{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "alpha-vantage", "name": "Alpha Vantage", "vendor": "Alpha Vantage Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.alphavantage.co", "kind": "http-api", "category": "data-providers", "summary": "Alpha Vantage is a market data API for stocks, options, indices, forex, crypto, commodities, fundamentals, news sentiment, economic series and technical indicators. Agents call one REST endpoint with a function name, or the official MCP server at mcp.alphavantage.co.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/alpha-vantage", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/alpha-vantage.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/alpha-vantage.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/alpha-vantage.json", "repo": "https://github.com/alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp", "license": "Proprietary service under Alpha Vantage's Terms of Service. The MCP server, CLI and shared client in alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp are MIT", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://www.alphavantage.co/query", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "marketdata-mcp-server" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "marketdata-cli" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Self-serve key. A form at alphavantage.co/support/#api-key asks for a name, an organisation and an email address and returns a free key. REST calls send it as `apikey=` in the query string, the only method the documentation shows. One key per account, no scopes. To replace a key the pages tell users to email support. The hosted MCP server takes OAuth 2 (authorisation code with PKCE, dynamic client registration, one scope `alphavantage:read`), where the user enters the key on a consent page. An `?apikey=` MCP URL still works and is marked deprecated.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free key at 25 requests a day with no card, covering most functions. Premium plans are priced by requests a minute with no daily limit, $49.99 a month for 75 up to $249.99 for 1,200, or ten times the monthly price a year (https://www.alphavantage.co/premium/). Real-time and 15-minute delayed US data need a premium plan and a separate entitlement step. Commercial use is by written agreement with no public price (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$49.99 / mo", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the API documentation, the premium page or the MCP server repository (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 217, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": 172, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://www.alphavantage.co/documentation/", "registryName": "io.github.alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp", "capabilities": [ "data.markets", "market.indices", "market.news", "market.crypto", "data.company" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "api-key", "mcp", "oauth", "official", "python", "stocks", "forex", "crypto", "personal-use" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-03", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 41.3, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 799, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 8, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 54, "maintenance": 63, "payments": 30, "reliability": 30, "schema": 46, "security": 32, "transparency": 48 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "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.", "bestFor": "A personal research or analysis agent that wants many asset classes, fundamentals, indicators and news sentiment from one key at a flat price.", "strengths": [ "About 130 documented functions behind one GET endpoint, each with demo URLs and sample code in Python, NodeJS, PHP and C#", "Free key at 25 requests a day with no card, and five public monthly plans from $49.99 (75 requests a minute) to $249.99 (1,200)", "Official MIT MCP server, hosted at `mcp.alphavantage.co/mcp` with OAuth (PKCE, dynamic client registration, one `alphavantage:read` scope) and read-only hints on every tool", "`outputsize=compact` returns the latest 100 points, and the MCP server caps a response preview at 32,000 tokens by default", "The vendor says it holds a Nasdaq licence for real-time and 15-minute delayed US data, and the terms name FRED as the source of economic and commodity series" ], "weaknesses": [ "The REST key is documented only as `apikey=` in the query string, with no scopes and no self-service rotation found", "Errors and limit notices return HTTP 200 with an `Error Message` or `Information` text field. No error reference, 429 or Retry-After guidance was found", "No status page, SLA, OpenAPI document, llms.txt, API version or API changelog was found", "The terms grant personal, non-commercial use only. Use on behalf of a company needs a written agreement", "PyPI still serves `marketdata-mcp-server` 0.3.1 from 16 March 2026, and an issue open since 4 September 2026 reports that it crashes on startup" ], "agentNotes": [ "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", "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", "Keep `outputsize=compact` unless full history is needed, and ask for `datatype=csv` on long series to cut tokens", "Use the hosted MCP server with OAuth at `https://mcp.alphavantage.co/mcp`. The `?apikey=` MCP URL is marked deprecated", "Confirm the owner's use is personal and non-commercial, or that a commercial agreement exists, before acting for a business" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 41.