Short answer: Borsa Istanbul does not offer a free public API or personal API keys. Its market data reaches applications through licensed data distributors under the exchange's Data Distribution Agreement, as real-time, delayed (at least 15 minutes old) or end-of-day data. Apps therefore get BIST prices from a licensed vendor's or broker's API, and automated, non-display use such as a trading algorithm needs an agreement signed directly with Borsa Istanbul.
Searches for a Borsa Istanbul API key tend to end in confusion, because the exchange's data model runs on licenses rather than sign-ups. Prices, depth, indices and even KAP disclosures are distributed by companies that have signed the Borsa Istanbul Data Distribution Agreement (DDA), and what you may do with the data depends on the package, the delay and whether a person or a machine consumes it.
This guide uses version 21.a of the agreement (1 January 2026) and the exchange's data and technical pages, checked as of October 2026. It recommends no vendor.
Is there a Borsa Istanbul API?
No public, self-service API exists: Borsa Istanbul supplies data to licensed distributors and members, and they build the APIs that applications use.
The exchange disseminates real-time, delayed and end-of-day data through licensed vendors over its BISTECH system. On 25 October 2026 its data vendors directory listed 173 directly licensed distributors, 113 in Turkey and 60 abroad. Below them sit approved sub-distributors and the subscribers who use the data.
Three things are often mistaken for an API: the daily bulletins on the exchange website (downloadable files from 22 August 2011 onward), the DataStore portal, through which Borsa Istanbul sells historical data, and broker APIs, which pass data to a broker's own clients under the broker's license and terms.
Scraping prices from websites is not a licensed route: the DDA reserves all rights in the data to Borsa Istanbul.
How Borsa Istanbul market data distribution works
Every lawful use traces back to the DDA, which grants distributors a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use and redistribute the data.
| Role | What it may do |
|---|---|
| Distributor | Signs the DDA, takes data from the access point or an approved distributor or network provider, may distribute the data listed in Addendum 2 |
| Sub-distributor | Works under a distributor; per the exchange FAQ it may distribute data not charged per user, such as Limited Level 1, delayed and reference data |
| Subscriber | Individuals use the data personally; companies may share it internally with employees in a closed environment |
Two definitions decide most product designs. A closed distribution environment controls access through an entitlement system, with a user ID and password per user and access records kept for five years; an open distribution environment does not.
Every display must show the time stamp, whether the data is real-time, delayed or end-of-day, who supplies it, and that Borsa Istanbul is the source, owns the rights and must permit any use or distribution. Subscribers also accept audits by the exchange.
Real-time, delayed and end-of-day BIST data
Under the DDA, real-time data is used or distributed within at most 15 minutes of Borsa Istanbul's time stamp, delayed data is used or distributed 15 minutes or more after that time stamp, and end-of-day data is the data formed after trading ends.
Addendum 2 fixes where each product may appear; delayed and end-of-day Level 1+ data may also go to an open environment such as a public web page:
| Data | Real-time | Delayed | End of day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 2 and Level 2+ | Closed | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Level 1+ | Closed | Open or closed | Open or closed |
| Mixed Level 1 | Closed, extra rules | Open or closed | Open or closed |
| Limited Level 1 | Open or closed, extra rules | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Borsa Istanbul indices | Closed, extra rules | Open or closed | Open or closed |
| Equity broker ID data | Closed | Not applicable | Closed |
The extra rules matter: real-time Limited Level 1 data and indices reach open environments only through TV, tickers, display boards and similar media. A free app with live prices therefore needs logins and per-user reporting, while a public delayed-quote page does not, although it still needs the attribution and the delay label.
