# Alpha Vantage vs Financial Datasets

> Financial Datasets scores 61.8 (C) to Alpha Vantage's 41.5 (E) for market prices. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-financial-datasets
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-financial-datasets.md (~4,750 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-04

Financial Datasets scores 61.8 (C) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.5 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance & community. Both do market prices. Financial Datasets accepts x402. Alpha Vantage doesn't.

- Alpha Vantage: grade E, 41.5/100, rank #1190 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/alpha-vantage.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/alpha-vantage.json
- Financial Datasets: grade C, 61.8/100, rank #534 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/financial-datasets.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/financial-datasets.json
- Best financial market data APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/market-data/index.md
- All 55 markets comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/market-data/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Alpha Vantage (E)

Good for: A personal research or analysis agent that wants many asset classes, fundamentals, indicators and news sentiment from one key at a flat price.

Ahead on:
- Maintenance & community, 63 against 56

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: The REST key is documented only as `apikey=` in the query string, with no scopes and no self-service rotation found

### Financial Datasets (C)

Good for: An agent doing US company research from SEC-sourced statements, filings, insider and institutional data that wants to pay per call with no account, or a small team on credits.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 43 against 30
- Schema & documentation, 80 against 46
- Agent ergonomics, 73 against 54
- Security & auth, 49 against 32
- Payments & pricing, 75 against 30
- Transparency & trust, 63 against 50

Also in its favour:
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account

Watch for: No status page, incident history or published uptime; the Professional plan's SLA terms aren't public


## Why the edge

### Payments & pricing: Financial Datasets +45

- Alpha Vantage (30): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Five monthly plans are public with prices, sold by requests a minute and not by call (10). A free key gives 25 requests a day with no card (20). The key comes from a browser form that asks for a name and an email address, and no key API was found (0). Total 30.
- Financial Datasets (75): x402 on the vendor's own endpoints for every documented GET data endpoint, 36 of them, with the last 365 days only and a Non-Professional licence; full history, the market snapshot, filing items and the POST endpoints need a key (35 of 40). Plan prices and overage rates are public, and each x402 endpoint quotes its price in the 402 header, $0.02 on /earnings (20). No free tier or trial found; data calls return 402 until an account holds credits, from $20 (0). An agent can pay by x402 with no account, or open an account with `POST /agent/signup` and have the owner fund it (20). Total 75.

### Schema & documentation: Financial Datasets +34

- Alpha Vantage (46): The surface graded is the REST API, with the official MCP server noted. No OpenAPI document was found for the API. The MCP server's tools carry typed inputs generated from Python signatures (10 of 25). `/llms.txt` returns 404, and the only Markdown is the MCP README (3 of 10). Each function has a purpose statement, a parameter list and a premium marker, with little on when not to use it (13 of 20). Required and optional parameters are marked and allowed values listed in prose, while MCP inputs such as `interval` are plain strings with no enums (8 of 15). Every function has demo URLs and code in four languages, but no error responses are documented (8 of 15). The API has no version and no changelog. The MCP repository's changelog stops at 0.3.2 on 27 February 2026 with later changes under Unreleased (4 of 15). Total 46.
- Financial Datasets (80): OpenAPI 3.0.1 at financialdatasets.ai/openapi.json, 68 operations with 13 response codes and one security scheme, named the source of truth by the docs (25). llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every page (10). Every operation has a description, and the 402 terms carry a resource description that says when an agent should use the endpoint (17 of 20). 330 parameters, 36 with enums, 32 required, no free-form blobs (12 of 15). Code samples in Python, JavaScript and curl, x402 error values documented, but response examples on only six operations in the spec (11 of 15). No API version and no changelog; the news page has four dated posts in 2026 (5 of 15). Total 80.

### Agent ergonomics: Financial Datasets +19

- Alpha Vantage (54): `outputsize=compact` returns the latest 100 points, `datatype=csv` shortens long series, and the MCP server previews anything over 32,000 tokens with a link to the full data. No field selection (15 of 25). `limit` and time filters on news and a `month` parameter for intraday history, with no pagination elsewhere (10 of 20). Errors and limit notices arrive as HTTP 200 with free text under `Error Message` or `Information`, undocumented (5 of 20). Every call is a GET read, and all MCP tools carry readOnlyHint true and destructiveHint false (16 of 20). Few required parameters and sensible defaults. No official SDK, only a Python CLI and community libraries (8 of 15). Total 54.
- Financial Datasets (73): `limit` and `period` on the data endpoints, `as_reported` flags and snapshot variants, with no field selection (15 of 25). `next_page_url` cursors and ticker, CIK, market and date filters (18 of 20). A 402 body says what to do next, x402 errors carry named values, and the spec lists 400, 401, 403, 404, 409, 422, 429, 502 and 503 (16 of 20). Data calls are GETs, payment settles only after a successful response, and a replayed x402 signature is refused; no readOnlyHint found for the MCP tools and no idempotency key for the POST endpoints (14 of 20). Few required parameters, 28 compact MCP tools, but the only package, financial-datasets on PyPI, is at 0.1.18 from 26 May 2024 (10 of 15). Total 73.

