What you get with a free crypto API from CoinAPI ($25 credits)

Stop wasting hours searching for reliable crypto data. Get started instantly with $25 in free API credits from CoinAPI and finally access real, high-quality market data when you need it most.

Quants, fintech builders, and developers who want the fastest way to validate their next crypto project get instant access to real crypto market data, no upfront cost or subscription required. With $25 in free API credits, you can test live endpoints, analyze data from 370+ exchanges, and experience the data accuracy that separates leaders from laggards.

To receive free credits, you’ll need to generate an API key and add a verified payment method (there are no charges unless you purchase or upgrade). You can also unlock credits by purchasing a plan or adding funds. There is no long-term commitment, just the fastest path to production-ready data.

Ready to unlock the full potential of your next idea? Dive in, discover what’s included, how to stretch every dollar of credit, and why the world’s most technical teams trust CoinAPI for their crypto data needs.

Trusted by industry leaders

CoinAPI powers crypto data solutions for leading fintechs, global trading firms, and innovative startups. Our APIs are trusted by clients like Wyden, Bitwise, MIT, Paysafe, and dozens more featured in our case studies.

"CoinAPI does what a good crypto API is supposed to do: quickly and easily provide live data on any cryptocurrency and their trading volume. We use CoinAPI to power our tax calculation," Bitcoin.tax CEO Colin Mackie

What’s included in your $25 Free crypto API credits from CoinAPI?

• Access to a subset of CoinAPI’s cryptocurrency API endpoints for testing and development.
• $25 in free cryptocurrency API credits to explore over 370 exchanges and 15,000+ crypto assets before committing to a paid plan.
• A verified payment method is required to activate your free credits (no charges unless you purchase or upgrade). You’ll need to generate an API key and then add a payment method, purchase credits, or buy a subscription to unlock the credits.
• Rate and request limits: 100 requests per day, 10 requests per 6 seconds.
• Track usage easily in the customer portal or via API headers to manage your free crypto API balance.
• No legacy Free Tier restrictions: The current free credits offer does not have the limitations of the previous Free Tier.

Which endpoints are included in your $25 free crypto API credits from CoinAPI?

With your $25 free API credits, you can explore and test a curated selection of CoinAPI’s most popular REST endpoints, each request simply deducts from your available credits. This lets you try real-world crypto data workflows and validate your use case before any commitment.

Market data endpoints:

• /v1/exchangerate: Get current or historical exchange rates for crypto and fiat assets. Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/exchangerate/BTC/USD?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY> returns the current BTC/USD rate. For historical data, add time_start and period_id (e.g., 1HRS).
• /v1/ohlcv: Access OHLCV (Open, High, Low, Close, Volume) data for market analysis. Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/ohlcv/BITSTAMP_SPOT_BTC_USD/history?period_id=1DAY&time_start=2025-06-01T00:00:00&limit=100>.
• /v1/trades: Retrieve historical trade data for specific trading pairs. Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/trades/BITSTAMP_SPOT_BTC_USD/history?time_start=2025-06-01T00:00:00>.
• /v1/quotes: Fetch historical quote data (bid/ask prices). Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/quotes/BITSTAMP_SPOT_BTC_USD/history?time_start=2025-06-01T00:00:00>.

Metadata endpoints:

• /v1/assets: List available crypto and fiat assets. Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/assets?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY>.
• /v1/symbols: Get trading pairs and exchange details. Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/symbols?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY>.

Sample responses

To help you understand the data format, here’s a sample JSON response for an OHLCV request:

1json
2
3[
4  {
5    "time_period_start": "2025-06-01T00:00:00.0000000Z",
6    "time_period_end": "2025-06-01T01:00:00.0000000Z",
7    "price_open": 60000.00,
8    "price_high": 60500.00,
9    "price_low": 59800.00,
10    "price_close": 60250.00,
11    "volume_traded": 150.5,
12    "trades_count": 120
13  }
14]
15

Sample response for an exchange rate request (/v1/exchangerate):

1json
2
3{
4  "asset_id_base": "BTC",
5  "asset_id_quote": "USD",
6  "rate": 65000.00,
7  "time": "2025-06-01T00:00:00.0000000Z"
8}

Quick-reference table: Free crypto API vs. Paid plans

Check the exact scope at /v1/assets and /v1/symbols during the trial.

