WRITTEN BY
Crypto copywriter
CoinMarketCap is where most of crypto learned to read a price. It launched in 2013. Its API now serves about 1 billion calls a month. That reach earns respect. It also sets the bar any challenger has to clear.
Building on that API is a different question. A modern crypto app needs more than a price. It needs wallet balances, transaction history, DeFi positions, and a token risk check.
This review compares CoinMarketCap API with CoinStats API on that basis. Pricing, free tiers, rate limits, coverage, and what each one returns for a wallet. Pricing and limits were checked on September 28, 2026.
We also cover the execution layer most API comparisons skip. That is the swap itself, where StealthEX sits.
The Short Answer
CoinStats API is the better pick for most builds. It matches CoinMarketCap API on the market data most apps use. Then it adds the whole portfolio layer under one key.
That layer means wallet balances, DeFi positions, portfolio profit and loss, and token security. Basic market calls cost about 4x less on top of it.
CoinMarketCap API keeps two crowns. Exchange reference data across 941+ venues, and 16 years of price history. A market screener with a long memory still fits it well.
Everything else in this review explains why that split exists. And why it matters more in 2026 than it did in 2020.
How We Ran This Review
Documented capabilities first. Every feature claim traces to each provider’s official documentation, read in September 2026. Where a capability is partial or gated, we say which plan unlocks it.
Live pricing, reconciled. We pulled both pricing pages on September 28, 2026. Cost per 1,000 calls uses entry paid tiers and one basic market call.
Seven scoring criteria. Market data depth, exchange reference breadth, wallet and portfolio data, and DeFi position resolution. Then token security, AI and MCP tooling, and cost efficiency.
User reviews, as an independent check. We read Trustpilot and both app stores for the products behind each API. That pass ran on September 29, 2026.
Where CoinMarketCap API is the better pick, we say so plainly. Two of the six use cases below go its way.
The Execution Layer: StealthEX
Data APIs answer questions. At some point, users want to act on the answer. Something has to execute the swap.
That step is the execution layer, and it is where StealthEX sits. Our non-custodial instant exchange API embeds swaps inside wallets, dashboards, and trading terminals. No registration for the end user, no custody, 2,000+ coins and tokens.
Neither API in this review executes a trade. CoinMarketCap API reads prices. CoinStats API reads balances, positions, and profit and loss.
Use StealthEX API on top of a data API rather than instead of one. Apidog’s top 10 crypto APIs list, from September 17, 2026, backs that pairing. It ranks CoinStats API first and StealthEX API second.
Together they make a complete product: a portfolio screen plus a swap button. Chainstack’s guide to the best crypto swap exchanges ranks StealthEX among its eight venues.
Our guide to the best crypto exchange API and affiliate tools covers the integrations.
Two APIs, Two Jobs
Both are REST data APIs. Neither runs nodes or broadcasts transactions. The similarity ends there.
CoinMarketCap API answers questions about assets and markets. What is this token worth. Where does it trade.
What did it do in 2017. That question has a 16-year answer here.
It answers those at enormous breadth. 50 million+ tokens and 941+ exchanges, by its own count. Few providers track a wider market.
CoinStats API answers the same asset questions. It also answers questions about a person.
What does this address hold. What did they pay for it. Where is it staked right now.
That split decides your architecture, not just your bill. a16z counts about 181 million monthly active addresses onchain. Each one is a wallet question.
CoinMarketCap API has no endpoint for a whole wallet. Not on Basic, not on Enterprise.
| What your screen shows | CoinMarketCap API | CoinStats API |
|---|---|---|
| Token prices and charts | Yes | Yes |
| Balances for a wallet address | Per DEX token only | Yes, 120+ chains |
| Transaction history for that address | No | Yes, priced in USD |
| Staking, lending, and LP positions | No | Yes, 10,000+ protocols |
| Cost basis and profit or loss | Realized, per DEX token only | Yes, realized and unrealized |
| Honeypot and contract risk | DEX token level | 0 to 100 risk score, EVM |
Every gap in that middle column is a vendor. Each vendor is a key, a credit model, and a rate limit. Plus a status page you now watch.
