How to Connect iTick to Microsoft Excel — Live Stocks, Crypto, and Forex Data

BTCUSDT $69,420 +4.7% MSFT $425.18 +0.8% GBPJPY 191.42 -0.1% ETHUSDT $3,842 +3.2% AAPL $198.42 +1.2% EURUSD 1.0845 -0.3% NVDA $892.15 +1.4% TSLA $244.89 -2.1% D05.SI S$41.30 +0.9% O39.SI S$16.12 +0.5% Z74.SI S$3.89 -0.2% 0700.HK HK$398.60 +2.1% 9988.HK HK$88.45 -0.8% BTCUSDT $69,420 +4.7% MSFT $425.18 +0.8% GBPJPY 191.42 -0.1% ETHUSDT $3,842 +3.2% AAPL $198.42 +1.2% EURUSD 1.0845 -0.3% NVDA $892.15 +1.4% TSLA $244.89 -2.1%

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Query Streams is a secure, real-time market data integration platform that connects iTick to Microsoft Excel without custom code or manual CSV exports. Sign up for free at QueryStreams.com and start querying live stock prices, cryptocurrency rates, and forex exchange data directly in Microsoft Excel in minutes.

Learn how to connect iTick to Excel and stream real-time market data into your spreadsheets — no iTick API programming, no WebSocket client code, no complex data pipelines. Whether you need live stock price tracking in Microsoft Excel, a Singapore stock market data feed for SGX-listed equities like DBS (D05.SI), OCBC (O39.SI), and Singtel (Z74.SI), a cryptocurrency price tracker spreadsheet, real-time forex rates in Excel, or historical OHLCV candlestick data for technical analysis, this comprehensive guide shows you exactly how to query iTick market data using familiar SQL and stream it directly into Microsoft Excel. iTick is a leading market data provider with deep coverage of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), making it easy to track the Straits Times Index constituents, Hang Seng Index components like Tencent (0700.HK) and Alibaba (9988.HK), Singapore blue chip stocks, and international equities alongside US stocks, crypto, and forex. Unlike GOOGLEFINANCE which delays data by 15-20 minutes and limits you to basic quotes, Query Streams delivers live WebSocket-streamed prices from iTick with full order book depth, tick-level history, and multi-asset coverage — all queryable with SQL through DuckDB.

About Query Streams – iTick Market Data Integration

What is Query Streams? Query Streams is a powerful, secure data connectivity platform that bridges the iTick API and Microsoft Excel through a local Network Agent. The agent connects to iTick via REST and WebSocket APIs, caches market data locally in a high-performance DuckDB database, and exposes it as SQL-queryable tables. You write standard SQL to pull live stock data, historical prices, forex exchange rates, and cryptocurrency quotes into Microsoft Excel — no API code required.

Perfect for: Traders, quantitative analysts, portfolio managers, finance students, data journalists, and anyone who needs live market data in a spreadsheet without paying enterprise terminal fees. Unlike MarketXLS which starts at $30/month for basic stock data, Query Streams pairs with iTick’s free tier to deliver real-time quotes at zero cost. Create a free Query Streams account and transform how you access market data in Microsoft Excel.

What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to:

• Connect Microsoft Excel to the iTick market data API through the Query Streams Network Agent
• Stream live stock prices, cryptocurrency quotes, and forex exchange rates into Microsoft Excel via WebSocket
• Query real-time and historical market data using SQL — quotes, daily OHLCV, tick history, and order book depth
• Build custom candlestick aggregations, portfolio dashboards, and price alerts entirely in SQL
• Share live market data queries with colleagues without exposing your iTick API key

iTick Data Tables Available

Query Streams caches iTick market data into 4 DuckDB tables, each optimized for a different use case. All tables are SQL-queryable from Microsoft Excel using the itick. schema prefix:

Because the local cache runs on DuckDB — a high-performance columnar analytics engine — you can run complex aggregations, window functions, and time-series queries across millions of tick records with sub-second response times, all from within Microsoft Excel.

Supported Asset Types

iTick provides a multi-asset market data feed covering four major asset classes, all accessible through a single Query Streams connection:

You define which symbols to track in your watchlist during connector setup. The agent streams data only for your selected symbols, keeping bandwidth and storage efficient.

Prerequisites

What’s Next

Once your agent is installed and running, we’ll walk through:

Let’s get started with connecting your iTick account…

Access the Query Streams Agent Interface

Now that your agent is installed and running, you’ll configure your iTick connection through the local agent interface.

