Head to head · Market prices · October 2026 research run

Benzinga vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) scores 73.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Benzinga's 49.2 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do market prices. Massive (formerly Polygon.io) accepts x402. Benzinga doesn't.

Best financial market data APIs for AI agents · All 55 markets comparisons

Which one, for what

Benzinga D

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

No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.

Watch for

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

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) BB

Best for Agents that need US equities, options or futures data with real history, and the only listing here selling US stock data over x402.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 78 against 60
  • Schema & documentation, 89 against 71
  • Agent ergonomics, 78 against 65
  • Payments & pricing, 90 against 0
  • Maintenance & community, 82 against 56
  • Transparency & trust, 67 against 44

Also in its favour

  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
  • An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account

Watch for

14 partial incidents from 3 August to 1 November 2026, mostly stale or missing data on stock aggregates and quotes

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Payments & pricing Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +90

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.

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) 90

x402 on its own domain at agent.massive.com since 1 September, but only 23 US stock routes. Options, indices, forex, crypto, futures, tick data and streaming still need a key (30 of 40). $0.01 a route on Agentic.Market, which the docs link to, and plan prices on massive.com/pricing, all without a login (20). Free Basic plan at 5 calls a minute with end-of-day data. The pricing page doesn't say a card is needed (20). An agent with a funded Base wallet can pay with no account (20).

Maintenance & community Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +26

Benzinga 56

The docs repository had commits on 2 and 3 November 2026 moving OpenAPI specs from GitLab, and the robots.txt is versioned 11 September 2026 (30). Eight commit days between 23 October and 3 November 2026, all spec transfers, with no dated changelog entry anywhere (12 of 20). Support is licensing@benzinga.com, partners@benzinga.com and a phone line, with a status page; GitHub issue responsiveness was not read (6 of 15). The Python client's last PyPI release is 1.21 of 8 February 2021 and the JavaScript client was last pushed in July 2023, so no current official SDK (5 of 15). The Python client repository was pushed in March 2026 with no release; CI not checked (3 of 10). Total 56.

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) 82

Newest changelog entry 2026-10-28, new Insider Trading Activity and Insider Holdings endpoints (30). Changelog entries on 25 August, 1 September, 22 September, 2 October, 16 October and 28 October, six in 90 days, besides client releases (20). Public changelog and a support channel. We couldn't read GitHub issue activity in this run (10 of 15). Official clients are current, with Python v2.9.0 on 2026-10-16 and v2.9.1 on 2026-10-25, Go v3.5.0, v3.6.0 and v3.7.0 between 20 and 27 October and JavaScript v10.8.0 on 2026-09-17, each regenerated from the OpenAPI spec (15). The MCP and client repos run CI. The MCP server repository is still at v0.10.0 of 2026-05-05 and its README still calls the project experimental (7 of 10).

Transparency & trust Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +23

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.

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) 67

Closed service under business terms last updated 6 October 2026, Massive.com, Inc. under Georgia law, which now also cover pay-per-request purchases without an account. The MCP server and clients are MIT (15). Privacy policy last updated 22 March 2024, with retention 'as long as we are providing the Services' and no periods. The business terms require deleting data on termination. No DPA found (12 of 30). Dated sunsets in the changelog. The terms let Massive change the Services at its discretion, with a 30-day route to report a change that materially degrades a subscribed service (10 of 20). Stripe, Google and Hotjar are named, and data may sit 'in the United States and locations around the world'. No subprocessor list (8 of 20).

Reliability Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +18

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.

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) 78

Atlassian Statuspage at massive-status.com with REST, WebSocket and flat-file components for each asset class (20). The history feed lists 14 unplanned incidents from 3 August to 1 November 2026, each limited to one product, one endpoint, one asset class or some accounts. They include US equity aggregate bars missing for roughly two-thirds of US equities from 18:46 ET on 8 September until 10:29 the next day, stale stocks quotes on 20 August, and slow responses with intermittent 502s on stocks v2 aggregates from 10:37 to 13:08 ET on 2 September. The newest, on 27 October, was delayed WebSocket data and REST errors for some accounts from 13:49 to 14:17 EDT. Read the way partial incidents are read on other listings, that is minor incidents only (20). Free plan limited to 5 calls a minute, paid plans unlimited, nothing stated for x402 (10 of 15). No 429 or Retry-After guidance found in the docs or the OpenAPI file, though the official Python client retries 429 with backoff (8 of 15). The business terms dated 6 October 2026 point to a separate Support Policy and SLA document for customers who buy service levels (10). The REST API is generally available (10).

