Written by Tigran Mkrtchyan · Reviewed and fact-checked by Narek Gevorgyan · Published September 10, 2026 · Last updated September 10, 2026 · Pricing and limits verified September 2026
This guide started as a spreadsheet with 68 free crypto APIs in it. I pulled the names from our founder’s GitHub list and added what it misses. Then I opened every pricing page.
More than a dozen were dead, stale, trial-only, or had no real free tier. That is the catch with a free crypto API. The price is zero, so nobody reads the limits until they break.
The 23 that survived are below, grouped by the job they do. CoinStats Crypto API is first, and I will be honest about why. I will also be fair to the rest.
Our bias, up front
We make CoinStats API, so yes, we are biased, and we know it. So this guide sticks to plain facts: endpoints, limits, and public pricing. The verdict is yours.
Key takeaways
- Every free crypto API has three limits: monthly quota, rate cap, and license.
- Twelve of the 23 need no API key. Eleven need a free key, no card.
- CoinStats API leads for market, wallet, and DeFi data on one free key.
- Six well-known crypto APIs lost their free tier or shut down since 2025.
- Match the API to the job, then test the free tier on real calls.
What makes a good free crypto API
A free cryptocurrency API is a data endpoint you can call without paying. Every one of them stops at a published limit. The limit is the product, and everything else on the pricing page is decoration.
Free can also mean gone. CoinCap’s keyless v2 API vanished in 2025, and every tutorial that used it broke.
Three limits matter: the monthly quota, the rate cap, and the license. Quotas come in calls or credits. Rate caps come in requests a second or a minute.
Swipe to see the full diagram
A credit is a weighted call. Heavy endpoints cost more credits than light ones. Twenty thousand credits can mean 20,000 price lookups or 50 DeFi calls.
New to this? Start with our primer on what a crypto API is. For just prices, our crypto price API guide walks through the first call.
APIs are how software talks now, and crypto is no exception. Postman’s 2025 State of the API report puts API-first adoption at 82% of organizations. For crypto apps, the free tier is where that work starts.
Rate limits are not stinginess. NIST’s SP 800-228 (2025) ranks rate limiting among the most effective API tools. A provider with clear limits is a provider that plans to stay up.
So what should you check before you pick one? Six things.
- Free quota. How many calls or credits a month, and do they renew?
- Signup friction. No key, a free key, or a card on file?
- Data depth. Prices only, or wallets, DeFi, and risk too?
- Coverage. The coins, chains, and venues you need.
- Docs and limits. Published numbers you can model, not “contact us”.
- AI readiness. An official MCP server, so agents can call it.
One note on AI readiness. MCP, the Model Context Protocol, lets an AI agent call an API directly. Nine providers here ship one, so it is table stakes, not a tiebreaker.
The shift is wider than crypto. Per Postman’s 2025 report, nearly one in four developers design APIs for AI agents. “APIs are no longer just powering applications, they’re powering AI agents,” says Abhinav Asthana, Postman’s co-founder and CEO.
How we scored the 23
We scored every free tier on six criteria, weighted toward quota and data depth. Every number comes from the provider’s official pricing page, read in September 2026. Providers we could not verify were cut, and they are listed near the end.
Swipe the table sideways to compare →
| Criterion | Weight | What we checked |
|---|---|---|
| Free quota | 25% | Calls or credits a month, and whether they renew |
| Data depth | 25% | Prices only, or wallets, DeFi, risk, and history |
| Coverage | 15% | Coins, chains, venues, and protocols |
| AI readiness | 15% | An official MCP server or agent tooling |
| Docs and limits | 10% | Published numbers, not sales-only |
| Signup friction | 10% | No key, free key, or card required |
Two honest notes. CoinStats API is our product, so it goes first, limits included. And 23 is a menu, not a podium.
The best pick is the one whose limit you never hit.
The 23 best free crypto APIs at a glance
Twelve of the 23 free tiers need no API key. Eleven need a free key, and none needs a card. Nine ship an official MCP server.
Swipe the table sideways to compare →
| Provider | Free tier | Signup | Entry price | AI / MCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoinStats APIMarket data | 20,000 credits/mo, 2 req/s | Free key, no card | from $49/mo | MCP |
| CoinPaprikaMarket data | 20,000 calls/mo, personal use | None | $99/mo | MCP |
| LiveCoinWatchMarket data | 10,000 req/day | Free key, no card | Not listed | No |
| CoinrankingMarket data | 5,000 calls/mo | Free key, no card | $49/mo | No |
| CoinLoreMarket data | No hard limit, ~1 req/s | None | No paid tier | No |
| DIAMarket data | Free, limits not published | None | Custom | No |
| Coin Metrics Community APIMarket data | 10 req / 6 s per IP | None | Not listed | No |
| The GraphOnchain data | 100,000 queries/mo | Free key, no card | $4/mo | MCP |
| ChainbaseOnchain data | 200,000 credits/mo | Free key, no card | $99/mo | MCP |
| RoutescanOnchain data | 10,000/day keyless, 100,000/day with key | None (key optional) | $160/mo | MCP |
| GoldskyOnchain data | $100 one-time credit | Free key, no card | Usage-based | MCP |
| EthplorerOnchain data | 2,000 req/day (freekey) | None | Not listed | No |
| BlockscoutOnchain data | Free reads; PRO free 100,000 credits/day | None (PRO key optional) | $49/mo (PRO) | No |
| mempool.spaceOnchain data | Free, limits not published | None | No paid tier | No |
| DefiLlamaDEX and DeFi | Free, ~31 endpoints | None | $300/mo | MCP (paid) |
| DEX ScreenerDEX and DeFi | 60 req/min | None | Not listed | No |
| 1inchDEX and DeFi | 100,000 calls/mo, 60 req/min | Free key, no card | $149/mo | MCP |
| JupiterDEX and DeFi | 0.5 req/s keyless, 1 req/s with key | None (key optional) | $25/mo | No |
| OpenSeaNFT data | 600 reads/hr | Instant key, no card | Not listed | MCP |
| NFTScanNFT data | 10,000 req/day | Free key, no card | $199 prepaid | No |
| SantimentSentiment | 1,000 calls/mo | Free key, no card | $49/mo | No |
| LunarCrushSentiment | 100 req/day, market data only | Free key, no card | $90/mo | MCP |
| Alternative.me Fear & GreedSentiment | Free, no stated limit | None | No paid tier | No |
Pricing and limits verified September 2026. Providers change terms often, so check each pricing page before you commit.
