MetalpriceAPI vs Metals.dev

Pricing across the two ladders

Metals.dev is cheaper at both ends of the ladder in the figures each provider publishes: $1.79/mo to start against MetalpriceAPI's $5/mo, and $39.99/mo at 100,000 requests against $74/mo for MetalpriceAPI's Business tier. Both free tiers cap at 100 calls a month, but the data behind those calls differs: MetalpriceAPI refreshes once a day on Free, while Metals.dev serves real-time data on the same tier, delayed by up to 60 seconds.

Coverage: MetalpriceAPI narrower, Metals.dev broader

MetalpriceAPI's own FAQ stops at gold, silver, and platinum. Metals.dev's catalog reaches further, palladium, aluminum, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc all sit on the same key. Currency counts run close, 150+ against 170+, a smaller gap than the metals-catalog difference.

Where the numbers come from

Metals.dev names LBMA, LME, MCX, and IBJA as the benchmarks its blended figure draws from, though it doesn't disclose the blend weights or break out per-source attribution on a response. MetalpriceAPI's own page makes no equivalent naming claim, so on the specific question of stated provenance, Metals.dev is the more transparent of the two based on what's actually published.

What's confirmed and what's silent

MetalpriceAPI confirms it has no WebSocket streaming and publishes a specific update-cadence ladder, daily on Free up to 15-second refresh on Business. Metals.dev doesn't address streaming at all and states only a flat up-to-60-second delay rather than a tiered cadence. Historical depth runs the other way: Metals.dev states 5+ years capped at a 30-day request window; MetalpriceAPI's page doesn't publish an equivalent figure.