Perigon vs Finnhub: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Perigon (4.5/5) edges ahead of Finnhub (3.7/5) overall. Perigon is the better choice for indie developers and startups wanting enriched data at a known price. Finnhub is the stronger option for personal fintech projects needing news and prices from one key. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Perigon vs Finnhub: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Perigon | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 | 2018 |
| HQ | Austin, Texas, USA | New York, USA |
| Team size | 11–50 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 3.7 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly | A 60-calls-a-minute free key covering company news and market data |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume | Free key; paid market-data bundles |
| Entry price | $25/mo | Varies by data bundle |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Python SDK | REST API, JSON, WebSocket |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance, Marketing & PR | Financial services, Research & academia |
Perigon vs Finnhub: overview
Perigon
Perigon is an Austin, Texas startup founded in 2022 by Joshua Dziabiak and Josh Rickel, backed by a $5 million seed round that LiveOak Ventures led in February 2024. For developers its main draw is that the pricing page tells you what you will pay: Individual at $25 a month for personal use, Startup at $250 with limited commercial rights, and Commercial at $1,250 with real-time data, an SLA and SSO. Every tier returns enriched articles with entities, topics, summaries and story clusters from 230,000+ sources (per company website; independently unverifiable), and Monitors let you save a query and get matches on a schedule. Plan for the delay: below Commercial, data lags by an hour unless you pay for the real-time add-on.
Finnhub
Finnhub is a New York fintech founded in 2018, according to CB Insights, with staff reported in New York, Mumbai, Sydney and Ho Chi Minh City. It sells stock, forex and crypto data over REST and WebSocket, and news is one endpoint among many. The free key is generous on rate (60 calls a minute) and returns a year of North American company news plus general market headlines, but it is for personal, non-commercial use, and low-latency news streaming is a premium feature. Official SDKs cover Python, Go, JavaScript and more. Commercial bundles are priced on the site, with All-in-One listed at $1,000 a month.
Features: Perigon vs Finnhub
| Capability | Perigon | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✗ |
| NLP enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✓ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✓ | ✓ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Perigon vs Finnhub
| Format / SDK | Perigon | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | ✓ | ✓ |
| Node.js SDK | ✓ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✓ | N/A |
| WebSocket | N/A | ✓ |
| MCP server | N/A | N/A |
| S3/bulk delivery | N/A | N/A |
| BigQuery | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison: Perigon vs Finnhub
| Criterion | Perigon | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $25/mo | Varies by data bundle |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume | Free key; paid market-data bundles |
| Access models | Free trial, Monthly plans, Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Quote only |
| Price tier | Budget | Enterprise / quote |
Who each API suits: Perigon vs Finnhub
| Dimension | Perigon | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance | Financial services, Research & academia |
| Example use cases | A startup MVP that needs commercial rights from the first month. Alerting on a brand or topic without building a scheduler. | Company news in a personal stock screener. University fintech assignments. |
| How you get access | Free trial | Free tier |
Perigon vs Finnhub: pros and cons
| Perigon | |
|---|---|
| + | The cheapest plan already includes enrichment, which most rivals reserve for higher tiers |
| + | Monitors replace a cron job and a diffing script with a saved query |
| + | Python and Node SDKs, plus webhooks for pushed results |
| + | The license explains what you may do with the structured data, which saves a round of legal questions |
| - | Data lags by an hour below the $1,250 plan unless you buy real-time |
| - | The Startup tier caps you at 10,000 requests a month |
| - | Republishing full article text is outside the license |
| Finnhub | |
|---|---|
| + | The free rate limit is high for a no-cost key |
| + | News, quotes and fundamentals share one key |
| + | Official SDKs in many languages |
| + | WebSocket for streaming quotes |
| - | Headlines and summaries only |
| - | Free key is non-commercial |
| - | Low-latency news costs extra |
Who should choose Perigon?
A typical fit: a startup MVP that needs commercial rights from the first month.
Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly. Paid access starts at $25/mo. Typical uses: AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance, Marketing & PR.
Who should choose Finnhub?
A typical fit: company news in a personal stock screener.
A 60-calls-a-minute free key covering company news and market data. Paid access is quote-based. Typical uses: Financial services, Research & academia.
Decision matrix: Perigon vs Finnhub
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Perigon |
| You need full article text in the response | Perigon |
| You need years of historical news | Perigon |
| You want an official SDK | Both |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Perigon |
Use case fit: Perigon vs Finnhub
| Use case | Perigon fit | Finnhub fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Media monitoring | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Risk & compliance | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Financial services | Limited | Strong | Finnhub |
| Research & academia | Limited | Strong | Finnhub |
Verdict: Perigon vs Finnhub
Perigon (4.5/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly.
Finnhub (3.7/5) is worth a look if you need university fintech assignments. If your situation matches that, Finnhub is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Perigon vs Finnhub FAQ
Is Perigon better than Finnhub?
Perigon (4.5/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Perigon's strongest advantage: the cheapest plan already includes enrichment, which most rivals reserve for higher tiers. Finnhub's strongest advantage: the free rate limit is high for a no-cost key.
How do Perigon and Finnhub differ in pricing?
Perigon: monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume, with paid access from $25/mo. Finnhub: free key; paid market-data bundles, priced by quote. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Perigon or Finnhub?
Perigon sells enterprise contracts with negotiated volume and SLA terms. Neither carries licensed publisher content, so check copyright terms before republishing anything.
What are the main differences between Perigon and Finnhub?
What sets Perigon apart: Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly. What sets Finnhub apart: a 60-calls-a-minute free key covering company news and market data. They also differ on entry price ($25/mo vs Varies by data bundle) and typical uses (AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring vs Financial services, Research & academia).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.