# Prices API Quickstart
> A new developer's guide to fetching current and historical token prices via the Prices API.
> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/docs/llms.txt).
This guide will help you fetch token prices via the Prices API.
Whether you're building a DeFi protocol, portfolio tracker, or analytics tool, the Prices API provides simple endpoints for current and historical prices.
***
# Endpoints
The Prices API includes the following REST endpoints:
| **Endpoint** | **How It Works** | **When to Use** |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Token Prices By Symbol](/docs/data/prices-api/prices-api-endpoints/prices-api-endpoints/get-token-prices-by-symbol) | Combines prices from centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges for each symbol. | Use this when you need a current price overview of a token across all supported chains and exchanges. |
| [Token Prices By Address](/docs/data/prices-api/prices-api-endpoints/prices-api-endpoints/get-token-prices-by-address) | Combines prices from DEXes for each contract address and network. | Use this when you need the current price of a specific token on a particular blockchain network. |
| [Historical Prices By Symbol Or Address](/docs/data/prices-api/prices-api-endpoints/prices-api-endpoints/get-historical-token-prices) | Fetches past price data by symbol or address. | Use this when you require historical price data for creating charts or performing analysis. |
***
# Getting started
## Via HTTP requests
Modern web development uses fetch for HTTP requests. You can access the Prices API using native fetch or any HTTP client library.
### No additional installation required
The fetch API is available in all modern browsers and Node.js (18+). For older Node.js versions, you can install `node-fetch`:
```shell Node.js 18+ (Built-in)
# No installation needed - fetch is built-in
```
```shell Node.js < 18
npm install node-fetch
```
### Usage
Create a new JavaScript file (e.g., `prices-fetch-script.js`) and add one of the following snippets depending on which endpoint you want to call.
```js By Symbol
// prices-fetch-script.js
// Replace with your Alchemy API key:
const apiKey = "demo";
// Define the symbols you want to fetch prices for.
const symbols = ["ETH", "BTC", "USDT"];
async function getTokenPricesBySymbol() {
try {
const symbolsParam = symbols.join(',');
const response = await fetch(`https://api.g.alchemy.com/prices/v1/tokens/by-symbol?symbols=${symbolsParam}`, {
headers: {
'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`
}
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log("Token Prices By Symbol:");
console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
} catch (error) {
console.error("Error:", error);
}
}
getTokenPricesBySymbol();
```
```js By Address
// prices-fetch-script.js
// Replace with your Alchemy API key:
const apiKey = "demo";
// Define the network and contract addresses you want to fetch prices for.
const addresses = [
{
network: "eth-mainnet",
address: "0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb0ce3606eb48" // USDC
},
{
network: "eth-mainnet",
address: "0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7" // USDT
}
];
async function getTokenPricesByAddress() {
try {
const response = await fetch('https://api.g.alchemy.com/prices/v1/tokens/by-address', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`
},
body: JSON.stringify({ addresses })
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log("Token Prices By Address:");
console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
} catch (error) {
console.error("Error:", error);
}
}
getTokenPricesByAddress();
```
### Running the script
Execute the script from your command line:
```bash bash
node prices-fetch-script.js
```
**Expected Output:**
```json json
{
"data": [
{
"symbol": "ETH",
"prices": [
{
"currency": "USD",
"value": "3000.00",
"lastUpdatedAt": "2024-04-27T12:34:56Z"
}
],
"error": null
},
{
"symbol": "BTC",
"prices": [
{
"currency": "USD",
"value": "45000.00",
"lastUpdatedAt": "2024-04-27T12:34:56Z"
}
],
"error": null
},
{
"symbol": "USDT",
"prices": [
{
"currency": "USD",
"value": "1.00",
"lastUpdatedAt": "2024-04-27T12:34:56Z"
}
],
"error": null
}
]
}
```
## Via Node Fetch
`node-fetch` is a lightweight option for making HTTP requests with JavaScript.
### Installation
Install the `node-fetch` package using `npm` or `yarn`:
```shell npm
npm install node-fetch
```
```shell yarn
yarn add node-fetch
```
### Usage
Create a new JavaScript file (e.g., `prices-fetch-script.js`) and add the following code.
```js By Symbol
// prices-fetch-script.js
// Replace with your Alchemy API key:
const apiKey = "YOUR_ALCHEMY_API_KEY";
const fetchURL = `https://api.g.alchemy.com/prices/v1/${apiKey}/tokens/by-symbol`;
// Define the symbols you want to fetch prices for.
const symbols = ["ETH", "BTC", "USDT"];
const params = new URLSearchParams();
symbols.forEach(symbol => params.append('symbols', symbol));
const urlWithParams = `${fetchURL}?${params.toString()}`;
const requestOptions = {
method: 'GET',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
},
};
fetch(urlWithParams, requestOptions)
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => {
console.log("Token Prices By Symbol:");
console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
})
.catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));
```
```js By Address
// prices-fetch-script.js
// Replace with your Alchemy API key:
const apiKey = "YOUR_ALCHEMY_API_KEY";
const fetchURL = `https://api.g.alchemy.com/prices/v1/${apiKey}/tokens/by-address`;
// Define the network and contract addresses you want to fetch prices for.
const requestBody = {
addresses: [
{
network: "eth-mainnet",
address: "0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb0ce3606eb48" // USDC
},
{
network: "eth-mainnet",
address: "0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7" // USDT
}
]
};
const requestOptions = {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
},
body: JSON.stringify(requestBody),
};
fetch(fetchURL, requestOptions)
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => {
console.log("Token Prices By Address:");
console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
})
.catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));
```
### Running the script
Execute the script from your command line:
```bash bash
node prices-fetch-script.js
```
**Expected Output:**
```json json
{
"data": [
{
"symbol": "ETH",
"prices": [
{
"currency": "USD",
"value": "3000.00",
"lastUpdatedAt": "2024-04-27T12:34:56Z"
}
],
"error": null},
{
"symbol": "BTC",
"prices": [
{
"currency": "USD",
"value": "45000.00",
"lastUpdatedAt": "2024-04-27T12:34:56Z"
}
],
"error": null},
{
"symbol": "USDT",
"prices": [
{
"currency": "USD",
"value": "1.00",
"lastUpdatedAt": "2024-04-27T12:34:56Z"
}
],
"error": null}
]
}
```