Alpha Vantage VS Marketstack

Head-to-head market data API comparison.
UPDATED 2026-05-27 · 7 axes scored

WINNER · MARKETSTACK · 2/7 AXES

Quick Decision

▶ PICK ALPHA VANTAGE IF DATA-API

Beginners
Homework / hobby projects
Technical indicator data
Fundamentals screening

▶ PICK MARKETSTACK IF DATA-API

Web app developers
Simple stock charts
Basic portfolio apps
Budget-conscious indie devs

Side-by-Side Matrix

METRIC	ALPHA VANTAGE	MARKETSTACK
API Quality	3/5	3/5
Doc Quality	3/5	4/5
Data Latency	minute	minute
SDK Languages	5 languages	1 languages
Free Tier	Yes	Yes
Affiliate Program	No	Yes
Asset Coverage Breadth	5 classes	6 classes
Asset Coverage	█████░░░ US Equities · Global Equities · Forex · Crypto · Commodities	██████░░ US Equities · Global Equities · ETFs · Global Indices · Bonds · Commodities
Historical Depth	20+ years (daily); intraday 1-2 months on free	30+ years (annual EOD); intraday on Professional+
Starting Price	$0/mo	$0/mo
Rate Limits	Free: 25/day; paid plans from 75/min up to 1200/min	Free: 100/mo; Basic: 10k/mo; Pro: 100k/mo; Business: 500k/mo

Asset Class Coverage

Where the two providers overlap and where each has unique coverage.

ASSET CLASS	ALPHA VANTAGE	MARKETSTACK
Bonds	—	✓ Covered
Commodities	✓ Covered	✓ Covered
Crypto	✓ Covered	—
ETFs	—	✓ Covered
Forex	✓ Covered	—
Global Equities	✓ Covered	✓ Covered
Global Indices	—	✓ Covered
US Equities	✓ Covered	✓ Covered
TOTAL CLASSES	5	6

Only Alpha Vantage

Forex · Crypto

Only Marketstack

ETFs · Global Indices · Bonds

Shared · 3

US Equities · Global Equities · Commodities

Pricing Tier Map

Full tier ladder side-by-side · names and prices as published by each provider · 6 vs 5 tiers.

ALPHA VANTAGE · 6 TIERS FREE TIER

01

Free $0/mo

25 req/day, no real-time

02

75 req/min $49.99/mo

75 requests/min, no daily limits

03

150 req/min $99.99/mo

150 requests/min, no daily limits

04

300 req/min $149.99/mo

300 requests/min, no daily limits

05

600 req/min $199.99/mo

600 requests/min, no daily limits

06

1200 req/min $249.99/mo

1200 requests/min, no daily limits

▲ Free Tier · Free: 25 API requests/day, no real-time

MARKETSTACK · 5 TIERS FREE TIER

01

Free $0/mo

100 req/mo, EOD only, 1-year history

02

Basic $9.99/mo

10,000 req/mo, intraday access, all asset types

03

Professional $49.99/mo

100,000 req/mo, real-time updates (sub-15min), commodities

04

Business $149.99/mo

500,000 req/mo, priority support

05

Enterprise Custom

Higher limits + SLA

▲ Free Tier · 100 requests/mo, EOD only, 1-year history

Technical Stack Fit

SDK languages and data formats determine integration cost for your existing codebase.

DIMENSION	ALPHA VANTAGE	MARKETSTACK
API Types	REST	REST
SDK Languages	Python · JavaScript · Java · PHP · C#	REST-only (community Python wrappers exist)
Data Formats	JSON · CSV	JSON
Rate Limits	Free: 25/day; paid plans from 75/min up to 1200/min	Free: 100/mo; Basic: 10k/mo; Pro: 100k/mo; Business: 500k/mo
Latency Class	minute	minute