# Databento vs Finnhub

> Databento scores 60.3 (C) to Finnhub's 45.1 (E) for market prices. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/databento-vs-finnhub
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/databento-vs-finnhub.md (~4,300 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-04

Databento scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Finnhub's 45.1 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Finnhub leads on payments & pricing. Both do market prices.

- Databento: grade C, 60.3/100, rank #592 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/databento.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/databento.json
- Finnhub: grade E, 45.1/100, rank #1127 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

### Databento (C)

Good for: An agent that needs exchange-level trades, quotes, order book and bar data for US and European futures, options and equities, or corporate actions and a security master, and can budget per GB.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 75 against 58
- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 56
- Security & auth, 61 against 32
- Maintenance & community, 84 against 60
- Transparency & trust, 49 against 27

Watch for: Two critical and several major incidents on the status page in the 90 days to 3 November 2026, mostly Historical API outages and batch job delays

### 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 22

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

### Security & auth: Databento +29

- Databento (61): Named API keys, up to 100 per account, rotated or deleted in the portal, with per-member permissions, sent only as the Basic auth username; no scopes per key and no expiry (25 of 30). Every API call is a read, and a monthly historical limit caps what a leaked key can spend; live usage is not capped (14 of 20). The API returns market data and reference records, not free text from third parties (10). A data usage page in the portal and a billing page per cycle, with no per-key call log documented (8 of 15). The vendor revokes keys it finds in public and documents key hygiene; security.txt returns 404 and no bounty, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 was found on readable pages (4 of 20). Total 61.
- Finnhub (32): One key per account with no scopes, documented as `token=` in the query string or an `X-Finnhub-Token` header, and the Swagger document declares only the query form. The MCP server uses OAuth with fixed public client ids and keeps the key from the assistant (20 less 10 for the query string, plus 2 for the MCP route, so 12). Every data operation is a read (15 of 20). News, transcripts and filings are third-party text and no guidance was found (5 of 15). No usage log for the key holder was found (0 of 15). security.txt redirects to the home page and no disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found (0 of 20). 12 + 15 + 5 + 0 + 0 = 32.

### Agent ergonomics: Databento +24

- Databento (80): `limit`, time ranges to the nanosecond, schema choice from trades to daily bars, encoding choice and `metadata.get_cost` to size a request before paying (20 of 25). Symbol, date and schema filters, batch jobs listed and fetched by id, no cursor pagination because ranges are split by time (16 of 20). Errors carry an HTTP code, a named identifier, a message and a docs link, with 206 for partially resolved symbols (17 of 20). Reads only on the historical and reference APIs; a duplicate streaming request is charged twice, batch is billed once, and the portal can cap monthly spend (12 of 20). Few required parameters, and official clients in Python, C++ and Rust (15). Total 80.
- 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.

### Maintenance & community: Databento +24

- Databento (84): Python 0.89.0 on 28 October 2026 and data release notes dated 20 October (30). Python 0.85.0 (25 August), 0.86.0 (1 September), 0.87.0 (22 September), 0.88.0 (21 October) and 0.89.0, plus Rust 0.64.0 and C++ 0.69.0 on 27 October and four dated data notes since 8 August (20). A Slack community, Intercom chat, support@databento.com, a public roadmap and a public issue tracker linked from the release notes; GitHub issue replies were not read because the GitHub API rate limit was reached (12 of 15). Official clients in Python, C++ and Rust released the same week as each other (15). The Python client is Apache-2.0 with releases on GitHub and PyPI; CI and dependency pins were not checked (7 of 10). Total 84.
- Finnhub (60): Read as a closed service. The newest dated change is 2 November 2026, when finnhub-go, finnhub-ruby and finnhub-php gained a price target history endpoint; the MCP page is dated 6 August 2026 (30). Only that one dated change falls in the last 90 days, the previous library commits being 22 June 2026 (5 of 20). Support by email, with no public changelog or community channel found (5 of 15). Six official client libraries, finnhub-python at 2.4.29 of 24 June 2026 (15). The libraries are generated from the API document; no CI run was visible and the Python README names an older version than PyPI (5 of 10). 30 + 5 + 5 + 15 + 5 = 60.

### Transparency & trust: Databento +22

- Databento (49): A closed service whose terms could not be read, because databento.com/legal and its /terms and /privacy pages are drawn by script; the client libraries are Apache-2.0 (10 of 30). The privacy policy was unread for the same reason, and the docs say nothing about retention of account data (0 of 30, unchecked). Dated release notes carry deprecations, and the versioning policy keeps a prior major version for a year after the next (18 of 20). No subprocessor list or data location statement was found on readable pages; the architecture docs name the company's own data centres (0 of 20). Total 28.
- 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: Databento +17

- Databento (75): No OpenAPI document was found. The contract is the per-endpoint reference with typed parameters, the DBN schemas with field tables and enums, and a .http.md variant of every page (8 of 25). llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every page with language variants (10). Endpoint pages say what each call returns and the basics pages say when to use streaming against batch (15 of 20). Typed parameters with enums for schema, encoding, symbology type and split duration (13 of 15). Code in Python, C++, Rust and curl on every page, and an error table with codes, named error identifiers and a docs link in each body (14 of 15). Semantic versioning with dated release notes per component, breaking changes and deprecations called out (15). Total 75.
- 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.

### Payments & pricing: Finnhub +8

- Databento (22): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Plans are public ($199, $1,750 and $4,500 a month) and historical data is metered per GB, but the per-dataset rates are in the portal catalogue behind a login and the pricing page's estimator shows only an example (12 of 20). $125 of credits for every new user, expiring after six months; whether a card is needed at signup was not found on the pricing, credits or billing pages (10 of 20). A person signs up in a browser and creates keys in the portal; no key API (0). Total 22.
- 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.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Databento | Finnhub | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 48 | Databento +2 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 58 | Databento +17 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 56 | Databento +24 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 61 | 32 | Databento +29 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 22 | 30 | Finnhub +8 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 60 | Databento +24 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 49 | 27 | Databento +22 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **60.3 · C** | **45.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Databento | Finnhub |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Databento, Inc. | Finnhub |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://hist.databento.com` | `https://finnhub.io/api/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, websocket |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (clients) | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 70 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-28 | 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 | 309 stars | 1.1k stars |

## Verdicts

**Databento.** Exchange-level tick and order book data metered per GB, with published per-IP rate limits, Retry-After on 429, dated release notes and clients in three languages. The HTTP API is still at major version 0, the status page lists two critical and several major incidents in 90 days, there is no OpenAPI document, and the legal pages were unreadable.

**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

### Databento

1. Call `metadata.get_cost` before `timeseries.get_range`, and set a monthly historical limit in the portal; a duplicate streaming request is charged twice
2. Send the key as the Basic auth username (`-u $DATABENTO_API_KEY:`) to hist.databento.com/v0; never put it in the URL or source code
3. On 429 wait for the Retry-After header; keep under 100 time series requests a second and 20 batch submissions a minute per IP
4. Check status.databento.com before retrying a slow or 504 Historical request, since several incidents since August were API outages or batch delays
5. Use batch download for requests over 5 GB, split by time range or `limit`, and read `schema` and `stype_in` from the dataset page before querying

### 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, Databento or Finnhub?

Databento scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against Finnhub's 45.1 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Finnhub leads on payments & pricing.

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

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

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

Yes. Databento has a hosted endpoint at https://hist.databento.com and Finnhub at https://finnhub.io/api/v1.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Databento or Finnhub

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