shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

Finnhub Review

Worth it

Should I use Finnhub?

BTC-USD**85582.84** - finnhub.io

· 1 day ago

Buy if you're a developer or small fintech team needing stocks, forex, crypto, fundamentals, and transcripts via a simple API. Skip it if you can't code or need institutional-grade data and guaranteed real-time exchange feeds.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources: Reddit threads, comparison sites, GitHub issues, official pricing and security pages.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in reviewed sources
  • Security postureMarketing security page only; no findings either way

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Paid (per data type)See finnhub.io
Startups & EnterpriseCustom

Best for

  • Indie devs building portfolio/trading dashboards
  • Algo traders wanting simple REST market data
  • Startups prototyping fintech apps
  • Hobbyist dividend and ETF trackers

Not for

  • Non-technical investors wanting a stock app
  • Institutions needing institutional-grade tick data
  • Teams without a developer on staff
  • Guess: production trading needing true real-time feeds on free tier

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Check commercial-use licensing before shipping free-tier data

medium

Free plan scope has changed before; don't build a business on it

medium

Pricing split across data-type pages; costs stack when you need several

medium

Free tier suits demos and portfolio sites, not production trading

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free API key works for real projects like portfolio sites
  • Wide coverage: stocks, forex, crypto, fundamentals, estimates, transcripts, news
  • Cited as a relied-upon data source in SEC oversight testimony
  • Official SDKs and tutorials across languages lower setup friction
  • First-party connector available in Google Cloud Gemini Enterprise

Cons

  • Free plan terms changed before; hobby builds can break
  • Five separate pricing pages make total cost opaque
  • Commercial use of free-tier data needs licence verification
  • Sparse formal reviews; ratings come from niche comparison sites

Sources & method

- 12 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x5review x5news x2

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. Generous free tier; paid data sold à la carte
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Simple REST API, many tutorials, official SDKs
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Quotes, fundamentals, estimates, transcripts, news, crypto, forex
  • Support quality. No support evidence in reviewed sources
  • Security posture. Marketing security page only; no findings either way
  • Yes Free tier Free API key at registration
  • 6+ classes Data coverage Stocks, forex, crypto, fundamentals, estimates, transcripts
  • 5 à-la-carte Pricing tracks Market data, fundamentals, estimates, filings, enterprise
  • SEC hearing Notable mention 'We rely on Finnhub' in oversight testimony

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Rate-limited API key
  • Basic stock quotes and news
  • Verify licence for commercial use

Paid (per data type)

See finnhub.io

  • Market data, fundamentals, estimates sold separately
  • Global filings and transcripts
  • Commercial use

Startups & Enterprise

Not disclosed

  • Commercial redistribution
  • Higher rate limits

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Developers use Finnhub mainly for hobby builds — dashboards, dividend trackers, sentiment and news experiments — with thin formal review coverage.

“Can I use finnhub free tier API data for my portfolio website?”
Reddit, r/webdevelopment
“After getting frustrated with £180/year tools, I built my own”
Reddit, r/dividends
“finnhub.io and fmpcloud.”
Reddit, r/dividends

Alternatives

Compare Finnhub with each alternative.

  • Polygon.io

    Deeper US market data; frequent upgrade path from Finnhub

  • Twelve Data

    Similar multi-asset API; compare forex and crypto limits

  • Alpha Vantage

    Free-tier friendly basics for quotes and fundamentals

Companies that use it

  • U.S. SEC Division of Enforcement (testimony: "We rely on Finnhub")⁹
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources: Reddit threads, comparison sites, GitHub issues, official pricing and security pages.

Free-to-start market-data API devs like for dashboards and bots; useless if you can't code or need institutional feeds.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources: Reddit threads, comparison sites, GitHub issues, official pricing and security pages.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Finnhub - Free stock API (official site)finnhub.io
    official
  2. Finnhub pricingfinnhub.io
    official
  3. Finnhub stock API market data pricingfinnhub.io
    official
  4. Finnhub security pagefinnhub.io
    official
  5. Can I use finnhub free tier API data for my portfolio website?reddit.com
    review
  6. Change to Free plan (GitHub issue)github.com
    review
  7. Best App for Dividends (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  8. Free Stock API for Commercial Use: What the Licences Saymoneyflock.com
    news
  9. Oversight of the SEC's Division of Enforcement (govinfo)govinfo.gov
    news
  10. Compare Finnhub vs. Polygon.ioslashdot.org
    review
  11. Finnhub Stock API Reviews and Pricing 2026f6s.com
    review
  12. Finnhub configuration | Gemini Enterprisedocs.cloud.google.com
    official

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.