How to get a free Alpha Vantage API key
Create a free Alpha Vantage key in under two minutes and add it to Portfolio Tracker as a backup source for prices and price history.
Last reviewed 2026-09-17
Alpha Vantage is the second of the two free data sources Portfolio Tracker uses, and the only one that provides price history on a free plan. Without it, the charts stay empty. It works alongside a Finnhub key, which handles live quotes.
What the key is used for
- Daily price history, including each day's open, high, low and close. This powers the performance chart, the candlestick charts, moving averages and stop-loss levels.
- Backup quotes when Finnhub has no price for a symbol.
As with Finnhub, only the ticker symbol and your key are sent. Your holdings and transactions stay in your browser.
Create your key
- Go to alphavantage.co/support. The key request form is on that page.
- Answer the short form: pick the description that fits you and enter your email address.
- Click GET FREE API KEY. Your key appears on the same page straight away.
- Copy it. Alpha Vantage keys are usually 16 capital letters and numbers.
Connect it to Portfolio Tracker
- Open Portfolio Tracker and go to the Connect market data window, or Settings → Advanced → API Keys.
- Paste the key into the Alpha Vantage API key box.
- Click Test Keys, then Save.
What the free plan gives you
At the time of writing, Alpha Vantage's free plan has two limits that shape how the charts fill in:
- About 25 requests per day. Each holding and each benchmark uses one request when its history loads. With more than about 20 of them, some charts fill in the next day.
- About 100 trading days per request, roughly the last five months. Longer histories are a paid feature.
Portfolio Tracker keeps every day it has ever downloaded, so your history grows the longer you use it. After a few months of use, the one-year charts and the 200-day moving average fill in. The app waits between downloads so it doesn't waste your daily allowance.
Back up your price history. Because a free key can only re-download the last 100 days or so, older history exists only in your browser. Save a copy now and then with Settings → Data → Backup → Save Price Cache. If you clear your browser data, restoring that file brings it back.
Free-plan prices are the actual daily closing prices. They aren't adjusted for dividends, and a stock split shows as a sudden price drop on the chart.
Terms of use
The free plan is intended for personal use. When you create a key, you accept Alpha Vantage's terms of service under your own account. Keep your key private, the same way you would a password.
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Test fails | Check that you copied the whole key. Alpha Vantage keys have no spaces. |
| History stops loading partway through | The day's allowance is used up. It resets daily; the rest will load then. |
| Charts only go back about five months | Expected on the free plan. History grows as you keep using the app. |
| A symbol never gets history | Some funds and non-US listings aren't covered. Check the symbol on Alpha Vantage's site. |