{
  "slug": "alpaca",
  "name": "Alpaca",
  "aliases": [
    "Alpaca Markets",
    "Alpaca Trading API",
    "alpaca-py"
  ],
  "vendor": {
    "name": "Alpaca (AlpacaDB, Inc.)",
    "slug": "alpaca",
    "website": "https://alpaca.markets"
  },
  "homepage_url": "https://alpaca.markets/",
  "docs_url": "https://docs.alpaca.markets/",
  "repo_url": "https://github.com/alpacahq/alpaca-py",
  "pricing_url": "https://alpaca.markets/pricing",
  "license_url": "https://github.com/alpacahq/alpaca-py/blob/master/LICENSE",
  "product_type": "api-service",
  "product_status": "active",
  "summary": "API-first US brokerage offering a Trading API, Market Data API and Broker API for stocks, ETFs, options and crypto, with paper trading",
  "description": "Alpaca is an API-first brokerage and market-data provider in the financial analysis and investing category. Developers open an account and interact entirely through REST and WebSocket endpoints: the Trading API places and manages orders for US stocks, ETFs, options and crypto; the Market Data API streams quotes, trades and bars and serves historical data; and the Broker API lets fintech apps open and manage end-customer accounts. A free paper-trading environment mirrors the live API, and official SDKs include the Apache-licensed alpaca-py plus libraries for other languages. The service is cloud-hosted, so no local gateway is needed, which makes it a common choice for bots and research pipelines. Coverage is centered on US markets, real-time data breadth depends on the subscribed data plan, and brokerage services are subject to US regulatory eligibility.",
  "capabilities": [
    "Order management for US equities, ETFs, options and crypto",
    "Real-time and historical market data over REST and WebSocket",
    "Paper trading environment identical to live endpoints",
    "Broker API for embedding brokerage in applications",
    "Official SDKs including alpaca-py",
    "OAuth for third-party app connections"
  ],
  "workflows": [
    "Prototype a bot against paper trading, then switch keys to live",
    "Backfill minute bars for research through the data API"
  ],
  "advantages": [
    "No desktop gateway; pure cloud API",
    "Free paper trading",
    "Apache-2.0 SDK"
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "US-centric market coverage",
    "Full real-time data feeds require paid data plans",
    "Account eligibility depends on jurisdiction"
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "Alpaca account and API keys"
  ],
  "audiences": [
    "Developers building trading bots",
    "Fintech teams embedding brokerage",
    "Students learning with paper trading"
  ],
  "alternatives": [
    "interactive-brokers-api",
    "kraken-api",
    "quantconnect"
  ],
  "comparison_notes": "Interactive Brokers reaches many more markets but requires a running gateway for its main API; Alpaca is simpler to integrate and US-focused. Kraken is crypto-only. QuantConnect can trade through Alpaca as one of its brokerages.",
  "categories": [
    {
      "slug": "financial-analysis-investing",
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "slug": "market-data-apis",
      "label": "Equity and crypto market data API"
    }
  ],
  "tags": [
    "brokerage",
    "trading-api",
    "market-data",
    "api",
    "python",
    "websocket"
  ],
  "use_cases": [
    "automate-trading",
    "access-market-data"
  ],
  "operating_systems": [
    "any"
  ],
  "execution_modes": [
    "cloud"
  ],
  "interfaces": [
    "api",
    "sdk"
  ],
  "deployment_models": [
    "saas"
  ],
  "integrations": [
    "QuantConnect",
    "TradingView",
    "Python",
    "JavaScript"
  ],
  "data_formats": [
    "JSON",
    "WebSocket messages"
  ],
  "languages": [
    "Python",
    "JavaScript",
    "Go",
    "C#"
  ],
  "source_model": "mixed",
  "license_spdx": "Apache-2.0",
  "pricing_model": [
    "freemium",
    "usage-based",
    "paid"
  ],
  "pricing_checked_at": "2026-11-02",
  "self_hostable": false,
  "sources": [
    {
      "url": "https://alpaca.markets/",
      "type": "official_site",
      "supports": [
        "name",
        "summary"
      ],
      "checked_at": "2026-11-02",
      "title": "Alpaca"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.alpaca.markets/",
      "type": "official_docs",
      "supports": [
        "capabilities",
        "interfaces"
      ],
      "checked_at": "2026-11-02",
      "title": "Alpaca documentation"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://alpaca.markets/pricing",
      "type": "pricing_page",
      "supports": [
        "pricing_model"
      ],
      "checked_at": "2026-11-02",
      "title": "Alpaca pricing"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/alpacahq/alpaca-py/blob/master/LICENSE",
      "type": "license_page",
      "supports": [
        "license_spdx"
      ],
      "checked_at": "2026-11-02",
      "title": "alpaca-py LICENSE (Apache 2.0)",
      "note": "License applies to the SDK, not the service"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "depth": "standard",
  "featured": false,
  "discovery_method": "editorial-research",
  "editorial_status": "reviewed",
  "visibility": "public",
  "author": "batch-F"
}