CoinMarketCap API vs Crypto Data API
CoinMarketCap's API is the reference for market caps, rankings and its CMC20/CMC100 indices. Its free Basic plan includes commercial use for one product, and it has both a keyed and a pay-per-call MCP server. Two things to know before you build on it: historical OHLCV starts at the $79 Startup plan, and its derivatives endpoints are latest-only. Crypto Data API covers the derivatives history, ETF flows and Hyperliquid data CMC doesn't.
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?
you need market-cap rankings, CMC indices, Fear & Greed, DEX token data, or a free commercial licence for a price display.
you need candle history without a $79 plan, funding and open-interest history, liquidation detail, ETF flows, volatility or Hyperliquid data.
Side-by-side comparison
| Crypto Data API | CoinMarketCap API | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes, with no card. 100 requests/day on a new key, 1,000/day once you confirm your email (10/min). Confirming also switches Pro on for 24 hours. | Basic: 15,000 credits/month at 50/min, key required. The FAQ grants commercial use (one product, up to 100k users, no redistribution). |
| Paid plans | Pro $29/mo ($19/mo billed annually): 10,000 requests/day. Pro Plus $99/mo ($79 annually): 50,000/day plus the history and Parquet archives. Enterprise from $299/mo. | Builder $29/mo (150k credits), Startup $79/mo, Growth $299/mo, Professional $699/mo. |
| How usage is counted | One request is one request. | Credits: 1 credit per 100 data points returned, so big pulls cost more than one credit. |
| OHLCV history | Binance and Hyperliquid candles on the free tier, with deep archives on Pro Plus. | Not available on Basic or Builder. Startup ($79): daily from 2010, intraday 1 month. |
| Derivatives | Funding, open interest and long/short ratios (Binance, Hyperliquid). Liquidations from OKX, Bybit and Hyperliquid, and a Hyperliquid liquidation map from on-chain positions. | Latest only: funding and open interest per market pair, plus rolling 1h/4h/24h liquidation totals. No history and no long/short. |
| Hyperliquid | Deep: funding back to 2023, one-minute mark/oracle/OI history from May 2023, every liquidation fill, the liquidation map, whale positioning, gamma exposure, and L2 snapshots every 5 minutes. | Not covered as a dedicated dataset. |
| ETF flows / volatility index | Daily BTC, ETH and SOL spot-ETF net flows by trade date, settled days only. Crypto Volatility Index (market-wide realized vol) plus Deribit BTC/ETH implied vol. | No ETF flows. |
| News / indices | Fear & Greed, a market-moving news feed and an event calendar. | News, Fear & Greed, Altcoin Season, CMC20/CMC100 indices. |
| Delivery | REST (JSON, some endpoints also in markdown), a Server-Sent Events stream (Pro) and Parquet archives. No WebSocket or FIX. | REST (60-second refresh on Basic and Builder), and WebSocket from Startup. |
| MCP server | Yes, hosted at cryptodataapi.com/mcp (API key or browser login), plus an npm package. | Yes: a keyed server (12 tools, any plan) and a keyless x402 server. |
| Agent pay-per-call | Yes: pay per request, buy a 1-hour to 7-day pass ($1.50–$30) or buy single archive files in USDC over x402 (Base). An agent can also mint its own free key. | x402 at $0.01 USDC per request on 5 endpoints. |
Where CoinMarketCap is the better choice
Rankings and breadth. CMC tracks far more tokens and exchanges, publishes its own indices, and its free Basic plan explicitly allows commercial use for one product, which suits a price widget or a portfolio app.
Where Crypto Data API is the better choice
Anything historical or derivatives-related. On CMC, candle history starts at $79 a month and derivatives are a current snapshot. We serve candles on the free tier, and funding and open-interest history, liquidation detail and Hyperliquid positioning from $29 a month, with straightforward per-request counting instead of per-data-point credits.
More comparisons
Frequently asked questions
- Is the CoinMarketCap API free?
- Yes. The Basic plan gives 15,000 credits a month at up to 50 requests a minute, and CMC's FAQ includes commercial use for one product. Note that CMC counts 1 credit per 100 data points returned, and historical OHLCV isn't included on Basic.
- Does the CoinMarketCap API have historical OHLCV on the free plan?
- No. As of November 2026 the historical OHLCV endpoint isn't available on Basic or Builder. It starts with the $79 Startup plan.
- Did CoinMarketCap buy CoinGlass?
- Press reports (Cointelegraph, 25 September 2026) say CoinMarketCap acquired CoinGlass, and that CoinGlass keeps its brand, API and pricing. We couldn't find CMC's own announcement.
- How much does CoinMarketCap's x402 pay-per-call cost?
- CoinMarketCap's x402 page lists $0.01 USDC per request on five endpoints, as of November 2026. Crypto Data API also sells per-request access, as well as 1-hour to 7-day passes, over x402.
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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