Tardis.dev alternatives for historical order book data
Updated
Tardis.dev is the deep historical archive of crypto market data: tick-level level 2 and level 3 order books with full reconstruction, across more than fifty venues and over two hundred thousand instruments, with history reaching back years. Spot access starts at $450 a month, and All Exchanges plans run from $650 to $6,000. People look for a Tardis alternative for two reasons: the price for full coverage, and the fact that Tardis hands you raw ticks to reconstruct rather than computed columns to query.
What are the alternatives to Tardis.dev for historical order-book data?
For raw historical books, the closest alternatives to Tardis.dev are CoinAPI (raw feeds from $79 a month) and Amberdata (self-serve near $600 per exchange-market). For computed order-book columns you query instead of reconstruct, BlackForge covers nine venues from $29 a month. Tardis itself still wins on depth of history, tick resolution and level 3 data.
What Tardis is best at
It is worth being clear that Tardis is excellent at what it does. If you are backtesting a strategy and need the book reconstructed tick by tick as it stood two years ago, in exchange-native format, with level 3 order-by-order detail on the venues that support it, Tardis is purpose-built for that and few alternatives come close. The reasons to look elsewhere are specific: cost at full coverage, and the reconstruction burden.
The alternatives, and what each is for
| Alternative | Shape | Entry price | History depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tardis.dev | Raw tick L2/L3, you reconstruct | $450/mo (Spot) | Years, deep |
| CoinAPI | Raw L2/L3 by volume, you engineer | $79/mo (Startup) | Multi-year |
| Amberdata (Kaiko-owned) | Raw institutional feeds, self-serve | ~$600/mo per exchange-market | To 2017 |
| BlackForge | Computed columns, query-ready | $29/mo (Pro), $99 (Max) | From mid-2026, kept forever |
The real fork is raw versus computed. Tardis, CoinAPI and Amberdata all hand you the raw book, which is the right shape when you intend to run your own reconstruction and compute your own metrics. BlackForge is the other shape: it computes the columns for you and you query them, which is the right choice when you want the measurement rather than the raw material to build it from.
Where BlackForge fits
BlackForge is not a historical archive; it is a computed feed with infinite forward retention. It publishes 120 columns per pair per five-minute window across nine spot venues, including two measurements that come straight out of the same book Tardis would hand you raw: the median time a price level stood before it cleared, and how many levels were rebuilt after clearing. On Tardis you reconstruct the book and write those yourself; on BlackForge they arrive in the row. The trade-off is honest: you give up Tardis-depth history and tick resolution, and you get computed columns you never have to build.
Where Tardis.dev wins
Tardis.dev
- Years of deep historical order-book data; BlackForge collection began in mid-2026, so there is no multi-year back history to sample.
- Tick-level resolution and full level 3 order-by-order detail, where BlackForge publishes a five-minute computed window.
- More than fifty venues and over two hundred thousand instruments, well beyond BlackForge’s nine spot venues.
- Exchange-native raw formats, exactly what you want if you are building your own reconstruction pipeline.
Choose them if you need deep historical books for backtesting, tick or level 3 resolution, or coverage far beyond nine spot venues.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Tardis.dev?
For raw books, CoinAPI starts at $79 a month against Tardis Spot at $450, though the two meter differently. For computed order-book columns rather than raw ticks, BlackForge starts at $29 a month across nine venues. Tardis remains the value option when you specifically need deep historical tick data.
Which Tardis alternative gives computed metrics instead of raw ticks?
BlackForge. Tardis, CoinAPI and Amberdata all hand you the raw book to reconstruct and measure yourself. BlackForge publishes the computed columns directly: depth bands, liquidity added and removed, resting-level lifetime, level flicker and order ladders, per pair per five-minute window.
Does BlackForge have historical order-book data like Tardis?
Only forward from mid-2026, and at five-minute resolution rather than tick. Retention is infinite going forward, so the archive grows every day, but there is no multi-year back history in-sample. For deep historical books reaching back years, Tardis is the right tool and BlackForge is not a substitute.
See the full metric reference, or browse all comparisons.