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Data Freshness

Market Data classifies the data you receive into three freshness categories:

  • Real-time — under 15 minutes old. Live trading data.
  • Delayed — 15+ minutes old, but from the current trading session.
  • Historical — from a previous, fully-closed trading session.

Which category applies depends on your plan, the data type, and the time of day.

When Delayed data becomes Historical

Historical requires both a >15-minute delay floor and a data-type-specific session-closed condition. The session-closed condition is different for stocks and options:

  • Stocks: Historical at session close + 15 min — 4:15:01 PM ET on a regular trading day. Between 4:00 PM and 4:15 PM ET, the data is still Delayed (the 15-minute Delayed window hasn't elapsed yet).
  • Options: Historical at the next session's open — 9:30:01 AM ET the next trading day, not at the prior session's close.

Friday's options quotes therefore do not become Historical until 9:30:01 AM ET Monday — they remain Delayed all weekend.

If you query an options endpoint at 6:33 AM ET Wednesday on a plan that provides Historical-only options data, you will receive Monday's close, not Tuesday's. Tuesday's options data does not roll to Historical until 9:30:01 AM ET Wednesday. This is the most common cause of "the data doesn't match my broker" support requests — the behavior is correct, the customer is just querying before the next session has opened.

By Plan

The tables below show the freshness category for every API endpoint, by plan. Real-time stock and options data also requires non-professional status. See Exchange Entitlements for the underlying entitlement model.

Free Forever

All pricing data is Historical (24-hour delayed). Metadata and computed-index endpoints remain Real-time.

EndpointFreshnessNotes
/v1/stocks/quotes/Historical
/v1/stocks/candles/Historical
/v1/stocks/bulkcandles/Historical
/v1/stocks/prices/Historical
/v1/options/quotes/Historical
/v1/options/chain/Historical
/v1/options/strikes/Real-timeContract metadata, no pricing
/v1/options/expirations/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/lookup/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/indices/quotes/Real-timeIndices are computed continuously
/v1/indices/candles/Real-timeIndices are computed continuously
/v1/markets/status/Real-timeCalendar metadata
/v1/funds/*See notePending product confirmation

Starter Trial

Same as Free Forever — all pricing data is Historical (24-hour delayed).

EndpointFreshnessNotes
/v1/stocks/quotes/Historical
/v1/stocks/candles/Historical
/v1/stocks/bulkcandles/Historical
/v1/stocks/prices/Historical
/v1/options/quotes/Historical
/v1/options/chain/Historical
/v1/options/strikes/Real-timeContract metadata, no pricing
/v1/options/expirations/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/lookup/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/indices/quotes/Real-timeIndices are computed continuously
/v1/indices/candles/Real-timeIndices are computed continuously
/v1/markets/status/Real-timeCalendar metadata
/v1/funds/*See notePending product confirmation

Trader Trial

Same as Starter Trial — all pricing data is Historical (24-hour delayed).

EndpointFreshnessNotes
/v1/stocks/quotes/Historical
/v1/stocks/candles/Historical
/v1/stocks/bulkcandles/Historical
/v1/stocks/prices/Historical
/v1/options/quotes/Historical
/v1/options/chain/Historical
/v1/options/strikes/Real-timeContract metadata, no pricing
/v1/options/expirations/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/lookup/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/indices/quotes/Real-timeIndices are computed continuously
/v1/indices/candles/Real-timeIndices are computed continuously
/v1/markets/status/Real-timeCalendar metadata
/v1/funds/*See notePending product confirmation

Starter

Real-time stock data, 15-minute Delayed options data.

EndpointFreshnessNotes
/v1/stocks/quotes/Real-timeIEX entitlement
/v1/stocks/candles/Real-timeUTP entitlement may impose 15-min delay on intraday candles — see footnote
/v1/stocks/bulkcandles/Real-timeSame as /candles/
/v1/stocks/prices/Real-time
/v1/options/quotes/Delayed15 minutes
/v1/options/chain/Delayed15 minutes
/v1/options/strikes/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/expirations/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/lookup/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/indices/quotes/Real-time
/v1/indices/candles/Real-time
/v1/markets/status/Real-timeCalendar metadata
/v1/funds/*See notePending product confirmation

Trader

Real-time data for both stocks and options.

EndpointFreshnessNotes
/v1/stocks/quotes/Real-time
/v1/stocks/candles/Real-time
/v1/stocks/bulkcandles/Real-time
/v1/stocks/prices/Real-time
/v1/options/quotes/Real-timeOPRA entitlement
/v1/options/chain/Real-timeOPRA entitlement
/v1/options/strikes/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/expirations/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/lookup/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/indices/quotes/Real-time
/v1/indices/candles/Real-time
/v1/markets/status/Real-timeCalendar metadata
/v1/funds/*See notePending product confirmation

Quant

Real-time data for both stocks and options. Same freshness profile as Trader.

EndpointFreshnessNotes
/v1/stocks/quotes/Real-time
/v1/stocks/candles/Real-time
/v1/stocks/bulkcandles/Real-time
/v1/stocks/prices/Real-time
/v1/options/quotes/Real-timeOPRA entitlement
/v1/options/chain/Real-timeOPRA entitlement
/v1/options/strikes/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/expirations/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/lookup/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/indices/quotes/Real-time
/v1/indices/candles/Real-time
/v1/markets/status/Real-timeCalendar metadata
/v1/funds/*See notePending product confirmation

Prime

Real-time data for both stocks and options. Same freshness profile as Trader and Quant.

EndpointFreshnessNotes
/v1/stocks/quotes/Real-time
/v1/stocks/candles/Real-time
/v1/stocks/bulkcandles/Real-time
/v1/stocks/prices/Real-time
/v1/options/quotes/Real-timeOPRA entitlement
/v1/options/chain/Real-timeOPRA entitlement
/v1/options/strikes/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/expirations/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/options/lookup/Real-timeContract metadata
/v1/indices/quotes/Real-time
/v1/indices/candles/Real-time
/v1/markets/status/Real-timeCalendar metadata
/v1/funds/*See notePending product confirmation

Notes

  • Real-time data and professional status: Real-time stock and options data is only available to non-professional users. Professional users on any paid plan revert to Delayed data unless they have signed the OPRA professional subscriber agreement. See Exchange Entitlements and Professional Status.
  • /v1/funds/* freshness is documented per fund-data type and is pending publication here. Until then, refer to the individual endpoint pages under Funds API.
  • UTP entitlement and intraday stock candles: the UTP entitlement grants "15-minute delayed intraday stock candles." On plans with Real-time stock quotes (Starter and above), this means intraday candles may carry a 15-minute delay even though quotes do not. Confirm with the Plan Limits page for your plan.