What matters most to you?
Tap a priority. All 23 APIs re-rank, and the top 8 show.
CoinStats API wins all-round. One free key covers market, wallet, and DeFi data.Coin Metrics and Routescan give the most free calls. CoinStats API ranks 12th here.Twelve of the 23 need no key at all. CoinPaprika is the quickest start.Nine ship an official MCP server. CoinStats API pairs its MCP with the widest data set.The Graph and Jupiter have the cheapest paid steps, at $4 and $25 a month.
CoinStats API20,000 credits/mo, 2 req/s20,000 credits/mo, 2 req/sFree key, no cardMCPfrom $49/moMarket, wallet, DeFi, and risk on one free key.20,000 credits a month, commercial use allowed.Free key from the dashboard, no card.Official MCP server, 20+ tools, OAuth login.Starter adds 1,000,000 credits a month.
CoinPaprika20,000 calls/mo, personal use20,000 calls/mo, personal useNoneMCP$99/moPrices and history with no signup at all.20,000 calls a month, personal use only.No key, no signup, 20,000 calls a month.Official MCP server, keyless.Starter at $99 adds a commercial license.
LiveCoinWatch10,000 req/day10,000 req/dayFree key, no cardNoNot listed10,000 free price calls a day.10,000 requests a day, about 300,000 a month.Free key required, no card.No MCP server.No paid plan published.
Coinranking5,000 calls/mo5,000 calls/moFree key, no cardNo$49/moRanked coins and market caps on a small quota.5,000 calls a month.Free key required, no card.No MCP server.Startup at $49 gives 1,000,000 calls.
CoinLoreNo hard limit, ~1 req/sNo hard limit, ~1 req/sNoneNoNo paid tierFastest zero-setup price call there is.No published cap, about 1 req/s.No key, no signup.No MCP server.No paid tier exists.
DIAFree, limits not publishedFree, limits not publishedNoneNoCustomOracle prices for long-tail tokens, keyless.No published cap.No key, no signup.No MCP server.Custom feeds via sales only.
Coin Metrics Community API10 req / 6 s per IP10 req / 6 s per IPNoneNoNot listedInstitutional metrics with no key.10 requests every 6 seconds, no monthly cap.No key, no signup.No MCP server.Enterprise pricing only.
The Graph100,000 queries/mo100,000 queries/moFree key, no cardMCP$4/moCustom indexed data, 100,000 free queries.100,000 queries a month.Free Studio account required.Official MCP servers for subgraphs.$4 a month for 300,000 queries.
Chainbase200,000 credits/mo200,000 credits/moFree key, no cardMCP$99/mo200,000 free credits a month, REST and SQL.200,000 credits a month.Free key required, no card.Official Chainbase MCP Server.Developer at $99 a month.
Routescan10,000/day keyless, 100,000/day with key10,000/day keyless, 100,000/day with keyNone (key optional)MCP$160/moExplorer data on 70+ EVM chains, 100,000 calls a day.100,000 calls a day with a free key.10,000 calls a day with no key.Official MCP server.Standard at $160 a month.
Goldsky$100 one-time credit$100 one-time creditFree key, no cardMCPUsage-basedStreaming pipelines, $100 to start.One-time $100 credit, not a monthly quota.Free account required, no card.Docs MCP server and agent skills.Usage-based, from roughly $37 a month.
Ethplorer2,000 req/day (freekey)2,000 req/day (freekey)NoneNoNot listedEthereum token data with the shared freekey.2,000 requests a day on freekey.Shared freekey, no signup.No MCP server.Paid pricing not published.
BlockscoutFree reads; PRO free 100,000 credits/dayFree reads; PRO free 100,000 credits/dayNone (PRO key optional)No$49/mo (PRO)Open-source explorer data, plus a 100,000-a-day PRO plan.100,000 PRO credits a day at 5 req/s.No key for public reads.No MCP server.PRO at $49 a month.
mempool.spaceFree, limits not publishedFree, limits not publishedNoneNoNo paid tierBitcoin fees and blocks, keyless.No published cap, 429 on abuse.No key, no signup.No MCP server.No paid tier, self-host instead.
