Polygon.io

Full-tick US equities, options and forex from a direct exchange feed.

Visit Polygon.io
From
$29/mo
Free tier
Yes
Latency
Realtime
Non-US markets
No
Not tested yet — this card is compiled from the vendor’s documentation and pricing page, not from using the product.

What it is

Polygon.io is a market data API for people writing code: REST endpoints for aggregates, trades and quotes, a WebSocket for streaming, and flat-file downloads for anyone who would rather pull a year of ticks into a bucket than paginate through it. Coverage is US-only — equities, options, indices, forex and crypto — priced per asset class, so an options subscription does not come with equities attached.

The distinguishing fact is the source: Polygon takes exchange feeds directly rather than reselling somebody else's aggregation. That is what makes full tick history available at all, and it is the reason the price per asset class is what it is.

Pricing

Four tiers per asset class. Basic is free and end-of-day. Starter, at $29/month, is where real-time and unlimited request rates begin; Developer and Advanced widen the history window and add flat-file access rather than adding endpoints.

Budget by asset class, not by tier name: stocks and options are separate subscriptions.

Data & coverage

US markets only. If you need European or Asian listings, this is the wrong provider and no tier fixes it — see the market data category for ones that cover them.

Limitations

  • No non-US coverage at any price.
  • Redistribution needs a separate agreement, which catches people building consumer products.
  • Fundamentals are thin compared with providers that specialise in them.

Alternatives

Within the same category: providers that cover non-US markets, and cheaper aggregators for anyone who does not need tick data.

Start at Polygon.io or compare it against the rest of the market data APIs.

Specifications

History depth
Up to 20 years of trades and quotes on Advanced; 2 years on Starter
Delivery
REST, Websocket, Flat files
Data source
Direct exchange
Free tier limits
5 requests/min, end-of-day data only, no WebSocket
Paid rate limits
Unlimited requests from Starter upwards
Entry paid tier, $/mo
$29
Entry tier name
Stocks Starter
Official SDKs
Python, Javascript, Go, Php, Kotlin
Redistribution
Paid addon
Bulk / flat-file download
Yes
Key without a card
Yes

Capabilities

  • Charting
  • Screening
  • Scanning
  • Backtesting
  • Automation
  • Live trading
  • Paper trading
  • Portfolio tracking
  • Broker import
  • Tax reporting
  • Alerts
  • News
  • Options analysis
Interfaces:
API, Python
Export:
CSV, JSON
Asset classes:
Stocks, ETF, Options, Forex, Crypto, Indices
Markets:
US
Platforms:
Web, Library
AI features:
None

FAQ

Does Polygon.io have a free tier?

Yes. The Basic plan costs nothing and returns end-of-day data at five requests per minute, with no WebSocket access. It is enough to prototype against the response shapes, not enough to build on.

Can I redistribute Polygon.io data in my own product?

Not on a standard subscription. Redistribution is a separate commercial agreement — check before you design a product that shows the data to your own users.

Is Polygon.io real-time or delayed?

Real-time on the paid equity and options plans, sourced from the exchange feeds directly rather than through a reseller. The free plan is end-of-day only.