Assessment
On the Broker API, a single integration covers KYC, account opening, funding, statements and trading, while Alpaca Securities LLC, which trades as Alpaca Clearing, clears those assets and holds them itself, and it belongs to DTCC, OCC and FICC. Partners may offer US equities numbering more than 11,000, options, Treasury bills, corporate bonds, German stocks and 35+ crypto coins, with fractional orders, IRA accounts and 24/5 trading. Alpaca took in $150 million during January 2026 and $135 million during July, and closed its WealthKernel purchases covering the UK and the EU and its Zincmoney purchase in India.
Business terms and the regulatory record call for the closest look. Sales sets the partner platform pricing, but correspondents may read a public fee exhibit. Two final regulatory events appear on BrokerCheck: an SEC penalty of $400,000 in September 2024 for a failure to keep off-channel messages, and a FINRA fine of $300,000 in March 2026 for trade reports that were inaccurate and late because system capacity was too low at volume spikes.
Scenarios
| Scenario | Suitability | Why |
|---|---|---|
| US stocks offered to customers abroad | Well suited | Trading in 15+ local currencies and 24/5 sessions, and partners operate in 40+ countries, according to Alpaca. |
| Algorithmic trading that is API-first | Well suited | Paper trading sits in the Trading API, and self-directed individual accounts owe no commission on most US-listed stocks or options. |
| Issuance of tokenized stocks | Well suited | Alpaca reports stocks of more than $1.5 billion held behind tokenized equities, and minting and redemption run through its tokenization network. |
| Creating a digital advice product | Partly suited | Fractional shares, IRA accounts and a rebalancing API help, but other vendors have to supply billing and performance reporting. |
Built for
Crypto platforms, fintechs, neobanks and brokers with engineering teams wanting to add US stocks, options and crypto trading via an API, including firms whose customers are outside the US.
Less suited to
RIAs that need practice software like billing along with performance reporting, and buyers who need partner pricing shown before they talk with sales.
Who should consider it
Likely to suit
- Fintechs and neobanks bringing US investing to foreign customers
- Crypto exchanges and tokenization platforms needing a US broker that is regulated
- Engineering-led teams hoping to prototype first inside a free sandbox
Unlikely to suit
- Advisory firms needing software for billing and reporting
- Buyers who require the platform fees published
- Firms with no developers for building and maintaining an integration
Rating by criterion
How the eight criteria that form the rating for Alpaca are each scored out of 100.
Sector criteria
US equities numbering more than 11,000, options available through level 3, Treasury bills, corporate bonds, 35+ crypto coins, as well as German ETFs and stocks, along with margin, IRA, custodial and business accounts; mutual funds are absent.
A rebalancing API, notional and fractional orders to nine decimal places, trading in 15+ local currencies, journaled stock rewards, a branded document center, a partner dashboard, though no billing or performance reporting for advisors.
APIs over REST that use server-sent events, FIX 4.2, OAuth for third-party apps, an API for market data, and official SDKs for Node, Go, Python and .NET/C#, among others.
Alpaca Securities LLC is SEC-registered, a member of FINRA and SIPC, fully self-clearing as of 2024, with excess SIPC cover that is up to $75 million for securities and $75 million for cash per customer; two final regulatory events show on BrokerCheck.
Vendor criteria
During 2026 Alpaca took in $150 million and later $135 million, completed acquisitions of WealthKernel and Zincmoney, passported the EU entity through the EEA and made European equities available for trading.
There is a free dashboard and sandbox, public API docs, a community forum, a status page and Slack; each business agreement sets the support level live partners receive, and response times are not published.
Self-directed individual Trading API accounts pay no commission for most stocks and options that are US-listed, and a fee exhibit for the Broker API as revised on September 17, 2026 lists transfer fees and margin at 300 bps over the Fed Funds upper limit; platform fees for partners are unpublished.
After sandbox testing, partners sign a business agreement and fund a clearing deposit sized from account counts and trade counts; exit terms, term length and the deposit amount go unpublished.
Against its peers
How Alpaca compares with other companies we rate in Wealth & brokerage platforms.
User comments
Brief quotes drawn from public reviews posted by users of Alpaca. Each one links to the review where it appeared. We omit sites where vendors pay to be featured or pay for a review, plus any review the site flags as incentivized.
Fact file
| Broker-dealer | Alpaca Securities LLC, which trades as Alpaca Clearing: FINRA and SEC registration since 2018, SIPC membership, fully self-clearing since 2024 Source |
|---|---|
| Regulatory record | BrokerCheck shows two final events: a September 2024 SEC order with a penalty of $400,000, and a March 2026 FINRA censure with a fine of $300,000 Source |
| 2026 funding | January Series D of $150 million, valued at $1.15 billion; a July raise of $135 million led by Peak XV, inside financing of $435 million that includes debt Source |
| Licenses outside the US | UK and EU entities from the WealthKernel deal, passported across the EEA, and an IFSCA-regulated broker-dealer located in India's GIFT City Source |
| Pricing | Exhibit B, revised September 17, 2026, publishes Broker API pass-through, transfer and margin fees; sales sets partner platform pricing Source |
Source pages
- Alpaca homepage: https://alpaca.markets/ (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca about: https://alpaca.markets/about-us (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca Broker API: https://alpaca.markets/broker (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca Broker API Exhibit B: Other Fees, revised September 17, 2026: https://files.alpaca.markets/disclosures/library/BrokerAPIExhibitB.pdf (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca docs: integration setup for Broker API: https://docs.alpaca.markets/us/docs/integration-setup-with-alpaca (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca docs: IRA accounts overview: https://docs.alpaca.markets/us/docs/ira-accounts-overview (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca Series D announcement, January 2026: https://alpaca.markets/blog/alpaca-raises-150-million-at-a-1-15b-valuation-to-build-the-global-standard-for-brokerage-infrastructure/ (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca $135 million raise, July 2026: https://alpaca.markets/blog/alpaca-raises-135-million-to-scale-agent-first-brokerage-infrastructure-for-tokenized-markets-and-ai-native-financial-services/ (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca completes WealthKernel acquisition and launches European equities: https://alpaca.markets/blog/alpaca-expands-into-europe-and-launches-european-equities-trading/ (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca closes Zincmoney acquisition in India: https://alpaca.markets/blog/alpaca-welcomes-mayuresh-kini-as-ceo-of-alpaca-india/ (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca Clearing expands excess SIPC coverage: https://alpaca.markets/blog/alpaca-clearing-expands-excess-sipc-coverage-strengthening-commitment-towards-enhanced-protection/ (As of September 24, 2026)
- FINRA BrokerCheck report: Alpaca Securities LLC: https://files.brokercheck.finra.org/firm/firm_288202.pdf (As of September 24, 2026)
- Alpaca privacy policy, effective March 20, 2026: https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.alpaca.markets/disclosures/PrivacyPolicy.pdf (As of September 24, 2026)
How this rating was made
This profile gives our own assessment of Alpaca to companies selecting a Wealth & brokerage platforms provider. The Fintech Index receives nothing for featuring a firm, for sponsorship, or for advertising, and Alpaca gave us no payment for the profile.
The rating equals the average of eight criteria, with every criterion running from 0 to 100. Four address buyer needs in this sector, and four address the company together with its commercial terms.
Ratings are our editorial judgment, made from public information: pricing and legal pages, product documentation, compliance disclosures, and filings. This profile had no lab tests, and no accounts were opened. Fact-checking took place on September 24, 2026.
Reviewer, Italy / Trustpilot / January 2026
Reviewer, Switzerland / Trustpilot / August 2026
Reviewer, Poland / Trustpilot / October 2024