Alpha Vantage

Alpha Vantage is a financial data provider that delivers real-time and historical stock market data through a simple API. It covers equities, forex, cryptocurrencies, and economic indicators — making it a go-to source for investors, analysts, and developers who need reliable market data.

By connecting Alpha Vantage to Coupler.io, you can pull stock price data directly into your spreadsheets, dashboards, or data warehouse without writing a single line of code.

Why connect Alpha Vantage to Coupler.io?

• Automate market data refreshes — schedule imports so your reports always reflect the latest prices

• Track multiple symbols in one place — set up separate sources per ticker and consolidate data in one destination

• Access historical and intraday data — pull everything from 1-minute intervals to monthly aggregates

• No coding required — Coupler.io handles the API calls, pagination, and formatting for you

Prerequisites

Before you connect, make sure you have:

• A free or premium Alpha Vantage account at alphavantage.co

• Your Alpha Vantage API key (available in your account dashboard after sign-up)

• A Coupler.io account

Free Alpha Vantage accounts are limited to 25 API requests per day and 5 requests per minute.

Some entities — like Time series daily adjusted — require a premium plan.

Quick start

Start with the Quotes entity to verify that your connection is working, then switch to the time-series entity that best fits your analysis needs.

1

Create a new data flow in Coupler.io and select Alpha Vantage as your source.

2

Enter your API key. Paste your Alpha Vantage API key into the API key field. You can find this key on your Alpha Vantage account page under the API key section.

3

Configure Basic settings. Choose the entity (e.g., Time series dailies), enter the stock symbol you want to track (e.g., MSFT or TSCO.LON), and set the output size — compact returns the last 100 data points, full returns the complete history.

4

Choose your destination. Select where you want the data to land — Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Claude, and more. Map your columns if needed, then run a manual import to confirm everything looks right.

5

Set a schedule. Choose how often Coupler.io should refresh your data — hourly, daily, or on a custom schedule — and activate the data flow.

Available entities

Entity	Description
Time series intradays	Real-time intraday price data with customizable intervals
Time series dailies	Daily OHLC price history
Time series daily adjusteds	Daily OHLC adjusted for dividends and splits
Time series weeklies	Weekly aggregated price history
Time series weekly adjusteds	Weekly prices adjusted for dividends and splits
Time series monthlies	Monthly aggregated price history
Time series monthly adjusteds	Monthly prices adjusted for dividends and splits
Quotes	Latest real-time quote with current price and volume

Alpha Vantage data overview

Alpha Vantage provides stock market data across multiple time horizons — from real-time intraday ticks to long-term monthly aggregates. Each entity returns price and volume fields for the stock symbol you specify.

Report types

Entity	Granularity	Best for
Time series intradays	1, 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes	Day trading, intraday pattern analysis
Time series dailies	Daily	Trend analysis, long-term tracking
Time series daily adjusteds	Daily (adjusted)	Accurate historical return calculations
Time series weeklies	Weekly	Medium-term portfolio review
Time series weekly adjusteds	Weekly (adjusted)	Adjusted weekly return tracking
Time series monthlies	Monthly	High-level performance reporting
Time series monthly adjusteds	Monthly (adjusted)	Long-term adjusted return analysis
Quotes	Real-time snapshot	Live price monitoring, dashboards

Available data fields

Price fields

Field	Description
Open	Price at the start of the period
High	Highest price during the period
Low	Lowest price during the period
Close	Price at the end of the period
Adjusted close	Close price adjusted for dividends and splits (adjusted entities only)

Volume and corporate action fields

Field	Description
Volume	Number of shares traded during the period
Dividend amount	Dividend paid during the period (adjusted entities only)
Split coefficient	Stock split ratio during the period (adjusted entities only)

Quote-specific fields

Field	Description
Symbol	Ticker symbol
Price	Current trading price
Change	Price change from previous close
Change percent	Percentage change from previous close
Latest trading day	Date of the most recent trade
Previous close	Closing price from the previous session

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Options	Notes
Stock symbol	Yes	Any valid ticker (e.g., MSFT, TSCO.LON)	Include exchange suffix for non-US stocks
Interval	Required for intraday	1min, 5min, 15min, 30min, 60min	Not used for daily/weekly/monthly
Adjusted data	Optional	On/Off	Intraday only
Output size	Optional	compact, full	Compact = last 100 points; Full = complete history

Common data combinations

Here are some of the most useful ways to combine entities and parameters:

• Daily OHLC + volume — use Time series dailies with full output for complete price history of a stock

• Intraday 5-minute prices — use Time series intradays with a 5min interval for same-day trading analysis

• Adjusted monthly closes — use Time series monthly adjusteds to calculate accurate long-term returns after accounting for dividends and splits

• Live quote snapshot — use Quotes to display the current price and daily change in a real-time dashboard

Use cases by role

Finance teams

• Pull adjusted daily or monthly data into spreadsheets to calculate portfolio returns and benchmark performance

• Automate end-of-day price snapshots into a data warehouse for auditing and compliance records

• Track dividend-adjusted close prices to generate accurate total return reports for stakeholders

Analysts

• Import full historical daily data for multiple tickers to build comparative trend analysis in BI tools like Looker Studio or Power BI

• Use intraday data at 15min or 60min intervals to study price volatility patterns

• Combine weekly adjusted data across a watchlist to identify relative strength over time

Developers & Data Engineers

• Schedule automated imports into BigQuery or a database to build a time-series stock price dataset

• Use the compact output for lightweight daily refreshes and full output for initial historical backfills

• Set up multiple importers — one per ticker — and land data in the same destination table for easy querying

Platform-specific notes

• For non-US stock symbols, always append the exchange suffix (e.g., TSCO.LON for Tesco on the London Stock Exchange)

• The compact output size returns only the last 100 data points — use full if you need complete history

• Adjusted entities (daily, weekly, monthly adjusted) require an Alpha Vantage premium subscription

• Intraday adjusted data is controlled by a toggle in Advanced settings, not by selecting a separate entity

• Alpha Vantage returns data in reverse chronological order — most recent records appear first

• Free API keys are limited to 25 requests per day and 5 requests per minute; scheduling too many importers on a free plan may trigger rate limit errors

Alpha Vantage common issues

Connection issues

My API key is not being accepted

Double-check that you've copied the full API key from your Alpha Vantage account dashboard without any leading or trailing spaces. If you recently generated a new key, wait a few minutes — new keys can take a short time to activate. If the problem persists, log into Alpha Vantage and verify the key is still active under your account settings.