Reliability compounds the wrong way. Four services at 99.9% each run at 99.6% chained. Forty-four minutes of monthly downtime becomes nearly three hours.
CoinMarketCap API: The Reference Everyone Grew Up On
CoinMarketCap launched in 2013 under founder Brandon Chez. Binance bought it in April 2020, in a deal Forbes put near $400 million. Forbes, Bloomberg, and CNBC cite its data.
The catalog is wide. Prices, market caps, volumes, OHLCV candles, and rankings across 50 million+ tokens. Exchange metadata, rankings, and market pairs across 941+ venues.
Global metrics, the Fear and Greed index, and the CMC indexes round it out.
It has shipped fast in 2026. A keyless public API arrived in April. A WebSocket beta arrived in June, on Startup plans and above.
Real-world-asset endpoints landed in July, and CMC AI endpoints in September. The DEX API adds pools, swap history, holder lists, and DEX-level token security. That security audit covers EVM and Solana DEX tokens.
The DEX API shares the main plan’s credit pool.
AI tooling is real, not a checkbox. The MCP server exposes 12 tools for quotes, search, technical analysis, and news. Agents can also pay per call in USDC through x402, at $0.01 a request.
Compliance is a genuine strength for enterprise buyers. Every plan carries ISO 27001 and 27701 certification. SOC 1 and SOC 2 attestations come with it.
The limits sit past market data. No endpoint returns a wallet’s full holdings. No transaction history for an address, no DeFi positions, no portfolio profit and loss.
The closest thing is the DEX Holder Detail endpoint. It reads one wallet’s balance and realized P&L in one DEX token. For the whole wallet you need a second provider.
The credit model needs reading. Credits count data points returned, not requests. Extra currency conversions cost extra credits, and Basic allows one conversion per call.
Data on Basic and Builder refreshes every 60 seconds. The pricing page lists real-time updates from Startup, $79 a month. The endpoint docs still show a 60-second cache.
CoinStats API: The All-in-One Successor
CoinStats’ crypto API starts where CoinMarketCap API starts. Prices, market caps, volumes, and OHLCV charts for 100,000+ coins. Tickers across 200+ exchanges, Binance, Coinbase, and Hyperliquid included.
Then it keeps going.
Send a wallet address and get token balances back, priced in USD. Coverage runs to 120+ blockchains. 74 EVM chains including Ethereum, plus Solana, Tron, Cardano, Cosmos, and more.
Bitcoin support includes xpub, ypub, and zpub keys. A whole HD wallet resolves from one key. Most wallet APIs stop at EVM plus Solana.
Chain-specific picks live in our Ethereum APIs and Solana API providers guides.
Transactions come back classified and priced at the time of transfer. DeFi positions resolve across 10,000+ protocols, per wallet, with no protocol-by-protocol setup. Staking, lending, LP shares, borrowing, and yield.
Of the two APIs here, only CoinStats API resolves DeFi protocols to per-wallet positions. That single fact removes a vendor from most stacks.
Portfolio analytics sit on top. Cost basis, realized and unrealized profit and loss, allocation, and performance charts. Connected exchange accounts sync too, Binance and Coinbase among them.
The same infrastructure powers the CoinStats app, used by 1M+ people every month. That is the scale the API inherits.
Token security is built in. The Token Risks endpoint scores EVM token contracts from 0 to 100. It flags honeypots, hidden fees, centralized mint and burn, pausable transfers, and upgradeable proxies.
TRM Labs counted 207 hacks in the first half of 2026, a record. A risk check before a swap is no longer optional.
AI agents get the same data. The MCP Server ships 20+ tools for market data, wallets, transactions, portfolios, and news.
The agent sees a user’s positions, not just prices. That is the difference from other MCP servers.
x402 pay-per-request access starts at $0.001 per call. No account, no key. Agents pay in USDC on Base.
Pricing is credit-based. Free gives 20,000 credits a month, commercial use included, no credit card. Starter is $49 for 1,000,000 credits at 30 requests a second.
Pro is $199 for 5,000,000 credits. Business is $999 for 80,000,000. Enterprise is custom.
