GoldAPI.io vs MetalpriceAPI
If a shortlist for a metals-focused pricing API already has two names on it, they're probably GoldAPI.io and MetalpriceAPI: both frequently recommended in the same developer threads, both close in entry price, and both light on the details that would let a developer tell them apart at a glance. This table pulls what each publishes about itself, side by side.
| Feature | GoldAPI.io | MetalpriceAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Cheapest paid plan | $4.99/mo | $3.99/mo (Essential) |
| Number of paid tiers | 2 published tiers | Seven, $3.99–$55.99/mo, plus custom Enterprise |
| Production-tier plan | $129/mo | $55.99/mo (Business) |
| Overage policy | Auto-bills | Not stated in their public docs |
| Coverage | ||
| Currencies supported | 160+ | 150+ |
| LBMA AM/PM fix redistribution rights | Yes | Not verifiable from public docs |
| Metals catalog | Gold + silver at parity, no copper | Gold, silver, platinum (per their FAQ) |
| Historical daily depth | 20+ years | Not stated in their public docs |
| Developer experience | ||
| Commercial use on paid plans | Yes, all paid plans | Not stated in their public docs |
| WebSocket streaming | Not stated in their public docs | No, stated explicitly |
| TypeScript / Python SDK | Community-maintained | Not stated in their public docs |
Source: goldapi.io public pricing page and metalpriceapi.com/pricing + metalpriceapi.com/documentation, as captured on our /comparison/goldapi-io and /comparison/metalpriceapi pages. Last verified 2026-04-20 (GoldAPI.io) and 2026-04-25 (MetalpriceAPI).
Pricing: close at entry, further apart in structure
The two are within a dollar of each other at the bottom, $4.99/mo for GoldAPI.io against $3.99/mo for MetalpriceAPI's Essential tier. What differs is the shape above that: MetalpriceAPI ladders seven named tiers up to $55.99/mo at Business, while GoldAPI.io publishes two, topping out at $129/mo for its production plan. A team that wants small, incremental upgrades gets more of them from MetalpriceAPI's ladder.
The LBMA question
GoldAPI.io states outright that it holds LBMA AM/PM fix redistribution rights, a specific, checkable claim about its data lineage. MetalpriceAPI makes no equivalent public claim, and our own research treated that gap as unverifiable rather than assuming MetalpriceAPI lacks a comparable relationship. Anyone who needs LBMA provenance specifically should confirm directly with MetalpriceAPI rather than infer an answer from silence.
Coverage and history
MetalpriceAPI names platinum alongside gold and silver in its FAQ, one metal GoldAPI.io's page doesn't claim. GoldAPI.io counters with a stated 20+ years of historical depth, a figure MetalpriceAPI's page doesn't publish an equivalent for. Currency counts sit close, 160+ against 150+, not far enough apart to matter on its own.
What neither one documents
Commercial-use terms, WebSocket support, and SDK maintenance status are each documented by one provider and silent on the other's page. GoldAPI.io is explicit about commercial use (permitted on all paid plans) and lists community SDKs; MetalpriceAPI is explicit about not offering WebSocket streaming. Where a row above reads not stated, that's the actual state of the published record, not an oversight in this comparison.
FAQ
- Which is cheaper at entry?
- MetalpriceAPI, by a dollar: its Essential tier is $3.99/mo against GoldAPI.io's $4.99/mo. The real difference is in tier count. MetalpriceAPI spreads seven paid steps between $3.99/mo and $55.99/mo; GoldAPI.io publishes two.
- Does MetalpriceAPI also hold LBMA fixing rights, the way GoldAPI.io claims to?
- That's not established from its public pages. GoldAPI.io states it holds LBMA AM/PM fix redistribution rights. Our own research into MetalpriceAPI dropped an equivalent LBMA claim for that provider as unverifiable, so treat it as unconfirmed rather than a confirmed absence.
- Which one bills further past a free plan?
- Both are paid-plan-first, so a further-past-free framing doesn't quite fit either. GoldAPI.io's cheapest listed plan is $4.99/mo; MetalpriceAPI has an actual Free tier at $0 (100 calls/month), then steps up from there.
- Which has more currencies?
- GoldAPI.io, slightly: 160+ against MetalpriceAPI's 150+. Neither gap is large enough to be a deciding factor by itself.
- Do either publish commercial-use terms clearly?
- GoldAPI.io does: all its paid plans, starting at $4.99/mo, permit commercial use per its pricing page. MetalpriceAPI's commercial-use terms aren't detailed in the source we reviewed, so confirm directly before building a paid product on top of it.
- Is either one shipping WebSocket streaming?
- MetalpriceAPI states plainly that it isn't. GoldAPI.io's page doesn't address streaming either way, which is a gap in the public record rather than a confirmed no.
Neither of these tells an AI agent whether its own number is stale.
goldprice.dev ships an is_stale flag on every response and a native MCP server with nine tools on every plan, including Free, so an agent can check freshness before it reasons about a price rather than trusting a number blindly. Gold starts at $10/mo.