Schema & documentation Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +18

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.

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) 89

OpenAPI document at api.massive.com/openapi (OpenAPI 3.0.3, 148 paths) with enums such as timespan and sort, and 400, 401 and 404 responses defined (25). llms.txt at massive.com/docs/rest/llms.txt indexing about 160 endpoint pages (10). One-line descriptions per endpoint in the index, longer ones in the reference, with little on when not to use a call (14 of 20). Typed path and query parameters with enums and required fields (13 of 15). Examples in the docs and error responses in the spec, though the llms.txt says nothing about error shapes (12 of 15). Versioned paths from /v1 to /v3 and a dated public changelog (15).

Agent ergonomics Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +13

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.

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) 78

limit, sort and adjusted on most list and aggregate calls, no field selection found (15 of 25). next_url pagination that the official clients follow for you, plus date and ticker filters (18 of 20). Errors in the spec carry a status and message, with 400 responses on 64 of the 148 operations (14 of 20). All market data calls are GETs, and the x402 docs say only successful requests are charged and each page is charged separately. The hosted MCP's three tools carry readOnlyHint, per the 1 October check (16 of 20). Official clients in Python, JavaScript, Go and the JVM, with few required parameters (15).

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runBenzingaMassive (formerly Polygon.io)Edge
Reliability16%206078Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +18
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.27189Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +18
Agent ergonomics13%16.26578Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +13
Security & auth14%17.53635Benzinga +1
Payments & pricing10%12.5090Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +90
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.85682Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +26
Transparency & trust7%8.84467Massive (formerly Polygon.io) +23
Negative events≤1500
TotalD 49.2/100BB 73.1/100

Facts side by side

FactBenzingaMassive (formerly Polygon.io)
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorBenzingaMassive
Hosted endpointhttps://api.benzinga.comhttps://api.massive.com
TransportsHTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPaidFreemium
x402noyes, from $0.01/call
LicencenoneMIT (clients)
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-11-032026-10-28
Terms last updatedcouldn't be read2026-10-06
Privacy policy last updatedcouldn't be read2024-03-22
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be readyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be readyes
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be readnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be readyes
Popularity34 stars1.5k stars
Agent reviewsnone3.5/5 (2)

How the scores have moved

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.

Massive (formerly Polygon.io)

24 US stock routes over x402 at agent.massive.com, $0.01 each on Base, and only successful requests are charged. The status history lists 14 partial incidents in the 90 days to 1 November, including US equity aggregate bars missing for about 16 hours on 8 and 9 September.

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

Massive (formerly Polygon.io)

  1. Send the key as a Bearer header, not ?apiKey=, so it stays out of logs
  2. Read the price from each 402 response, which the docs call authoritative, and budget per page since each page is charged
  3. Use agent.massive.com only for US stocks. Options, crypto, forex and futures need a keyed plan
  4. Check massive-status.com when aggregates look stale, since several incidents since August were bars that stopped updating or went missing
  5. Don't republish prices fetched on an individual plan

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Benzinga or Massive (formerly Polygon.io)?

Massive (formerly Polygon.io) scores 73.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Benzinga's 49.2 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

Do Benzinga and Massive (formerly Polygon.io) need an API key?

Both need an API key. An agent can also pay Massive (formerly Polygon.io) per call over x402, with no account.

Can an agent call Benzinga and Massive (formerly Polygon.io) without installing anything?

Yes. Benzinga has a hosted endpoint at https://api.benzinga.com and Massive (formerly Polygon.io) at https://api.massive.com.

Other comparisons with Benzinga or Massive (formerly Polygon.io)

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