BIST data packages: Limited Level 1 to Level 2+
The packages range from a last price with its daily change to a 25-level order book that also shows the best individual orders.
| Package | Main content |
|---|---|
| Limited Level 1 | Descriptive data, last price or rate, change from the previous session, closing data |
| Mixed Level 1 | Equity and VIOP (futures and options) descriptive data, last price, best bid and ask, KAP data, end-of-day data, BIST 30 and BIST 100 values |
| Level 1+ | Level 1 data plus quantities at the best bid and ask, traded quantities and KAP data |
| Level 2 | Level 1+ plus prices and quantities for the best 10 levels, canceled-order volumes, statistics |
| Level 2+ | Level 2 plus the best 25 levels (equity and VIOP) and the best 10 bid and ask orders (equity) |
| Equity data analytics | Order, cancellation, order-flow, VWAP and buyer-seller analytics for BIST 100 shares, every second |
| Reference data | Index constituents and weights, corporate actions, market statistics, IPO data |
Third-party content travels the same way: KAP disclosures, custody statistics from the Central Registry Agency (MKK) and Takasbank fund data, including TEFAS fund information. The public alternatives are compared in TEFAS, KAP and EVDS data access.
Borsa Istanbul market data fees in 2026
Addendum 3 of the DDA, valid from 1 January 2026, combines monthly fixed fees per product, monthly fees per user and connection fees; all of its fees are VAT excluded, and TR local fees apply to entities resident in Turkey, overseas fees to those resident abroad.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Real-time Equity Level 2/2+, monthly fixed | TRY 44,000 / USD 1,620 |
| Real-time Equity Level 1+, monthly fixed | TRY 18,000 / USD 740 |
| Delayed Level 1+ data and indices, monthly fixed | TRY 10,800 / USD 600 |
| End-of-day Level 1+ data and indices, monthly fixed | TRY 5,600 / USD 330 |
| Per user per month: Equity Level 2+, Level 2, Level 1+ | TRY 625, 535, 235 (USD 45, 38.5, 22) |
| Non-display Equity Level 2/2+, monthly, 1 to 5 devices | TRY 18,000 / USD 1,200 |
| Non-display Equity Level 2/2+, monthly, unlimited devices | TRY 48,600 / USD 3,240 |
Hypothetical example: a distributor shows real-time Equity Level 1+ data to 2,000 logged-in users at the TR local rates valid from 1 January 2026. The exchange fees for that product alone are TRY 18,000 + 2,000 × TRY 235 = TRY 488,000 a month, or TRY 5,856,000 a year, VAT excluded and before connection fees and any vendor charges. Showing the same prices delayed costs the TRY 10,800 monthly fixed fee (VAT excluded); the schedule lists no per-user fee for delayed data.
Vendor prices reflect these exchange fees, so real-time data can dominate an app's running costs.
Non-display use, derived data and index licenses
Machines need their own license: Borsa Istanbul's FAQ states that non-display use requires signing the DDA directly with the exchange.
The DDA defines non-display use as using the data without displaying it, citing surveillance, risk management, algorithmic trading, investment analysis and order routing systems; fees are charged per device band (1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 30 or unlimited). Derived data, new values that cannot be reverse-engineered into the original, may be distributed but must be reported to the exchange, which decides what counts as non-display or derived.
Indices are separate. Calculating an index from BIST data, issuing a financial product on a BIST index or using one as a fund benchmark each needs its own agreement with the exchange. A backtesting platform, a portfolio risk engine or a trading bot fed by BIST data is therefore a licensing question before it is an engineering one; the BIST strategy backtesting platform scenario shows how that shapes a design.
Technical access for vendors and members: BISTECH feeds
Distributors and exchange members connect to BISTECH directly, using the feeds and protocols on the exchange's technical documents page.
| Protocol | Purpose | Typical users |
|---|---|---|
| TIP | Market-by-price depth feed over SoupBinTCP, which handles login and message recovery (specification BIST-2.2.8, 22 June 2026) | Data vendors |
| ITCH | Order-by-order multicast feed with rewinder and glimpse services for recovery | Algorithmic and high-frequency participants |
| FIX 5.0 SP2 | Order entry, plus drop copy and reference data sessions | Members, certified software |
| OUCH | Binary native order entry for the Genium INET trading system | Members, certified software |
Vendors can co-locate in the Istanbul data center or connect at the London Equinix LD5 point of presence, in service since June 2015 (annual technical connection fee USD 24,600, valid from 1 January 2026, VAT excluded). A distributor must first pass tests on multicast reception, packet loss, message recovery and intraday reconnection. Members must certify their FIX and OUCH software or use certified applications, and under the exchange's algorithmic trading procedure (revision 7, 28 March 2025) clients cannot send orders without going through a member's systems; see broker API integration with REST and FIX.