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 54, "maintenance": 63, "payments": 30, "reliability": 30, "schema": 46, "security": 32, "transparency": 36 }, "provenanceScore": 59, "dataQualityScore": 82 }, "connect": { "install": "uvx marketdata-mcp-server YOUR_API_KEY", "http": "curl \"https://www.alphavantage.co/query?function=GLOBAL_QUOTE\u0026symbol=IBM\u0026apikey=$ALPHAVANTAGE_API_KEY\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add alphavantage -- uvx marketdata-mcp-server YOUR_API_KEY" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/data.markets", "tool": "https://letme.dev/alpha-vantage" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Premium, 75 requests a minute", "unit": "month", "usd": 49.99, "note": "personal use, no daily limit" }, { "item": "Premium, 150 requests a minute", "unit": "month", "usd": 99.99, "note": "personal use" }, { "item": "Premium, 300 requests a minute", "unit": "month", "usd": 149.99, "note": "personal use" }, { "item": "Premium, 600 requests a minute", "unit": "month", "usd": 199.99, "note": "personal use" }, { "item": "Premium, 1,200 requests a minute", "unit": "month", "usd": 249.99, "note": "personal use" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Alpha Vantage Inc.", "domain": "alphavantage.co", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.alphavantage.co/terms_of_service/", "privacy": "https://www.alphavantage.co/privacy/", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The Terms of Service name Alpha Vantage Inc., cover the website and the application programming interface, and are governed by Massachusetts law. The site footer gives Boston, Massachusetts.", "The terms and the privacy policy are each served as a PDF at the URL given, so a reader that skips PDFs will not read them. The privacy policy is dated 25 August 2025. The terms carry no date, and the file's metadata shows a change on 27 August 2026.", "www.alphavantage.co/.well-known/security.txt and /robots.txt both return 404.", "No status page was found. The site links none, and status.alphavantage.co does not present a valid certificate.", "The changelog link is the MCP server's. No changelog for the REST API was found.", "No RDAP service answered for the .co domain, so the registration date is not recorded. The site's copyright line runs from 2017." ], "score": 59 }, "dataQuality": { "coverage": "Global equities, ETFs and mutual funds, US options and indices, forex, crypto, commodities, fundamentals, news sentiment and ten US economic series", "coverageRating": 4, "freshness": "Real time or 15-minute delayed for US markets on premium plans with entitlement, otherwise historical and end of day", "freshnessClass": "realtime", "history": "25+ years of daily and intraday equity history (intraday from January 2000), per the documentation", "historyYears": 25, "methodology": "https://www.alphavantage.co/support/#support", "sourcesDisclosed": true, "licence": "Proprietary, under the vendor's Terms of Service", "licenceClass": "clear", "standing": "", "standingClass": "none", "reuse": "Personal, non-commercial use unless agreed otherwise in writing. Passing data to other people or using it for a company counts as commercial use.", "score": 82, "checks": null }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/alpha-vantage.json", "live": { "slug": "alpha-vantage", "probe": { "target": "https://www.alphavantage.co/query", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T09:26:41.896631765Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 127, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 119, "p95ms24h": 138, "samples24h": 20, "samples30d": 20, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 20, "ok": 20 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T09:26:41.896631765Z" } }, "answer": "FRED API scores 42.7 (E) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance \u0026 community.", "b": { "slug": "fred", "name": "FRED API", "vendor": "Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis", "vendorUrl": "https://www.stlouisfed.org", "kind": "http-api", "category": "data-providers", "summary": "REST API from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for FRED, its database of more than 800,000 economic time series. Version 1 returns series, releases, categories and observations, and version 2 returns every series on a release in bulk.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fred", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fred.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fred.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/fred.json", "license": "Proprietary service under the FRED Services Terms of Use. Some data series are third-party copyright", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.stlouisfed.org", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Self-serve key. A person signs in to a free FRED account at fredaccount.stlouisfed.org and requests a 32-character key, one for each application. Version 1 takes it as the `api_key` query parameter, the only method its docs give. Version 2 takes it as `Authorization: Bearer`. Keys have no scopes, and the API is read-only. The separate FRED MCP Connector needs no API key and signs users in with OAuth on its own account.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free. No paid tier and no card. The cost is the rate limit, 120 requests a minute on version 1 and two a second on version 2, with higher limits by contacting the Bank (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/errors.html, checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "Free", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the API documentation or the terms (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/", "capabilities": [ "data.markets", "market.indices" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "free", "no-card", "api-key", "official", "closed-source", "mcp", "read-only-mode" ], "lastRelease": "2025-11-04", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 42.7, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 789, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 15, "payments": 40, "reliability": 38, "schema": 43, "security": 35, "transparency": 53 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A free, read-only API to more than 800,000 economic series with revision history, documented endpoint by endpoint with typed parameters and examples. The terms forbid storing or caching FRED content and using the API to develop or train AI systems, version 1 carries the key in the URL, and no status page or OpenAPI file was found.", "bestFor": "Looking up US and international macroeconomic series, their metadata and their revision history in a live session.", "strengths": [ "Free, with no paid tier. One key per application from a free FRED account", "31 version 1 requests cover series, observations, search, releases, categories, sources and tags, each documented with typed parameters, defaults and XML and JSON examples", "Real-time periods and vintage dates return a series as it stood on a past date, from the ALFRED archive", "Observations can be transformed (nine `units` values) and aggregated to a lower frequency in the request", "Rate limits are published. 