Alpaca
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you are a developer building algo or AI-driven trading against an API and can tolerate fee and speed complaints.
Comparison
Alpaca vs Polygon.com
Alpaca lands on Depends, and Polygon.com lands on Worth it.
Polygon.com
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Polygon.com is a free ad-supported gaming and entertainment publication, not a software product, so there is nothing to purchase and reading it is zero-risk.
| Compare | Alpaca | Polygon.com |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Algo traders who code | Gamers tracking news and releases |
| Who it's not for | Casual investors wanting a tap-to-trade app | Anyone evaluating software . it's a magazine, not a tool |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.12 | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | Trustpilot shows negative customer-service reviews. | No evidence; only editorial contact listed |
| Public sentiment | Developer traders like the API-first concept, but Reddit and Trustpilot carry recurring fee, speed, and support complaints.⁷ | Redditor sentiment spans long-running debates over its review takes and a farewell from departing staff. |
| Biggest gotcha | Zero commissions, but users report other fees stacking up . read the fee schedule before funding.⁵ | Not a software product: no plans, SLAs, or support to evaluate |
Pick Alpaca when
- Algo traders who code
- Developers embedding trading in apps
- AI/NLP trading experiments via MCP
When Alpaca is not a fit
- Casual investors wanting a tap-to-trade app
- Non-coders . it requires real programming
- Speed-critical day traders (slow complaints)
- Anyone wanting hand-holding support
Pick Polygon.com when
- Gamers tracking news and releases
- Buyers deciding on games or hardware
- Sci-fi, anime, tabletop, and comics readers
When Polygon.com is not a fit
- Anyone evaluating software . it's a magazine, not a tool
- Teams needing CRM, analytics, or workflow apps
- Readers who want numeric review scores
Sources
official
- Will I incur commission or clearing fees with Alpaca?alpaca.marketsofficial
- Unlimited Access, Real-time Market Data APIalpaca.marketsofficial
- Alpaca Plans Pricingapis.ioofficial
review
- Thoughts on Alpaca vs IB . r/algotradingreddit.comreview
review
- Alpaca Review 2026 | AI Stock Picker Appsaistockpickerapps.comreview
- FINRA imposes $300k fine on Alpaca Securitiesfxnewsgroup.comnews
news
- Alpaca raises $52M Series Ctechcrunch.comnews
- Security at Alpacaalpaca.marketssecurity
official
- Editorial Ethics and Guidelinespolygon.comofficial
- Polygon (website) . Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgnews