finnhub api 403 premium endpoint stock news error

Finnhub API 403 on a premium stock news endpoint

TL;DR

A 403 from Finnhub on a premium endpoint means the API key's plan does not include that product, like stock news or premium candles. The free tier covers basic quotes; news and premium data need a paid plan. Either upgrade the plan, use the free endpoints that fit the briefing, or source the news from a licensed news API instead.

The error

HTTP 403 Forbidden
{"error": "You are not authorized to access this endpoint. Premium plan required."}

When this helps

• Finnhub premium endpoints return 403
• a market data agent needs stock news
• mapping Finnhub endpoints to plan tiers
• deciding whether to upgrade a Finnhub plan

When it doesn't

• the error is 401; that is the token, not the tier
• the error is 429; that is rate limit
• you need premium data without paying; that is not available

Works with

Finnhub API v1 as of 2026. Endpoint tiers are provider-side.

Steps

1. Confirm which endpoint is gated and what the free tier covers

K="token"
curl -s "https://finnhub.io/api/v1/news?category=general&${K}=${FINNHUB_KEY}" -o fh.json -w "HTTP %{http_code}\n"
python3 -c "import json; print(str(json.load(open("fh.json")))[:200])"

Expected: The 403 body naming the premium gate. The free quote endpoint on the same key should still 200, proving the key works.

2. Verify the free endpoints work with the same key

K="token"
curl -s "https://finnhub.io/api/v1/quote?symbol=AAPL&${K}=${FINNHUB_KEY}" -o q.json -w "HTTP %{http_code}\n"
python3 -c "import json; print(json.load(open("q.json"))"

Expected: HTTP 200 with quote data. Key-plus-free-endpoint working while news 403s isolates the problem to plan tier.

3. Source stock news from a fitting channel

import json
routing = {"quotes": "finnhub free tier", "stock_news": "licensed news api or finnhub premium"}
open("market_routing.json", "w").write(json.dumps(routing, indent=2))
print("news routed off the free tier")

Expected: A routing table. News moves to a source whose plan includes it; quotes stay on Finnhub free.

4. Document the tier map for the market data agent

import json
tiers = {"quote": "free", "company_news": "premium", "candles_basic": "free", "candles_premium": "premium"}
open("finnhub_tiers.json", "w").write(json.dumps(tiers, indent=2))
print("tier map written; agent checks before calling")

Expected: A tier map file. The agent consults it before building requests, so it never 403s at runtime.

Other ways people phrase this

finnhub 403 premium endpoint

Tier gating. Match the endpoint to the plan or re-source.

finnhub stock news unauthorized

Company news is a premium product. The free tier never included it.

finnhub free plan limits

Quotes and basic candles are free; news and premium series are paid.

Why it happens

Finnhub tiers its API by product: market data basics are free, news and premium series are paid. A 403 on a premium endpoint is the tier enforcement. The key is fine and the request is fine; the plan does not include the product.

Edge cases

• Plan upgrades can take minutes to propagate; wait before retesting.
• The free tier has a 60-calls-per-minute limit on top of the product tiers.
• WebSocket plans are separate from REST plans; check both.
• Cache premium responses aggressively; they are the expensive calls.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_LCmFtCJnyM75n5yn0GCnfg