DefiLlamaFree, ~31 endpointsFree, ~31 endpointsNoneMCP (paid)$300/moEvery DeFi number you need, keyless.No published cap on free endpoints.No key, no signup.MCP server exists but bills on paid plans.Pro at $300 a month.
DEX Screener60 req/min60 req/minNoneNoNot listedLive DEX pairs with no key.60 a minute, about 86,000 a day.No key, no signup.No MCP server.Paid pricing shown only at checkout.
1inch100,000 calls/mo, 60 req/min100,000 calls/mo, 60 req/minFree key, no cardMCP$149/moSwap quotes on 13+ chains, 100,000 free calls.100,000 calls a month at 60 a minute.Free key required, no card.Official MCP server for swaps.Startup at $149 a month, billed yearly.
Jupiter0.5 req/s keyless, 1 req/s with key0.5 req/s keyless, 1 req/s with keyNone (key optional)No$25/moSolana swap quotes, free by default.1 request a second, no credit cap.Keyless at 0.5 requests a second.No official MCP server.Developer at $25 a month.
OpenSea600 reads/hr600 reads/hrInstant key, no cardMCPNot listedMarketplace data with an instant key.600 reads an hour, about 14,000 a day.Instant key from one POST call.Official MCP server with keyless mode.Paid pricing not published.
NFTScan10,000 req/day10,000 req/dayFree key, no cardNo$199 prepaidCollectible metadata on 20 chains.10,000 requests a day.Free key issued automatically.No MCP server.$199 prepaid minimum.
Santiment1,000 calls/mo1,000 calls/moFree key, no cardNo$49/moSocial and dev metrics, small free quota.1,000 calls a month.Free key required, no card.No MCP server.Pro at $49 a month.
LunarCrush100 req/day, market data only100 req/day, market data onlyFree key, no cardMCP$90/moSocial scores, but paid; free is market data.100 requests a day.Free key required, no card.Official MCP server.Individual at $90 a month.
Alternative.me Fear & GreedFree, no stated limitFree, no stated limitNoneNoNo paid tierOne sentiment number, zero setup.No stated limit.No key, no signup.No MCP server.No paid tier exists.
Top 8 shown per priority. All 23 are scored. Verified September 2026.
Free market data APIs: prices, tickers, and history
Market data APIs return prices, volumes, and history for coins, not wallets. They are the most common free crypto API and the easiest to swap. Seven made the cut, and the first one also reads wallets.
CoinStats API
1CoinStats APIBest for: market, wallet and DeFi data on one key
CoinStats Crypto API returns market, wallet, DeFi, and token-risk data from one key. The free tier includes 20,000 credits a month at 2 requests a second. Commercial use is allowed, and no card is needed.
It covers 100,000+ coins, 200+ exchanges, and 120+ blockchains, 74 of them EVM. That mix is why portfolio apps and AI agents start here.
- Live prices and market data for 100,000+ coins across 200+ exchanges.
- Wallet balances and token holdings across 120+ blockchains in one response.
- DeFi positions across 10,000+ protocols: staking, lending, and liquidity pools.
- Token Risks endpoint flags honeypots and risky contracts on the free tier.
- REST plus an MCP Server with 20+ tools for AI agents.
Free tier: 20,000 credits/moRate limit: 2 req/sEntry price: from $49/moAI: REST + MCP
What to verify: Credits are weighted. A coin lookup costs 1 or 2 credits, a wallet balance 40 to 50, DeFi data 400. CoinStats API is read-side data, not a node or a trading layer.
One practical example. A portfolio tracker needs balances, DeFi, and prices for each user. With separate providers, that is three integrations and a lot of glue.
With one schema, it is one call per wallet. Need the wider market picture? Our best crypto API guide covers it in depth.
Swipe to see the full diagram
The formula
CoinStats Crypto API ≈ live prices + wallet balances + DeFi positions + token risk, on one free key.
From our founder
“We built CoinStats API for one reason. Developers were stitching five services together to answer one question. Now one key returns prices, balances, DeFi, and token risk. And the free tier is a real tier, with commercial use allowed. The teams winning today ship fast on clean data.”
Built with CoinStats API
Open-source projects built on CoinStats API.
CoinPaprika
2CoinPaprikaBest for: no-signup price data
CoinPaprika serves prices, tickers, exchanges, and OHLCV history over REST. The free plan allows 20,000 calls a month with no API key. It is licensed for personal, non-commercial use.
It also ships an official MCP server. That makes it a quick start for agent experiments.
- 20,000 calls a month, no key, no signup.
- Free plan covers 2,000 assets with one year of daily history.
- Tickers, exchanges, and OHLCV endpoints over plain REST.
- Official MCP server for AI agents.
Free tier: 20,000 calls/moEntry price: Starter $99/moCoverage: 2,000 assets (free)AI: MCP
What to verify: The free plan is non-commercial. A monetized app needs the $99 Starter plan.
LiveCoinWatch
3LiveCoinWatchBest for: biggest daily price quota
LiveCoinWatch offers 10,000 requests a day on a free key. Prices update every two seconds. Endpoints cover coins, exchanges, history, and a market overview.
No paid tier is published. The site markets the API as free.
- 10,000 requests a day on a free key.
- Real-time prices with two-second updates.
- Single-coin, coin list, and history endpoints.
