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Crypto · head to head

CoinMarketCap vs Lido

CoinMarketCap logo

CoinMarketCap

Crypto

The world's most-referenced price-tracking website

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lido logo

Lido

Crypto

Liquid staking for Ethereum and beyond

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; Lido no traditional pricing plans published
  • They diverge on capability: CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking, Lido covers Liquid Staking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CoinMarketCap and Lido actually diverge.

Attributes where CoinMarketCap and Lido differ
AttributeCoinMarketCapLido
Pricing modelfreemiumfree
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
Founded20132020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 CoinMarketCap

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

Only in Lido

  • Liquid Staking
  • stETH Token
  • No Minimum
  • DeFi Composable
  • LDO Token
  • Multi-chain

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 Lido
  • Historical price data retrieval for researchnot Lido
  • Exchange tracking and aggregationnot Lido
  • Token information and metadata accessnot Lido
  • Portfolio monitoring integrationsnot Lido

Lido

  • Liquid staking of ETH and other proof of stake tokensnot 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

Lido

  • No traditional pricing plans published
  • APR and APY rates displayed instead of subscription fees
  • Liquid staking protocol with variable yield rates

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

Lido

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Liquid staking
    • stETH token
    • DeFi integration

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 Lido if

  • You need liquid staking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want steth token.
Lido review

Questions people ask

Is CoinMarketCap or Lido better?
Neither clearly leads. CoinMarketCap starts at Free and Lido at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CoinMarketCap or Lido?
CoinMarketCap starts at Free and Lido at Free.
Does CoinMarketCap or Lido run on more platforms?
CoinMarketCap runs on Web, Ios, Android. Lido runs on Web.
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 Lido is typically brought in for.
What can CoinMarketCap do that Lido cannot?
CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking, Market Cap Rankings, Portfolio Tracker, Crypto News. Lido covers Liquid Staking, stETH Token, No Minimum, DeFi Composable. 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
Lido: Does Lido have a cost?

Lido is a liquid staking protocol without traditional pricing. Users deposit ETH to receive stETH tokens. The protocol generates yields reported as APR/APY rates rather than subscription fees.

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
Lido: What are the current APR and APY rates?

According to the Lido homepage, stETH APR is 2.3%, EarnETH APY is 3.1%, and EarnUSD APY is 6.4%. These rates are subject to change.

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
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