What are the best financial and company data APIs for developers?
Start with SEC EDGAR's own APIs, which are free and need no key, within 10 requests a second (SEC). Add sec-api.io from $49 a month for parsed filings (sec-api.io) or Financial Modeling Prep for standardized fundamentals. Private company funding data from Crunchbase or PitchBook costs thousands to tens of thousands a year.
Which financial data API should you choose?
Choose by the data you need. Filings and fundamentals of listed US companies are cheap or free. Funding rounds and investors in private companies are expensive because vendors collect them by hand. Most projects end up with a free filings source and 1 paid source.
| API | Best for | Reported or published price | Main gap | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC EDGAR APIs (data.sec.gov) | Filings, XBRL facts, company submissions | Free; 10 requests a second | Raw data; you parse it | SEC |
| sec-api.io | Parsed SEC filings, full-text search, extracted sections | $49 a month personal, $199 a month internal business use, billed yearly; first 100 calls free | Redistribution needs an enterprise deal | sec-api.io |
| Financial Modeling Prep | Standardized fundamentals, 13F, transcripts on higher tiers | Free tier of 250 calls a day; paid from $22 a month billed yearly | Listed companies; no private rounds | APIs.io |
| Crunchbase API | Startup funding rounds, investors, people | Quote only; average buyer spend about $16,000 a year | Full API needs an enterprise license | Vendr |
| PitchBook Direct Data | Private deals, valuations, funds, LPs | Quote only; reported from about $70,000 a year | Price | Multiples |
| Tamarly Intelligence | Sourced profiles of private companies, Form D raises, deals, funds, country risk | Included in plans; Level 2 $145 a month, Level 3 $399 a month | No investor names on private rounds, no valuations | Tamarly |
Prices above are reported by third parties, several of which sell competing tools. Check current terms with each vendor.
Are SEC EDGAR's APIs really free?
Yes. The SEC says anyone can access and download EDGAR data for free, and asks automated tools to stay under 10 requests a second and to declare a User-Agent with contact details (SEC). The data.sec.gov endpoints return company submissions and XBRL financial facts as JSON (SEC developer resources). The cost is your time: you handle parsing, amendments and entity matching. See free tools to search SEC filings for options that do some of this for you.
When is sec-api.io worth paying for?
When you need filings already parsed. sec-api.io adds full-text search, extracted sections and structured data on top of EDGAR. Its Personal plan is $49 a month billed yearly or $55 monthly, for individuals, startups under 5 employees and researchers; its Business plan for internal use is $199 a month billed yearly or $239 monthly (sec-api.io). Showing the data in your own product needs an enterprise license.
What does Financial Modeling Prep offer?
Standardized statements, ratios and holdings for listed companies at a low price. Third-party listings report a free tier of 250 calls a day, with paid plans of $22, $59 and $149 a month billed yearly; the top individual tier adds global coverage, earnings transcripts and 13F filings (APIs.io). It is built around listed companies, so it will not help with private company research.
Which APIs cover private company funding?
Crunchbase and PitchBook, at very different prices. Crunchbase sells full API access through Enterprise or Applications licenses on a quote; Vendr reports average spend near $16,000 a year (Vendr). PitchBook prices Direct Data by volume, refresh and technical specifications (Morningstar). Our guides on Crunchbase API cost and PitchBook API cost go into detail.
For US startups there is a free primary record underneath both: the SEC Form D, filed within 15 days of the first sale (17 CFR 230.503). It shows the amount sold and the date, but no investor names or valuation.
When should you keep a premium data API?
Keep PitchBook or Crunchbase when your product or model depends on investor names, valuations or fund data on private rounds, and when your license allows the use you plan. No free source rebuilds those fields. Keep them too when your team already reconciles their records with your CRM; switching costs are real.
Where does Tamarly Intelligence fit?
Tamarly Intelligence is Tamarly's research platform on companies, funds, countries and markets, built from official filings and open data. It offers personal API keys on its main routes, with 1,200 calls an hour per account and documentation at /developers, and an MCP server at https://app.tamarly.ai/api/mcp for Claude and ChatGPT with 9 read-only tools. Both are included in the plans.
Data comes from free, open sources such as SEC EDGAR, GLEIF, UK Companies House and FRED, and every figure links to its filing. It has no market prices, no investor names on private rounds and no valuations, so it suits developers who need sourced records rather than a trading feed.
Try sourced company data in your own tools, free for 7 days
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free financial data API?
For US companies, the SEC's data.sec.gov APIs: free, no key and official, within 10 requests a second (SEC). Financial Modeling Prep's free tier of 250 calls a day suits small tests of standardized data.
Is there an API for private company funding rounds?
Yes, from Crunchbase and PitchBook, both sold through quotes. For US raises, Form D filings on EDGAR are a free source of amounts and dates, without investor names.
Can I redistribute data from these APIs in my app?
Usually not on standard plans. sec-api.io, Crunchbase and PitchBook sell redistribution through enterprise licenses. SEC EDGAR data itself is public.
About the author. Melvine Manchau is the founder of Tamarly and author of the Tamarly Newsletter. He previously worked at PwC, Salesforce, BlackRock/eFront and Lazard.
About Tamarly Research. Tamarly Research is part of Tamarly Media, which holds no investment positions. Tamarly is a New York research house that studies how AI is changing regulated institutions.