How Much Does Alpaca Cost? Pricing and Fees (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
Alpaca on cost: free (open source). Because that is not a percentage of assets, the cost does not rise as your balance does, which cuts both ways: proportionally cheap on a large account, relatively expensive on a small one. On top of that you pay the expense ratios of whatever funds are held, which every provider passes through. It is the brokerage itself rather than a layer on top of one, so what you pay is trading and account costs rather than a management fee. Verify current pricing on Alpaca's own site.
What Alpaca charges
The headline figure: Free (open source), for developers building AI agents. Alpaca is a brokerage you talk to through code: a REST and websocket API exposes market data, paper trading, and live commission-free execution, and its official MCP server lets an AI agent pull data, test in a paper account, and place real orders programmatically. You build (or wire up an agent against) that API rather than tapping buttons in an app.
What you still pay on top
- Fund expense ratios. Whatever ETFs or funds sit inside the portfolio charge their own fee, deducted inside the fund rather than billed to you. A broad index fund is often 0.03% to 0.10%; a specialist fund charges more.
- Trading costs. Commissions where they apply, plus the bid-ask spread on everything bought and sold, which is real even where the commission is zero.
- Tax. Any selling inside a taxable account can create a capital gain. See our guide to capital gains tax on investments. This is not tax advice.
Alpaca pricing against the alternatives
| Product | Cost | Holds your money? | What the fee buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaca | Free (open source) | Alpaca accounts | Developers building AI agents |
| Interactive Brokers | Brokerage fees | IBKR accounts | Advanced and international investors |
Comparing on headline price alone misses the more consequential variable, which is whether your assets have to move. A product that manages money it holds is doing a different job from one that reads an account you already have, and the fee difference reflects the work rather than a discount.
Where Walnut fits on price
Since this is our site, plainly: Walnut is free. There is no paid plan, no subscription and no fee on assets, because it connects the brokerage you already have rather than taking custody of your money, so there are no assets under management to charge on. You still pay your broker's commissions and your funds' expense ratios, which you would pay anyway. The full breakdown is on the Walnut pricing page.
That is not automatically the better deal. Alpaca charges Free (open source) because it does something Walnut deliberately does not: it custodies your money and executes your trades, which is not something a read-only layer on top can replace. Free is only cheaper if the free thing does what you actually need.
FAQ
How much does Alpaca cost?
Free (open source). It is not charged as a percentage of your assets, so the cost stays the same as your balance grows. That makes it proportionally cheaper on a large account and relatively expensive on a small one.
Is there a minimum to open a Alpaca account?
Minimums change and are set by the provider, so the only reliable source is Alpaca's own site. What is worth knowing generally: robo-advisors that hold your money often set an account minimum, while tools that connect to a brokerage you already have usually do not, because there is nothing to fund.
What else do you pay on top of the Alpaca fee?
Usually the expense ratios of the funds held inside the portfolio, which are deducted within each fund rather than billed to you, plus any trading costs your broker charges. Those exist regardless of which provider you use. In a taxable account, selling to move money between providers can also create a tax bill, which is a real cost people forget to count.
Does Alpaca's pricing scale with my balance?
No. A flat subscription costs the same whether you hold $5,000 or $5,000,000, which is the opposite of a percentage-of-assets model. On a large account that is a considerable advantage; on a small one it is a considerable drag.
Does Alpaca charge to connect my existing brokerage?
Alpaca accounts only. Where a product holds your money instead of connecting to your broker, the question does not arise: you fund an account with them and the management fee covers it. Where it does connect, the connection itself is normally included rather than billed separately.
Is Alpaca worth the money?
That depends on whether you would otherwise do the work yourself. Paying a percentage of assets buys automation and the discipline of not interfering, which has real value for people who would otherwise tinker. Paying nothing and doing it yourself only wins if you actually do it. Neither answer is right for everyone, and the honest test is what you would do in a month where the market falls.
Is Alpaca cheaper than the alternatives?
Within for builders: connect a broker to an ai agent, Alpaca charges Free (open source) against Interactive Brokers at Brokerage fees. Price is only half the comparison though: whether your money has to move, and what you get for the fee, decide more than the headline rate.
Where can I confirm Alpaca's current pricing?
On Alpaca's own site. Fees, tiers and minimums change, and this page is maintained by a competitor rather than by Alpaca, so treat every figure here as a point-in-time guide to be verified rather than a quote.
Walnut publishes this page and competes with Alpaca, so read it as an informed assessment rather than an independent one. It is built from publicly available information about the product, not from collected user reviews, and it carries no star rating because we have not surveyed Alpaca's customers. Pricing, features and availability change; verify current details on Alpaca's own site before deciding. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to use any particular product.