{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "coindesk-data-api", "name": "CoinDesk Data API", "vendor": "CoinDesk Data (formerly CCData / CryptoCompare)", "vendorUrl": "https://developers.coindesk.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "data-providers", "summary": "Institutional market-data REST and WebSocket API covering spot, futures, options, reference-rate indices (CADLI, CCIX), asset metadata, on-chain data and news across 300+ exchanges, with an official hosted MCP server since May 2026.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coindesk-data-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coindesk-data-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coindesk-data-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/coindesk-data-api.json", "license": "proprietary", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://data-api.coindesk.com", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "API key as `Authorization: Apikey \u003ckey\u003e` (preferred) or the `api_key` query parameter, which the docs still accept. Keys are issued per account in the developer portal. The legacy `min-api.cryptocompare.com` surface takes the same keys.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "Subscription plans metered in monthly call credits, with ceilings per second, minute, hour, day and month. The pricing page at developers.coindesk.com renders only in a browser, and we couldn't read plan figures on 2026-10-01. data.coindesk.com points new customers to a call with sales for trials. The free tier (100,000 credits a month) was retired on 2026-05-21, so accounts without a subscription get no API access.", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 on data-api.coindesk.com as of the run date. Payment is by subscription.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.coindesk.com/documentation/data-api/introduction", "openapi": "https://data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi", "capabilities": [ "market.crypto", "market.indices", "market.news" ], "tags": [ "http-api", "market-data", "indices", "websocket", "status-page", "openapi", "mcp", "oauth" ], "graded": true, "disclosure": "Anchor Terminal's founder built this API at CryptoCompare, which became CCData and was acquired by CoinDesk in 2024. He no longer works there. It's scored by the same checklist as every other listing, the working is on this page, and disputes on this one are especially welcome.", "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 46.6, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 754, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 23, "payments": 0, "reliability": 43, "schema": 72, "security": 45, "transparency": 57 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "low", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Official OpenAPI 3.0.3 document at data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi, with enums, examples and error responses from 400 to 503. No free or trial access since 2026-05-21, and no x402, so a person has to buy a plan before an agent gets data.", "bestFor": "Institutional crypto work that needs derivatives, order books, regulated reference rates or deep history, with a human buying the plan.", "disclosure": "Anchor Terminal's founder built this API at CryptoCompare, which became CCData and was acquired by CoinDesk in 2024. He no longer works there. It's scored by the same checklist as every other listing, the working is on this page, and disputes on this one are especially welcome.", "strengths": [ "Official OpenAPI 3.0.3 document at data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi, with enums, examples and error responses from 400 to 503", "Spot, futures, options, CADLI and CCIX indices, on-chain and news from one key, with history to 2010", "Hosted MCP server with 39 tools across spot and index, futures, options, news and on-chain, behind OAuth with PKCE", "18 published index methodologies on the CoinDesk Indices governance page", "ISO 27001 certificate cited and a Bugcrowd bug bounty" ], "weaknesses": [ "No free or trial access since 2026-05-21, and no x402, so a person has to buy a plan before an agent gets data", "Docs portal, llms.txt, pricing page and status page all render only in a browser", "No public changelog since the monthly product updates stopped in July 2025", "The `api_key` query parameter is still accepted, so keys can leak into logs", "No official SDK found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Read the OpenAPI at `https://data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi` rather than the docs site, which a plain fetch can't render", "Send the key as `Authorization: Apikey \u003ckey\u003e` and never in the query string", "Use `groups` to ask for only the field groups you need on tick endpoints", "Back off on 429 until the window resets, since limits apply per second, minute, hour, day and month", "For reference prices, call the CADLI or CCIX index endpoints rather than one exchange's spot tick" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 2.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "low", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 46.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 23, "payments": 0, "reliability": 43, "schema": 72, "security": 45, "transparency": 42 }, "provenanceScore": 72, "dataQualityScore": 93 }, "connect": { "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http coindesk https://mcp.coindesk.com/mcp", "headless": { "curl": "curl -s 'https://data-api.coindesk.com/index/cc/v1/latest/tick?market=cadli\u0026instruments=BTC-USD,ETH-USD' -H 'Authorization: Apikey $COINDESK_API_KEY'" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/market.crypto", "tool": "https://letme.dev/coindesk-data-api" }, "area": "web-data", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "CC Data Limited, trading as CoinDesk Data (England and Wales, 10966788)", "domain": "coindesk.com", "domainRegistered": "2008-05-04", "domainNote": "The API licence names CC Data Limited, a CoinDesk company, as the licensor. The endpoint and the terms sit on coindesk.com.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://coindesk.com/terms", "privacy": "https://coindesk.