# CoinMarketCap review

A free cryptocurrency price tracker and market-data API covering more than 62 million coins and tokens across 978 exchanges.

By Noah — last updated & pricing verified October 1, 2026.

> CoinMarketCap is a cryptocurrency market data platform that shows live and historical prices, market capitalization, trading volume, and circulating supply for tens of millions of coins and tokens. It also includes a portfolio tracker, watchlist, currency converter, NFT rankings, an on-chain DEX data tool called DexScan, and an AI assistant called Ask CMC AI. Traders, investors, journalists, and developers use it as a reference source for crypto prices and market rankings, and developers can pull the same data through its REST API.

## Facts

- Website: https://coinmarketcap.com
- Pricing: Free tier · paid from $29/mo (verified )
- License: Freemium
- Platforms: web, ios, android
- Best for: Retail crypto investors and traders who want free real-time price and market-cap tracking across thousands of coins, and developers who need a metered crypto/DEX market-data API with a free entry tier.
- Standout feature: DexScan, a built-in on-chain data tool that lists newly created tokens directly from smart contracts across roughly 70 chains, extending coverage beyond the manually verified coin listings.
- Biggest weakness: Free API access includes zero historical data, and full all-time historical data is locked behind the $699/month Professional tier or custom Enterprise plans; the consumer site is also heavily mixed with sponsored "trending" placements and ad content alongside organic rankings.
- Categories: [Web & Product Analytics](https://findalternative.to/categories/web-analytics)

## Pricing snapshot

| Plan | Price | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Basic | $0/mo | 30+ data endpoints, 10K API call credits/month, no historical data, personal use only |
| Hobbyist | $29/mo | 40+ data endpoints, 110K call credits/month, 12 months of historical data, personal use ($348/year if billed annually) |
| Startup | $79/mo | 50+ data endpoints, 300K call credits/month, 24 months of historical data, commercial use ($948/year if billed annually) |
| Standard | $299/mo | Recommended tier on the endpoint comparison table; sits between Startup and Professional in data coverage |
| Professional | $699/mo | All data endpoints, 3M call credits/month, all-time historical data, commercial use ($8,388/year if billed annually) |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom call limits, full-resolution all-time historical data, custom license, dedicated infrastructure, 99.9% SLA |

## Pros and cons

- Pro: Tracks more than 62 million cryptocurrencies across 978 exchanges with live and historical price charts, free to browse on the website
- Pro: Bundles portfolio tracking, a watchlist, a currency converter, NFT rankings, and an AI query tool (Ask CMC AI) alongside price data
- Pro: API has a genuine free tier (10,000 call credits/month, 30+ endpoints) before any paywall
- Pro: DexScan adds automated on-chain token data for chains and tokens not yet manually verified
- Con: Free and Hobbyist API tiers cap historical data at none and 12 months respectively; full history requires the $699/mo Professional tier
- Con: Lower API tiers are rate-limited to 30 requests per minute, tight for high-frequency applications
- Con: Consumer site interleaves paid/sponsored trending and ad placements with organic market rankings
- Con: Does not vet every token for legitimacy; low-quality or scam tokens can still appear via DexScan's automated listing

## AI summary

- CoinMarketCap was founded in May 2013 by Brandon Chez.
- The platform tracks more than 62 million cryptocurrencies across 978 exchanges (as fetched November 2025).
- The free API tier provides 30+ data endpoints and 10,000 call credits per month but no historical data.
- The Professional API tier costs $699/month ($8,388/year billed annually) and unlocks all-time historical data.
- DexScan, CoinMarketCap's on-chain data tool, covers roughly 70 blockchain networks and lists tokens automatically from smart contract data.
- Best for: Retail crypto investors tracking live prices and market caps for free, and developers needing a metered crypto/DEX data API.
- Pricing: The website is free to browse; the API starts free (10K calls/month, no historical data) and scales through $29/mo Hobbyist, $79/mo Startup, $299/mo Standard, and $699/mo Professional tiers, with annual billing discounts and custom Enterprise pricing.
- Top alternatives: CoinGecko, CoinStats, CryptoCompare, Messari, Live Coin Watch
- Limitation: No historical price data on the free API tier.
- Limitation: Full all-time historical data requires the $699/mo Professional plan or higher.
- Limitation: Lower API tiers are capped at 30 requests per minute.
- Limitation: The consumer website mixes sponsored trending/ad placements with organic listings.

## Alternatives

1 vetted alternatives to CoinMarketCap: https://findalternative.to/coinmarketcap — top picks: P2pcompanion

---

Markdown mirror of https://findalternative.to/coinmarketcap/about — findalternative.to, honestly ranked software alternatives. AI info: https://findalternative.to/ai