Top 7 Fundamental Financial Data APIs in 2024
Discover some of the best APIs out there for fundamental data
Introduction
While more and more people tend to lean towards technical analysis to come up with a viable trading strategy, there is still a huge crowd following fundamental analysis to gain insights into a particular stock and create a simple yet highly effective trading strategy.
For a seamless and coherent fundamental analysis, it’s crucial to have reliable fundamental data. Without having quality fundamental data as a foundation, the whole fundamental analysis might fall apart. So it’s the responsibility of the traders and researchers to be aware of the importance of fundamental data and choosing the right API provider. But there persists a problem.
The discontinuation of Yahoo Finance’s data services and libraries gave a great kickstart to the financial API market. So given the amount of available fundamental data API providers in the market today, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one that perfectly suits your needs.
That’s why, in this article, I’m going to introduce you to a curated list of some of the best fundamental data APIs to ease the process of finding the right one for you.
Without further ado, let’s dive right into the list!
Top 7 Fundamental Financial Data APIs
The ranking of the APIs is based on three factors: Ease of use, documentation, and pricing. After careful consideration, these are the seven best fundamental financial APIs:
- EOD Historical Data (EODHD)
- Alpha Vantage
- Intrinio
- Twelve Data
- Polygon.io
- Finnhub
- Finage
I’ve personally used and vetted each of the APIs. Now let’s dive deeper into each one of the APIs and discuss the reasoning behind their position in the list.
1. EOD Historical Data (EODHD)
EOD Historical Data’s fundamental data API tops this list due to a multitude of reasons.
Firstly, the sheer amount of data that comes with this API is insane. It has 30 years of data with coverage of not only US exchanges but also non-US exchanges (70+ exchanges worldwide). Having access to abundant fundamental data gives traders the exact edge they need in the market and EODHD perfectly paves the way for it.
Let’s talk about ease of use. EODHD’s API is one of the easiest to work with. The JSON response given by the API is very clean demanding little to no effort from the users to format and make the data usable. They even provide customization options to the users to change the type of response they get from the API. If their preferred choice of response is CSV, they can change it from JSON feasibly. They also have the Bulk request option which really comes in handy to make a huge number of API calls in order to extract loads of fundamental data.
EODHD’s goal of making fundamental data more accessible to people made them take one step further by introducing a suite of no-code solutions (Excel & Google Sheets add-ons), through which, non-technical people can seamlessly extract the desired fundamental data without undergoing any coding processes. This is a no-brainer as APIs were previously restricted to only those who are well-versed in programming and data science.
Speaking of EODHD’s documentation, it’s very well-organized and contains every type of information that the user might need to comfortably use their fundamental data API. Their comprehensive documentation page comprises in-depth explanations, code samples for each use case, and brief descriptions of each output field.
Regarding pricing for Fundamental data, while EODHD offers a free plan ideal for familiarizing yourself with their APIs, you will need a package with Fundamental Data access. It costs only $59.99 and offers a plethora of features & data, including Fundamental data access to not only US stocks but worldwide markets, over 30 years of historical data, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Earnings Per Share, Economic Events, Macroeconomic Data, access to 40,000 logos, financial news feeds, and more! Additionally, there is an All-in-One plan for $99.99, which includes Fundamental Data as well as Historical EOD, Real-Time data, Intraday, and more. A secret trick: they have a perfectly working Bulk API (Fundamental Data request for a whole exchange or multiple tickers), which can save you a lot of time. It can be activated via their support.
Overall, EODHD’s fundamental data API stands out as one of the best available, excelling not only in quality and data variety but also offering 24/7 live support, flexible pricing options, and a robust 7-year reputation in the market.
2. Alpha Vantage
The second one on our list is the fundamental data API provided by Alpha Vantage.
Alpha Vantage is a well-known reputed API provider known for its data reliability and accuracy. The same applies to their fundamental data API too. It’s one of the most reliable data with a very slight margin of error. Also, Alpha Vantage is an official data vendor of NASDAQ which further validates their data quality.
The fundamental data API of Alpha Vantage is very easy to use. It takes very minimal code to use their API and extract data. The JSON response of the APIs is also pretty clean saving a lot of time on the developers’ end to format the data.