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.coindesk.com", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-01", "notes": [ "No public changelog. The blog's monthly product updates stopped after July 2025, and the developer portal renders only in a browser.", "security.txt returns 404 on www.coindesk.com. A Bugcrowd bug bounty is linked from the privacy notice." ], "score": 72 }, "dataQuality": { "coverage": "300+ centralised and decentralised exchanges, 300k trading pairs and 10,000+ coins per data.coindesk.com, across spot, futures, options, indices, on-chain and news", "coverageRating": 5, "freshness": "Real-time ticks over WebSocket", "freshnessClass": "realtime", "history": "Back to 2010, per data.coindesk.com", "historyYears": 16, "methodology": "https://indices.coindesk.com/documentation-and-governance", "sourcesDisclosed": true, "licence": "API Licence Agreement, updated 2026-04-22. Internal use only, no display or redistribution without written permission, attribution rules apply", "licenceClass": "clear", "standing": "The CoinDesk Indices governance page links an FCA authorisation and names CC Data Limited as the affiliate that runs outsourced index administration and calculation. It covers the index data (CADLI, CCIX), not exchange-level prices. We didn't load the FCA register entry", "standingClass": "regulated", "reuse": "Internal use only under the API Licence Agreement. No display, redistribution or use in a commercial product or index without written permission, and the data has to be deleted when the licence ends.", "score": 93, "checks": null }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coindesk-data-api.json", "live": { "slug": "coindesk-data-api", "probe": { "target": "https://data-api.coindesk.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T09:26:46.958798209Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 91, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 38, "p95ms24h": 82, "samples24h": 261, "samples30d": 3241, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-27", "probes": 132, "ok": 132 }, { "date": "2026-09-28", "probes": 285, "ok": 285 }, { "date": "2026-09-29", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 101, "ok": 101 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.coindesk.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T07:57:44.455335094Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://coindesk.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:55.265027823Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "coindesk.com", "registered": "2008-05-04", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/coindesk.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:05:14.326388515Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://data.coindesk.com/", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:49.363681102Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-06T16:06:49.034433437Z", "fingerprint": "d0a649f9a71c" }, { "url": "https://coindesk.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:30.131487332Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:30.131487332Z", "fingerprint": "f2a2dd64e9bd" }, { "url": "https://coindesk.com/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:33.368859199Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:33.368859199Z", "fingerprint": "f0903bfac729" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T09:26:46.958798209Z" } }, "answer": "CoinDesk Data API scores 46.6 (D) on agent readiness against FRED API's 42.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. FRED API leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "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": "CoinDesk Data (formerly CCData / CryptoCompare)", "b": "Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://data-api.coindesk.com", "b": "https://api.stlouisfed.org", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Paid", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "proprietary", "b": "Proprietary service under the FRED Services Terms of Use. Some data series are third-party copyright", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "none", "b": "2025-11-04", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2025-11-14", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no date given", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "2.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "CoinDesk Data API scores 46.6 (D) on agent readiness against FRED API's 42.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. FRED API leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, CoinDesk Data API or FRED API?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do CoinDesk Data API and FRED API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. CoinDesk Data API has a hosted endpoint at https://data-api.coindesk.com and FRED API at https://api.stlouisfed.org.", "question": "Can an agent call CoinDesk Data API and FRED API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 43 against 38", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 72 against 43", "Security \u0026 auth, 45 against 35", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 23 against 15" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Institutional crypto work that needs derivatives, order books, regulated reference rates or deep history, with a human buying the plan.", "slug": "coindesk-data-api", "watchFor": "No free or trial access since 2026-05-21, and no x402, so a person has to buy a plan before an agent gets data" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 0" ], "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": "market.indices", "name": "Market indices" }, "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/coindesk-data-api-vs-coingecko-x402-api.json", "title": "CoinDesk Data API vs CoinGecko x402 API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-coingecko-x402-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-coinmarketcap-x402-api.json", "title": "CoinDesk Data API vs CoinMarketCap x402 API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-coinmarketcap-x402-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-massive.json", "title": "CoinDesk Data API vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-massive" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-nansen-x402-api.json", "title": "CoinDesk Data API vs Nansen x402 API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-nansen-x402-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred.json", "title": "Alpha Vantage vs FRED API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred" }, { "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" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 5, "coindesk-data-api": 43, "edge": "coindesk-data-api", "fred": 38, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 29, "coindesk-data-api": 72, "edge": "coindesk-data-api", "fred": 43, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 2, "coindesk-data-api": 70, "edge": "coindesk-data-api", "fred": 68, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 10, "coindesk-data-api": 45, "edge": "coindesk-data-api", "fred": 35, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 40, "coindesk-data-api": 0, "edge": "fred", "fred": 40, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 8, "coindesk-data-api": 23, "edge": "coindesk-data-api", "fred": 15, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 4, "coindesk-data-api": 57, "edge": "coindesk-data-api", "fred": 53, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "CoinDesk Data API scores 46.6 (D) on agent readiness against FRED API's 42.