The importer connects but returns no data

This usually means the stock symbol is entered incorrectly. Make sure you're using the correct ticker format — for US stocks, use just the ticker (e.g., MSFT). For non-US stocks, append the exchange suffix (e.g., TSCO.LON). Also check that you've selected the right entity for your use case.

Missing data

I'm missing data points for certain dates

Alpha Vantage does not return data for weekends, public holidays, or days when the exchange was closed. Gaps in the data for those dates are expected. If you're seeing gaps on regular trading days, try switching the output size to full — the compact setting only returns the last 100 data points, which may not cover the date range you need.

Intraday data is incomplete or only shows recent data

Intraday data availability depends on your Alpha Vantage plan. Free accounts may have limited access to intraday history. Also confirm that you've selected an interval in the Advanced settings — this field is required for the Time series intradays entity and without it the import may behave unexpectedly.

Permission errors

I get an error when importing Time series daily adjusted data

The Time series daily adjusted entity is a premium feature on Alpha Vantage. If your account is on the free tier, you won't be able to access this entity. Upgrade your Alpha Vantage plan or use the standard Time series dailies entity instead.

The same restriction applies to premium-only endpoints. Check your Alpha Vantage plan if you encounter permission-related errors on any adjusted entity.

Data discrepancies

Prices don't match what I see on a stock chart or trading platform

If you're comparing standard (unadjusted) data from Coupler.io with a chart that displays adjusted prices, the numbers will differ — especially for stocks that have had dividends or splits. Make sure you're comparing like for like: use an adjusted entity if your reference source shows adjusted data, and an unadjusted entity if it shows raw prices.

The most recent data point seems delayed

Alpha Vantage free-tier data may have a slight delay. Real-time quotes are available on higher-tier plans. Also check the schedule on your Coupler.io importer — if it's set to refresh once a day, the data will only update at the scheduled time, not continuously.

Rate limits

My imports are failing with a rate limit or "Thank you for using Alpha Vantage" message

Alpha Vantage free accounts are limited to 5 API requests per minute and 25 requests per day. If you have multiple data flows running simultaneously or on a frequent schedule, you'll hit these limits quickly. To fix this:

• Stagger your data flow schedules so they don't run at the same time

• Reduce the number of active data flows on a free plan

• Upgrade to a premium Alpha Vantage plan for higher rate limits

• Use the compact output size to reduce unnecessary data transfer

Running many importers at once with a free Alpha Vantage API key will quickly exhaust your daily quota. Always check how many data flows are active if you see sudden import failures.

Alpha Vantage FAQ

Do I need a paid Alpha Vantage plan to use this integration?

No — a free Alpha Vantage API key works for most entities, including time series dailies, weeklies, monthlies, intradays, and quotes. However, some entities (like Time series daily adjusted) are premium-only and require a paid Alpha Vantage subscription. Free accounts are also subject to rate limits of 25 requests per day and 5 per minute.

How do I find my Alpha Vantage API key?

Sign in to your Alpha Vantage account at alphavantage.co. Your API key is displayed on your account dashboard. If you haven't signed up yet, you can claim a free key from the homepage.

Can I track multiple stocks in one data flow?

Yes — Alpha Vantage returns data for one stock symbol per API call, so each Coupler.io source is limited to a single ticker. However, you can have multiple sources per data flow. Use Data sets step in the data flow setup wizard to consolidate the data in one place.

What's the difference between adjusted and unadjusted data?

Unadjusted data shows the raw historical prices as they were on each trading day. Adjusted data retroactively corrects those prices to account for dividends and stock splits, giving you an accurate picture of actual investment returns over time. If you're building performance charts or calculating returns, always use adjusted entities.

What does the output size setting do?

The output size controls how much historical data is returned. Compact returns only the last 100 data points — useful for lightweight, frequent refreshes. Full returns the complete available history for the symbol, spanning years of data. Use full output for initial historical backfills and compact for ongoing scheduled updates.

Why is my intraday import not returning any data?

The interval parameter is required for the Time series intradays entity. Make sure you've selected an interval in the Advanced settings step. Without it, the data flow may fail silently or return unexpected results.

How often can I schedule my data flows?

You can set any schedule in Coupler.io, but your Alpha Vantage API plan determines how many requests you can make. Free accounts are limited to 25 requests per day, so scheduling more than 25 data flows or running them too frequently will exhaust your quota. Premium Alpha Vantage plans have significantly higher limits.

Can I get data for stocks listed on non-US exchanges?

Yes — Alpha Vantage supports international equities. When entering the stock symbol, append the exchange code as a suffix (e.g., TSCO.LON for Tesco on the London Stock Exchange). If you enter only the ticker without the exchange suffix, you may get data for a different security or no results at all.

For a full list of available fields and data combinations, see the Data Overview article. If you're running into errors or missing data, check the Common Issues article for solutions.