The trade-offs are real, and worth knowing. No WebSocket and no webhooks, polling only. No RPC calls, so pair it with a node provider to send transactions.
The wallet DeFi endpoint sits on paid plans. Token Risks covers EVM chains only and costs 5,000 credits a call. Price history runs back to 2013, not 2010.
In a simple way: CoinStats API ≈ CoinMarketCap API + wallets + DeFi + portfolio analytics + token security
For the wider field, see this guide to the best crypto data APIs.
Head-to-Head Scores
We scored both APIs on seven criteria, 1 to 10. Scores reflect documented capability at the entry paid tier. Checked September 28, 2026.
| Criterion | CoinMarketCap API | CoinStats API |
|---|---|---|
| Market data depth | 9 | 8 |
| Exchange reference breadth | 10 | 6 |
| Wallet and portfolio data | 1 | 10 |
| DeFi position resolution | 2 | 10 |
| Token security | 5 | 8 |
| AI and MCP tooling | 7 | 9 |
| Cost efficiency | 5 | 9 |
| Total | 39 | 60 |
CoinMarketCap API wins the two axes it was built for. Market data depth and exchange reference breadth. CoinStats API takes the other five, two of them by a landslide.
A note on fairness. Exchange breadth is 941+ venues against 200+. That gap is real for a market screener.
It is invisible to a portfolio product. Holdings are priced from aggregated data either way.
Pricing: Where the Gap Opens
Read the credit models before the prices. They work differently. That difference decides your bill.
| CoinMarketCap API | CoinStats API | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier credits | 15,000 a month | 20,000 a month |
| Free tier rate limit | 50 calls a minute | 2 requests a second (120 a minute) |
| Free tier licence | Commercial, one product, up to 100k users | Commercial, included |
| Entry paid plan | Builder, $29 a month | Starter, $49 a month |
| Entry plan credits | 150,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Entry plan rate limit | 300 calls a minute | 30 requests a second (1,800 a minute) |
| Credit model | Data points returned, conversions extra | Weighted by endpoint, 1 to 5,000 |
| Cost per 1,000 market calls | ~$0.19 | ~$0.05 |
| Mid tier | Startup, $79, 450,000 credits | Pro, $199, 5,000,000 credits |
| Upper tier | Professional, $699, 5,000,000 credits | Business, $999, 80,000,000 credits |
| WebSocket | Beta, Startup and above | No |
| Overage | Opt-in, at the plan’s per-credit rate | Not publicly listed |
Pricing checked September 28, 2026. Cost per 1,000 calls uses entry paid plans and a single-asset market call.
CoinMarketCap API counts data points. A single-asset quote is one credit. A listings call is one credit per 250 items since August 2026.
Conversions add credits. Basic allows one per call, Professional 80.
CoinStats API weights by endpoint. A coin price is 1 credit. A wallet balance is 40.
DeFi positions are 400, and that endpoint needs a paid plan. Token Risks is 5,000.
So the honest comparison depends on what you call.
For basic market data, CoinStats API runs about $0.05 per 1,000 calls. CoinMarketCap API runs about $0.19 on Builder and $0.18 on Startup. That is roughly 4x cheaper at entry.
The gap holds up the ladder. $199 buys 5 million credits on CoinStats API. The same 5 million cost $699 on CoinMarketCap API.
For wallet calls, the per-call math flips. A CoinStats API wallet balance works out near $1.96 per 1,000 requests.
But CoinMarketCap API cannot make that call at any price. You would pay a second vendor for it anyway.
Volume decides the bill, so here is the full ladder. Under 15,000 calls a month, both are free.
From 15,000 to 20,000, CoinStats API is still free. CoinMarketCap needs Builder.
Between 20,000 and 150,000 calls, CoinMarketCap Builder is $20 cheaper.
Above 150,000 calls a month, CoinStats API is the smaller bill. That holds at every published step up to 5 million calls.
Compare stacks, not line items. One key at $49 against $29 plus an indexer plus a positions provider. The single key wins before the second invoice arrives.
