# Benzinga vs Finnhub

> Benzinga scores 49.2 (D) to Finnhub's 45.1 (E) for market news. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/benzinga-vs-finnhub
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/benzinga-vs-finnhub.md (~3,750 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: 2026-11-03

Benzinga scores 49.2 (D) on agent readiness against Finnhub's 45.1 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Finnhub leads on payments & pricing. Both do market news.

- Benzinga: grade D, 49.2/100, rank #1043 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/benzinga.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/benzinga.json
- Finnhub: grade E, 45.1/100, rank #1140 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/finnhub.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/finnhub.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

### Benzinga (D)

Good for: A licensed firm's agent that needs Benzinga's own newswire, calendars, analyst ratings and transcripts as structured data with deltas.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 60 against 48
- Schema & documentation, 71 against 58
- Agent ergonomics, 65 against 56
- Transparency & trust, 44 against 27

Watch for: The API token is sent only as the `token` query parameter, with no header option, scopes or rotation found

### Finnhub (E)

Good for: Agents that need one key across quotes, fundamentals, estimates, filings and transcripts with official libraries, and a free key for prototypes.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 0

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: The Swagger document declares the key only as a `token` query parameter, and the examples carry it in the URL


## Why the edge

### Payments & pricing: Finnhub +30

- Benzinga (0): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). No prices are published anywhere we could read; the docs say to email or call licensing and the APIs page on www.benzinga.com answered 403 (0). The FAQ says a trial or sandbox is often available, with no terms, length or card condition, and the registration page was unread (0). A person registers in a browser or by email (0). Total 0, with pricing and registration recorded as unchecked.
- Finnhub (30): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Plan prices are public without login, read from the pricing page's script data, sold per dataset by the month with calls a minute rather than per call (10). A free key at 60 calls a minute with no card, which the pricing FAQ says can be used forever (20). The key comes from a browser signup and no key API was found (0). 0 + 10 + 20 + 0 = 30.

### Transparency & trust: Benzinga +17

- Benzinga (44): A closed service whose terms could not be read, since www.benzinga.com answered 403; the docs footer links them (8 of 30). The privacy policy was unread for the same reason, and the docs say nothing about retention (0 of 30, unchecked). No deprecation policy or dated notices; the changelog pages are empty (0 of 20). The architecture page says the platform runs on Amazon Web Services with Kong Gateway, with no subprocessor list or data location statement (5 of 20). Total 13.
- Finnhub (27): A closed service whose terms exist at a page that robots.txt disallows, so they were not read; the pricing page says every self-serve plan is personal use, and no legal entity or governing law was found (8 of 30). No privacy policy was found, /privacy redirecting to the home page (0 of 30). No deprecation policy or dated notices found (0 of 20). Stripe and Braintree scripts load on the site, but no processor list or data location is disclosed (0 of 20). 8 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 8.

### Schema & documentation: Benzinga +13

- Benzinga (71): The docs are generated from 11 OpenAPI 3 specs in the public Benzinga/benzinga-docs repository, 80 operations, and the raw YAML is linked from the welcome page (25). llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every page (10). Operations carry a summary and a sentence or two on scope, with little on when not to use a call (12 of 20). Typed query parameters with enums on the calendar (50) and news (9) specs, and the token as a query parameter (10 of 15). Examples on most operations, but the error responses in the specs are thin, 400, 499 and 500 on news, with the 401 and 404 bodies shown only as examples (9 of 15). Versioned paths (/api/v2) and three changelog pages that are empty templates (5 of 15). Total 71.
- Finnhub (58): A public Swagger 2.0 document covers 116 paths with a description on every operation, declaring the key as a query parameter and a 200 response only; the MCP tools were not read (20 of 25). /llms.txt returns the site's HTML shell and no Markdown docs exist (0 of 10). Each operation states its purpose, a premium marker and, on quote, advice against polling, with little on when not to use it (14 of 20). Required flags and types are set on 248 parameters, but allowed values such as news categories sit in description text and no enum is declared (8 of 15). Every operation has example URLs and sample code in five languages, while the only documented error is the 429 (9 of 15). The path carries v1 and no changelog or dated change notes were found (7 of 15). 20 + 0 + 14 + 8 + 9 + 7 = 58.

