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Product Data Update Frequencies Explained

When evaluating financial market data, one of the most important characteristics to understand is how often the data is updated. Different products serve different purposes, and update frequency is often determined by the underlying data source, licensing requirements, and the intended use case.

This guide explains what "update frequency" means, what to expect from each product, and how to choose the right data for your application.

What is an Update Frequency?

Update frequency describes how quickly new information becomes available after it changes at the source.

Depending on the product, data may update:

  • In real time
  • Tick-by-tick
  • With a fixed delay (such as 15 minutes)
  • After regulatory filings
  • Once per trading day (End-of-Day)

Not every product is intended to update continuously. Historical datasets, company fundamentals, and end-of-day pricing naturally update less frequently than streaming market prices.

Real-Time Products

These products are designed for applications that need continuously updated market information.

EquitiesEdge (FMV Real-Time)

EquitiesEdge is Intrinio's proprietary Fair Market Value (FMV) pricing feed. Rather than redistributing exchange market data, EquitiesEdge derives fair market values using proprietary models that closely track underlying market activity.

Update Frequency: Real-time

Typical fields include:

  • Last Price
  • Open
  • Close
  • Volume
  • Pre-market Volume
  • Post-market Volume

Available via:

  • REST API
  • WebSocket

Because EquitiesEdge is continuously recalculated throughout the trading session, prices update as market conditions change. For actively traded securities, values typically remain very close to exchange-reported prices under normal market conditions.

OptionsEdge (FMV Real-Time)

OptionsEdge applies the same FMV methodology to options contracts, continuously calculating option values and Greeks using live market activity.

Update Frequency: Real-time

Typical fields include:

  • Synthetic Price
  • Implied Volatility
  • Delta
  • Gamma
  • Theta
  • Vega
  • Strike
  • Expiration
  • Option Type

Available via:

  • REST API
  • WebSocket

As market conditions change, option values and Greeks are recalculated in real time.

Tick-Level Market Data

For applications requiring every market event, Intrinio offers tick-level market data.

Update Frequency: Tick-by-tick

Each trade or quote is delivered individually and includes information such as:

  • Trade Price
  • Trade Size
  • Bid
  • Ask
  • Exchange Codes
  • Microsecond timestamps

Available via:

  • REST API
  • WebSocket

This is the highest-frequency data available and is intended for applications that need every individual market update rather than periodic snapshots.

Delayed Market Data

15-Minute Delayed CBOE Data

Some applications do not require real-time pricing. Intrinio also offers delayed market data.

Update Frequency: 15-minute delay

Typical fields include:

  • Last Price
  • Bid
  • Ask
  • Volume
  • Open
  • High
  • Low
  • Close

Available via:

  • REST API
  • WebSocket

Because this feed is delayed by exactly fifteen minutes, it is often suitable for dashboards, internal tools, testing environments, and applications where immediate market data is not required.

Regulatory and Fundamental Data

Unlike market prices, company financial information only changes when companies publish new filings.

US Fundamentals

Intrinio processes SEC filings as they become available.

Update Frequency

  • Initial metrics typically appear within 10 minutes after an SEC filing is accepted.
  • Standardized financial statements are generally available within 30 minutes.

This includes:

  • As-reported financial statements
  • Standardized financial statements
  • Financial ratios
  • Company metadata
  • Institutional ownership
  • Insider transactions

Because this data originates from SEC filings, updates occur whenever companies file new information—not continuously throughout the trading day.

End-of-Day Products

End-of-day (EOD) products are refreshed once trading has completed for the day.

US Stock Prices

Update Frequency: Daily

Includes:

  • Adjusted prices
  • Unadjusted prices
  • Volume
  • Split ratios
  • Adjustment factors

This dataset is ideal for:

  • Historical analysis
  • Portfolio analytics
  • Research
  • Backtesting

US Options End-of-Day

Update Frequency: Daily

Includes:

  • Closing Price
  • Closing Bid
  • Closing Ask
  • Volume
  • Open Interest
  • Open Interest Change
  • Greeks
  • Implied Volatility Change

Like stock EOD data, this dataset is updated after each trading session and is intended for historical analysis rather than live trading.

Summary

Product Update Frequency
EquitiesEdge Real-time
OptionsEdge Real-time
Tick-Level Market Data Tick-by-tick
15-Minute Delayed CBOE Data 15-minute delay
US Fundamentals Initial metrics within ~10 minutes of SEC filing; standardized data within ~30 minutes
US Stock End-of-Day Daily
US Options End-of-Day Daily

Which Update Frequency Should You Choose?

The right choice depends on your application:

  • Building live dashboards or trading tools? Use EquitiesEdge or OptionsEdge for continuously updated market data.
  • Need every trade and quote? Tick-level market data provides individual market events as they occur.
  • Displaying market information where real-time isn't required? The 15-minute delayed feed may be sufficient.
  • Analyzing company financials? US Fundamentals update automatically as new SEC filings are processed.
  • Running historical analysis or backtesting? End-of-day datasets provide comprehensive daily market history.

Understanding update frequency helps ensure you're using the right product for your application's performance, latency, and analytical requirements.