Free Tiers and Rate Limits
Free tiers decide whether you can prototype. Both now allow commercial use, and that is new for CoinMarketCap.
CoinMarketCap Basic gives 15,000 credits a month at 50 calls a minute. Commercial use covers one product with up to 100,000 users. The same licence runs through Professional.
Data on Basic refreshes every 60 seconds.
Intraday history on Basic runs one month, daily history one year. Builder stretches daily history to three years. Daily history from 2010 starts at Startup.
CoinStats Free gives 20,000 credits a month at 2 requests a second. That is 120 calls a minute.
It is the full dataset, not a feature-gated demo. Only the wallet DeFi endpoint waits for a paid plan.
Rate limits favor CoinStats API at every paid tier. Starter allows 1,800 calls a minute. CoinMarketCap Startup allows 600, Professional 1,200.
A CoinStats Business key runs 6,000 a minute. No CoinMarketCap self-serve plan gets there.
Be honest about where that leaves you. Need 16 years of daily history for a backtest? CoinMarketCap Startup at $79 is the door.
Need WebSocket streams? Same answer, in beta, on Startup and above.
Our free crypto API comparison covers five free tiers in more depth.
Data Freshness and Streaming
Freshness is where the two APIs trade blows.
CoinMarketCap API refreshes REST data every 60 seconds on Basic and Builder. The pricing page lists real-time updates from Startup up. The endpoint docs still show a 60-second cache.
The WebSocket beta pushes the top 500 assets about every 5 seconds. Each message costs 0.025 credits.
CoinStats API serves live prices over REST. Wallet reads return in about 100 to 200 milliseconds. There is no streaming option, so a live ticker means polling.
For a live ticker, the CoinMarketCap WebSocket beta has the edge. For a portfolio screen, the comparison is moot. Only one of them can draw the screen.
Switching Costs
Moving a market-data integration takes an afternoon. Swap the host, the auth header, and the coin ID map. Both APIs key on their own stable IDs rather than symbols.
CoinStats API accepts up to 100 coin IDs in one call. Charts, tickers, and metadata follow the same pattern. The market data half of a migration is the easy half.
The wallet half is not a migration at all. It is a feature you did not have. Add the address endpoints and the portfolio screen appears.
What Other Reviews Conclude
Independent reviews land in the same place.
Chainstack’s 2026 guide to crypto APIs puts CoinStats API first. Author Alex Usachev notes that most products stitch together three or four data providers. His verdict: “CoinStats replaces that stack with a single API.”
On dev.to, Supratip Banerjee picked CoinStats API for a general crypto app. His reason, posted May 2026: “you don’t have to stitch three things together.”
Apidog’s three-way expert review from August 2026 splits the field by job. CoinMarketCap API suits structured market analysis. CoinStats API suits portfolio-based applications, with “a more integrated approach.”
GetBlock’s July 2026 review names CoinStats API best overall. CoinMarketCap API takes best for trusted price reference.
CEX.IO’s September 2026 review also picks CoinStats API. It is “the first mainstream provider to cover that whole shape.”
Our own guides agree. CoinStats API leads the data providers in our best cryptocurrency APIs roundup.
It is also the top data pick in our wallet data API guide. Same result in our DeFi APIs guide.
What Users Say About the Products Behind the APIs
One caveat first. Nobody reviews an API on Trustpilot. These scores cover the consumer products behind each API.
That means the CoinMarketCap site and app, and the CoinStats app. Both APIs run on the same data and the same teams as those products.
So the reviews are a proxy for support and reliability. They are not a verdict on the endpoints.
The Trustpilot pages for CoinMarketCap and CoinStats are public. We read them, plus both app stores, on September 29, 2026.
| Source | CoinMarketCap site and app | CoinStats app |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot score | 1.4, Bad, 840 reviews | 4.1, Great, 8,806 reviews |
| Five-star share on Trustpilot | 7% | 86% |
| One-star share on Trustpilot | 85% | 3% |
| Negative reviews answered | 61%, typically within 2 weeks | 96%, typically within 1 week |
| App Store, US | 4.8, 173K ratings | 4.8, 86K ratings |
| Google Play | 4.7, 544K reviews | 4.4, 105K reviews |
The app stores rate both products highly. CoinMarketCap’s app has more ratings, and a slightly higher Android score. As apps, they are close.