- Exchange and market overview endpoints.
Free tier: 10,000 req/dayEntry price: Not publicly listedSignup: Free key, no cardAI: No
What to verify: There is no published paid plan. That means no SLA and no upgrade path.
Coinranking
4CoinrankingBest for: coin rankings and market caps
Coinranking returns ranked coins, prices, market caps, and exchange data. The free plan allows 5,000 calls a month at 5 requests a second. A key is required, a card is not.
Paid plans add real-time DEX data as an add-on.
- Ranked coin lists with prices, market caps, and supply.
- Exchange, market, and reference-currency endpoints.
- 5,000 free calls a month with a 5 req/s ceiling.
- Real-time DEX data available as a paid add-on.
Free tier: 5,000 calls/moRate limit: 5 req/sEntry price: Startup $49/moAI: No
What to verify: 5,000 calls a month is thin. It suits demos and low-traffic dashboards, not polling.
CoinLore
5CoinLoreBest for: zero-setup price scripts
CoinLore is a keyless market-data API for 14,000+ coins. There is no signup and no published hard limit. About one request a second is the courtesy pace.
There is no paid tier, so there is nothing to upgrade to.
- Tickers, global stats, exchanges, and markets by coin.
- No key, no registration, no card.
- Roughly one request a second recommended.
- Simple JSON, easy to script in any language.
Free tier: No key, no hard limitEntry price: None (no paid tier)Coverage: 14,000+ coinsAI: No
What to verify: No SLA and no paid path. Treat the free access as a courtesy, not a guarantee.
DIA
6DIABest for: oracle-grade prices, no key
DIA is an oracle provider. It publishes its price feeds as a free REST API. It covers 3,000+ tokens on 65+ chains, with no key or signup.
Exact rate limits are not published. Paid access is a custom feed via sales.
- Trade-level price feeds for 3,000+ tokens.
- Coverage across 65+ chains, including long-tail assets.
- No key, no registration.
- Same data that powers DIA oracles onchain.
Free tier: Free, no keyRate limit: Not publishedEntry price: CustomAI: No
What to verify: No published rate limit and no self-serve paid plan. Build with a fallback.
Coin Metrics Community API
7Coin Metrics Community APIBest for: institutional metrics, keyless
Coin Metrics Community API is a free, keyless slice of its institutional data. It returns network metrics, reference rates, and asset metadata. The limit is 10 requests every 6 seconds per IP.
Talos bought Coin Metrics in 2025, a deal The Block put above $100 million. The Community API is still live in September 2026.
- Onchain network metrics for major assets.
- Reference rates and market data at daily resolution.
- No key, no signup, Creative Commons license.
- History is capped on free endpoints.
Free tier: No key, 10 req / 6 sEntry price: Not publicly listedCoverage: Major assetsAI: No
What to verify: Free history is short. Fine-resolution reference rates return only a handful of points.
Free onchain and wallet data APIs
An onchain data API reads balances, transfers, and contracts, then indexes them. a16z’s 2025 State of Crypto report counted 181 million monthly active onchain addresses. Chains keep multiplying too, with L2BEAT tracking 104 Ethereum scaling projects in September 2026.
“In crypto, the raw material is already digital, structured, and real-time,” says Jason Yanowitz, co-founder of Blockworks. Indexing turns that raw material into balances and transfers you can query.
The eight below do that indexing for you. An RPC endpoint returns raw chain state instead, per the Ethereum JSON-RPC docs. For raw node access, see our RPC node providers guide.
The Graph
8The GraphBest for: custom indexed data
The Graph is a decentralized indexing protocol. You define a subgraph, and it indexes onchain data into a GraphQL API. Subgraph Studio includes 100,000 free queries a month.
Paid queries start at $4 a month for 300,000. Its Token API for balances and transfers is now operated with Pinax.
- Custom subgraphs return exactly the data you model.
- 100,000 free queries a month in Subgraph Studio.
- Coverage across 70+ networks.
- Official MCP servers connect subgraphs to agents.
Free tier: 100,000 queries/moEntry price: $4/mo (300k queries)Coverage: 70+ networksAI: MCP
What to verify: A custom subgraph needs schema work and indexing time. Budget days, not minutes.
Chainbase
9ChainbaseBest for: biggest free credit pool
Chainbase serves indexed onchain data over REST and SQL. The free plan includes 200,000 credits a month, the largest monthly pool here. Data API calls are capped at 3 credits a second.
The Developer plan starts at $99 a month.
- Token, collectible, balance, and transaction endpoints.
- SQL access to indexed datasets.
- Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Aptos, and Sui.
- 200,000 free credits a month, no card.
- Chainbase MCP Server and Web3 data skills for agents.
Free tier: 200,000 credits/moRate limit: 3 credits/sEntry price: $99/moAI: MCP
What to verify: Pricing pages moved domains this year. Confirm the plan on platform.chainbase.com.
Routescan
10RoutescanBest for: explorer data across 70+ EVM chains
Routescan is an explorer API with one base URL for 70+ EVM chains. Keyless access allows 10,000 calls a day at 2 requests a second. A free key raises that to 100,000 a day at 5 requests a second.
That is the largest published daily quota here. Paid plans start at $160 a month.
- Explorer-style endpoints: balances, transactions, logs, and contracts.
- One key, 70+ EVM chains, switch by chain id.
