polymarket-api-vs-polyhistorical-api
Two Different APIs, Two Different Purposes
Polymarket has its own API (the CLOB API) for live trading and current market data. PolyHistorical is a separate service that provides historical order book snapshots — data that Polymarket itself doesn't store or expose.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Polymarket CLOB API | PolyHistorical API |
|---|---|---|
| Live Order Book | ✓ Current state | ✓ Historical snapshots |
| Historical Order Books | ✗ Not available | ✓ Sub-second, full depth |
| Place Orders | ✓ | ✗ Read-only |
| Market Metadata | ✓ Current markets | ✓ Including resolved |
| Resolved Market Data | Limited | ✓ Full snapshot history |
| Authentication | Wallet signature | API key |
| Rate Limits | Varies | 60-300 req/min by plan |
| Pricing | Free | Free tier + $11/mo Pro |
When to Use Polymarket API
- You're building a live trading bot that places and manages orders
- You need the current order book state for real-time decisions
- You're integrating with Polymarket wallets or positions
When to Use PolyHistorical API
- You're backtesting strategies and need historical order book data
- You're doing research on resolved markets (data that no longer exists on Polymarket)
- You need time-series analysis of order book evolution
- You want a simple API key auth instead of wallet signatures
Using Both Together
The best trading systems use both: PolyHistorical for strategy development and backtesting, Polymarket CLOB API for live execution. Develop your edge with historical data, then deploy it live.