Tavily vs Finnhub: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Tavily (4.1/5) edges ahead of Finnhub (3.7/5) overall. Tavily is the better choice for agent builders adding a news tool in a few lines. 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.
Tavily vs Finnhub: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Tavily | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | Not disclosed | 2018 |
| HQ | New York and Tel Aviv; part of Nebius | New York, USA |
| Team size | Part of Nebius | Not publicly disclosed |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 3.7 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Built-in LangChain and LlamaIndex integrations that return prompt-ready text | A 60-calls-a-minute free key covering company news and market data |
| Pricing model | Credits; free monthly allowance; pay-as-you-go | Free key; paid market-data bundles |
| Entry price | $30/mo | Varies by data bundle |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Python SDK | REST API, JSON, WebSocket |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Research & academia | Financial services, Research & academia |
Tavily vs Finnhub: overview
Tavily
Tavily, founded by CEO Rotem Weiss, is a search API designed to be called by LLM agents, and its topic=news mode limits results to recent coverage with extracted text ready for a prompt. It is the quickest way on this list to give a LangChain or LlamaIndex agent a news tool, since both frameworks ship Tavily integrations. Nebius, the Nasdaq-listed AI cloud company, agreed to buy Tavily in February 2026 (Bloomberg put the price at $275 million) and later said the deal had closed, keeping the brand and pricing. Credits cost about $0.008 each on pay-as-you-go, a basic search uses one and an advanced search two, and 1,000 credits a month are free. Because it is a search tool, there is no archive, source list or clustering to work with.
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: Tavily vs Finnhub
| Capability | Tavily | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✗ | ✗ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✓ | ✓ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Tavily vs Finnhub
| Format / SDK | Tavily | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | ✓ | ✓ |
| Node.js SDK | ✓ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | N/A | N/A |
| WebSocket | N/A | ✓ |
| MCP server | ✓ | N/A |
| S3/bulk delivery | N/A | N/A |
| BigQuery | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison: Tavily vs Finnhub
| Criterion | Tavily | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $30/mo | Varies by data bundle |
| Pricing model | Credits; free monthly allowance; pay-as-you-go | Free key; paid market-data bundles |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans, Pay-as-you-go, Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Quote only |
| Price tier | Budget | Enterprise / quote |
Who each API suits: Tavily vs Finnhub
| Dimension | Tavily | Finnhub |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Research & academia | Financial services, Research & academia |
| Example use cases | Letting an assistant answer questions about today's news. Agents that summarise what was published this week. | Company news in a personal stock screener. University fintech assignments. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
Tavily vs Finnhub: pros and cons
| Tavily | |
|---|---|
| + | Agent frameworks already support it, so setup is mostly an API key |
| + | 1,000 free credits a month cover a prototype |
| + | Extracted content arrives with results, with no separate scraper |
| + | Nebius ownership adds funding and compute behind the service |
| - | No archive, so historical questions go unanswered |
| - | No control over which sources are searched |
| - | Roadmap may change under new ownership |
| 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 Tavily?
A typical fit: letting an assistant answer questions about today's news.
Built-in LangChain and LlamaIndex integrations that return prompt-ready text. Paid access starts at $30/mo. Typical uses: AI & LLM apps, Research & academia.
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: Tavily vs Finnhub
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Tavily |
| You need full article text in the response | Tavily |
| You need years of historical news | Neither offers a deep archive |
| You want an official SDK | Both |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Tavily |
Use case fit: Tavily vs Finnhub
| Use case | Tavily fit | Finnhub fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Tavily |
| Research & academia | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Financial services | Limited | Strong | Finnhub |
Verdict: Tavily vs Finnhub
Tavily (4.1/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Built-in LangChain and LlamaIndex integrations that return prompt-ready text.
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
Tavily vs Finnhub FAQ
Is Tavily better than Finnhub?
Tavily (4.1/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Tavily's strongest advantage: agent frameworks already support it, so setup is mostly an API key. Finnhub's strongest advantage: the free rate limit is high for a no-cost key.
How do Tavily and Finnhub differ in pricing?
Tavily: credits; free monthly allowance; pay-as-you-go, with paid access from $30/mo. Finnhub: free key; paid market-data bundles, priced by quote. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Tavily or Finnhub?
Tavily 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 Tavily and Finnhub?
What sets Tavily apart: built-in LangChain and LlamaIndex integrations that return prompt-ready text. What sets Finnhub apart: a 60-calls-a-minute free key covering company news and market data. They also differ on entry price ($30/mo vs Varies by data bundle) and typical uses (AI & LLM apps, Research & academia vs Financial services, Research & academia).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.