Software · head to head
Compound vs CoinMarketCap
CoinMarketCap
Software
The world's most-referenced price-tracking website
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Compound compound is a decentralized, non-custodial protocol governed by COMP token holders rather than a company; interest rates on supplied and borrowed assets are set algorithmically by pool utilization rather than published as a price list, so there is no vendor pricing page to compare against; 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: Compound covers Lending, CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Compound and CoinMarketCap actually diverge.
| Attribute | Compound | CoinMarketCap |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Unknown | freemium |
| Platforms | Ethereum | Web, Ios, Android |
| Founded | 2017 | 2013 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Compound
- Lending
- Borrowing
- cTokens
- Governance
- COMP Token
- Ethereum
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.
Compound
- Decentralised finance (DeFi) lending and borrowing protocol on Ethereumnot CoinMarketCap
- Cryptocurrency collateral management for USDC borrowingnot CoinMarketCap
- Interest earning through crypto asset supplynot CoinMarketCap
- Algorithmic interest rate determination based on supply and demandnot CoinMarketCap
CoinMarketCap
- Cryptocurrency price and market capitalisation data over an APInot Compound
- Historical market data for analysis and backtestingnot Compound
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Compound
- Compound is a decentralized, non-custodial protocol governed by COMP token holders rather than a company; interest rates on supplied and borrowed assets are set algorithmically by pool utilization rather than published as a price list, so there is no vendor pricing page to compare against
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
Compound
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Compound review.
CoinMarketCap
Free- FreeFree
- Price data
- Charts
- Portfolio
- API Basic$79/month
- 10K credits/month
- Historical data
Which should you pick?
Choose Compound if
- You need lending.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ethereum.
- You also want borrowing.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Compound or CoinMarketCap better?
- Neither clearly leads. Compound 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, Compound or CoinMarketCap?
- Compound starts at Free and CoinMarketCap at Free.
- Does Compound or CoinMarketCap run on more platforms?
- Compound runs on Ethereum. CoinMarketCap runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Compound for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Compound best used for?
- Compound is most often used for decentralised finance (defi) lending and borrowing protocol on ethereum, cryptocurrency collateral management for usdc borrowing, interest earning through crypto asset supply, algorithmic interest rate determination based on supply and demand. Of those, decentralised finance (defi) lending and borrowing protocol on ethereum and cryptocurrency collateral management for usdc borrowing are not what CoinMarketCap is typically brought in for.
- What can Compound do that CoinMarketCap cannot?
- Compound covers Lending, Borrowing, cTokens, Governance. CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking, Market Cap Rankings, Portfolio Tracker, Crypto News. Both handle Web support.