### Reliability: Benzinga +12

- Benzinga (60): Graded as a hosted service. Atlassian Statuspage at benzinga1.statuspage.io with seven API components (20). The incident feed holds 14 incidents, the newest on 14 September 2023, so the 90 days to 3 November 2026 are clean (30). No rate limit numbers are published; the FAQ says limits depend on the API and the subscription tier (0 of 15). No 429, Retry-After or backoff guidance was found in the docs or the specs (0 of 15). No SLA was found; the architecture page cites a 99.9 per cent availability figure as a claim, and the terms were unread (0). The APIs are generally available (10). Total 60.
- Finnhub (48): Read with the hosted lines. No status page was found on the site, in the docs document or on the MCP page (0), so no incident history could be read (5). Limits are published with numbers, 60 calls a minute on the free key, 150 to 900 a minute by plan, and 30 calls a second on top of every plan (15). The docs say the limit answers 429 and the MCP page says to wait a minute, with no Retry-After or backoff guidance (8 of 15). The home page says 99.99 per cent uptime with an SLA available for enterprise clients (10). The API is generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 8 + 10 + 10 = 48.

### Agent ergonomics: Benzinga +9

- Benzinga (65): `displayOutput` of headline, abstract or full sizes a news response, and `pageSize` runs to 100 (18 of 25). `page` and `pageSize`, ticker, channel, date and `updatedSince` filters, with a 10,000-item cap per query that the docs explain how to work round (18 of 20). Error bodies carry a code, an id and a message in the examples, but an unknown node ID returns 200 with an empty array and the spec's response list doesn't match the examples (10 of 20). Every data call is a read, with no safe-retry guidance; the webhook API registers endpoints (12 of 20). Few required parameters, but the Python client is from 2021, the JavaScript client from 2023 and the docs' SDK page is template text (7 of 15). Total 65.
- Finnhub (56): The REST API is the surface graded. `from` and `to` on candles and news, and symbol-scoped calls, size responses; no field selection, and the MCP server lists 70 tools (12 of 25). Date filters but no pagination on most lists (10 of 20). Only the 429 is documented; a missing key answered 401 with a JSON `error` field in our one test call (5 of 20). All but one operation are GET reads; the MCP annotations were not read (14 of 20). Few required parameters and official libraries in six languages (15). 12 + 10 + 5 + 14 + 15 = 56.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Benzinga | Finnhub | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 48 | Benzinga +12 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 58 | Benzinga +13 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 56 | Benzinga +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 36 | 32 | Benzinga +4 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 0 | 30 | Finnhub +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 56 | 60 | Finnhub +4 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 44 | 27 | Benzinga +17 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **49.2 · D** | **45.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Benzinga | Finnhub |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Benzinga | Finnhub |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.benzinga.com` | `https://finnhub.io/api/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, websocket |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Tools exposed | none | 70 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-02 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 34 stars | 1.1k stars |

## Verdicts

**Benzinga.** Benzinga's news, calendar and transcript APIs are documented from 11 public OpenAPI specs with an llms.txt and a Statuspage. The token travels in the query string, no prices or rate limit numbers are published, the Python client was last released in February 2021, and the vendor's main site refused our reader, so its terms and privacy policy are unread.

**Finnhub.** A public Swagger document covers 116 endpoints, six official client libraries exist, and a free key gives 60 calls a minute with no card. The key is documented in the query string, no status page, changelog, error reference or privacy policy was found, and robots.txt kept the terms from our reader.

## Before you call either

### Benzinga

1. Keep the token out of logs; it can only travel as `?token=`, so strip query strings before recording request URLs
2. Page through news with `page` and `pageSize` (max 100) and narrow by `tickers`, `dateFrom` or `channels`; a query can't pass 10,000 items
3. Poll with `updatedSince` (news) or `parameters[updated]` (calendar, signals) rather than re-reading history
4. An unknown or unentitled news node ID returns 200 with an empty array, not 404; treat empty as not found
5. Don't plan on a free key; access starts with licensing@benzinga.com and a contract

### Finnhub

1. Send the key as the `X-Finnhub-Token` header, not as `token=` in the URL, and keep under 30 calls a second on top of the plan's per-minute limit
2. Check the `premium` marker before calling; a free key reaches 29 operations and the rest answer with an error
3. Poll /quote sparingly; the docs say constant polling is not recommended and point to the websocket for real-time updates
4. Expect 401 `{"error":"Please use an API key."}` without a key and 429 over the limit; wait a minute before retrying, as the MCP page advises
5. Self-serve plans are personal use; anything commercial needs the enterprise contact route

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Benzinga or Finnhub?

Benzinga scores 49.2 (D) on agent readiness against Finnhub's 45.1 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Finnhub leads on payments & pricing.

### Do Benzinga and Finnhub need an API key?

Benzinga needs an API key. Finnhub takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Benzinga and Finnhub without installing anything?

Yes. Benzinga has a hosted endpoint at https://api.benzinga.com and Finnhub at https://finnhub.io/api/v1.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Benzinga or Finnhub

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