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Crypto · head to head

CoinMarketCap vs Metabase

CoinMarketCap logo

CoinMarketCap

Crypto

The world's most-referenced price-tracking website

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Metabase logo

Metabase

Spreadsheets

Fast analytics with the friendly UX

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CoinMarketCap the free Basic plan gives historical data going back only 60 seconds, so it cannot answer any question about the past; Metabase aI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included)
  • They diverge on capability: CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking, Metabase covers No-code Query Builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CoinMarketCap and Metabase actually diverge.

Attributes where CoinMarketCap and Metabase differ
AttributeCoinMarketCapMetabase
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Self-hosted cloud
CategoryCryptoSpreadsheets
Founded20132014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), 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 CoinMarketCap

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

Only in Metabase

  • No-code Query Builder
  • SQL Editor
  • Interactive Dashboards
  • Alerts
  • Embedding
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

CoinMarketCap

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

Metabase

  • Business intelligence and data exploration for non-technical usersnot CoinMarketCap
  • Embedded analytics for SaaS applicationsnot CoinMarketCap
  • Self-service reporting and dashboard creationnot CoinMarketCap
  • Integration with 40+ data sources including cloud warehousesnot CoinMarketCap

Where each one falls short

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

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

Metabase

  • AI Service charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens (after 1M free tokens included)
  • Transforms cost $0.01 per run after 1,000 included runs per month
  • Advanced Transforms cost $0.02 per run after included allocation
  • Storage overages start at $2 per 1M rows (1M rows free)
  • All yearly plans offer 10% discount versus monthly, incentivizing annual commitment

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Metabase

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited questions and dashboards
    • AI-powered query generation
  • Starter$90/month
    • Email and chat support
    • $100/month standard monthly billing
    • 20+ data connectors
  • Pro$517.5/month
    • $575/month standard monthly
    • Row/column-level permissions
    • SSO
  • Enterprise$20000/year
    • Dedicated success engineer
    • 1-day support response SLA
    • Air-gapped deployment

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Metabase if

  • You need no-code query builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted cloud.
  • You also want sql editor.
Metabase review

Questions people ask

Is CoinMarketCap or Metabase better?
Neither clearly leads. CoinMarketCap starts at Free and Metabase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CoinMarketCap or Metabase?
CoinMarketCap starts at Free and Metabase at Free.
Does CoinMarketCap or Metabase run on more platforms?
CoinMarketCap runs on Web, Ios, Android. Metabase runs on Web, Self-hosted cloud.
Can I use CoinMarketCap for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is CoinMarketCap best used for?
CoinMarketCap is most often used for real-time cryptocurrency market tracking and analysis, historical price data retrieval for research, exchange tracking and aggregation, token information and metadata access. Of those, real-time cryptocurrency market tracking and analysis and historical price data retrieval for research are not what Metabase is typically brought in for.
What can CoinMarketCap do that Metabase cannot?
CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking, Market Cap Rankings, Portfolio Tracker, Crypto News. Metabase covers No-code Query Builder, SQL Editor, Interactive Dashboards, Alerts. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Metabase: How much does Metabase cost?

Metabase Open Source is free for self-hosted deployments with unlimited users and dashboards. Cloud-hosted Starter tier costs $90/month annually ($100/month monthly) with Pro at $517.50/month annually ($575/month monthly). Enterprise plans start at $20,000 per year.

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
Metabase: Does Metabase charge for additional users?

Yes, Metabase charges per-user fees beyond included users. Starter includes 5 users at $6 per additional user per month. Pro includes 10 users at $12 per additional user per month. Enterprise pricing is custom.

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
Metabase: What usage-based fees does Metabase charge?

Metabase charges $3.75 per 1 million tokens for AI services (after 1M free tokens), $0.01 per transform run after 1,000 included per month, $0.02 for advanced transforms, and storage overages at $2 per 1M rows beyond the included 1M rows.

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
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