Softwr

Crypto · head to head

Alchemy vs CoinMarketCap

Alchemy logo

Alchemy

Crypto

The web3 development platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
CoinMarketCap logo

CoinMarketCap

Crypto

The world's most-referenced price-tracking website

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alchemy the free tier is capped at 30M compute units a month and 25 requests per second; CoinMarketCap the free Basic plan gives historical data going back only 60 seconds, so it cannot answer any question about the past
  • They diverge on capability: Alchemy covers Node APIs, CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alchemy and CoinMarketCap actually diverge.

Attributes where Alchemy and CoinMarketCap differ
AttributeAlchemyCoinMarketCap
PlatformsApi, WebWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20172013

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Crypto).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alchemy

  • Node APIs
  • Enhanced APIs
  • NFT API
  • Webhooks
  • Mempool
  • 35+ chains
  • SDKs
  • Api support

Only in CoinMarketCap

  • Price Tracking
  • Market Cap Rankings
  • Portfolio Tracker
  • Crypto News
  • API Access
  • Binance
  • Exchanges
  • Ios support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alchemy

  • Hosted blockchain node access across mainnets and testnetsnot CoinMarketCap
  • Backing a production web3 application without running nodesnot CoinMarketCap
  • Webhook-driven notifications for on-chain eventsnot CoinMarketCap
  • Scaling read throughput beyond self-hosted node limitsnot CoinMarketCap

CoinMarketCap

  • Real-time cryptocurrency market tracking and analysisnot Alchemy
  • Historical price data retrieval for researchnot Alchemy
  • Exchange tracking and aggregationnot Alchemy
  • Token information and metadata accessnot Alchemy
  • Portfolio monitoring integrationsnot Alchemy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alchemy

  • The free tier is capped at 30M compute units a month and 25 requests per second
  • Free accounts are limited to 5 apps and 5 webhooks
  • Beyond the free allowance it is $0.45 per 1M compute units for the first 300M a month
  • Request cost varies by call complexity, from around 10 compute units to over 100, so spend is hard to predict from request counts alone
  • Signed SLAs and priority support require an Enterprise contract

CoinMarketCap

  • The free Basic plan gives historical data going back only 60 seconds, so it cannot answer any question about the past
  • Three years of history requires the $29 Builder plan and all time history the $79 Startup plan
  • Free is capped at 15,000 credits a month and 50 requests a minute
  • Rate limits are tiered separately from credits, from 50 a minute on free to 1,200 on Professional
  • Enterprise pricing is custom despite listing 30,000,000 credits

Pricing, plan by plan

Alchemy

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 300M compute units
    • 5 apps
    • Core APIs
  • Growth$49/month
    • 400M compute units
    • 15 apps
    • Enhanced APIs
  • Scale$199/month
    • 1B compute units
    • Unlimited apps
    • Premium support

CoinMarketCap

Free
  • Keyless (Trial)Free
    • No signup required
    • Access to selected API endpoints
    • Market listings, quotes, global metrics
  • Basic (Free Authenticated)Free
    • 15,000 monthly call credits
    • 50 requests per minute
    • Historical data access

Which should you pick?

Choose Alchemy if

  • You need node apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Api, Web.
  • You also want enhanced apis.
Alchemy review

Choose CoinMarketCap if

  • You need price tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want market cap rankings.
CoinMarketCap review

Questions people ask

Is Alchemy or CoinMarketCap better?
Neither clearly leads. Alchemy starts at Free and CoinMarketCap at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alchemy or CoinMarketCap?
Alchemy starts at Free and CoinMarketCap at Free.
Does Alchemy or CoinMarketCap run on more platforms?
Alchemy runs on Api, Web. CoinMarketCap runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Alchemy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alchemy best used for?
Alchemy is most often used for hosted blockchain node access across mainnets and testnets, backing a production web3 application without running nodes, webhook-driven notifications for on-chain events, scaling read throughput beyond self-hosted node limits. Of those, hosted blockchain node access across mainnets and testnets and backing a production web3 application without running nodes are not what CoinMarketCap is typically brought in for.
What can Alchemy do that CoinMarketCap cannot?
Alchemy covers Node APIs, Enhanced APIs, NFT API, Webhooks. CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking, Market Cap Rankings, Portfolio Tracker, Crypto News. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Alchemy: How much does Alchemy cost?

Alchemy offers a free tier with 30M compute units monthly, and a pay-as-you-go model at $0.45 per 1M compute units for the first 300M monthly, then $0.40 per 1M compute units thereafter. Enterprise plans with custom pricing and volume discounts are available for high-volume users.

Source
CoinMarketCap: Does CoinMarketCap offer a free API?

Yes, CoinMarketCap offers a free Basic tier with 15,000 monthly API call credits, 50 requests per minute, historical data access, and commercial use rights after creating a free Developer Portal account.

Source
Alchemy: Does Alchemy have a free version?

Yes, Alchemy's Free plan provides 30M compute units monthly at no cost, with access to all mainnets and testnets, up to 15 requests per second, and support for 5 apps and 5 webhooks.

Source
CoinMarketCap: What are CoinMarketCap's rate limits?

The free Basic plan allows 50 requests per minute with 15,000 monthly call credits. Paid plans offer higher limits; specific rates require contacting sales.

Source
Alchemy: What is the difference between Alchemy's Free and Pay As You Go plans?

The Free plan offers 30M compute units monthly at no cost with 15 requests per second throughput and supports up to 5 apps. Pay As You Go provides higher throughput (300 requests per second), more apps (30) and webhooks (100), and premium endpoints with priority support, charged at $0.45 per 1M compute units.

Source
CoinMarketCap: Can I use CoinMarketCap API for commercial purposes?

Yes, the free Basic plan explicitly allows commercial use after signup. Higher-tier commercial plans are also available.

Source
CoinMarketCap: How much historical cryptocurrency data does CoinMarketCap provide?

CoinMarketCap provides 16 years of historical data across 50 million+ tracked tokens and 941+ exchanges.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Alchemy

More on CoinMarketCap

Keep looking

Other head to heads