paid), 1,000 req/min
- Data Coverage: 150,000+ tickers, 40+ exchanges, 30+ years historical
- Specialty: Affordable long-range historical data
Summary of Online Reviews: Users praise value and responsiveness of support. Some note real-time requires higher tiers.
5. Tiingo, for Clean Academic-Friendly Pricing
Tiingo is favored by quant and academic users for clean, well-structured historical data, careful corporate action handling, and point-in-time fundamentals that support accurate backtesting. It also offers IEX intraday data, crypto, and a curated news feed.
Pricing is simple: Free (personal use with limits), Power ($30/month or $300/year) with unlimited requests for individuals, and Commercial ($50/month or $499/year) for business use.
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Year Founded: 2014
- Price Range: $0–$30/month (individuals), $50/month (commercial)
- API Rate Limits: Limited (Free), Unlimited (Paid)
- Data Coverage: 40,000+ symbols, IEX intraday, crypto, news
- Specialty: Point-in-time fundamentals for backtesting
Summary of Online Reviews: Analysts highlight data quality and fair pricing. Some want deeper international coverage.
6. Marketstack, for Simple REST Integration
Marketstack is built for simple, fast REST integration and small projects. It provides real-time + historical stock data, ticker search, exchange details, and a large index dataset. It also offers SEC EDGAR filings access (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and more).
Pricing starts with a free plan (100 monthly requests) and paid plans beginning at $9.99/month for real-time and intraday access. Most developers can get to a first call in minutes.
- Location: Remote (APILayer)
- Year Founded: 2020
- Price Range: $0–$9.99/month (entry tier)
- API Rate Limits: 100/month (Free), unlimited on paid
- Data Coverage: 30,000+ tickers, EDGAR filings, 15+ years historical
- Specialty: Quick integration + EDGAR filings
Summary of Online Reviews: Users like the straightforward API and free tier for prototyping. Some mention limited advanced features compared to premium providers.
The Top Financial Data APIs by Specialty
We also grouped the top providers into subcategories based on developer priorities:
Top 5 APIs for AI & Modern Workflows
- Lambda Finance — Native Claude MCP integration
- Financial Modeling Prep — AI-compatible endpoints, used by Perplexity
- Twelve Data — WebSocket streaming for real-time AI apps
- EODHD — Simple JSON for LLM consumption
- Tiingo — Clean data structure for machine learning
Top 5 APIs for Budget-Conscious Developers
- Lambda Finance — $0–$19/month with free tier
- Tiingo — $0–$30/month, unlimited on paid
- Marketstack — $0–$9.99/month entry tier
- EODHD — $19.99/month for 30+ years of data
- Financial Modeling Prep — $19/month Starter plan
Top 5 APIs for Global Market Coverage
- EODHD — 150,000+ tickers, 40+ exchanges
- Twelve Data — 80,000+ symbols, 84 exchanges
- Financial Modeling Prep — 70,000+ securities, global coverage
- Tiingo — 40,000+ symbols, US + international
- Marketstack — 30,000+ tickers, global exchanges
Ready to try the best AI-first financial API?
Get your free Lambda Finance API key at lambdafin.com/financial-mcp-server and start analyzing stocks in minutes.
Questions? Contact lambdafinancecontact@gmail.com