Free Sources of Financial Data for Algo Trading

Advancements in technology have made it easier to process and interpret financial data to extract valuable insights into market activities. As a result of this fundamental shift, algorithmic trading was born. Today, it is becoming increasingly popular among investors and traders over the years. However, one of the biggest challenges faced by algo traders is obtaining reliable and accurate financial data. Unlike institutional investors, retail traders do not have access to expensive financial data services, which can make it difficult to make informed trading decisions. Nevertheless, there are still sources of quality financial data online that can help you thrive as an algorithmic trader. Let’s review some of the sources you can use in your trading.

Polygon.io

Polygon.io is a notable provider of market data for options trading. Its extensive free plan offerings make it an attractive choice for traders who want to try out its features before committing to a paid subscription. One of the main advantages of Polygon.io for developers of algorithmic trading software is its comprehensive market coverage, which includes data for stocks, options, futures, and cryptocurrencies. This means that traders can access a wealth of information to help them make informed trading decisions across a range of financial instruments. In addition to its broad market coverage, Polygon.io also offers a range of data types, including end-of-day and historical data, reference data, fundamental data, and corporate actions. This allows traders to access a variety of information to help them analyze the market and make informed decisions.

Alpha Vantage

Alpha Vantage is a leading provider of both real-time and historical financial market data. The platform’s APIs deliver a comprehensive coverage of traditional asset classes, such as stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, as well as economic indicators, foreign exchange rates, and commodities. The platform is designed to meet the needs of algo trading strategy developers, traders, and other financial professionals who require accurate and up-to-date information to make decisions.

Alpaca

Alpaca is one of the new kids on the block, yet its cutting-edge products have already made serious waves in the industry over the past three years. It offers a smooth user interface and an extensively tested API, which does not cost you a penny to use. Alpaca also provides access to alternative data streams, such as news data from Benzinga, enabling traders to make more informed decisions. Overall, Alpaca is a well-rounded broker that combines simplicity, speed, and accuracy to meet the needs of algorithmic traders. Alpaca has also expanded its services to include an increasing number of cryptocurrencies.

SimFin

SimFin is another popular provider of free fundamental financial data which can improve investors’ algo trading capabilities. SimFin’s data can be easily exported and accessed via API. One of the key benefits of SimFin is its focus on high-quality, reliable data, which it aggregates from multiple sources, including company filings and financial statements, and uses sophisticated tools to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data. Additionally, the platform's bulk download functionality allows users to quickly and easily access large amounts of data, making it ideal for users who need to analyze a variety companies or industries.

The FRED® API

The FRED® API is an unfailing tool for developers seeking to retrieve economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. With its user-friendly interface and extensive customization options, this web service offers developers the ability to build algo trading applications that can tap into the vast reservoir of data hosted on the FRED® and ALFRED® websites. The flexible filtering capabilities allow developers to extract data from a specific category or series, which can be useful for building customized charts, graphs, and dashboards.

Conclusion

Access to accurate, real-time data is essential for algo strategy trading. Fortunately, free sources of financial data are still available in large numbers. From government agencies to financial news outlets, these sources can provide valuable insights into market trends. By leveraging the resources mentioned above as well as other ones and combining them with advanced analytical tools, you can maximize the effectiveness of your trading strategies.  

Igor Shafran Voronkovski would be glad to offer his assistance and guidance on any inquiries you may have.