Trustpilot is where the gap opens. Most CoinMarketCap reviews there are one star.
Many describe scams that borrow the brand’s name. Others describe login and support problems.
CoinStats answers 96% of its negative reviews, usually within a week. CoinMarketCap answers 61%, usually within two weeks.
Read that the right way. It says nothing about the endpoints, and a lot about support. For an API, support quality is what you inherit.
Both companies invite customers to review, and both profiles are claimed. CoinStats also holds a paid Trustpilot subscription.
Which One Should You Pick?
Pick by the screen you are building.
- Portfolio tracker, wallet, or tax tool: CoinStats API. Balances, history, DeFi positions, and profit and loss, one call each.
- Trading bot or signal engine on market data: CoinStats API. Same prices, about 4x cheaper per basic call.
- AI agent or crypto assistant: CoinStats API. The MCP Server hands it a user’s positions, not just prices.
- Token safety checks before a swap: CoinStats API. A 0 to 100 score with ranked findings, not a DEX-token audit.
- Market screener with 16 years of history or derivatives data: CoinMarketCap API.
- Exchange reference data across 900+ venues, or WebSocket price streams: CoinMarketCap API.
Two of six go to CoinMarketCap API. Both are market data jobs. The rest are product jobs, and product jobs need a wallet layer.
Add StealthEX API when users need to swap inside your app. It sits on top of either data API.
Conclusion
Crypto data APIs split into two jobs. Market data APIs answer questions about assets. All-in-one APIs also answer questions about a wallet.
CoinMarketCap API is still the price reference most of crypto grew up on. 941+ exchanges and 16 years of history say so. For a market screener, it remains a strong choice.
Most products are not market screens. They are wallet screens. Users judge them on balances, history, positions, and profit.
CoinMarketCap API returns none of those for a wallet as a whole. CoinStats API returns all of them, under one key. Basic calls cost about 4x less on top.
For most builds, the data layer comes first. CoinStats API covers that layer broadly. CoinMarketCap API keeps the two jobs it still wins.
StealthEX supplies the execution layer once your product needs a swap.
Ready to put swaps inside your wallet, dashboard, or terminal? Integrate StealthEX crypto exchange through its Affiliate Program and earn from every transaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CoinStats API Better than CoinMarketCap API?
For most builds, yes. It matches the market data and adds wallets, DeFi, portfolio analytics, and token security. Basic calls cost about 4x less.
Is CoinMarketCap API Free?
Yes. The Basic plan gives 15,000 credits a month at 50 calls a minute. Commercial use is allowed for one product with up to 100,000 users.
Is CoinStats API Free?
Yes. The free tier gives 20,000 credits a month at 2 requests a second. Commercial use is included, with no credit card.
Can CoinStats API Replace CoinMarketCap API?
For most apps, yes. It covers the same market data core and adds the wallet layer. Keep CoinMarketCap API for 16-year history or 900+ exchange references.
Does Either API Return Wallet Balances?
Only CoinStats API. Pass an address and get balances, transactions, DeFi positions, and profit and loss. CoinMarketCap API has no portfolio endpoint, only a per-token holder read.
Which API Works Better With AI Agents?
Both ship an MCP server and x402 payments. CoinStats API exposes wallet, DeFi, and portfolio tools. CoinMarketCap API exposes market data tools.
What Do Users Say About CoinMarketCap and CoinStats?
Those scores cover the apps, not the APIs. On Trustpilot, CoinStats scores 4.1 from 8,806 reviews. CoinMarketCap scores 1.4 from 840.
Can I Swap Tokens Through Either API?
No. Neither API executes a swap. Use StealthEX API for non-custodial swaps inside your product.
Make sure to follow StealthEX on Medium, X, Telegram, YouTube, and Publish0x to stay updated about the latest news on StealthEX and the rest of the crypto world.
Don’t forget to do your own research before buying any crypto. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
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