Which is better, CoinGecko API or CoinMarketCap API?

For long price history and DEX coverage, CoinGecko. For a free plan with an explicit commercial licence, and CMC's rankings and indices, CoinMarketCap. For derivatives history neither is enough on its own.

Which has the bigger free tier?

CoinMarketCap's Basic plan has 15,000 credits a month against CoinGecko Demo's 10,000 calls. CMC counts 1 credit per 100 data points returned, so large requests use more than one credit.

Do CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap have historical funding rates?

No. As of November 2026 both return funding and open interest as current snapshots only.

Compare crypto data APIs › CoinGecko vs CoinMarketCap

CoinGecko API vs CoinMarketCap API

Updated 2026-11-04Competitor facts checked 2026-11-04

Both are price and market-cap aggregators, and both now run MCP servers and x402 pay-per-call. CoinGecko's free Demo plan allows 10,000 calls a month, with daily history back to 2013 on mid-tier plans. CoinMarketCap's free Basic plan allows 15,000 credits a month and grants commercial use, but its candle history starts at $79 a month. Neither keeps derivatives history: both return funding and open interest as a current snapshot only.

We build Crypto Data API, so read this as a vendor's comparison. Every competitor fact below comes from that provider's own pricing or documentation pages, linked under Sources, as of 2026-11-04. Prices and limits change, so check their site before you buy. If we got something wrong, email [email protected] and we'll fix it.

Which one should you use?

Pick CoinGecko if…

you want long price history on a mid-tier plan, DEX pools and new tokens via GeckoTerminal, NFTs, or a keyless MCP server.

Pick CoinMarketCap if…

you want an explicit commercial licence on the free plan, CMC rankings and indices, or a WebSocket from $79.

Pick Crypto Data API alongside either if…

you also need funding and open-interest history, liquidations, ETF flows, volatility or Hyperliquid data.

Side-by-side comparison

	CoinGecko API	CoinMarketCap API
Free plan	Demo: 10,000 calls/month, 100/min, key + attribution.	Basic: 15,000 credits/month, 50/min, key. Commercial use for one product.
Keyless access	Public API with shared IP limits, plus a keyless MCP server.	A keyless public-api route (35 endpoints), plus a keyless x402 MCP.
Cheapest paid	Basic $35/mo ($29 annual).	Builder $29/mo.
Price history	Daily from 2013 and hourly from 2018 on Analyst ($129) and up. Demo: 1 year.	Historical OHLCV from Startup ($79): daily from 2010.
Usage counting	Calls (paid plans use credits).	1 credit per 100 data points returned.
Derivatives	Current funding, OI and basis per ticker.	Latest funding and OI, plus rolling liquidation totals.
DEX / on-chain	GeckoTerminal: 200+ networks, 1,800+ DEXes.	DEX tokens, pools, liquidity and holders.
WebSocket	Beta, outside the SLA, Basic and up.	From Startup ($79).
MCP	Keyless and keyed servers.	Keyed server (any plan) and an x402 server.
x402 price	$0.005 USDC per request (5 endpoints).	$0.01 USDC per request (5 endpoints).

What neither one covers

Derivatives history and positioning. If your bot or agent trades perpetual futures, you'll want funding and open-interest history, liquidations, long/short ratios and ETF flows. Both aggregators return only the current snapshot. That's the gap CoinGlass and Crypto Data API fill, and Crypto Data API does it with a free tier.

Our take

For a price display, CoinMarketCap's free commercial licence is the simpler legal footing. For research and backtests, CoinGecko's long daily history on its $129 plan is better value than CMC's $79 Startup plan with its shorter intraday window. For AI agents, CoinGecko's keyless MCP server is the easiest start.

More comparisons

CoinGecko API vs Crypto Data APIThe broadest coin and DEX coverage vs derivatives history, ETF flows and Hyperliquid data.CoinMarketCap API vs Crypto Data APIMarket caps, rankings and indices vs derivatives history and positioning data.Free crypto APIs compared (2026)Which crypto data APIs are still free, how far each free tier goes, and which ones quietly ended. All crypto data API comparisonsThe full side-by-side of every provider we compared.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, CoinGecko API or CoinMarketCap API?: For long price history and DEX coverage, CoinGecko. For a free plan with an explicit commercial licence, and CMC's rankings and indices, CoinMarketCap. For derivatives history neither is enough on its own.
Which has the bigger free tier?: CoinMarketCap's Basic plan has 15,000 credits a month against CoinGecko Demo's 10,000 calls. CMC counts 1 credit per 100 data points returned, so large requests use more than one credit.
Do CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap have historical funding rates?: No. As of November 2026 both return funding and open interest as current snapshots only.

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A free key gives you 100 requests a day straight away and 1,000 a day once you confirm your email, with no card. Every endpoint is documented, and the same data is available to AI agents through our MCP server.

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