- Keyless 10,000 calls a day, free key 100,000 a day.
- Official MCP server.
Free tier: 100,000 calls/day (free key)Rate limit: 5 req/sEntry price: $160/moAI: MCP
What to verify: Older Snowtrace docs redirect here. Link the Routescan docs, not the old ones.
Goldsky
11GoldskyBest for: real-time indexing pipelines
Goldsky hosts subgraphs and streams decoded onchain data into your own database. New accounts get a one-time $100 credit across all products. No card is required.
Usage-based plans follow once the credit runs out.
- Subgraph hosting across 150+ chains.
- Mirror pipelines stream data into Postgres, Kafka, and more.
- $100 one-time credit covers subgraphs and pipelines.
- Docs MCP server and agent skills for AI tools.
Free tier: $100 one-time creditEntry price: Usage-basedCoverage: 150+ chainsAI: MCP
What to verify: The free credit does not renew. Model your monthly cost before it runs out.
Ethplorer
12EthplorerBest for: free Ethereum token lookups
Ethplorer is a focused Ethereum token and wallet explorer. Its REST API returns ERC-20 balances, holders, and transfers. The shared freekey needs no signup.
Freekey allows 5 requests a second and 2,000 a day. A registered free key raises the rate to 10 a second.
- ETH and ERC-20 balances by address.
- Token info, holders, and price data.
- Address history and decoded transactions.
- Ethereum plus BNB Chain, Blast, and Linea.
Free tier: freekey, 2,000 req/dayRate limit: 5 req/sEntry price: Not publicly listedAI: No
What to verify: Freekey also carries hourly and weekly caps. It is not meant for production, and paid pricing is not published.
Blockscout
13BlockscoutBest for: open-source explorer data
Blockscout is the open-source explorer behind dozens of public chain explorers. Each hosted instance exposes free REST and JSON-RPC endpoints, no key needed. PRO API free plan: 100,000 credits a day at 5 req/s.
Paid PRO plans start at $49 a month. You can also self-host it, which removes any rate limit.
- Addresses, transactions, tokens, and verified contracts.
- Free public reads on every hosted instance, no key.
- PRO API free plan: 100,000 credits a day, all chains, no card.
- Self-host for unlimited access.
Free tier: 100,000 credits/day (PRO)Rate limit: 5 req/sEntry price: PRO $49/moAI: No
What to verify: Public instances are run separately, so limits differ by chain. Use the PRO API for one key across all of them.
mempool.space
14mempool.spaceBest for: Bitcoin fees and mempool
mempool.space is the open-source Bitcoin explorer with a free REST and WebSocket API. It returns fee estimates, mempool state, blocks, and addresses. No key is required.
Heavy use gets a 429 response. Self-host for production.
- Recommended fee estimates in one call.
- Mempool, block, and transaction data.
- Address balances and unspent outputs.
- Testnet, Signet, and Liquid networks too.
Free tier: Free public API, no keyRate limit: Not publishedEntry price: None (self-host)AI: No
What to verify: The numeric rate limit is undisclosed. Cache responses and back off on 429s.
Free DEX and DeFi data APIs
DEX and DeFi APIs track liquidity pools, swaps, and protocol deposits. Price APIs miss all three. DeFi held about $88 billion in total value locked in September 2026, per DefiLlama.
Three free APIs cover most of that surface. For a deeper look, see our best DeFi APIs guide.
DefiLlama
15DefiLlamaBest for: DeFi TVL, yields, and volumes
DefiLlama is the open DeFi dashboard, and its free API needs no key. It returns TVL, prices, yields, volumes, and fees across protocols and chains. About 31 endpoints are free.
A Pro API at $300 a month adds more endpoints and higher limits.
- Protocol and chain TVL, current and historical.
- Token prices, yields, DEX volumes, and fees.
- No key, no signup.
- Official MCP server, billed on paid plans.
Free tier: Free, no keyRate limit: Not publishedEntry price: Pro $300/moAI: MCP (paid)
What to verify: Free rate limits are not numeric. The MCP server bills against a paid plan.
DEX Screener
16DEX ScreenerBest for: DEX pairs and token launches
DEX Screener exposes the same pair data as its charts through a free API. It returns pairs, prices, liquidity, and volume by token or chain. No key is needed at 60 requests a minute per endpoint group.
Paid pricing is only shown at checkout.
- Pair lookups by token address or chain.
- Price, liquidity, volume, and transaction counts.
- Token profiles and boosted-token feeds.
- 60 requests a minute, keyless.
Free tier: 60 req/min, no keyEntry price: Not publicly listedCoverage: Multichain DEX pairsAI: No
What to verify: Rate limits differ per endpoint group. Read the reference before you batch calls.
1inch
171inchBest for: swap quotes and DEX aggregation
1inch Developer Portal gives free access to its swap, quote, orderbook, and data APIs. The free plan allows 100,000 calls a month at 60 requests a minute. No card is required.
The portal now lives at business.1inch.com. Paid plans start at $149 a month billed yearly.
- Swap and quote endpoints across 13+ chains.
- Orderbook, balances, and price APIs.
- 100,000 free calls a month.
- Official MCP server for agent swaps.
Free tier: 100,000 calls/moRate limit: 60 req/minEntry price: $149/mo (yearly)AI: MCP
What to verify: The old portal.1inch.dev URL redirects. Update any saved links.
Jupiter
18JupiterBest for: Solana swaps and token prices
Jupiter is Solana’s main swap aggregator, and its API is free by default. Keyless calls run at 0.5 requests a second. A free key doubles that to 1 request a second, with no credit cap.
Paid plans start at $25 a month for 10 requests a second.
- Swap quotes and routes across Solana DEXs.
- Token prices and metadata.
- Keyless 0.5 req/s, free key 1 req/s.
- Execute calls cost 0 credits on every plan.
Free tier: 1 req/s (free key)Rate limit: 0.5 req/s keylessEntry price: Developer $25/moAI: No
What to verify: One request a second is thin for polling. Cache prices and batch tokens per call.
Free NFT data APIs
NFT APIs return collections, listings, holders, and sales, which token APIs skip. Two providers still offer a real free tier in 2026. Several others shut down, and they are listed near the end.
OpenSea
19OpenSeaBest for: NFT listings and collections
OpenSea API returns collections, listings, offers, and events across EVM chains and Solana. One POST call issues an instant 7-day key with 600 reads an hour. A free dashboard key lifts the 7-day expiry.
It also ships an official MCP server with a keyless mode.
- Collections, items, listings, and offers.
- Events and sales history.
- Instant keyless key for prototyping.
- Official MCP server.
Free tier: 600 reads/hrEntry price: Not publicly listedCoverage: EVM + SolanaAI: MCP
What to verify: Paid pricing is not public. Plan for a sales conversation at scale.
NFTScan
20NFTScanBest for: multichain NFT metadata
NFTScan indexes collectible metadata, holders, and activity across 20 chains. The free plan allows 10,000 requests a day. Keys are issued automatically.
Paid usage is prepaid compute units with a $199 minimum.
- Assets, collections, and holders by chain.
- Transfer and trade activity.
- 10,000 free requests a day.
- 20 chains, EVM and beyond.
Free tier: 10,000 req/dayEntry price: $199 prepaid minimumCoverage: 20 chainsAI: No
What to verify: Paid pricing is prepaid credit, not a monthly plan.
Free sentiment and news APIs
Sentiment APIs turn social chatter and onchain behavior into a score. They are signals, not prices, so pair them with a market data API. Three offer a free tier.
Santiment
21SantimentBest for: social and dev-activity signals
Santiment’s SanAPI exposes onchain, social, and development metrics. The free plan includes 1,000 calls a month across a limited metric set. Rate limits are 100 a minute and 500 an hour.
Sanbase Pro at $49 a month unlocks the rest.
- Social volume and sentiment metrics.
- Developer activity by project.
- Onchain metrics for major assets.
- GraphQL API with SQL-style queries on paid plans.
Free tier: 1,000 calls/moRate limit: 100/minEntry price: Pro $49/moAI: No
What to verify: Most social metrics sit behind Pro. The free set is narrow.
LunarCrush
22LunarCrushBest for: social sentiment for agents
LunarCrush scores coins by social activity. The free Hobby plan is market-data only: 100 requests a day, 4 a minute. Social and creator endpoints need a paid plan.
It ships an official MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini.
- Market-data endpoints on the free Hobby plan.
- Galaxy Score and social volume on paid plans.
- 100 requests a day, 4 a minute.
- Official MCP server.
Free tier: 100 req/day (market data)Entry price: Individual $90/moCoverage: Coins and creatorsAI: MCP
What to verify: The data LunarCrush is known for is paid-only. Free means market data.
Alternative.me Fear & Greed
23Alternative.me Fear & GreedBest for: one sentiment number
Alternative.me publishes the Crypto Fear & Greed Index as a free API. One endpoint returns today’s score and history. No key, no signup, no stated limit.
Commercial use requires visible attribution.
- Current index value and classification.
- Full daily history.
- No key, no card, no registration.
- Attribution required for commercial use.
Free tier: Free, no keyEntry price: NoneCoverage: One indexAI: No
What to verify: It is one number. Pair it with a price API for anything else.
Exchange public endpoints, free by design
Every major exchange publishes free public market-data endpoints. They cover that venue’s own order books and nothing else. Private trading endpoints need account keys.
OKX, Bybit, and KuCoin all answer without a key. Bybit caps public calls at 600 requests every 5 seconds per IP. KuCoin allows 2,000 requests every 30 seconds.
Hyperliquid, an onchain exchange, allows a weighted 1,200 requests a minute. None of these is ranked above, because none is an aggregator. For prices across venues, use a market data API from the first section.
Top picks by category
Short on time? Six standout picks, by job.
Best all-in-one free tier
CoinStats API
Market, wallet, DeFi, and token risk on one free key.
20,000 credits a month, commercial use allowed.
Biggest free quota
Routescan
Explorer data across 70+ EVM chains from one base URL.
100,000 calls a day on a free key.
Best no-signup price API
CoinPaprika
Prices, tickers, and one year of history with no key.
20,000 calls a month, personal use.
Best for custom indexed data
The Graph
Model exactly the onchain data you need with GraphQL.
100,000 free queries, then $4 a month.
Best free DeFi data
DefiLlama
TVL, yields, volumes, and fees across protocols, keyless.
No key, no signup, no card.
Best free DEX data
DEX Screener
Live pairs, liquidity, and volume by token or chain.