$25 free API credits limitations

• Request Limits: You’re limited to 100 requests per day, tracked in a sliding 24-hour window (resets gradually over 24 hours). Check headers like X-RateLimit-Quota-Allocated (total quota) and X-RateLimit-Quota-Remaining (requests left).
• Data Scope: Access is restricted to a subset of data, with costs per request (e.g., setting limit=1000 uses more credits.
• No Real-Time APIs: WebSocket and FIX endpoints are not available in the trial.
• Expiration: Credits expire 30 days after trial activation.

These limits are designed to help you test the most important features and workflows for your use case. Make sure to plan your evaluation and prioritize the endpoints that matter most to you. If you find value and want more, you can upgrade to a paid plan at any time to unlock higher limits, real-time access, and additional data delivery options.

How to test data efficiently

To get the most out of your $25 free API credits and 100 daily requests, use these steps to evaluate both historical and current crypto data with CoinAPI’s REST API. For best results, test your calls in a sandbox or local development environment to avoid wasting credits on mistakes.

1. Understand Historical Data Endpoints Main Endpoint: Use /v1/ohlcv for OHLCV data, perfect for analyzing price trends. Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/ohlcv/BITSTAMP_SPOT_BTC_USD/history?period_id=1DAY&time_start=2025-06-01T00:00:00>. Exchange Rates: Use /v1/exchangerate for historical prices. Example: GET <https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/exchangerate/BTC/USD/history?period_id=1HRS&time_start=2025-06-01T00:00:00>.
2. Optimize API Requests
   • Use the limit parameter (up to 100,000 data points) to fetch more data in one call.
   • Filter by exchange and pair using /v1/symbols to avoid unnecessary data.
   • Request data in CSV for lighter responses.
3. Monitor Your Usage
   • Track limits via headers and /api/subscriptions/usage/rest/history.
   • Cache data locally to minimize repeat requests.
4. Handle Errors
   • Respect the 10-requests/6-second limit.
   • Handle 429 errors (Too Many Requests) with exponential backoff.

1python
2
3import time
4import requests
5def fetch_data(url, headers, retries=3):
6    for attempt in range(retries):
7        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
8        if response.status_code == 429:
9            wait = 2 ** attempt
10            time.sleep(wait)
11            continue
12        response.raise_for_status()
13        return response.json()
14    raise Exception("Max retries exceeded")

Tip: Before running large queries, test your API calls with small limit values and a few assets or trading pairs. This will help you avoid unexpected credit consumption.

Would you like this version inserted into your document, or do you want any further customization for your target audience (e.g., focusing on quants, fintech, or developers)?

Sample workflow: Test BTC/USD OHLCV data

1. Confirm the trading pair exists: GET /v1/symbols?filter_symbol_id=BITSTAMP_SPOT_BTC_USD
2. Fetch 1 day of hourly OHLCV data: GET /v1/ohlcv/BITSTAMP_SPOT_BTC_USD/history?period_id=1HRS&time_start=2025-06-01T00:00:00&time_end=2025-06-02T00:00:00
3. Save to CSV with Python:

1python
2
3import requests
4import pandas as pd
5url = "https://rest.coinapi.io/v1/ohlcv/BITSTAMP_SPOT_BTC_USD/history?period_id=1HRS&time_start=2025-06-01T00:00:00&time_end=2025-06-02T00:00:00"
6headers = {"X-CoinAPI-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
7response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
8data = response.json()
9df = pd.DataFrame(data)
10df.to_csv("btc_usd_historical.csv", index=False)

1. Visualize trends in Jupyter Notebook or Excel.

1python
2
3import pandas as pd
4import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
5df = pd.read_csv("btc_usd_historical.csv")
6df["time_period_start"] = pd.to_datetime(df["time_period_start"])
7df.plot(x="time_period_start", y="price_close", title="BTC/USD Closing Prices")
8plt.show()

Tip: To test multiple pairs, loop through the symbols retrieved from /v1/symbols.

