metals.dev is a fast multi-metal catalog that blends LBMA, LME, MCX, and IBJA into one number. We expose every source separately and go further, spot and per-country dealer prices, each with its source identifier and timestamps.
Feature-level comparison against metals.dev's published documentation as of June 2026. Source: metals.dev/pricing + public docs. Last verified 2026-06-29.
Which one to choose
Where metals.dev wins
Breadth and speed, with a clean free tier.
Precious + industrial coverage. Gold, silver, platinum, palladium, aluminum, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc, all on one key. If your product needs the long tail, they have it.
170+ currencies out of the box. Direct conversion rates for 170+ currency pairs, backed by LME and IBJA data. goldprice.dev serves gold spot in 31 currencies (live exchangerate.dev FX).
Authority endpoint. A dedicated endpoint for LBMA, LME, MCX, and IBJA rates, useful if you need a named benchmark rather than a blended spot feed.
Free tier with no card required. 100 requests/month free, real-time data included (up to 60-second delay). Low-friction first call.
Where goldprice.dev wins
We show our work. Every source, every response.
Every source visible. sources[] via ?include=sources, one live spot source per spot row, USD spot × live exchangerate.dev FX for non-USD gold, each with its source identifier and timestamps. metals.dev blends feeds into a single number with no per-source attribution.
Attributed spot prices on every plan. Gold, silver and copper spot carry source identifiers and timestamps on every plan. No new plan includes futures or settlements.
Daily gold history from 1996 on Plus and Pro. XAU daily bars reach 1996 on Plus and Pro. metals.dev offers 5+ years of daily history with a 30-day-per-request limit.
The real price of gold at the counter, by country. Live dealer sell & buyback quotes with premium-over-spot across selected countries, from $19 Basic. metals.dev blends benchmark rates into a single number; it doesn't ship a per-country dealer feed.
MCP on every plan. Native Model Context Protocol server with nine tools, no wrapper needed for AI agents. metals.dev has no MCP offering.
Futures settlement curves. No new plan includes futures or settlement curves. metals.dev has no forward view endpoint.
Published methodology, versioned. Our methodology doc explains source identifiers, timestamps and staleness thresholds. metals.dev names its four authority sources but doesn't publish blend weights or per-source thresholds.
No auto-bill overage. We 429 you. No surprise charges at end of month.
Who should pick which
If you need a multi-metal catalog fast, go there. If gold, silver, or copper are the product, not a data point, come here.
Pick metals.dev if…
You need a wide multi-metal feed with minimal setup.
You're building a commodity dashboard, a price-display widget, or an app that needs gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and industrial metals on a single key. Fast to integrate, broad coverage, generous free tier.
Gold (or silver, copper) is the product, not a line item.
You need gold, silver or copper spot, full daily gold history from 1996 on Plus or Pro, dealer prices from Basic, or source identifiers and timestamps for your audit.
→ $19/mo live metals + dealer prices · MCP on every plan.
Not sure yet?
Try both for a month. The API that breaks first loses.
Is goldprice.dev a good alternative to metals.dev for agent and quant builders?
Yes, for source details. goldprice.dev serves gold, silver and copper spot on every plan, 15 minutes late on Free and live from Basic ($19/mo). Source identifiers and timestamps are available via ?include=sources. No new plan includes futures or settlements. metals.dev blends prices from LBMA, LME, MCX, and IBJA into a single number per metal without exposing which source contributed at what weight.
metals.dev covers platinum, palladium, and industrial metals. Does goldprice.dev?
No. goldprice.dev covers gold, silver and copper spot on every plan. If you need platinum, palladium, aluminum, nickel, or zinc on the same key, metals.dev is the right call, breadth is their product.
Which has better historical data?
goldprice.dev for gold depth: XAU daily bars go back to 1996 on Plus and Pro. metals.dev advertises 5+ years of daily historical data with a maximum 30-day window per request. For silver and industrial metals historical coverage, metals.dev has more breadth.
Does metals.dev have MCP support?
No. metals.dev has no Model Context Protocol offering. goldprice.dev ships a native MCP server with nine tools on every plan including Free, an AI agent can call get_spot_price, get_historical, and more without a wrapper layer.
Which is cheaper for low-volume use?
metals.dev's cheapest paid plan is $1.79/mo for 2,000 requests; goldprice.dev has a no-card Free plan (5,000 requests) and Basic at $19/mo for 100,000 requests. metals.dev's paid entry is cheaper; our Basic covers the same 100,000-request volume as its $39.99/mo plan for less.
Does metals.dev tell me what gold actually costs to buy?
No. goldprice.dev's Basic tier ($19+) covers live dealer sell and buyback quotes with premium-over-spot across selected countries. metals.dev blends LBMA, LME, MCX, and IBJA into a single number per metal, it doesn't ship a per-country dealer feed.
Start with a free API key
5,000 requests a month on the free plan. No credit card.
goldprice.dev