Guides
Last updated
April 22, 2024

Discover the Best 13 Crypto APIs

Emma Jagger

Table of Contents:

Get your free
API key now
4.8 from 1,863 votes
See why the best developers build on Abstract
START FOR FREE
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
No credit card required

What Are The Best Crypto Currency APIs?

  1. Binance API
  2. CoinBase API
  3. Kucoin API
  4. Swapzone API
  5. CEX.IO API
  6. Crypto Compare API
  7. SimpleSwap API
  8. Nomics API
  9. Coin Market Cap API
  10. AbstractAPI Currency Exchange Rates and FOREX API
  11. Coinlayer API
  12. AlphaVantage API
  13. Coin API

And here are our in-depth reviews of each API

Let’s send your first free
call
See why the best developers build on Abstract
Get your free api

1. Binance API

Binance is a free to use API that uses third-party platforms to allow users to access and trade on crypto currency markets. Binance, when you consider the sheer number of crypto currency trades, is one of the largest single market players out there. 

The API is easy to implement, with relatively few issues or bugs, and thus the low likelihood of requiring additional troubleshooting. 

This API gives you access to one of the biggest crypto markets, as well as helping to manage your trades, and has a relatively high-volume limit for requests. You can get up to 1,200 requests per minute through the free to use platform.

It uses a RESTful architecture, making this API relatively accessible to anyone who has used API before. 

This is a whole trading API. You can easily access a wide library of different currencies, as well as historical data and the most important information to make an informed decision.

URL: https://www.binance.com/en/support/articles/360004492232-API-Frequently-Asked-Questions-FAQ-

Pros:

  • Access to one of the biggest markets
  • Able to buy and sell directly through the API
  • High volume limit, can make plenty of requests per minute to reach the data you need
  • Completely free to use
  • Can cancel transactions directly through the API

Cons:

  • Can’t scale for users who need more than 1,200 requests per minute. 
  • If you exceed call, order, or transaction limits your IP will be temporarily banned
  • Fixing coding problems that caused your use to exceed limits does not lift a temporary ban until the banning period has lapsed.

2. CoinBase API

CoinBase API is a little different, with the flexibility to act as an exchange API, a wallet, or any number of other crypto currency functions. It’s designed to be highly flexible and programmable, which means that this API can give you a lot of functionality to create something different from the competition. 

The developer even suggests that you might be able to create entirely new functionalities in your program, using their API. 

It offers direct connections to other CoinBase wallets, letting you handle transactions directly with another user without having to first go to a crypto marketplace. 

It works with bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, and Ethereum, giving you access to some of the best and most reliable forms of crypto currency. 

You also have access to real-time price information. In addition, you get access to historical data that can help you make an informed decision about the currencies you want to invest in, and when to buy or sell your existing crypto currency. 

Real-time notifications will also keep you up to date the moment something happens in your crypto wallet, whether you receive a payment, or made one, depending on your settings and the status of each trade. 

URL: https://developers.coinbase.com/

Pros:

  • Real-time notifications
  • Easy market monitoring
  • Connection to 4 different currencies
  • Free historical data provided
  • Direct wallet connection between users
  • Developers provide helpful tutorials for user

Cons:

  • Only offers 4 currencies

3. Kucoin API

Kucoin is a transaction API designed to make accessing and trading on the crypto market much easier. 

They give you access to a wide range of different crypto currencies. They also help users by listing the more reputable and easy to use currencies before lesser-known or less valuable forms of crypto currency.

The exchange rate remains relatively stable, which also helps protect your users from some of the volatility that can plague the crypto market. It’s also a relatively easy to use exchange rate API, working well with both web and mobile applications. 

In addition to the wider currency library, you’ll also be able to access crypto currency histories, letting you track your chosen currencies and see how stable each one is. Since they include such a wide variety of currencies, it’s especially important to do your research, and helpful that the API provides the data to make research easier. 

However, this API does have some performance issues surrounding payments and trades getting held up. The system includes a referral bonus for users, but bonuses and other internal payments can take too long to process. 

The interface is relatively simple though, which can help to streamline things for your users. 

URL: https://docs.kucoin.com/#rest-api-2

Pros:

  • Streamlined interface
  • Huge market with many different currencies
  • Prioritizes more reliable currencies and puts less reliable options further down the list
  • Stable rates
  • Rates are fair compared to global averages

Cons:

  • Cannot deposit money from credit cards
  • Still has occasional service outages

4. Swapzone API

Swapzone offers a crypto exchange API, that allows various crypto-oriented businesses to seamlessly incorporate the features of an instant crypto exchange aggregator and receive income from each transaction conducted through the API. The exchange tool can be embedded into the interface simply and natively through REST technology. 

By introducing the exchange API you get full ready-to-use Swapzone functionality: Swapzone scans thousands of crypto offers in real-time and compiles the most beneficial exchange deals, sorting them by rating, transaction time, and rate on their end. The best rate is automatically picked for your client and is displayed in the onboard interface without disrupting your UX. 

With this API you can get extra income, along with enhancing business capabilities. The API gives you access to thousands of crypto offers from a constantly enriched number of exchange providers, broadened asset portfolio, and Swapzone’s support desk and stable network.  

URL: https://swapzone.io/partners 

Pros:

  • 15+ exchange providers and 1000+ assets available through just one API
  • All the updates and customer support are incurred by Swapzone
  • Available for US residents
  • Progressive profit plan - as turnover grows, the income commission goes up

Cons:

  • The API needs to be introduced into the code and could require technical preparation

5. CEX.IO API

CEX.IO offers several free-to-use APIs that provide users access to advanced trading tools. With CEX.IO API, you can receive comprehensive market data in real-time for analyzing current market conditions, backtesting, and building a trading plan.

The API can be used for the automation of trades on the CEX.IO exchange which supports 200+ crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat markets. Furthermore, CEX.IO API lets you track trade history and monitor your balances to be always informed about your trading performance.

CEX.IO features one of the most competitive trading fee schedules for high-tier traders, opening new trading opportunities for traders who use automated trading systems.

CEX.IO provides full API documentation with a lot of code examples, empowering users to easily integrate API into third-party trading platforms and custom trading solutions. CEX.IO API offers 600 requests per 10 minutes by default but the number of requests can be increased if necessary. 

CEX.IO is known for its global accessibility and high security, providing its services in over 99% of countries and 49 U.S. states. It means the CEX.IO API can be considered a useful solution with high availability.

URL: https://cex.io/cex-api

Pros

  • Free-to-use 
  • Durable and stable server-based connectivity
  • Easy integration with third-party trading systems
  • Ability to automate trades and cancel transactions through API
  • Extensive crypto market data provided in real-time
  • Detailed documentation with multiple code examples for aspiring traders

Cons

  • 600 requests per 10 minutes by default
  • No stop orders support

6. Crypto Compare API

Crypto Compare is one of the best crypto API if you're looking to create something that could be used by a large corporation or an enterprise-sized organization. It's also a good choice if you're looking to create a high-use app.

They combine an exchange API with a news gathering and historical data hub, so you can ensure that your program’s users always have access to the information they need to make the best possible decisions. 

Since there is so much data provided within this API, it’s also a good idea to look into screenshot API so that your users can preserve some of the data before it changes, for their own records. 

The API as a whole is currently handling more than 800 trades per second, 40,000 calls per second, and sourcing news from 50 different reliable providers. 

That kind of volume means that you don’t have to worry about slowdowns or not being able to get the information your users need through the system. Everything is streamlined and optimized so that, even in the most feature-rich applications, you’ll be able to rely on getting fast and consistent results. 

The API is also robust, with scalable endpoints that help you match the demands of your project to the resources used. Every transaction is secure, as are user connections to the API. 