60 requests a minute, no key.
Comparison by use case
Pick by what you are building. Wallet-first picks live in our best crypto wallet APIs guide. Agent-first picks live in our crypto APIs for AI agents guide.
Portfolio trackers and wallet apps
Top pick: CoinStats API. One key returns balances, DeFi, and prices per wallet across 120+ chains.
Alternatives: Routescan, Ethplorer.
Price tickers and dashboards
Top pick: CoinPaprika. No key, 20,000 calls a month, one year of daily history.
Alternatives: LiveCoinWatch, CoinLore, Coinranking.
Custom indexed data and analytics
Top pick: The Graph. Model the exact data with a subgraph and query it over GraphQL.
Alternatives: Goldsky, Chainbase.
DeFi and DEX analytics
Top pick: DefiLlama. TVL, yields, and volumes across protocols with no key.
Alternatives: DEX Screener, 1inch, Jupiter.
Bitcoin apps
Top pick: mempool.space. Fee estimates, mempool state, and blocks from one free API.
Alternatives: CoinStats API for Bitcoin wallet balances.
Explorer-style lookups on EVM chains
Top pick: Routescan. Balances, transactions, and logs on 70+ chains with one key.
Alternatives: Blockscout, Ethplorer.
AI agents and MCP
Top pick: CoinStats API. An MCP server with 20+ tools behind one login.
Alternatives: CoinPaprika, The Graph, 1inch, OpenSea.
Sentiment and social signals
Top pick: Santiment. Social volume and developer activity on a small free quota.
Alternatives: LunarCrush, Alternative.me.
How to choose a free crypto API
Pick a free crypto API by the limit you will hit first. A 100,000-call quota behind a 5-a-minute cap is a 7,200-call day. Read the rate cap before the quota.
Then match the data to the job. Prices only? A keyless price API is enough.
Wallets, DeFi, and prices together? Pick the one that returns them in one schema.
Breadth matters more than most builders expect. A price-only API looks like enough until a user asks for wallet balances. Count the data types you will need in six months, not today.
Check the license too. A free crypto price API for personal use cannot ship in a paid app. CoinStats API allows commercial use on its free tier, and CoinPaprika does not.
Then test before you commit. Run the free tier against your real endpoints. Check the response shape, the latency, and what a 429 looks like.
A homepage logo does not prove a chain is supported. The actual response does.
Your first request in one minute
Most free crypto APIs return your first JSON in under a minute. Here are three calls, one with a key and two without.
# CoinStats API: Bitcoin price and market data (free key, 1 credit)
curl -H “X-API-KEY: YOUR_KEY” “https://api.coinstats.app/v1/coins/bitcoin”
Get the key at openapi.coinstats.app. Keep it server-side, never in client code. This call costs 1 credit; a wallet balance costs 40.
# CoinPaprika: Bitcoin ticker, no key
curl “https://api.coinpaprika.com/v1/tickers/btc-bitcoin”
# mempool.space: recommended Bitcoin fees, no key
curl “https://mempool.space/api/v1/fees/recommended”
Three habits save quota. Cache anything that changes slower than you poll, and back off on a 429. Log credits per endpoint from day one.
APIs we do not recommend
Six well-known crypto APIs lost or never had a free tier by September 2026. Three more are trial-only or stale. We checked each one, so you do not have to.
CoinCap v2shut down 2025
CoinCap’s keyless v2 API shut down in 2025, and api.coincap.io no longer resolves. The v3 successor needs a key and allows 500 credits a month. Any tutorial still calling v2 is broken.
Dune Simshut down Aug 2026
Dune closed Sim signups on May 18, 2026. It shut the API on August 1, 2026, per its own announcement. Our Dune Sim alternatives guide covers where to go next.
Reservoirshut down Oct 2025
Reservoir sunset its marketplace API on October 15, 2025 and moved on to Relay. The endpoints are gone.
SimpleHashshut down Mar 2025
SimpleHash shut down on March 27, 2025 after Phantom acquired it. Its token and collectible endpoints no longer exist.
Magic Eden APIBitcoin and EVM gone
Magic Eden shut its Bitcoin and EVM APIs after March 27, 2026. Only the Solana API remains, and Magic Eden says it is being evaluated.
Messarisales-only since Jun 2026
Blockworks acquired Messari in June 2026. Its API page now routes to sales, with no self-serve free tier.
Coinglass and Glassnodeno free API tier
Both are solid products with no free API tier. Coinglass starts at $29 a month. Glassnode’s cheapest API access is a limited Light API at $49 a month, yearly.
GoldRush (Covalent)trial only
GoldRush offers 25,000 credits for 14 days, then $10 a month. It is a good multichain API with no recurring free tier.
Unmarshalstale
Unmarshal’s site shows no recent dated updates, and pricing is not published. We could not confirm the API is maintained, so it is out.
“CoinCap retired its free, keyless v2 API (the host no longer resolves) and v3 now requires an account and key,” says Mateusz Sroka, Lead Developer Advocate at CoinPaprika, in his migration guide. If your code still calls v2, it is already broken.
Dune was candid about why Sim went. “Sim served a real need, but it pulled focus from where we believe Dune wins: being the read layer for onchain data,” says Mats Olsen, co-founder and CTO at Dune, in the sunset announcement.
