CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko or your exchange?
The free price alerts most people start with live in CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko or their exchange's app. They look interchangeable, but they watch different prices, and that decides whether an alert fires when you expect it to. Here's how they compare.
Four common options, side by side
| WHICH PRICE | HOW IT REACHES YOU | THE CATCH | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoinMarketCap | Aggregate across exchanges | CoinMarketCap app | Not the price on any exchange you can trade at. |
| CoinGecko | Aggregate across exchanges | CoinGecko app, once or recurring | Same aggregate caveat. |
| Coinbase app | Coinbase's own price | Coinbase app push | Coinbase listings only, account required. |
| Binance app | Binance's own price | Binance app / desktop push | 50 alerts total, 90-day expiry, account required. |
Trackers: every coin, averaged price
CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko cover nearly every coin in existence, and their alerts are free. Both compute a price across many exchanges. That's the right number for "roughly what is this worth", and the wrong one for "should my order fill": an average can cross your level while your exchange hasn't, or the other way round. CoinGecko adds a useful option to make alerts recurring rather than one-time.
Exchange apps: the real price, one exchange
Coinbase and Binance alerts use the price you can actually trade at, on that exchange. The cost is scope: one exchange's coins, behind its account, often with caps. Every major exchange's alerts compared.
The combination people actually want
Exchange-accurate prices, many exchanges from one watchlist, and alerts that arrive somewhere other than an app. That's what dedicated alert services do. coinsentry covers 12,000+ pairs across 18 exchanges, with alerts that never expire.
When the averaged price misleads you
On large coins, aggregate and exchange prices usually sit close together. The gap widens exactly when alerts matter most: sharp moves, thin order books, and new listings that trade on only one or two exchanges. In those moments, an alert on the average can fire early, late, or at a price you can't get.
Exchange-accurate alerts, anywhere
- 01Pick the exchange and pair
Any of 18 exchanges, from majors to new listings.
- 02Set the level
The exact price. One-shot or re-arming.
- 03Choose where it lands
Telegram, Discord, Slack, email or webhooks.
Fair questions, straight answers
Yes, both are free in their apps. The trade-off is the price they watch: an aggregate across many exchanges, not the price on the exchange where you trade.
Because the alert watches an aggregated price. Averages can cross a level while a specific exchange's order book doesn't, especially in fast markets or on thinly traded coins.
Yes. CoinGecko lets you choose a one-time alert or a recurring one that fires every time the coin reaches your target.
For trading on that exchange, yes: they use its real price. But they only cover that exchange, need an account, and can have caps (Binance: 50 alerts total, 90-day expiry).
Yes, a dedicated alert service. coinsentry pins each alert to one named exchange's price and delivers to Telegram, Discord, Slack, email or webhooks, with no exchange account.