They provide a free version of the API for individual use. If you’re creating a larger app or webpage, the scaling subscriptions start at $79.99 per month. 

URL: https://min-api.cryptocompare.com/

Pros:

  • Robust design rarely has errors or outages
  • Capacity for high volume demand
  • Many crypto currencies represented in the market, with many exchange options
  • Great for larger corporations or larger project designs

Cons:

  • Subscriptions past the free level become expensive relatively quickly
  • Additional data display options only become accessible as you increase your subscription level

7. SimpleSwap API

The SimpleSwap instant crypto exchange provides a transparent and easy-to-use API as a part of its Affiliate Program. Members of this program create an affiliate account that allows them to get API keys, track the statistics, and request payouts. The minimum withdrawal is 0.008 BTC only.

You will be able to get from 0.4% revenue share. However, the partner fee is flexible, so you can customize it and increase it up to 2% keeping in mind that it will affect the exchange rate though.

API integration takes only 1 day and API users are always welcome to contact the SimpleSwap manager to answer their questions if there are any. The stable API connection is guaranteed by SimpleSwap as they claim API availability to be 99,95%.

URL: https://api.simpleswap.io/

Pros:

  • The API is absolutely free
  • A wide range of cryptocurrencies is supported (500+ coins and tokens)
  • Response time for the exchange amounts API request ≤ 5 seconds
  • Response time the currencies list API request ≤ 5 seconds
  • Response time for the exchange creation API request ≤ 10 seconds
  • Response time for the exchange status API request ≤ 10 seconds

Cons:

  • Doesn’t provide the fiat option

8. Nomics API

Nomics is another very large API with access to over 66,000 different markets your users can access to complete their trades and to find the best possible prices for each currency. 

The average response time of this API is only 51 ms, fast enough that your users will probably note the speed of the functions provided by this API. 

The API also allows to create a variety of additional functions beyond a simple exchange currency. It’s fantastic for mobile apps as well as pricing websites. Like a stock exchange app, the API also provides portfolio valuation tools to help your users know whether their portfolio is moving in the right direction. 

More importantly, you’ll also have the ability to create trading bots and strategy backtests in order to ensure the best possible results. If you choose and are looking to create a publicly available crypto currency app, you can also make this functions available to users. 

Nomics also has an extensive library of historical data on each of their currencies, which are easily made available to you and your project’s eventual users. 

There is very little latency with this API, allowing for near-real-time trading. There are also no rate time limits, and the developer provides uptime guarantees for developers and users. 

Personal use of this API is free, but if you need a larger subscription, Nomics doesn’t publicly disclose their subscription costs with transparent pricing

URL: https://p.nomics.com/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-api

Pros:

  • Uptime guarantees mean fewer upset users
  • Extensive library of historical data
  • Quick response time
  • Access to tens of thousands of markets
  • Many different currencies supported
  • Portfolio valuation tools help track your progress

Cons:

  • If you’re accessing this API for more than personal use, the price is not disclosed
  • Historical data and custom features not available on the free plan

9. Coin Market Cap API

Coin Market Cap API might be the single most well-known crypto currency API out there. There is a reason it gets consistently good results and high reviews. 

They provide a variety of different ways to view and interpret market information and currency trends, as well as a running count of the current supply of each currency type. You can also access currency valuation at a glance, making it easier to see where each currency stands, regardless of the additional tools. 

This API uses the RESTful structure and is built with a system of robust endpoints that ensure high-quality performance and uptime.  

They also provide the complete historical market data for crypto currency since 2013. 

This API is probably one of the biggest aggregate sources of crypto data. However, it does work as an exchange platform as well, though less effectively than some of the other API that are designed specifically for exchange purposes. 

This API is used by Samsung and Investors Business Daily, which also inspires confidence in the security of the platform. 