One more warning that applies to this list too. CoinStats API, Chainbase, and Blockscout PRO bill in credits, not calls. Read the per-endpoint cost before you assume 20,000 means 20,000.
Conclusion: match the free tier to the limit you will hit first
The best free crypto API is the one whose limit you never reach. For most apps that is CoinStats API, with four data types on one key. For a price ticker with no signup, it is CoinPaprika or CoinLore.
For onchain data, start with The Graph or Routescan. For DeFi, DefiLlama. For Bitcoin, mempool.space.
SlashData counts just over 47 million developers worldwide in 2025. For most, a free tier is the first crypto data they will touch. Pick the one that still works next year.
Building on one chain? See our best Ethereum APIs and best Solana APIs guides.
rr/CryptoTechnology· the question that keeps coming up
“Are there any good free APIs that provide stats on crypto? I need prices, market caps, and ideally wallet balances. I do not want to pay before I have users.”
▲ representative thread · recurring topic
Representative of recurring r/CryptoTechnology and r/CryptoCurrency threads on free crypto APIs.
Written by
Tigran Mkrtchyan
Tigran is Head of Digital Marketing at CoinStats, working across crypto and consumer apps. His writing covers first-hand crypto experience and marketing case studies from that work. He speaks at MAU Vegas, Business of Apps Berlin, and App Promotion Summit London.
More from Tigran on the CoinStats blog · LinkedIn · X
Frequently asked questions about free crypto APIs
Common questions developers ask before picking a free crypto API.
What is a free crypto API?
A free crypto API is a data endpoint you can call without paying. Each stops at a published limit: a quota, a rate cap, or a license. Most return prices, wallet balances, or onchain data as JSON.
What is an API key in crypto?
An API key is a token that identifies your app to a data provider. You send it in a request header such as X-API-KEY. A free key tracks your quota and gives no access to any funds.
Is there a free crypto API with no API key?
Yes. CoinPaprika, CoinLore, DefiLlama, DEX Screener, mempool.space, and DIA all answer without a key. Keyless access usually comes with lower or unpublished rate limits.
Is there a free crypto price API?
Yes. CoinStats API, CoinPaprika, LiveCoinWatch, Coinranking, and CoinLore all return prices free. CoinStats API adds wallet and DeFi data on the same key.
Which free crypto API has historical price data?
CoinPaprika includes one year of daily history on its free plan. CoinStats API returns chart history on free credits. Coin Metrics Community API offers daily reference rates with a capped history.
Which free crypto API works with AI agents and MCP?
CoinStats API, CoinPaprika, The Graph, Chainbase, 1inch, OpenSea, Routescan, and Goldsky ship MCP servers. LunarCrush does too. MCP is becoming a baseline feature, so judge the data underneath.
Are exchange APIs free?
Yes, every major exchange publishes free public market-data endpoints. They cover only that exchange’s own markets. For prices across venues, use an aggregator such as CoinStats API or CoinPaprika.
How many requests do free crypto APIs allow?
It ranges from 100 requests a day to 100,000 a day. Routescan allows 100,000 calls a day on a free key. CoinStats API includes 20,000 credits a month at 2 requests a second.
What is the difference between calls and credits?
A call is one request. A credit is a weighted call, where heavy endpoints cost more. CoinStats API and Chainbase bill in credits, so check the per-endpoint cost.
Can I use a free crypto API in a commercial app?
Sometimes. CoinStats API allows commercial use on its free tier. CoinPaprika’s free plan is personal use only, and Alternative.me requires attribution.
Which free crypto API is the best?
CoinStats API is the best all-round free crypto API for apps. It returns market, wallet, and DeFi data on one key. For pure price feeds with no signup, CoinPaprika is the quickest start.
Which free crypto API is easiest to scale?
The Graph and Jupiter have the cheapest paid steps: $4 and $25 a month. CoinStats API scales with credit-based plans from $49 a month. Keyless APIs with no paid tier cannot scale with you.
How do I choose a free crypto API?
Match the API to the data you need first. Then find the limit you will hit first: quota, rate, or license. Test the free tier on real calls before you build.
Sources and references
Statistics and dates in this guide come from the sources below. Provider limits come from each provider’s official pricing page, read in September 2026.
- Postman, State of the API Report (2025) and its launch announcement (October 2025).
- NIST, SP 800-228 Guidelines for API Protection for Cloud-Native Systems (2025, updated 2026).
- a16z crypto, State of Crypto Report (2025).
- L2BEAT, scaling summary, read September 2026.
- DefiLlama, total value locked, read September 2026.
- Mats Olsen, Dune, “Sunsetting Sim” (May 2026).
- The Block, report on Talos acquiring Coin Metrics (2025).
- Blockworks, announcement of the Messari acquisition, quoting Jason Yanowitz (June 2026).
- SlashData, global developer population estimate (2025).
- Ethereum.org, JSON-RPC API documentation.
- Mateusz Sroka, CoinCap to CoinPaprika migration guide (July 2026).
- Provider pricing and docs pages for all 23 listed APIs, read September 2026.
Build on the complete crypto data layer
Market data, wallet balances, DeFi, and token risk across 120+ chains. REST and MCP. Free tier, no card.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not financial, investment, or legal advice. Crypto APIs change fast, and pricing, limits, and coverage move. Verify each provider’s docs before integrating. Always do your own research. Test any crypto API before production use.