Want to choose the most efficient way to access crypto data? Read our guide on REST API or Flat Files: Choosing the Best Crypto Data Access Method.

Need deep-dive tips on fetching historical ticks, quotes, or order book snapshots? Check out How to Access Historical Crypto Data with CoinAPI: Ticks, Quotes, and Order Books.

Lightning-fast developer onboarding

With extensive API documentation and client libraries for popular languages, most developers make their first successful API call in under 5 minutes. Rapid prototyping and scalable integration, no longer a setup or learning curve.

Crypto API pricing: When should you upgrade?

While your $25 in free crypto API credits lets you test real endpoints and evaluate CoinAPI, you may need higher daily limits, real-time data (WebSocket, FIX), or access to all supported exchanges and assets for production use.

CoinAPI offers flexible crypto API pricing, with plans that scale for startups, enterprise, and quant teams.

See our crypto API pricing page to compare tiers, features, and data limits, and decide when upgrading makes sense for your business.

Free crypto API plans: CoinAPI vs. Competitors

For advanced/enterprise & quant teams

The trial is designed for initial evaluation and prototyping, not for full production or real-time trading.

Paid plans unlock:

• Real-time WebSocket streaming
• FIX protocol access
• S3 flat-file delivery
• Complete market data depth, higher request rates, more exchanges/assets

CoinAPI maintains backward compatibility for historical endpoints and ensures stable schemas. This is crucial for teams that plan to migrate from trial to full product without integration issues.

Curious how quant teams are using CoinAPI for advanced research? See How Crypto Quant Teams Use CoinAPI Index API to Build Macro Trading Signals.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

Q: What happens if I use up my $25 credit or daily request limits? A: You’ll receive error messages and be prompted to upgrade if you wish to continue using the API.

Q: Can I keep my API key when I upgrade? A: Yes. Your integration remains active when you switch to a paid plan.

Q: Are there differences in data granularity, latency, or refresh rates between the $25 credit and paid accounts? A: The only difference is latency. All users have access to the same data granularity and refresh rates, but lower latency solutions (including Enterprise feeds and FIX API) are available exclusively on paid PRO and Enterprise plans.

Q: How do I know what’s available in my $25 free API credits? A: Use /v1/assets and /v1/symbols endpoints, and check the CoinAPI documentation.

Q: Who uses CoinAPI?

A: CoinAPI is trusted by hundreds of teams worldwide, including fintech innovators, trading firms, hedge funds, academic labs, and enterprise finance leaders. Our users include:

• Finance managers seeking audit-ready, consolidated data streams
• Crypto fund managers need real-time, reliable market data
• Quant researchers and trading bot developers working with clean, research-grade tick data
• Data scientists and ML engineers are training models on granular, historical crypto data
• Backend and infrastructure engineers building scalable trading and analytics platforms
• Portfolio valuation and risk teams standardizing NAV and benchmarks across exchanges
• Tax, compliance, and accounting devs streamlining reporting and reconciliations
• Academic researchers and professors using CoinAPI for publication-ready datasets
• DeFi, Web3, and analytics teams bridging on-chain and off-chain data

CoinAPI serves leading quant trading desks, crypto hedge funds, academic research institutions, fintech startups, and enterprise infrastructure teams, solving their toughest data, integration, and reliability challenges.

See our case studies for real-world examples.

Explore resources

• API Docs: https://docs.coinapi.io/
• Support: Sign up for the Customer Portal, or email support@coinapi.io.

CoinAPI offers a flexible, usage-based free crypto API for developers and businesses evaluating crypto data solutions. The $25 free API credits let you test key endpoints, monitor your usage, and validate performance before choosing a plan. This approach gives you full control over your crypto API trial and sets you up for a smooth transition to CoinAPI’s production-ready, real-time crypto market data.

Ready to upgrade?

Use your trial usage data in the portal to estimate costs and select a plan with higher limits and access to real-time, WebSocket, FIX, and S3 delivery.

For custom features, contact sales@coinapi.io or check pricing.