### Security & auth: Financial Datasets +17

- Alpha Vantage (32): One key per account with no scopes, documented only as `apikey=` in the query string, and replaced by emailing support. The hosted MCP server adds OAuth 2 with PKCE, dynamic client registration and one read scope (20 less 10 for the query string, so 10). Every function is read-only (15 of 20). News, sentiment and earnings transcripts are third-party text, and no guidance on treating them as untrusted was found (5 of 15). No usage log or per-call record for the key holder was found (0 of 15). security.txt returns 404, and no disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found. A report of keys in plain-text logs, GitHub issue 13, was closed within three days in April 2026 (2 of 20). The server source still writes the key and tool arguments into its own analytics records. Total 32.
- Financial Datasets (49): A plain account key in the `X-API-KEY` header only, revoked from the dashboard, with no scopes, rotation or expiry; the MCP server adds OAuth 2 with PKCE (plain and S256), dynamic client registration, a revocation endpoint and one scope (20 of 30). Every data endpoint is a read; the x402 route and agent signup don't change the account beyond funding it (15 of 20). Filing text, filing items and news are third-party content, with no guidance on treating them as untrusted (5 of 15). The privacy policy says requests and responses are logged for up to three years; no per-call log is shown to the key holder (5 of 15). security.txt returns 404 and no bounty, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 was found; the terms ask for prompt notice of a compromised key and a subprocessor list is published (4 of 20). Total 49.

### Reliability: Financial Datasets +13

- Alpha Vantage (30): Graded as a hosted service. No status page was found. The site links none and status.alphavantage.co has no valid certificate (0). With no page there is no incident history to read (5). Limits are published with numbers, 25 requests a day on a free key and 75 to 1,200 a minute on premium plans (15). No 429, Retry-After or backoff guidance was found, and in our test calls a missing key and an unknown function both returned HTTP 200 with a text field (0). No SLA was found, and the terms supply the service as is (0). The REST API is generally available (10). Total 30.
- Financial Datasets (43): Graded as a hosted service. No status page was found; status.financialdatasets.ai does not resolve and no page links one (0), so there is no incident history to read (5). The only published limit is 10,000 requests a minute per wallet over x402, with monthly request caps per plan and none per minute for keyed plans (8 of 15). The OpenAPI file declares 429 and the x402 page documents a 503 with Retry-After from the facilitator and a `duplicate_payment` check on replayed signatures (10 of 15). The Professional plan lists uptime SLAs, with no figure published (10). The API is generally available (10). Total 43.

### Transparency & trust: Financial Datasets +13

- Alpha Vantage (50): A closed service under short terms that are clear on scope, personal and non-commercial by default, with the MCP server under MIT (15 of 30). The privacy policy of 25 August 2025 describes the website, keeps personal data 'only for as long as is necessary' with no periods, and no DPA was found. It does not describe the request analytics visible in the MCP server source (8 of 30). No deprecation policy. The MCP README marks the key-in-URL connection deprecated with no date, and the changelog flags breaking changes (3 of 20). Google Analytics, Mixpanel, GitHub, GitLab, PayPal or Braintree and Stripe are named, and data is processed in the United States (10 of 20). Total 36.
- Financial Datasets (63): A closed service under terms dated 29 October 2026 that name Financial Datasets, Inc., set New York law, and state the licence per plan (15 of 30). The privacy policy of 20 August 2026 gives retention periods (accounts up to seven years after closure, API and MCP logs up to three years, backups 90 days), says inputs aren't used for training, and links a subprocessor list; no DPA text was found (24 of 30). No deprecation policy; the terms say the Services may be discontinued and material changes get reasonable notice (3 of 20). Subprocessors (AWS, Heroku, Stripe, Google sign-in, Vercel) and the United States as hosting location are disclosed (18 of 20). Total 60.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Alpha Vantage | Financial Datasets | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 30 | 43 | Financial Datasets +13 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 46 | 80 | Financial Datasets +34 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 54 | 73 | Financial Datasets +19 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 32 | 49 | Financial Datasets +17 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 75 | Financial Datasets +45 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 56 | Alpha Vantage +7 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 50 | 63 | Financial Datasets +13 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **41.5 · E** | **61.8 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Alpha Vantage | Financial Datasets |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Alpha Vantage Inc. | Financial Datasets, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://www.alphavantage.co/query` | `https://api.financialdatasets.ai` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | yes, from $0.02/call |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Alpha Vantage's Terms of Service. The MCP server, CLI and shared client in alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp are MIT | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 28 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-10-03 | 2026-10-26 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-10-29 |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-08-20 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 217 stars, 172 PyPI/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### Alpha Vantage

