New Generation Stock APIs and Market Data Industry in 2021

The new stock API sector, as well as financial data in general, has intricacies that describe quality, evolution, and understanding all the aspects that can help your projects and business.

Even though the cost of technology has gone down in the past few years, the cost of APIs seems to keep increasi

Article Outline:

• Brief explanations about Stocks and API
• Stock APIs in Market Data Sector
• Veni, vidi, vici! What happened Yahoo Finance API and Google Finance API?
• Best solutions for Stock APIs
• Finage
• Bloomberg API
• Alpha Vintage
• Xignite
• Intrinio
• Final Thoughts

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Brief explanations about Stock APIs and Sector Performance

Before we begin, I would like to start with the basic information. If you already know about what makes an API REST API, you can skip the introduction part and start reading from the second part. Let us begin: First of all, what does API stand for: Application Programming Interface

API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. You can get more detailed information about APIs.

Stock APIs in Market Data Sector

The main function of stock APIs is to provide users in the financial sector with relevant data. Stock APIs make the life of developers easier since they provide a more accurate and predictable way of querying data. If stock APIs did not exist, then developers would have to write the entire code after gathering raw data from the stock markets.

With more than 10 stock exchanges going on in the US alone, this seems like a daunting task. APIs make work more scalable while providing an accessible format to raw financial data.

Veni, Vidi, vici! What Happened to Yahoo & Google Finance APIs?

Google Finance and Yahoo Finance both had APIs in the past. These APIs were very popular at some point. However, because companies mostly derive their income from ads, using APIs was not a good option. That’s because APIs are not recommended for creating and placing ads. It is nearly impossible to place ads using APIs. Because of the incompatibility between APIs and digital advertising, both of these companies stopped supporting Application Programming Interfaces.

Now, Google Finance and Yahoo Finance provide market information through their websites. That way revenue is still generated when users open the websites. Yahoo Finance goes further to provide users with an option to download financial information about certain markets.

At the end of the day, financial websites and APIs are different and serve different functions. Websites are designed to provide financial data. Financial data APIs on the other hand, provide access and backend scripting of markets.

Actually, all APIs are not created equally and some have better features than others. Without taking much time, let us dive deep into the most popular Stick APIs in the financial data industry. Here are the five top APIs.

Best Solutions for Stock APIs

Here is a list of top popular APIs in the financial industry and on this rapid marketplace. To give some insights, let’s start with Finnhub.io.

1. Finage

Finage provides stock, currency and cryptocurrency real-time and historical data. The company offers useful data, services and solutions via:

• API
• WebSocket
• Widgets

Finage’s mission is to provide easy ways to get financial data, simplifying all of the processes with a fresh perspective. IT experts, developers and business owners may spend less time building financial software, apps or platforms by using main programming languages.

2. Bloomberg API

Bloomberg is another great stock API. It provides users with a bulk load of financial data both historical and current. You will also have access to economic, fundamental, and tick data. Once you get Blomberg, you will automatically gain access to all the financial data that you need.

3. Alpha Vintage

This stock API originated in Silicon Valley. So it comes as no surprise that Alpha Vintage is highly engineering-oriented. Even though it is a new API on the market, Alpha Vintage is very popular. One thing that makes it a favorite for many users is the fact that it is product-oriented.

For users, it is a highly accessible API that makes the life of developers easier. Anyone in software development or technology can use alpha vintage. You will have a smooth integration since alpha vintage works with several programming languages such as JavaScript and python.

4. Xignite

Xignite is the stock API of choice for big financial companies like WeatherFront. This company has been offering services to users since 2000. Through cloud-based solutions, xignite provides high-grade APIs that have an unlimited number of requests. So you can use xignite as much as you need without affecting the main functions that this financial data API provides.

5. Intrinio

Most of the companies listed offer all services once you pay for one subscription. However, Intrinio is different because it offers users the opportunity to pay for only the services needed. This payment model makes investing easier.

Users have access to several amazing data features. With the rich data it provides, Intrinio is making its presence felt in the financial world. Intrinio provides its services through REST and Websockets.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a stock API should be done diligently. While it is not easy, you can ease the stress by looking through the ones listed above. Make sure you carefully read about the services that each provides. Services provided should align with your goals.

It also helps to check about the payment method and overall costs. While most APIs offer services for a subscription, some services provide a pay-per-service payment model. That way you can pay for only the data bundles that you need. Price information depends on the client’s case and needs.