ETF Data APIs Explained: Everything You Need to Know

 

ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) have become a cornerstone of modern investing—blending the diversification of mutual funds with the flexibility of stocks. But if you're building a fintech platform, portfolio tool, or financial dashboard, delivering ETF data isn't as simple as pulling a single stock price.

From real-time quotes and historical charts to underlying assets and performance breakdowns, a good ETF API needs to offer more than just a symbol and a price.

In this post, we’ll break down exactly what an ETF data API is, the types of ETF data fintech apps need, and how providers like Finage simplify integration with fast, scalable APIs that return structured JSON for stocks, indices, and ETFs.

 

Table of Contents

- What Is an ETF and Why Does It Matter in Fintech?

- What Is an ETF Data API?

- Key Types of ETF Data You May Need

- How Finage ETF APIs Work (Real-Time + Historical)

- ETF API Example: Historical OHLCV

- Final Thoughts: Deliver ETF Data at Scale with Finage

 

1. What Is an ETF and Why Does It Matter in Fintech?

An ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is a type of security that tracks a basket of assets—like stocks, bonds, commodities, or an index—and trades on exchanges just like a regular stock. ETFs allow users to invest in diversified portfolios with a single trade, making them a popular choice for both retail and institutional investors.

In the fintech world, ETFs are a must-have for:

- Portfolio tracking and rebalancing apps

- Investment platforms and robo-advisors

- Market data dashboards and watchlists

- Trading terminals and stock screeners

Users expect to see real-time ETF prices, historical performance, volume, and comparisons to benchmarks. If you're not offering ETF data, your product feels incomplete—especially for long-term investors or asset allocators.

That’s why having access to a robust and developer-friendly ETF data API is essential when building financial applications today.

 

2. What Is an ETF Data API?

An ETF data API is an interface that allows your application to access real-time and historical information about exchange-traded funds. Instead of manually sourcing or scraping ETF data, an API lets you fetch it programmatically—in clean, structured JSON—on demand or as a live stream.

ETF APIs are used to retrieve:

- Current price and last trade

- Bid/ask spread and market depth

- Daily OHLC data (Open, High, Low, Close)

- Volume, turnover, and liquidity indicators

- Historical performance for charting and backtesting

These APIs make it easy to integrate ETF data into your frontend, backend, or mobile app without having to build your own data infrastructure.

There are two main API types:

- REST APIs – for on-demand data like price snapshots or OHLC charts

- WebSocket APIs – for live streaming updates when markets move

Finage supports both methods, offering full ETF coverage as part of its broader stock, index, and fund API ecosystem.

 

3. Key Types of ETF Data You May Need

When integrating ETF data into a fintech app or dashboard, it’s important to know what kind of data users actually expect. Here are the core data types most fintech products depend on—and which a strong ETF API like Finage’s can provide:

 

Real-Time Price Data

Includes current last trade price, bid, ask, and change for a specific ETF. This is critical for trading apps, watchlists, and pricing widgets.

 

OHLCV Historical Data

Historical open, high, low, close, and volume data is used to power:

- Candlestick and line charts

- Trend and momentum indicators

- Portfolio performance analysis

- Strategy backtesting tools

Volume & Liquidity Metrics

Investors care about how actively an ETF trades. APIs that return daily volume and average turnover help users assess whether the ETF is liquid enough for their strategy.

 

Fund Composition (optional but powerful)

Some platforms also include ETF holdings breakdowns—what stocks or assets the ETF holds. While not always available in standard APIs, this can be a differentiator for advanced platforms.

 

Index or Benchmark Links

APIs that let you compare an ETF to its underlying index (e.g., SPY vs. S&P 500) can enhance chart overlays, performance analysis, or asset suggestions.

 

Time-Series Support

Developers often need minute, hourly, daily, or weekly granularity to build flexible charting tools or indicators.

Finage offers structured access to these data points via REST and WebSocket APIs, optimized for speed and ease of integration.

 

4. How Finage ETF APIs Work (Real-Time + Historical)

Finage simplifies ETF data access by offering a unified set of real-time and historical APIs, all returning structured JSON and covering U.S. and global ETFs. You can choose between REST for on-demand access and WebSocket for streaming real-time data.

 

Real-Time ETF Quote API (REST)

Get up-to-date price details for any ETF using a simple REST endpoint.

Example:

https://api.finage.co.uk/last/etf/QQQ?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

 

Returns:

{
  "symbol": "QQQ",
  "price": 319.1413,
  "timestamp": 1614717768911
}

 

ETF Historical Data (OHLCV)

Query historical open, high, low, close, and volume data—ideal for backtesting, charting, and trend analysis.

Example:

https://api.finage.co.uk/agg/etf/qqq/1day/2025-02-05/2025-03-02?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

Live ETF Data via WebSocket

For real-time platforms, Finage’s WebSocket API lets you stream live ETF prices instantly.

WebSocket:

wss://abcd1234.finage.ws:9000/?token=YOUR_SOCKET_KEY

 

Subscription message:

{

  "type": "stock",

  "symbols": ["SPY", "QQQ", "VTI"],

  "token": "YOUR_SOCKET_KEY"

}

This lets your frontend or trading engine receive tick-level ETF updates with no delay—perfect for real-time charts, bots, and alerts.

 

 Historical OHLCV Data for QQQ

To plot a performance chart or run an indicator:

Request Example:

https://api.finage.co.uk/agg/etf/qqq/1day/2025-02-05/2025-03-02?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

 

JSON Response Example:

{
  "symbol": "QQQ",
  "totalResults": 16,
  "results": [
    { "o": "331.22000", "h": "332.40250", "l": "329.53000", "c": "331.48001","v": "20774820", "t": "2025-02-05" },
    { "o": "333.10001", "h": "333.73999", "l": "331.41010", "c": "333.59000", "v": "18421116", "t": "2025-02-08" },
    { "o": "332.66000", "h": "334.79990", "l": "332.65381", "c": "333.48999", "v": "16706362", "t": "2025-02-09" },
    ...
  ]
}

 

Use this data for:

- Daily or intraday charts

- Portfolio value calculation

- Strategy backtesting or modeling

With just a few lines of code, you can stream or fetch ETF data across your entire product—using the same structure as your stock or index feeds. No separate handling or special logic required.

 

5. Final Thoughts: Deliver ETF Data at Scale with Finage

If you’re building a fintech platform, portfolio tracker, or trading dashboard, APstockETF data isn’t optional—it’s a core user expectation. From real-time prices to historical performance, investors want full visibility into the funds they rely on for diversification and long-term growth.

Finage makes it simple to deliver that experience, offering:

- Real-time ETF quotes via REST and WebSocket

- Clean OHLCV historical data in structured JSON

- Fast, reliable APIs that cover ETFs alongside stocks, indices, and more

- One integration that scales with your product

By using Finage’s ETF data APIs, you can move faster, build smarter, and offer your users a complete market view—without building infrastructure from scratch.

You can get your CFDs ETFs Market Data with a API key.

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