Software · head to head
CoinGecko vs CoinMarketCap
CoinGecko
Software
The world's largest independent crypto data aggregator
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
CoinMarketCap
Software
The world's most-referenced price-tracking website
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: CoinGecko the free Demo plan allows 10,000 call credits a month and 100 calls a minute; 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: CoinGecko covers Market Data, CoinMarketCap covers Market Cap Rankings.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap actually diverge.
| Attribute | CoinGecko | CoinMarketCap |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 | 2013 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 CoinGecko
- Market Data
- NFT Floor Prices
- 600+ exchanges
- DeFi protocols
Only in CoinMarketCap
- Market Cap Rankings
- Crypto News
- Binance
- Exchanges
Both cover
- Price Tracking
- Portfolio Tracker
- API Access
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CoinGecko
- Pulling cryptocurrency prices and market data over an APInot CoinMarketCap
- Tracking coin, exchange and market metrics programmaticallynot CoinMarketCap
CoinMarketCap
- Cryptocurrency price and market capitalisation data over an APInot CoinGecko
- Historical market data for analysis and backtestingnot CoinGecko
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CoinGecko
- The free Demo plan allows 10,000 call credits a month and 100 calls a minute
- Rate limits are a paid feature separate from volume, at 300 calls a minute on Basic and 500 above it
- Credits and rate limits move together by plan, so a burst pattern needs a higher tier than its monthly total implies
- The 20% saving requires annual billing
- Enterprise credits and limits are custom with no published figure
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
CoinGecko
Free- FreeFree
- Price data
- Charts
- Portfolio
- Analyst$7.99/month
- Advanced charts
- DEX data
- Token unlocks
- Pro API$129/month
- 500K calls/month
- Historical data
- Priority support
CoinMarketCap
Free- FreeFree
- Price data
- Charts
- Portfolio
- API Basic$79/month
- 10K credits/month
- Historical data
Which should you pick?
Choose CoinGecko if
- You need market data.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want nft floor prices.
Choose CoinMarketCap if
- You need market cap rankings.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want crypto news.
Questions people ask
- Is CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap better?
- Neither clearly leads. CoinGecko 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, CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap?
- CoinGecko starts at Free and CoinMarketCap at Free.
- Does CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use CoinGecko for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is CoinGecko best used for?
- CoinGecko is most often used for pulling cryptocurrency prices and market data over an api, tracking coin, exchange and market metrics programmatically. Of those, pulling cryptocurrency prices and market data over an api and tracking coin, exchange and market metrics programmatically are not what CoinMarketCap is typically brought in for.
- What can CoinGecko do that CoinMarketCap cannot?
- CoinGecko covers Market Data, NFT Floor Prices, 600+ exchanges, DeFi protocols. CoinMarketCap covers Market Cap Rankings, Crypto News, Binance, Exchanges. Both handle Price Tracking, Portfolio Tracker, API Access, Web support.