--- title: "Alpha Vantage Alternative: Scored US Releases and Auctions" description: "An Alpha Vantage alternative for traders who need the US print read on arrival: scored releases, auctions, the curve and an MCP server, from a free key." source: Helious canonical: "https://helious.io/compare/alpha-vantage" --- Helious vs Alpha Vantage # An Alpha Vantage alternative for traders who need the print read, not just stored Alpha Vantage is the API most people learn on: a free key, every asset class, and a set of US economic indicators from Treasury yields to payrolls. The free key is 25 requests a day and the paid plans are priced by requests per minute, from $49.99. The data is a series to pull; the reading is yours. The short answer Alpha Vantage gives you the indicators as series, updated on a schedule, for free at 25 requests a day or from $49.99 a month for 75 a minute. It does not carry a calendar with forecasts, it does not score a release, and it does not know what a Treasury auction is. Helious reads the US print the second it crosses, scores it against its own history, reads the auction within seconds, names the curve regime and serves all of it to an AI through an MCP server, from a free key with 100 credits a month, $14.99 on Starter or $39.99 on Pro. ## Side by side Helious Alpha Vantage Monthly price for the data a macro trader needs Free key $0; Starter $14.99; Pro $39.99 a month Free at 25 requests a day; premium from $49.99 a month Cost per year About $180 on Starter or $480 on Pro paid monthly, 25% off paid yearly From about $600; up to $3,000 at 1,200 a minute Free tier Yes, 100 credits a month on a free key, no card Yes, 25 requests a day Economic calendar with forecast, prior and live result Yes, every US release with forecast, prior and the actual the second it lands No calendar; indicator series only Releases scored on print, in standard deviations Yes, every US release, against its own history No Treasury auction results with the tail and bidders Yes, within seconds: tail, bid to cover, bidder split and a verdict Not covered Treasury curve and regime Yes, 3 month bill to 30 year bond, 2s10s, and the regime named Treasury yield by maturity as a series, no regime Answers open with a plain sentence Yes, every answer opens with the finished sentence, then the numbers No, numbers only MCP server for AI agents Yes, 24 tools at one address, no glue code Yes, an official hosted server History 7 days free, 12 months Starter, 24 months Pro, 10 years Ultimate Full series history Calls a minute 60 free, 90 Starter, 120 Pro, 300 Ultimate, per key 75 to 1,200 by plan Live stream Yes, a WebSocket on Pro and Ultimate No Redistribution Personal on Free to Pro; Ultimate at $99 allows redistribution Personal; commercial use on request ## What each one is for What Alpha Vantage is good for - A free key that covers stocks, FX, crypto, commodities and the main US indicators, which is why it is the first API most people try. - Rate-limit pricing is simple: pay for requests a minute and nothing else. - An official MCP server of its own. Where Helious wins - The release is read the moment it prints, with the forecast, the prior and the surprise in standard deviations; Alpha Vantage updates the series afterwards and leaves the reading to you. - A live economic calendar, Treasury auctions within seconds and the curve regime, none of which Alpha Vantage carries. - Every answer opens with a plain sentence an agent can act on. - More for less at the entry: 100 credits a month free, then $14.99 a month, against $49.99 for the first paid plan. ## Which should you choose **Go with Alpha Vantage** if you want one free key across every asset class for a side project, and you only need the indicators as monthly series. **Go with Helious** if you trade the release itself, you need the calendar, the auctions and the curve, and you want the surprise measured for you. ## FAQ ### What is the best Alpha Vantage alternative for economic data? For a free key across every asset class Alpha Vantage is hard to beat. For the US print read and scored on arrival, with the calendar, Treasury auctions, the curve and an MCP server, Helious covers that from a free key, with Starter at $14.99 and Pro at $39.99 a month. ### How much does Alpha Vantage cost? As of October 2026, the free key allows 25 requests a day and the premium plans are $49.99 a month for 75 requests a minute, $99.99 for 150, $149.99 for 300, $199.99 for 600 and $249.99 for 1,200. Check the vendor for current pricing. ### Does Alpha Vantage have an economic calendar? It has economic indicator series, such as CPI, the Treasury yield and nonfarm payrolls, but not a calendar with forecasts and live results, and it does not score a release. Helious does both. ### Can I use both? Yes. Many people keep Alpha Vantage for prices and crypto and point the macro side at Helious; both have free keys, so the pairing costs nothing to try. [Get a free API key →](https://helious.io/developers/) There is a longer piece on [what is the best financial news source](https://helious.news/blog/what-is-the-best-financial-news-source) if you want the whole category. Or go and look at the live [news feed](https://helious.io/news), the [economic calendar](https://helious.io/calendar) and the [Treasury auction results](https://helious.io/auctions). Competitor names are the trademarks of their respective owners. Prices shown are approximate list prices as of October 2026 and change without notice. Check each provider for current pricing. This is our own view of the market, offered as general information and not financial advice.