Flat Files is CoinAPI's service that provides comprehensive cryptocurrency market data through downloadable flat files in CSV format. These files encompass various data types, including Quotes, Trades, Limit Book Data, and OHLCV. The Flat Files is designed for users who prefer to process large datasets offline or integrate the data into their own analysis systems, offering flexibility and scalability for extensive data handling needs.

• Quotes - Quotes represent the top of the book and contain the best bid and ask prices with cumulative resting order size. This type is double timestamped by the exchange (if available) and at the moment of the first receive before any processing and marked by the server site identifier that received this data point.
• Trades - Trade represents a match between passive and active market participants. Each trade contains the id, price, size, and aggressor of the trade (if available). This type is double timestamped by the exchange (if available) and at the moment of the first receive before any processing.
• limitbook_snapshot_X - Snapshot of the limit book represents X best levels from each side of the book. Each level contains the price and cumulative size of resting orders on this level. Snapshot recorded every second ('interval') if the order book changed in at least one level in the first X best levels at the end of the interval period. This type is double timestamped by the exchange (if available) and at the moment of the first receive before any processing. The exact number of available levels (X) can be selected based on your trading strategy and analytical needs.
• limitbook_full - The limitbook_full represents every update in the order book delivered by the data source (in the L2 or L3 granularity); the file starts with a snapshot of the order book followed by updates to the state. Every data point in this format represents a level in the order book and using this type you can see the order book as deep as data source provides. This type is double timestamped by the exchange (if available) and at the moment of the first receive before any processing.
• ohlcv_active_consolidated - The ohlcv_active_consolidated represents OHLCV data (aggregated transactions). Each data point represents OHLCV for the specific symbol on the selected aggregation period between 1 Second and 1 Month if, in the period, there is at least one transaction.

Yes, depending on your subscription, you can request customized data sets or specify particular time ranges to align with your project requirements.

Let's explore some realistic usage scenarios based on the data volumes from 2024-06-20, assuming users typically access a subset of available data, focusing on specific symbols or a portion of an exchange's data.

Scenario 1: Daily Download of Top Cryptocurrencies from Multiple Exchanges​

A user downloads data for the top 10 cryptocurrencies (approximately 25% of the data) from BINANCE, COINBASE, and KRAKEN each day:

1. API Requests:
   • LIST requests: 9 (one for each data type per exchange)
   • GET requests: 670 (estimated 25% of files for these exchanges)
   • Total requests: 679
   • Cost for requests: (679 / 1,000) * $10.00 = $6.79

2. Data Downloaded (25% of total volume):

• Limit Book: (8,627 + 4,978 + 9,651) * 0.25 MB * $1.00/GB = $5.78
• Quotes: (1,833 + 1,100 + 2,506) * 0.25 MB * $1.00/GB = $1.36
• Trades: (1,823 + 225 + 21) * 0.25 MB * $3.00/GB = $1.55
• Total cost for data: $8.69

Total cost for this scenario (per day): $6.79 + $8.69 = $15.48 Estimated monthly cost (30 days): $15.48 * 30 = $464.40

Scenario 2: Weekly Analysis of Specific Trading Pairs​

A user downloads data for 5 specific trading pairs (approximately 10% of the data) from BINANCE and COINBASE once a week:

1. API Requests (per week):
   • LIST requests: 6 (one for each data type per exchange)
   • GET requests: 168 (estimated 10% of files for these exchanges)
   • Total requests: 174
   • Cost for requests: (174 / 1,000) * $10.00 = $1.74

2. Data Downloaded (10% of total volume, for 7 days):

• Limit Book: (8,627 + 4,978) * 0.10 MB * $1.00/GB * 7 = $9.52
• Quotes: (1,833 + 1,100) * 0.10 MB * $1.00/GB * 7 = $2.05
• Trades: (1,823 + 225) * 0.10 MB * $3.00/GB * 7 = $4.31
• Total cost for data: $15.88

Total cost for this scenario (per week): $1.74 + $15.88 = $17.62 Estimated monthly cost (4 weeks): $17.62 * 4 = $70.48

Scenario 3: Monthly Deep Dive on a Single Exchange​

A user performs a comprehensive analysis of KRAKEN data (100% of KRAKEN data) for the past month:

1. API Requests (per month):
   • LIST requests: 3 (one for each data type)
   • GET requests: 2,093 (all KRAKEN files)
   • Total requests: 2,096
   • Cost for requests: (2,096 / 1,000) * $10.00 = $20.96

2. Data Downloaded (100% of KRAKEN volume, for 30 days):

• Limit Book: 9,651 MB * $1.00/GB * 30 = $289.53
• Quotes: 2,506 MB * $1.00/GB * 30 = $75.18
• Trades: 21 MB * $3.00/GB * 30 = $1.89
• Total cost for data: $366.60

Total cost for this scenario (per month): $20.96 + $366.60 = $387.56

Scenario 4: Daily Monitoring of Emerging Cryptocurrencies​

A user tracks 20 emerging cryptocurrencies (approximately 5% of the data) across all exchanges daily:

1. API Requests (per day):
   • LIST requests: 18 (one for each data type per exchange)
   • GET requests: 355 (estimated 5% of total files)
   • Total requests: 373
   • Cost for requests: (373 / 1,000) * $10.00 = $3.73

2. Data Downloaded (5% of total volume):

• Limit Book: (9,651 + 8,627 + 4,978 + 1,893 + 671 + 63) * 0.05 MB * $1.00/GB = $1.27
• Quotes: (2,506 + 1,833 + 1,100 + 525 + 192 + 50) * 0.05 MB * $1.00/GB = $0.30
• Trades: (1,823 + 225 + 21 + 4 + 3 + 1) * 0.05 MB * $3.00/GB = $0.31
• Total cost for data: $1.88

Total cost for this scenario (per day): $3.73 + $1.88 = $5.61 Estimated monthly cost (30 days): $5.61 * 30 = $168.30

1. Focus on specific symbols or trading pairs relevant to your analysis to reduce data volume and costs.
2. Use efficient querying to minimize unnecessary API calls, especially when checking for new data.
3. Implement delta downloads to retrieve only new or updated data since your last download.
4. Consider the frequency of data downloads based on your analysis needs. Daily downloads may not always be necessary.
5. Cache downloaded data locally to avoid re-downloading unchanged historical data.
6. Regularly review your data usage patterns and adjust your download strategy to optimize costs.
7. Use LIST operations judiciously to minimize API requests when you know the exact files you need.

CoinAPI offers multiple subscription plans tailored to different data access needs and usage volumes. Pricing details can be found above on this website.

Subscription plans may impose limitations on the volume of data you can download and the size of individual files. It's recommended to review your plan details or contact support for specific limitations.

Yes, invoice payment is available on Enterprise. Please contact our support team to set this up.

If a payment fails, we'll notify you and attempt to charge again. Your service won't be interrupted immediately, but please update your payment method promptly.

CoinAPI offers comprehensive support through detailed documentation, a dedicated support team, and responsive support tickets. You can reach out to the support team for assistance with any Flat Files-related inquiries.

We have an available guide on how to get the size, files, and amount of a specific dataset using Python. You may use the script from our article to get an estimation of the data that you are planning to purchase using our Flat Files product: https://docs.coinapi.io/general/faq/api/estimation-for-flat-files

Note that credits will also be consumed when listing the files based on our API Requests pricing model above.