Short answer: At around 2 million calls a month, crypto API prices range from $99 to $799. Coinranking is the cheapest of the four big price data APIs compared here, at $99, or about $50 per million calls. CoinMarketCap charges $299 and CoinGecko $499 for the same volume. Before you compare list prices, check what counts as a call.
Disclosure: This guide is published by Coinranking. All prices come from each provider’s own pricing page, checked on October 24, 2026. Prices change, so check each page before you buy.
Crypto API pricing pages are hard to compare. One provider counts requests. Another counts credits. A third counts data volume. This guide puts them on the same scale.
Calls, credits and data: what you pay for
- Requests: each API call counts once. Coinranking and CoinPaprika work this way.
- Credits: some endpoints or responses cost more than one credit. CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko use credits.
- Credits plus data size: CoinCap counts one credit per call, plus one credit per 2,500 bytes returned.
- Data volume: CoinAPI combines daily credits with a daily data allowance.
A plan with “1 million credits” can give you fewer than 1 million calls. Read the credit rules before you compare.
Price for about 2 million calls a month
| Provider | Plan | Price per month | Volume | About per 1M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coinranking | Growth | $99 | 2,000,000 requests | $50 |
| CoinMarketCap | Growth | $299 | 2,000,000 credits | $150 |
| CoinGecko | Lite | $499 | 2,000,000 credits | $250 |
| CoinPaprika | Business | $799 | 5,000,000 calls | $160 |
CoinPaprika has no plan between 1 million and 5 million calls, so you pay for 5 million.
The entry-level paid plans
| Provider | Cheapest paid plan | Price | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coinranking | Basic | $24 | 500,000 requests |
| CoinMarketCap | Builder | $29 | 150,000 credits |
| CoinCap | Builder | $30 | 50,000 credits |
| CoinGecko | Basic | $35 | 100,000 credits |
| Mobula | Start-up | $50 | 125,000 credits |
| CoinAPI | Startup | $79 | 1,000 REST credits a day |
| CoinPaprika | Starter | $99 | 400,000 calls |
Coinranking’s $24 plan gives more than three times the volume of the next cheapest plan.
Free plans
| Provider | Free volume | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coinranking | 10,000 requests a month | 1 year of history, prices updated every minute, attribution required |
| CoinMarketCap | 15,000 credits a month | Data updates every 60 seconds |
| CoinGecko | 10,000 credits a month | For testing, attribution required |
| CoinPaprika | 20,000 calls a month per IP | Personal use, attribution required |
| LiveCoinWatch | 10,000 requests a day | Link back required on every page |
| CoinCap | 500 credits a month | Not for production apps |
CoinDesk Data, formerly CryptoCompare, announced the end of its free API tier on May 21, 2026.
Free plans are fine for testing. For a live app, check the limits and the licence terms.
The hidden costs to check
Streaming messages
Real-time streaming can use up your credits fast.
- CoinMarketCap: each WebSocket message costs 0.025 credits.
- CoinGecko: each WebSocket response costs 0.1 credit.
- CoinCap: an open WebSocket costs 1 credit per minute.
- Coinranking: opening a stream counts as one request. Messages you receive are free.
Learn more in our guide to crypto price streaming APIs.
Overage
What happens when you go over your limit? Coinranking sells extra requests from $39 per million. CoinGecko charges $0.0005 per extra call, which works out to $500 per million.
History limits
Cheaper plans often limit how far back you can go:
- Coinranking: 1 year on Free, 5 years on Basic, back to 2010 from Startup ($49)
- CoinMarketCap: 1 year on Basic, 3 years on Builder, back to 2010 from Startup ($79)
- CoinGecko: 1 year on Demo, 2 years on Basic, longer history from Analyst ($129)
Need candles for charts? See our guide to OHLC and candlestick data.
Attribution
Some providers require a credit line on every screen, even on paid plans. That matters for white-label apps. Check this before you build.
What a typical app costs
| Your app | Calls a month | Coinranking | CoinMarketCap | CoinGecko |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side project | Under 10,000 | Free | Free | Free |
| Small price app | About 400,000 | $24 | $79 | $129 |
| Portfolio app or wallet | About 1,500,000 | $99 | $299 | $499 |
| Trading tool with streaming | About 4,000,000 | $199 | $699 | $999 |
These are list prices for the smallest plan that covers the volume. Real usage varies, so test with your own traffic.
FAQ
What is the cheapest crypto API for a live app?
Among Coinranking, CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko and CoinPaprika, Coinranking has the lowest price per call on every paid plan. Its Basic plan costs $24 for 500,000 requests.
Is a free crypto API enough for production?
Usually not. Free plans have low limits, slower updates and sometimes non-commercial licences. They are best for testing.
Do all crypto APIs charge for streaming?
Yes, among the price data providers here, streaming is a paid feature. Exchange APIs, such as Binance and Coinbase, offer free WebSocket feeds for their own markets only.
How do I estimate my monthly calls?
Multiply your requests per minute by 43,200, the number of minutes in a 30-day month. Polling one endpoint every 10 seconds uses about 260,000 calls a month. Streaming avoids most of that. Read REST vs WebSocket.
Get more calls for less
Start free, or try any paid Coinranking plan free for 30 days.
Compare Coinranking API plans →
More API guides
- CoinMarketCap API Alternatives in 2026: 6 Options Compared
- CoinGecko API Alternatives in 2026: Which One Fixes Your Problem?
- SSE vs WebSockets: Which Is Best for Real-Time Crypto Prices?