120 requests a minute on version 1 and two a second on version 2" ], "weaknesses": [ "The FRED Services Terms of Use forbid using the API to develop or train any AI or machine-learning system, and forbid storing, caching or archiving FRED content", "Version 1 takes the key only as the `api_key` query parameter, so it travels in the URL", "No OpenAPI file, llms.txt, official SDK or API changelog was found", "No status page, SLA or security.txt was found. The terms disclaim availability and allow changes without notice", "Version 1 answers in XML unless `file_type=json` is set, and default limits are 100,000 observations (version 1) and 500,000 (version 2)" ], "agentNotes": [ "Add `file_type=json` to every version 1 request. The default is XML", "Find a series with `fred/series/search?search_text=`, then read it with `fred/series/observations?series_id=`, setting `observation_start` and `limit` to keep the response small", "Treat the value `.` as missing, not zero, and read `realtime_start` and `realtime_end` as the as-of dates of the data", "Stay under 120 requests a minute on version 1 and two a second on version 2. Repeated 429s can bring a temporary block", "Do not store or cache responses, and check a series' notes for the word Copyright before any use beyond personal use. The terms forbid the first and require the second" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 42.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 68, "maintenance": 15, "payments": 40, "reliability": 38, "schema": 43, "security": 35, "transparency": 37 }, "provenanceScore": 69, "dataQualityScore": 79 }, "connect": { "http": "curl \"https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations?series_id=GNPCA\u0026api_key=$FRED_API_KEY\u0026file_type=json\"" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/data.markets", "tool": "https://letme.dev/fred" }, "area": "web-data", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis", "domain": "stlouisfed.org", "domainRegistered": "2001-03-05", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/legal/", "privacy": "https://www.stlouisfed.org/about-us/privacy-policy/online-notice", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/news", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The FRED Services Terms of Use name the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, One Federal Reserve Bank Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63166-0442, and are governed by Missouri law.", "Two documents carry API terms. The page the API docs link (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/terms_of_use.html) is the shorter one. The FRED Services Terms of Use at /legal/ repeat it in a section for the API and add clauses on AI training, caching and wholesale downloading, so the link here is to the fuller document. Neither carries a date.", "The privacy link is the Bank's Online Privacy Notice, which the FRED footer links and which covers user accounts. A separate addendum covers the MCP connector (https://www.stlouisfed.org/about-us/privacy-policy/mcp-connector-privacy-addendum).", "The API answers at api.stlouisfed.org and the MCP connector at mcp.stlouisfed.org, both on the Bank's domain.", "fred.stlouisfed.org/.well-known/security.txt and api.stlouisfed.org/.well-known/security.txt return 404, and www.stlouisfed.org redirects the same path to its 404 page.", "No status page was found in the API docs, the FRED footer or the help pages.", "The changelog link is the FRED News feed, which carries product updates and data additions. No changelog for the API itself was found.", "RDAP for stlouisfed.org gives a registration date of 2001-03-05 and GoDaddy.com, LLC as registrar." ], "score": 69 }, "dataQuality": { "coverage": "More than 800,000 economic time series from over 100 sources, per the Bank. US national and regional data in most depth, with international series", "coverageRating": 5, "freshness": "Updated after each source publishes a release and the FRED team validates it. The highest frequency is daily. No update time is promised in the pages read", "freshnessClass": "daily", "history": "Varies by series. The docs' example series GNPCA starts in 1929, and ALFRED keeps earlier vintages of revised series", "historyYears": 97, "methodology": "https://fred.stlouisfed.org/help/data/understanding-the-data/how-does-fred-update-its-database", "sourcesDisclosed": true, "licence": "Proprietary, under the FRED Services Terms of Use. Each series is labelled public domain, copyrighted with citation required, or copyrighted with pre-approval required", "licenceClass": "clear", "standing": "Published by a Federal Reserve Bank, which republishes series from statistical agencies and other sources. It is not the originating source for most series", "standingClass": "none", "reuse": "Non-commercial, educational and personal use by default. Storing, caching, archiving and building a database from FRED content are forbidden, as is use in developing or training AI systems. Series labelled public domain or citation required may be used internally by a business with attribution.", "score": 79, "checks": null }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fred.json", "live": { "slug": "fred", "probe": { "target": "https://api.stlouisfed.org", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T09:26:50.680522616Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 586, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 586, "p95ms24h": 1026, "samples24h": 20, "samples30d": 20, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 20, "ok": 20 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T09:26:50.680522616Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Alpha Vantage Inc.", "b": "Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://www.alphavantage.co/query", "b": "https://api.stlouisfed.org", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service under Alpha Vantage's Terms of Service. The MCP server, CLI and shared client in alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp are MIT", "b": "Proprietary service under the FRED Services Terms of Use. Some data series are third-party copyright", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "io.github.alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp", "b": "not listed", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-10-03", "b": "2025-11-04", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "no date given", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "couldn't be read", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "217 stars, 172 PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "FRED API scores 42.7 (E) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance \u0026 community.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Alpha Vantage or FRED API?" }, { "answer": "Alpha Vantage takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. FRED API needs an API key.", "question": "Do Alpha Vantage and FRED API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Alpha Vantage has a hosted endpoint at https://www.alphavantage.co/query and FRED API at https://api.stlouisfed.org.", "question": "Can an agent call Alpha Vantage and FRED API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Maintenance \u0026 community, 63 against 15" ], "also": [ "Runs on your own machine" ], "goodFor": "A personal research or analysis agent that wants many asset classes, fundamentals, indicators and news sentiment from one key at a flat price.", "slug": "alpha-vantage", "watchFor": "The REST key is documented only as `apikey=` in the query string, with no scopes and no self-service rotation found" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 38 against 30", "Agent ergonomics, 68 against 54", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 30", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 53 against 48" ], "also": [ "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Looking up US and international macroeconomic series, their metadata and their revision history in a live session.", "slug": "fred", "watchFor": "The FRED Services Terms of Use forbid using the API to develop or train any AI or machine-learning system, and forbid storing, caching or archiving FRED content" } ], "job": { "capability": "data.markets", "name": "Data markets" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-coindesk-data-api.json", "title": "Alpha Vantage vs CoinDesk Data API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-coindesk-data-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-coingecko-x402-api.json", "title": "Alpha Vantage vs CoinGecko x402 API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-coingecko-x402-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-massive.json", "title": "Alpha Vantage vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-massive" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fred-vs-massive.json", "title": "FRED API vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fred-vs-massive" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-companies-house.json", "title": "Alpha Vantage vs Companies House API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-companies-house" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.json", "title": "CoinDesk Data API vs FRED API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred" } ], "scores": [ { "alpha-vantage": 30, "by": 8, "edge": "fred", "fred": 38, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "alpha-vantage": 46, "by": 3, "edge": "alpha-vantage", "fred": 43, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "alpha-vantage": 54, "by": 14, "edge": "fred", "fred": 68, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "alpha-vantage": 32, "by": 3, "edge": "fred", "fred": 35, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "alpha-vantage": 30, "by": 10, "edge": "fred", "fred": 40, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "alpha-vantage": 63, "by": 48, "edge": "alpha-vantage", "fred": 15, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "alpha-vantage": 48, "by": 5, "edge": "fred", "fred": 53, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "FRED API scores 42.7 (E) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance \u0026 community. Both do data markets.", "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.", "fred": "A free, read-only API to more than 800,000 economic series with revision history, documented endpoint by endpoint with typed parameters and examples. The terms forbid storing or caching FRED content and using the API to develop or train AI systems, version 1 carries the key in the URL, and no status page or OpenAPI file was found." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred.min.md" }, "markdown": "FRED API scores 42.7 (E) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance \u0026 community. Both do data markets.\n\n- Alpha Vantage: grade E, 41.3/100, rank #799 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/alpha-vantage.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/alpha-vantage.json\n- FRED API: grade E, 42.7/100, rank #789 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/fred.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/fred.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Alpha Vantage (E)\n\nGood for: A personal research or analysis agent that wants many asset classes, fundamentals, indicators and news sentiment from one key at a flat price.