Why is payment information required to register for an account?
Our FAQs blog series aims to address user inquiries about the Databento portal, registration process, datasets, data formats, and more. In this article, we'll answer a common question: Why is payment information required to register for a Databento account? With our self-service platform, users can access market data immediately after signing up. Credit or debit card information is required to verify the authenticity of your account, prevent fraudulent use, and protect the security of our platform.
When you provide your payment information during the registration process, it's collected by our payment processor, Stripe. Stripe is responsible for securely handling all data related to the cardholder, and we don't have access to your payment details.
Yes, it's free to set up an account. We don't charge any upfront or hidden fees, and your payment method won't be billed unless you request data in excess of your credit allowance. Currently, new users receive $125 in free data credits for historical data. These credits are shared across your team and expire in six months. You can read more about our data credits in our Docs or navigate to your Billing page to see your remaining credits.
No. Each Databento account functions as a team, and you can add unlimited teammates for free. Our team management features allow users to streamline licensing and accounting processes for no additional cost. You can read more about team permissions in our Docs or navigate to the Team page in your portal.
No, Databento's pricing is usage-based. Historical data is billed per byte consumed, and live data is billed per message. At the end of each month, you only pay for what you’ve used, with two exceptions:
- For live data, additional licensing fees may apply. You can activate live data access through the Licensing page in your portal. Base license fees are passed directly from the venue, with no additional fees and a month-to-month commitment.
- Databento offers unlimited usage for a flat monthly rate, which is ideal for production use at hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, and enterprises. You must contact us to set up flat-rate pricing. Our Pricing guide outlines usage-based fees, flat-rate fees, and licensing fees.
Users can manage spending across their teams by implementing monthly limits. If the limit is reached, data can't be accessed until the following month. To set a monthly limit, follow the instructions below:
- Log in
- Select Billing from the sidebar
You can also set up monthly limits per teammate on the Team page in your portal. For more info about our billing features and cycles, check out our Docs!