- +0.2 on 27 October 2026: checklist

### Financial Datasets

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**Alpha Vantage.** One GET endpoint covers about 130 documented functions, with a free key at 25 requests a day and an official MCP server whose tools are all marked read-only. The REST key travels only in the query string, errors come back as HTTP 200 with a text message, and no status page, SLA or OpenAPI document was found.

**Financial Datasets.** Every documented GET data endpoint takes x402 with no key, failed calls uncharged, and an agent can open and fund an account by API. A public OpenAPI file, llms.txt and a 28-tool OAuth MCP server cover the same data. There is no status page or free tier, keyed rate limits aren't published, and x402 data stops at 365 days.

## Before you call either

### Alpha Vantage

1. Check every 200 response for `Error Message`, `Information` or `Note` keys before parsing data. The API does not signal failures or limits by status code
2. Budget 25 requests a day on a free key. Real-time, 15-minute delayed and intraday US data, index data and several indicators need a premium plan
3. Keep `outputsize=compact` unless full history is needed, and ask for `datatype=csv` on long series to cut tokens
4. Use the hosted MCP server with OAuth at `https://mcp.alphavantage.co/mcp`. The `?apikey=` MCP URL is marked deprecated
5. Confirm the owner's use is personal and non-commercial, or that a commercial agreement exists, before acting for a business

### Financial Datasets

1. Without a key, read the price from the PAYMENT-REQUIRED header of the 402 and pay with x402 on Base; each page of `next_page_url` is a separate paid request
2. Keep `limit` small and ask for one `period` at a time; premium endpoints count as 2, 4 or 8 requests on keyed plans
3. Send the key only to api.financialdatasets.ai in the `X-API-KEY` header; on 401 ask the owner for a new key rather than signing up again
4. Treat a 402 on a keyed account as an empty balance and mint a checkout link for the owner; don't retry the call
5. Check the plan's licence before showing the data to anyone else; redistribution needs Professional or Enterprise

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Alpha Vantage or Financial Datasets?

Financial Datasets scores 61.8 (C) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.5 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance & community.

### Do Alpha Vantage and Financial Datasets need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in. An agent can also pay Financial Datasets per call over x402, with no account.

### Can an agent call Alpha Vantage and Financial Datasets without installing anything?

Yes. Alpha Vantage has a hosted endpoint at https://www.alphavantage.co/query and Financial Datasets at https://api.financialdatasets.ai.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-financial-datasets.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-financial-datasets.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "alpha-vantage", "b": "financial-datasets"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare alpha-vantage financial-datasets`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/alpha-vantage.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/financial-datasets.json

## Other comparisons with Alpha Vantage or Financial Datasets

- [Alpha Vantage vs Benzinga](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-benzinga.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs Databento](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-databento.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs EODHD](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-eodhd.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs Financial Modeling Prep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-financial-modeling-prep.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs Finnhub](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-finnhub.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs Intrinio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-intrinio.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-massive.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs Tiingo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-tiingo.md)
- [Alpha Vantage vs Twelve Data](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-twelve-data.md)
- [Databento vs Financial Datasets](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/databento-vs-financial-datasets.md)
- [Financial Datasets vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/financial-datasets-vs-massive.md)
- [Financial Datasets vs Financial Modeling Prep](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/financial-datasets-vs-financial-modeling-prep.md)
- [Financial Datasets vs Finnhub](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/financial-datasets-vs-finnhub.md)
- [Financial Datasets vs Intrinio](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/financial-datasets-vs-intrinio.md)
- [Financial Datasets vs Tiingo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/financial-datasets-vs-tiingo.md)
- [Financial Datasets vs Twelve Data](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/financial-datasets-vs-twelve-data.md)
- [EODHD vs Financial Datasets](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eodhd-vs-financial-datasets.md)
- [Benzinga vs Financial Datasets](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/benzinga-vs-financial-datasets.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp