The stock API you select will depend heavily on your exact requirements. As such, finding the best one for your needs is a matter of asking the following questions.
What is its data source?
Stock APIs vary in terms of the types of data they provide and the data source itself. You’ll want to pick a stock data API that pulls the exact information you need from a legal and trusted source.
Is there a latency?
If your job involves split-second decisions, you’ll want an API that has as little delay as possible in delivering live data to you. If speed is less critical, you can usually afford to work with a higher latency API.
What is the APIs’ market scope?
Decide whether you need data from a single stock exchange or aggregated details from multiple sources. This will determine the market scope of the API you’ll be choosing.
What time horizon does the API cover?
Some stock APIs provide live data to support real-time decisions. Others deliver data that’s delayed by a number of minutes. You can also find APIs that dissect historical data to predict future trends. Keep in mind that real-time data tends to cost much more. Picking the stock API is therefore a matter of balancing affordability with your organizational priorities.
How does the stock API treat currency conversion?
This isn’t an issue if you’re focusing on a single geographical region. But if your stock exchange API works across markets, you’ll want to look at how it deals with currency conversion.
Does it convert all stock prices into a single currency? Which one? At what point does this conversion happen? If you want a specific, consistent picture of the stock market, you’ll have to pick an API that supports that view.
How is the API priced?
As mentioned, real-time data often comes at a premium. But API providers will also have different pricing models. Some will cap the amount of data requests you can make in a time period, charging you extra for additional ones.
You can find API providers with flexible pricing that let you pay for needed features as you go. Enterprise-grade providers may sell all-in-one packages with a long binding period. As always, your needs will dictate what you’ll go for.
Is the API technically sound?
This is a broad category that tends to be more relevant for developers. Here, it’s often important to know:
- Is the stock API safe from data breaches and cyber attacks?
- Does it have redundancies that let it maintain uptime if some servers go offline?
- Can it handle sudden spikes in incoming data?
- What database request types does it use and what format is the data delivered in?
- Which operating systems and programming languages is the API compatible with?