\n\nAhead on:\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 63 against 15\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Runs on your own machine\n\nWatch for: The REST key is documented only as `apikey=` in the query string, with no scopes and no self-service rotation found\n\n### FRED API (E)\n\nGood for: Looking up US and international macroeconomic series, their metadata and their revision history in a live session.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 38 against 30\n- Agent ergonomics, 68 against 54\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 30\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 53 against 48\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: The FRED Services Terms of Use forbid using the API to develop or train any AI or machine-learning system, and forbid storing, caching or archiving FRED content\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Alpha Vantage | FRED API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 30 | 38 | FRED API +8 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 46 | 43 | Alpha Vantage +3 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 54 | 68 | FRED API +14 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 32 | 35 | FRED API +3 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 40 | FRED API +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 15 | Alpha Vantage +48 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 53 | FRED API +5 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **41.3 · E** | **42.7 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Alpha Vantage | FRED API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Alpha Vantage Inc. | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://www.alphavantage.co/query` | `https://api.stlouisfed.org` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under Alpha Vantage's Terms of Service. The MCP server, CLI and shared client in alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp are MIT | Proprietary service under the FRED Services Terms of Use. Some data series are third-party copyright |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |\n| llms.txt | no | no |\n| MCP registry | `io.github.alphavantage/alpha_vantage_mcp` | not listed |\n| Last release | 2026-10-03 | 2025-11-04 |\n| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |\n| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 217 stars, 172 PyPI/wk | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**FRED API.** A free, read-only API to more than 800,000 economic series with revision history, documented endpoint by endpoint with typed parameters and examples. The terms forbid storing or caching FRED content and using the API to develop or train AI systems, version 1 carries the key in the URL, and no status page or OpenAPI file was found.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Alpha Vantage\n\n1. 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\n2. 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\n3. Keep `outputsize=compact` unless full history is needed, and ask for `datatype=csv` on long series to cut tokens\n4. Use the hosted MCP server with OAuth at `https://mcp.alphavantage.co/mcp`. The `?apikey=` MCP URL is marked deprecated\n5. Confirm the owner's use is personal and non-commercial, or that a commercial agreement exists, before acting for a business\n\n### FRED API\n\n1. Add `file_type=json` to every version 1 request. The default is XML\n2. Find a series with `fred/series/search?search_text=`, then read it with `fred/series/observations?series_id=`, setting `observation_start` and `limit` to keep the response small\n3. Treat the value `.` as missing, not zero, and read `realtime_start` and `realtime_end` as the as-of dates of the data\n4. Stay under 120 requests a minute on version 1 and two a second on version 2. Repeated 429s can bring a temporary block\n5. Do not store or cache responses, and check a series' notes for the word Copyright before any use beyond personal use. The terms forbid the first and require the second\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Alpha Vantage or FRED API?\n\nFRED API scores 42.7 (E) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance \u0026 community.\n\n### Do Alpha Vantage and FRED API need an API key?\n\nAlpha Vantage takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. FRED API needs an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Alpha Vantage and FRED API without installing anything?\n\nYes. Alpha Vantage has a hosted endpoint at https://www.alphavantage.co/query and FRED API at https://api.stlouisfed.org.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"alpha-vantage\", \"b\": \"fred\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare alpha-vantage fred`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/alpha-vantage.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/fred.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Alpha Vantage or FRED API\n\n- [Alpha Vantage vs CoinDesk Data API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-coindesk-data-api.md)\n- [Alpha Vantage vs CoinGecko x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-coingecko-x402-api.md)\n- [Alpha Vantage vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-massive.md)\n- [FRED API vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fred-vs-massive.md)\n- [Alpha Vantage vs Companies House API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-companies-house.md)\n- [CoinDesk Data API vs FRED API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-09", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Alpha Vantage vs FRED API", "url": "" } ], "description": "FRED API scores 42.7 (E) on agent readiness against Alpha Vantage's 41.3 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Alpha Vantage leads on maintenance \u0026 community. Both do data markets. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Alpha Vantage E 41.3", "FRED API E 42.7", "scores" ], "h1": "Alpha Vantage vs FRED API", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-alpha-vantage-vs-fred.png", "path": "/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Alpha Vantage vs FRED API for AI agents, E 41.3 vs E 42.7", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2100, "slim": 780 }, "version": 1 }