FAQ

Data Providers and Live Prices

How Portfolio Tracker sources live market data from multiple providers with automatic fallback.

Multi-Provider Architecture

Portfolio Tracker uses a cascade of data providers to ensure maximum uptime and coverage:

  • Yahoo Finance — Primary provider for US and international stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and crypto
  • Stooq — Backup provider for US tickers only (CSV-based)
  • Finnhub — Real-time US market data
  • Tiingo — IEX real-time US market data
  • Twelve Data — US and international stocks plus FX rates

How the Cascade Works

When you request a quote, the app tries the active commercial provider first (if configured). If that fails (network error, rate limit, missing data), it falls back to Yahoo Finance, and then to Stooq for US tickers. This happens transparently — you always see the best available data.

Commercial Data Providers

Pro and Premium plans unlock access to commercial data providers (Finnhub, Tiingo, Twelve Data) in addition to the default free providers. The active provider is configured at the system level by the site administrator.

Data Coverage

  • US Stocks — Full coverage (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX)
  • International Stocks — Major exchanges worldwide
  • ETFs — US and international ETFs
  • Crypto — Major cryptocurrencies (use symbols like BTC-USD)
  • Forex — Automatic FX rate conversion for multi-currency portfolios

Sparklines

Many views show small sparkline charts next to prices. These are based on recent intraday or historical data and give you a quick visual sense of the price trend.