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. FRED API leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do market indices.", "verdicts": { "coindesk-data-api": "Official OpenAPI 3.0.3 document at data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi, with enums, examples and error responses from 400 to 503. No free or trial access since 2026-05-21, and no x402, so a person has to buy a plan before an agent gets data.", "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/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.min.md" }, "markdown": "CoinDesk Data API scores 46.6 (D) on agent readiness against FRED API's 42.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. FRED API leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do market indices.\n\n- CoinDesk Data API: grade D, 46.6/100, rank #754 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/coindesk-data-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/coindesk-data-api.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### CoinDesk Data API (D)\n\nGood for: Institutional crypto work that needs derivatives, order books, regulated reference rates or deep history, with a human buying the plan.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 43 against 38\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 72 against 43\n- Security \u0026 auth, 45 against 35\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 23 against 15\n\nWatch for: No free or trial access since 2026-05-21, and no x402, so a person has to buy a plan before an agent gets data\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- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 0\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 | CoinDesk Data API | FRED API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 43 | 38 | CoinDesk Data API +5 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 43 | CoinDesk Data API +29 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 68 | CoinDesk Data API +2 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 35 | CoinDesk Data API +10 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 0 | 40 | FRED API +40 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 23 | 15 | CoinDesk Data API +8 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 53 | CoinDesk Data API +4 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **46.6 · D** | **42.7 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | CoinDesk Data API | FRED API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | CoinDesk Data (formerly CCData / CryptoCompare) | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://data-api.coindesk.com` | `https://api.stlouisfed.org` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Paid | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | proprietary | Proprietary service under the FRED Services Terms of Use. Some data series are third-party copyright |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |\n| llms.txt | no | no |\n| Last release | none | 2025-11-04 |\n| Terms last updated | 2025-11-14 | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no date given |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |\n| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**CoinDesk Data API.** Official OpenAPI 3.0.3 document at data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi, with enums, examples and error responses from 400 to 503. No free or trial access since 2026-05-21, and no x402, so a person has to buy a plan before an agent gets data.\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### CoinDesk Data API\n\n1. Read the OpenAPI at `https://data-api.coindesk.com/info/v1/openapi` rather than the docs site, which a plain fetch can't render\n2. Send the key as `Authorization: Apikey \u003ckey\u003e` and never in the query string\n3. Use `groups` to ask for only the field groups you need on tick endpoints\n4. Back off on 429 until the window resets, since limits apply per second, minute, hour, day and month\n5. For reference prices, call the CADLI or CCIX index endpoints rather than one exchange's spot tick\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, CoinDesk Data API or FRED API?\n\nCoinDesk Data API scores 46.6 (D) on agent readiness against FRED API's 42.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. FRED API leads on payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Do CoinDesk Data API and FRED API need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call CoinDesk Data API and FRED API without installing anything?\n\nYes. CoinDesk Data API has a hosted endpoint at https://data-api.coindesk.com and FRED API at https://api.stlouisfed.org.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"coindesk-data-api\", \"b\": \"fred\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare coindesk-data-api fred`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/coindesk-data-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/fred.json\n\n## Other comparisons with CoinDesk Data API or FRED API\n\n- [Alpha Vantage vs CoinDesk Data API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-coindesk-data-api.md)\n- [CoinDesk Data API vs CoinGecko x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-coingecko-x402-api.md)\n- [CoinDesk Data API vs CoinMarketCap x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-coinmarketcap-x402-api.md)\n- [CoinDesk Data API vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-massive.md)\n- [CoinDesk Data API vs Nansen x402 API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-nansen-x402-api.md)\n- [Alpha Vantage vs FRED API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alpha-vantage-vs-fred.md)\n- [FRED API vs Massive (formerly Polygon.io)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fred-vs-massive.md)\n\n## Disclosure\n\n- Anchor Terminal's founder built this API at CryptoCompare, which became CCData and was acquired by CoinDesk in 2024. He no longer works there. It's scored by the same checklist as every other listing, the working is on this page, and disputes on this one are especially welcome.\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": "CoinDesk Data API vs FRED API", "url": "" } ], "description": "CoinDesk Data API scores 46.6 (D) on agent readiness against FRED API's 42.7 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. FRED API leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do market indices. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "CoinDesk Data API D 46.6", "FRED API E 42.7", "scores" ], "h1": "CoinDesk Data API vs FRED API", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-coindesk-data-api-vs-fred.png", "path": "/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "CoinDesk Data API vs FRED API for AI agents, D 46.6 vs E 42.7", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coindesk-data-api-vs-fred" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2050, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }