What is the best free source of historical forex data?

For depth and tick-level detail, the Dukascopy Bank SA archive is among the best, and it is published publicly. You can pull it with Dukascopy's own web export, the open-source dukascopy-node library, or the MarketData Hub desktop client; HistData and TrueFX are alternatives for forex-only ZIP/tick downloads.

Is free historical data good enough for serious backtesting?

Yes, if it is accurate and granular enough for your strategy. Tick and 1-minute forex data from Dukascopy is widely used for retail and quantitative backtesting; daily data from Stooq or Yahoo is fine for longer-horizon studies.

Where can I get free tick data?

The Dukascopy archive (reachable via the MarketData Hub client or dukascopy-node), HistData and TrueFX all carry free forex tick data. Tick history generally starts later than daily candles and the files are large, so pull only the date range you need.

Which source covers the most asset classes?

The Dukascopy archive and Stooq are the broadest. Dukascopy — which the MarketData Hub client fetches from — covers forex, crypto, indices, commodities, bonds, ETFs and shares at tick-to-monthly granularity; Stooq covers many markets at mostly daily granularity.

Best Free Sources of Historical Market Data (2026)

By Martin Buessler · Published 22 June 2026 · Updated 1 August 2026 · 2 min read

Plenty of places offer "free" historical data, but they differ wildly in coverage, depth and how painful they are to actually use. Here's a fair rundown of the main free options in 2026 and what each is good for.

Get the app — €5.60 →

What to look for

Judge a free source on five things: asset coverage (forex only, or stocks/crypto/indices too), history depth, whether tick data is available, timeframe granularity, and ease of access (download UI vs. scripting vs. signup). No single source wins on all five.

The main free options

Dukascopy Bank — a deep, high-quality archive of forex, metals, indices, commodities and more, down to tick level. The official web export is powerful but clunky; the open-source dukascopy-node library (which powers MarketData Hub) makes it scriptable.
HistData.com — free 1-minute and tick forex data, no signup, packaged as monthly ZIPs. Great for forex, but you stitch the files together yourself and it's forex-only.
TrueFX — free tick-level forex data (registration required), strong for major pairs, more limited instrument list.
Stooq — free daily (and some intraday) data across stocks, indices, forex and commodities; convenient CSV downloads, but limited intraday depth and no ticks.
Yahoo Finance — free daily and limited intraday equity/index/crypto data, easy to pull via libraries; no tick data and intraday history is shallow.
Exchange / broker APIs (e.g. crypto exchanges) — excellent for their own markets and recent history, but each is siloed and rate-limited.

Where MarketData Hub fits

MarketData Hub isn't a data source at all — it's a desktop client for one of them. The app puts a friendly interface over the Dukascopy archive: 265+ instruments across forex, crypto, indices, commodities, bonds, ETFs and shares, every timeframe from tick to monthly, written as CSV or JSON — and the fetching happens on your machine, straight from the archive, so no query list or download history exists on anyone else's server. The trade-off versus raw ZIP dumps is that you buy the software (€5.60 one-time) instead of stitching files together yourself. See our data methodology for sourcing details.

Head-to-head comparisons

Weighing one specific pair of options? These take it dimension by dimension — including what each competitor does better:

MarketData Hub vs HistData — free forex ZIPs against a paid multi-asset client.
MarketData Hub vs Dukascopy's own export — the same archive, two workflows.
MarketData Hub vs TrueFX — free registered tick data against tick-plus-candles.

And for how deep each instrument's history actually runs, timeframe by timeframe: how far back historical market data goes.

Quick picks

Free forex ZIPs, no tooling: HistData or Dukascopy's own web export.
Daily multi-asset for a quick study: Stooq or Yahoo Finance.
Deep, multi-asset, one consistent interface, nothing leaves your machine: the MarketData Hub client — start with EUR/USD or browse all instruments.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free source of historical forex data?: For depth and tick-level detail, the Dukascopy Bank SA archive is among the best, and it is published publicly. You can pull it with Dukascopy's own web export, the open-source dukascopy-node library, or the MarketData Hub desktop client; HistData and TrueFX are alternatives for forex-only ZIP/tick downloads.
Is free historical data good enough for serious backtesting?: Yes, if it is accurate and granular enough for your strategy. Tick and 1-minute forex data from Dukascopy is widely used for retail and quantitative backtesting; daily data from Stooq or Yahoo is fine for longer-horizon studies.
Where can I get free tick data?: The Dukascopy archive (reachable via the MarketData Hub client or dukascopy-node), HistData and TrueFX all carry free forex tick data. Tick history generally starts later than daily candles and the files are large, so pull only the date range you need.
Which source covers the most asset classes?: The Dukascopy archive and Stooq are the broadest. Dukascopy — which the MarketData Hub client fetches from — covers forex, crypto, indices, commodities, bonds, ETFs and shares at tick-to-monthly granularity; Stooq covers many markets at mostly daily granularity.