I really like the documentation of Alpha Vantage. Nothing fancy but dives straight to the point which is truly awesome and time-saving. The categorization done by the platform for their APIs boosts user experience as it makes it easy to find the APIs we’re looking for. In addition to the categorization, Alpha Vantage follows an interesting labeling system in their documentation that highlights the most-used and trending API endpoints.
The only drawback of Alpha Vantage is the limited number of fundamental data API endpoints. Though it does cover all the necessary ones, its fundamental data API library is relatively small. Of course, this is not a very serious downside but still, it’s something to look into.
In conclusion, Alpha Vantage is a solid API provider with reliable fundamental data. It is recommended for both beginners who are just starting out as well as for developers who aim to build applications.
3. Intrinio
The next on our list is, none other than Intrinio’s fundamental data API package.
This is a very special one from Intrinio for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the fundamental data API library is truly impressive. It’s a very extensive one with a heck lot of API endpoints. From the basic to interesting ones, you can literally find any kind of fundamental data API in their library. In addition to the fundamental data, Intrinio provides News and Press release data for US securities in its package.
Secondly, the documentation page for their suite of fundamental data APIs is really good. The design and layout are well-thought-out and provide a great user experience. The documentation comprises explanations of not only the parameters but also all the output fields of the response which is really helpful in knowing the data we are extracting. The documentation also makes it very easy to get the code to extract specific data from any fundamental data API. This saves a lot of time on the developers’ end.
When everything is great with Intrinio’s fundamental data API, where do they go wrong? The major drawback of Intrinio is its highly-priced subscription plans. The fundamental data package costs around $9600 per year which is an astronomical number when compared to other platforms.
Intrinio can be one of the best platforms for companies who don’t mind spending a fortune in acquiring data. The platform’s data reliability and accuracy are on-point and has a great number of features. But it’s not recommended to someone who is just starting out because you won’t find the value for money.
4. Twelve Data
The next on our list is Twelve Data’s fundamental data API.
Twelve Data is one of the most popular platforms for financial data APIs. It’s loved by developers more than traders as Twelve Data can be greatly effective for developing and scaling applications.
The platform has a pretty interesting fundamental data API library. It covers all the basic ones like earnings, IPO calendar, Balance sheet, dividends, etc. but it also extends to some cool endpoints like insider transactions, institutional holders, and direct holders to name a few.
The documentation of Twelve Data is decent but can improved in a lot of aspects. First off, I think there need to be some changes to the current layout of the documentation because it’s a little clumsy and definitely doesn't provide a good user experience. Secondly, the documentation doesn't feature any code samples from any programming languages. Finally, the depth of the content shown in the documentation is very shallow. Due to these reasons, the documentation of Twelve Data is not very commendable.
Coming to the ease of use, I think Twelve Data’s fundamental data APIs are pretty great from that viewpoint. The APIs give great flexibility and are very easy to use. With just a few processes of data manipulation and formatting, the data can be brought into great shape making it easier to work with.
Speaking of pricing, though Twelve Data offers a free plan to its users, most of the fundamental data APIs are behind a premium subscription plan. Also, the pricing of all the subscription plans is relatively high and leans towards the costlier side.
In summary, if you’re a developer who wants reliable data to build commercial applications, then, Twelve Data is one of the best places for you. But if you’re someone who is just starting out as a programmer, Twelve Data is not the most recommended platform for you.
5. Polygon.io
Polygon.io is, again, a very popular platform among developers and traders because of its data reliability and accuracy. The API is also loved by a lot of companies as it can be seamlessly integrated with applications.
The fundamental data API provided by Polygon.io is good but has two very serious drawbacks. First is the extremely limited number of API endpoints. Even some of the most basic ones are missing in the API library. So if you’re someone who needs more than just basic fundamental info, then you’re gonna have a very hard time using the fundamental data API of Polygon.io. Secondly, the fundamental API has seriously insufficient data coverage. The API covers only the US market with just 2–15 years of historical data.
There is nothing special with the documentation of the API but that doesn't mean it’s not any good. It does the job perfectly. It’s well-organized and structured with good explanations of the parameters. One thing that can be added to the documentation is some code samples which makes it easier for developers to use the API in their code.
One great thing about Polygon.io is its exciting free-tier plan and affordable premium subscriptions. The free plan is just awesome. The whole of fundamental data can be accessed via the free plan and it also comes with 5 API calls per minute which is an amazing number. The premium plans of Polygon.io are relatively low in price and fall more on the affordable side.
To conclude, though Polygon.io might have very limited fundamental data API endpoints, it’s still a great place for both beginners and professionals. Its free plan makes the platform very commendable and suitable for starters, and at the same time, its seamless integration capabilities make the platform a go-to for developers to build and scale applications.
6. Finnhub
Finnhub’s fundamental data API is a great resource that is available in the market today.
Let’s start off with the ease of use. It’s very easy to work with Finnhub’s APIs as it provides great flexibility and seamless integration opportunities. The response received from the APIs is pretty clean. So a little effort on data manipulation and data formatting would do the job.
Speaking of the documentation, it’s almost similar to that of Alpha Vantage’s documentation page. I wonder if they use the same framework of some sort for their documentation because they are pretty identical. But I think it’s a good thing because, like Alpha Vantage’s documentation, it’s well-organized with an interesting labeling system. There are sufficient explanations of the parameters and output fields along with code samples for each API endpoint.
Coming to the pricing, though there is a free plan to access the fundamental data APIs, I’m not sure about the details of the plan like API requests limit and stuff. The pricing of the premium subscription plans is quite reasonable and more importantly, affordable. It starts from $50 per month which is relatively pretty low and there is definitely value for money.
Though there aren’t any major drawbacks to the platform, there are some to consider. Firstly, the data accuracy can be slightly improved. Yes, Finnhub does use NBBO-backed data, but I’ve seen some argue that it is not the most reliable one. Secondly, the developer community of Finnhub is very small. Finnhub’s Reddit only has 57 followers and its Github has 26.
In summary, Finnhub is an amazing place for both beginners and professionals given its wide range of fundamental API endpoints and an affordable subscription plan. Though it may have some issues with data reliability, it’s still a great platform and can be considered for both development of commercial applications and research purposes.
7. Finage
Last but not least, the seventh API in our list is Finage’s fundamental data API.
Finage is a fairly new platform but it boasts a great collection of APIs. The platform was quickly picked by both developers and researchers and soon they became a pretty big player in the financial APIs market.
Finage’s suite of fundamental data APIs is quite extensive. It covers all the basic endpoints all the way to some unusual ones like the SEC RSS feed, Forex & Crypto news, gainers and losers, etc. So it’s pretty confident to say that Finage’s fundamental data API library is robust and solid with a great range of endpoints.
The documentation page is fairly decent. Though there is nothing new and special about it, it still does the job and that’s what matters. It has everything that a good documentation page has like explanations of the parameters and query fields, sample responses, good categorization, etc. One thing where Finage’s documentation lags is the absence of code samples. Having a good set of code samples showcased in various programming languages can incredibly boost user experience and help save developers a lot of time in coding to extract the data.
Coming to the pricing, Finage does provide a pretty good free-tier plan. It comes with an API request limit of 1000 calls a month but the only problem is the users will have access to only a handful of API endpoints. So there is not really a scope for exploring the platform in its entirety. That being said, the basic subscription plans are pretty affordable too which start at $59 a month.
Overall, Finage is a good platform with an interesting suite of fundamental data API endpoints. It’s a highly recommended place for beginners to start with and it can also be a considerable choice for developers to build and scale applications.
Conclusion
The core objective of this article is to showcase some of the best options out there for fundamental data API but at the same time, to lay an emphasis on the importance of choosing the right API that perfectly caters to your needs and expectations.
I would like to press on the point that this list is a personal opinion of mine which I decided to feature as I have tremendous experience using a lot of different APIs. But this list can be subject to change. You can even come up with your own list of APIs after narrowing down your requirements and having a set of criteria to evaluate each API. During this process, you might even end up discovering the perfect API for your use case which may not even be featured in this list. So I would highly recommend going on an exploratory journey to get to know about different APIs and end up with the right one for you.
With that being said, you’ve reached the end of the article. Hope you learned something new and useful from this article. Also, if you know other fundamental data APIs better than the ones listed in this article, don’t forget to mention those in the comments. Thank you very much for your time.
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