// tickerdb vs polygon.io

TickerDB vs Polygon.io

Polygon.io (now Massive) delivers real-time tick-level data across stocks, options, forex, and crypto. TickerDB is built for a different job — pre-computed market-state signals and state changes your AI agent can act on directly.

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// derived data

Categories, not raw bars.

Polygon.io gives you granular market data — OHLCV aggregates, tick-level trades, and real-time snapshots. TickerDB turns daily market data into derived market-state signals and supporting metadata your agent can act on directly.

Polygon.io raw OHLCV aggregates

// /v2/aggs/ticker/AAPL/range/1/day
{
  "results": [{
    "o": 182.15,
    "h": 184.95,
    "l": 181.43,
    "c": 184.25,
    "v": 62338249,
    "t": 1705276800000
  }]
}

// RSI endpoint (separate call)
"values": [{
  "value": 55.23,
  "timestamp": 1660564800000
}]

TickerDB pre-computed, categorical

// GET /v1/summary/AAPL
{
  "momentum": {
    "rsi_zone": "neutral_high",
    "macd_state": "expanding_positive",
    "divergence_detected": false
  },
  "trend": {
    "direction": "uptrend",
    "ma_alignment": "aligned_bullish",
    "volume_confirmation": "confirmed"
  },
  "volatility": {
    "regime": "normal",
    "squeeze_active": false
  }
}

// where each shines

Different tools, different strengths.

	TickerDB	Polygon.io
Best for	AI agents & automated pipelines	Real-time data & quantitative systems
Data format	✓ Derived categories	Raw OHLCV, tick, and aggregate data
Real-time streaming	End-of-day focus	✓ WebSocket streaming, tick-level
Technical indicators	✓ Categorical — trend, momentum, volatility	SMA, EMA, RSI, MACD (numeric)
State change tracking	✓ Automatic, all fields, all tickers	Snapshots only — you build the diff
MCP support	✓ Native MCP server	✓ Official open-source MCP server
Asset coverage	US stocks, ETFs & crypto	✓ Stocks, options, forex, crypto
Search / Filtering	✓ Queryable search (arbitrary filters)	Snapshots with basic filtering
SDKs	✓ Python, Node.js, Go	✓ Python, JS, Go, Kotlin

// state changes

See exactly what changed, and when.

Polygon.io gives you snapshots of current market state. TickerDB tracks what changed between snapshots — for every ticker on your watchlist, in a single call.

Polygon.io market snapshot

// snapshot: current state only
{
  "ticker": "AAPL",
  "day": {
    "o": 182.15,
    "c": 184.25,
    "v": 62338249
  }
}
// what changed since yesterday?
// which fields transitioned?
// you build the diff logic

TickerDB structured state changes

// GET /v1/watchlist/changes
{
  "changes": {
    "AAPL": [
      {
        "field": "rsi_zone",
        "from":  "neutral",
        "to":    "overbought"
      },
      {
        "field": "squeeze_active",
        "from":  false,
        "to":    true
      }
    ]
  },
  "tickers_changed": 1
}

// why it matters for ai

Built for agents, not trading desks.

Polygon.io is an excellent raw data platform — real-time streaming, tick-level granularity, and multi-asset coverage. TickerDB is built for a different use case: giving your AI agent derived market-state signals and supporting metadata it can act on without human interpretation.

Facts, not raw bars

Polygon.io offers SMA, EMA, RSI, and MACD endpoints — but they return raw numeric values. TickerDB returns trend, momentum, volatility, and more as pre-computed market-state signals in a single /summary call. No threshold logic needed.

State transitions, not snapshots

Polygon.io's snapshot endpoints show you current market state. TickerDB shows the transition: "from": "neutral" → "to": "overbought". Your agent sees what changed across your entire watchlist — no diffing logic required.

Fewer wasted tokens

Polygon.io responses contain dense tick-level and aggregate data — great for backtesting engines. But feeding that volume into an LLM burns tokens on data it can't reason about well. TickerDB returns compact categories — a fraction of the tokens, with more pre-computed context.

Scan and discover

Polygon.io has snapshots you can filter by ticker range. TickerDB includes dedicated scan endpoints for oversold stocks, breakout candidates, and unusual volume — your agent can discover opportunities without building screening infrastructure.

// historical context

Historical context, not just current state.

Polygon.io tells you where a ticker is right now. TickerDB tells you where it's been before and what happened next. The summary endpoint's event mode returns every time a ticker entered a given state, with pre-computed aftermath performance at multiple lookahead windows.

Polygon.io manual pipeline

// step 1: pull 5+ years of daily bars
// GET /v2/aggs/ticker/AAPL/range/1/day/...

// step 2: compute RSI for each day
// step 3: find deep_oversold crossings
// step 4: pull forward prices at 5d, 10d...
// step 5: calculate aftermath returns

// no summary event lookup mode
// no aftermath performance data
// you build the entire pipeline

TickerDB pre-computed events + aftermath

// GET /v1/summary/AAPL?field=rsi_zone&band=deep_oversold
{
  "events": [{
    "date": "2025-08-05",
    "band": "deep_oversold",
    "prev_band": "oversold",
    "aftermath": {
      "5d":  { "performance": "moderate_gain" },
      "10d": { "performance": "sharp_gain" },
      "20d": { "performance": "slight_gain" }
    }
  }],
  "total_occurrences": 7
}

// pricing

Pricing at a glance.

People searching for Polygon alternatives are often price-sensitive. Here's how the two compare.

	TickerDB	Polygon.io
Free tier	✓ 1,000 requests/month, 1 filters, 30-day history	5 API calls/min, 2yr history, EOD only
Starting price	$20/mo (Plus)	$29/mo (Starter, stocks only)
Includes at entry	✓ 100,000 req/month (+$1/10K extra requests), 3 filters, 3yr history, 1 webhook	Unlimited calls, 5yr history, 15-min delayed, WebSockets + snapshots
Full access	$100/mo (Pro)	$199/mo (Advanced, real-time stocks)

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