URL: https://coinmarketcap.com/

Pros:

  • Provides a nearly complete historical tracking of the crypto market since 2013
  • Collects the data on all crypto currencies currently available
  • Multiple different ways to access and assess market trends
  • Works as an exchange program as well

Cons:

  • More specialized as a data aggregate than as an exchange platform

10. AbstractAPI Currency Exchange API

While the AbstractAPI Currency Exchange API is not a crypto-specific API, it does have information on cryptocurrency exchange rates. The API can return information for many of the top cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Bitcoin Cash.

The API accepts simple REST requests, is secured by HTTPS, and returns data in JSON format. Updates can be requested as frequently as every 60 seconds. Endpoints are protected by an API key. There are endpoints for live data, historical market data, and conversions.

The API’s free tier allows up to 5000 requests per month at 1 request per second, but does not permit commercial use. This is the most generous request rate for a free tier of any currency exchange APIs we were able to find. Paid options start at $9 for 10,000 requests per month, and up to $79 per month for 500,000 requests.

AbstractAPI is an API company that hosts a number of different APIs. They have APIs to handle geolocation, image processing, email and phone validation, and much more. Their services are used by companies like Nokia, Google, Stanford, and Shopify.

11. Coinlayer Cryptocurrency API

The Coinlayer Cryptocurrency API is a simple REST API that returns data in JSON format for over 25 exchanges and up to 385 cryptocurrencies. It is secured by HTTPS and API keys, and backed by multiple renowned data sources, so information is always guaranteed to be current.

The API has endpoints to return live data, historical data, conversions, and a list option to list all cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. By default, cryptocurrency rates are returned in USD, but the default fiat currency can be easily set by passing a parameter to the endpoint. The API also allows for JSON callbacks.

The free tier allows for just 100 requests per month and has limited support. It provides hourly updates and historical market data, and will limit the target currency to USD. The basic tier, which costs $9.99 per month, allows all target currencies, access to the conversion endpoint, more support, and up to 5000 requests per month. Prices increase from there for more requests and additional features.

12. AlphaVantage API

AlphaVantage API is another API that does not specialize in cryptocurrencies but has a lot of cryptocurrency data. It is a stock data API that returns data in either JSON format or as Google Sheets. It can be used as a stock tracker for market prices and fiat currencies, and also has a cryptocurrency feed.

The API has several different endpoints to return various types of stock data. The currency exchange rate endpoint returns the real-time currency exchange rate for any pair of digital currencies or fiat currencies, digital to fiat currency, or vice versa. There is also an intraday endpoint that returns time-series data of the cryptocurrency specified.

AlphaVantage also provides an excellent online academy for learning how the use the API. The AlphaAcademy is an open knowledge base for the AlphaVantage online community. Apart from the Academy, AlphaVantage also offers support through email.

The API is completely free to use for up to 5 requests per minute and 500 requests per day. For enterprise and other business users, premium memberships are available. Prices start at $75 per month for up to 75 requests per minute, and go up to $250 per month for 1200 requests per minute.

13. Coin API

Coin API integrates over 300 cryptocurrency exchanges into a single API, and provides over 45,000 market updates per second. The REST API delivers data in either JSON, XML, or CSV format, and also provides access through Websockets or FIX.

There are separate endpoints for metadata, exchange rates, OHLCV, quotes, and trades. The company also provides SDKs for major programming languages on Github. The Websocket API and FIX API provide real-time streaming data.

The free tier is limited to 100 request per day, with no support and no FIX access. FIX access is not available until the top tier, which is $600 per month and includes priority email support, 100,000 requests per month, and unlimited FIX and Websocket API access. The medium tiers allow limited access to Websockets and have basic email support.

Emma Jagger

Emma Jagger is an experienced engineer and Google alumna with a degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She specializes in email validation, IP geolocation, and API integration, focusing on creating practical and scalable solutions through her technical writing.

Get your free
key now
See why the best developers build on Abstract
get started for free

Related Articles

Get your free
key now
4.8 from 1,863 votes
See why the best developers build on Abstract
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
No credit card required