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Crypto · head to head

CoinGecko vs Snowplow

CoinGecko logo

CoinGecko

Crypto

The world's largest independent crypto data aggregator

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Snowplow logo

Snowplow

Business Intelligence

Behavioural data pipeline you run in your own cloud, relicensed away from Apache 2.0 in 2024

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CoinGecko has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CoinGecko the free Demo plan allows 10,000 call credits a month and 100 calls a minute; Snowplow the core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • They diverge on capability: CoinGecko covers Price Tracking, Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CoinGecko and Snowplow actually diverge.

Attributes where CoinGecko and Snowplow differ
AttributeCoinGeckoSnowplow
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidLinux, Web, Docker
CategoryCryptoBusiness Intelligence
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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

  • Price Tracking
  • Market Data
  • Portfolio Tracker
  • NFT Floor Prices
  • API Access
  • 600+ exchanges
  • DeFi protocols
  • Web support

Only in Snowplow

  • Own-cloud deployment
  • Schema enforcement
  • Warehouse loading
  • Enrichment
  • Trackers
  • Streaming output
  • Data models
  • Snowplow BDP

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 Snowplow
  • Tracking coin, exchange and market metrics programmaticallynot Snowplow

Snowplow

  • A data team that needs full-fidelity event data in its own warehouse to build attribution or machine learning features rather than to populate dashboardsnot CoinGecko
  • A regulated business that cannot send behavioural data to a third-party analytics vendor and must keep collection inside its own cloud accountnot CoinGecko
  • A product organisation tired of silently malformed events, which wants a schema contract enforced at collection timenot CoinGecko
  • A company modelling customer behaviour across web, mobile and server events that needs them in one consistent structurenot 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

Snowplow

  • The core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • You run the pipeline in your own cloud, which means the infrastructure bill, the on-call rota and the upgrade work are yours, and at high event volume that operational cost frequently exceeds what a hosted product would have charged.
  • Schema enforcement is the main benefit and the main friction, because every new event requires a schema to be authored and versioned, and teams without discipline around that end up blocked on their own governance process.
  • There is no analysis layer: Snowplow delivers data to your warehouse and nothing else, so you still need modelling, a BI tool and the people to run them before anyone sees a number.
  • The licence change fractured the community, spawning an Apache 2.0 fork, which means community contributions and third-party tooling are now split across two codebases with uncertain long-term maintenance.

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

Snowplow

On request
  • Snowplow BDP$undefined/year
    • Commercial pricing quoted by event volume and deployment
    • Core pipeline components under the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, not Apache 2.0
    • Trackers, analytics SDKs and Iglu SDKs remain Apache 2.0

Which should you pick?

Choose CoinGecko if

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

Choose Snowplow if

  • You need own-cloud deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Docker.
  • You also want schema enforcement.
Snowplow review

Questions people ask

Is CoinGecko or Snowplow better?
Neither clearly leads. CoinGecko starts at Free and Snowplow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CoinGecko or Snowplow?
CoinGecko has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CoinGecko and On request for Snowplow.
Does CoinGecko or Snowplow run on more platforms?
CoinGecko runs on Web, Ios, Android. Snowplow runs on Linux, Web, Docker.
Can I use CoinGecko for free?
Yes. CoinGecko has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Snowplow starts at On request.
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 Snowplow is typically brought in for.
What can CoinGecko do that Snowplow cannot?
CoinGecko covers Price Tracking, Market Data, Portfolio Tracker, NFT Floor Prices. Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment, Schema enforcement, Warehouse loading, Enrichment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CoinGecko: What call limits and rate limits come with CoinGecko's Basic API plan?

Basic is $35/month ($29/month annual) and includes 100k calls per month with a 300 calls per minute rate limit.

Source
Snowplow: Is Snowplow still open source?

Not in the permissive sense. On 8 January 2024 the core pipeline moved from Apache 2.0 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, with version 1.1 following in December 2024, alongside a community licence based on the Confluent Community Licence. Trackers and analytics SDKs remain Apache 2.0.

CoinGecko: What is the overage charge if CoinGecko API calls exceed the plan limit?

Overage charges are $0.0005 per call, or custom pricing is available for Enterprise plans.

Source
Snowplow: Can we still run it for free in production?

Free use of the relicensed core components is materially constrained and commercial use generally requires an agreement. Read the current licence text against your intended use rather than relying on older documentation.

CoinGecko: Which CoinGecko API plan includes commercial use licensing?

Commercial license is included in Basic tier and above. The free Demo tier requires attribution.

Source
Snowplow: Is there an Apache 2.0 alternative?

Yes, a fork called OpenSnowcat was created in response to the relicensing and continues under Apache 2.0.

CoinGecko: What payment methods does CoinGecko accept for API subscriptions?

CoinGecko accepts Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, and JCB. Cryptocurrency is accepted on annual subscriptions for Analyst tier and above.

Source
Snowplow: What does Snowplow BDP cost?

Not published. It is quoted by event volume and deployment, and your own cloud infrastructure costs are separate and additional.

CoinGecko: Are CoinGecko API payments refundable?

No. CoinGecko API subscription payments are non-refundable.

Source
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