Practical options for app developers
Start from the use case and choose the narrowest license that covers it.
- Licensed vendor API: the usual route; check that the contract covers your display type, user counting, redistribution and non-display use.
- Broker API: fits when your users are that broker's clients.
- Delayed or end-of-day only: the lowest exchange fees and open display, if a 15-minute delay is acceptable.
- Direct DDA: for vendors, heavy non-display users and derived-data products.
The display rules travel with the data. This tested sketch, run on synthetic values, labels each quote:
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
IST = ZoneInfo("Europe/Istanbul")
DELAY = timedelta(minutes=15) # DDA: delayed = 15 minutes or more after the time stamp
def timing(stamp, now):
return "Delayed 15 min+" if now - stamp >= DELAY else "Real-time"
def quote_line(symbol, price, stamp, now, vendor):
return (f"{symbol} {price:.2f} TRY | {stamp:%d.%m.%Y %H:%M:%S} | "
f"{timing(stamp, now)} | Source: Borsa Istanbul via {vendor}")
now = datetime(2026, 10, 23, 15, 0, 0, tzinfo=IST) # synthetic clock
print(quote_line("XYZ", 101.25, now - timedelta(minutes=16), now, "Vendor A"))
print(quote_line("XYZ", 101.50, now - timedelta(seconds=2), now, "Vendor A"))Output:
XYZ 101.25 TRY | 23.10.2026 14:44:00 | Delayed 15 min+ | Source: Borsa Istanbul via Vendor A
XYZ 101.50 TRY | 23.10.2026 14:59:58 | Real-time | Source: Borsa Istanbul via Vendor AConnection design is outlined on the exchange API integration page, Fiva shows its data sources and delays to users, and vendor selection is covered in how to choose a stock market data API.
Frequently asked questions
Does Borsa Istanbul give out API keys?
No. Borsa Istanbul licenses data to distributors and members under its Data Distribution Agreement; API keys come from the vendor or broker whose API you use.
How long is the delay on delayed BIST data?
At least 15 minutes from Borsa Istanbul's time stamp, under the Data Distribution Agreement's definitions; anything used sooner counts as real-time.
Can I show BIST prices on a free website?
Delayed and end-of-day Level 1+ data from a licensed distributor may appear on a public page with the required attribution; real-time prices need logins and per-user reporting.
Do I need a license to run a trading bot on BIST data?
Automated trading is non-display use, which Borsa Istanbul's FAQ says requires the Data Distribution Agreement signed directly with the exchange. The orders themselves must pass through an exchange member's systems.
Is scraping Borsa Istanbul data allowed?
It is not a licensed route: the agreement reserves all rights in the data to Borsa Istanbul and requires its permission for use and distribution.
Sources
- Borsa Istanbul: Data dissemination (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Data vendors directory (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Data Distribution Agreement version 21.a (1 January 2026) with Addendum 1 (data use), Addendum 2 (data list) and Addendum 3 (fee schedule), archive (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Data publication products (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: FAQ on data distribution and index licensing (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: BISTECH connection protocols (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Technical documents (protocol specifications and certification programmes) (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Genium Consolidated Feed TIP Specification BIST-2.2.8 (22 June 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Access point at London Equinix LD5 (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Daily bulletin (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Historical data sales through DataStore (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
- Borsa Istanbul: Procedure on algorithmic trading and BISTECH PTRM pre-trade risk management in the Equity Market, revision 7 (28 March 2025) (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
This guide is general information about software and markets, not investment, legal or tax advice. Automated trading can lose money, past or backtested performance does not guarantee future results, and the rules that apply depend on your jurisdiction and your exchange's terms. Sources, checks and corrections: see the editorial policy.