1. Open your web browser and navigate to the agent interface: https://localhost:1823
   Note: If you selected a different port during installation, replace 1823 with your chosen port number.
2. Navigate to Data Connections:
   • In the left sidebar, click Data Sources to expand the menu
   • Select Connections from the submenu
3. Add a new connection:
   • Click the Add Connection button (you’ll see this option both in the top-right corner and in the center of the screen)

You should now see the “Data Connections” interface. Once you click “Add Connection,” you’ll be able to configure your iTick market data connection.

Select iTick as Your Connection Type

After clicking “Add Connection,” you’ll see the New Connection wizard. You’re now on Step 1: Select Connection Type.

1. Choose iTick:
   • Look for the iTick tile in the API section of the connection type grid
   • Click on the iTick tile to select it
   • The description will show: “Market data – stocks, crypto, forex quotes and historical prices”
2. Alternative: Use the search function:
   • Type “iTick” in the search bar to quickly find the option
3. Proceed to the next step:
   • Once iTick is selected, click the Next button in the bottom-right corner

The wizard will now proceed to Step 2: Configure Connection, where you’ll enter your iTick API key.

Configure Your iTick API Key

You’re now on Step 2: Configure Connection where you’ll enter your iTick API credentials.

Required Connection Details

1. Connection Name (required)
   • Enter a friendly name to identify this connection (e.g., “iTick Market Data” or “Live Prices”)
   • This name will appear in your Query Streams interface and Microsoft Excel add-on when selecting a data source
2. API Token (required)
   • Enter your iTick API token
   • Find this in your iTick dashboard at itick.org under API Settings

Where to Find Your iTick API Key

1. Log in to your account at itick.org
2. Navigate to API Settings or Developer section in your dashboard
3. Copy your API Token
4. If you don’t have a key yet, create one — the free tier gives you real-time US stock quotes and basic market data at no cost

Capability Probe

After entering your API token, the agent runs a capability probe to detect which asset classes and features your iTick plan supports. This determines which data tables and WebSocket channels are available for your tier. The probe typically completes in a few seconds and shows you a summary of available capabilities.

Once the capability probe completes, click Next to configure your watchlist.

Configure Your Watchlist

You’re now on Step 3: Watchlist where you’ll define which symbols to track. The agent streams data only for the symbols on your watchlist, keeping bandwidth and DuckDB storage efficient.

Adding Symbols

Type or paste symbols into the watchlist input. The format depends on the asset type:

• US Stocks: Ticker symbol only — AAPL, MSFT, TSLA, NVDA, AMZN
• International Stocks: Ticker with exchange suffix — D05.SI (DBS Bank, SGX), O39.SI (OCBC Bank, SGX), Z74.SI (Singtel, SGX), 0700.HK (Tencent, HKEX), 9988.HK (Alibaba, HKEX), BP.L (BP, London). iTick provides strong coverage of Singapore Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed companies, including Hang Seng Index and Straits Times Index constituents.
• Cryptocurrency: Trading pair — BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT, SOLUSDT, BNBUSDT
• Forex: Currency pair — EURUSD, GBPJPY, USDJPY, AUDUSD

Symbol Verification

As you add symbols, the agent verifies each one against the iTick API to confirm it is valid and available on your plan. Invalid symbols are flagged so you can correct them before proceeding. You can always modify your watchlist later by editing the connection.

Click Next to configure WebSocket streaming.

Configure WebSocket Streaming

You’re now on Step 4: Live Streaming where you’ll enable the WebSocket connection for real-time price updates. This is what separates Query Streams from static import tools — you get a persistent, live market data feed into your local DuckDB cache.

Enable Live Streaming

• WebSocket Streaming – Toggle this on to receive live price updates. When enabled, the agent maintains a persistent WebSocket connection to iTick and writes every incoming tick to the tick_history table and updates quote_live in real time.
• Depth Streaming – Optionally enable order book depth updates. When on, the agent streams bid/ask levels into the depth table. Useful for spread analysis and liquidity monitoring.

Connection Limits by iTick Tier

The number of simultaneous WebSocket channels depends on your iTick plan. The free tier supports a limited number of concurrent symbol streams, while paid tiers scale up significantly. The capability probe from the previous step already detected your tier, so the agent will enforce the appropriate limits automatically.

Click Next to configure your sync schedule and data retention.

Set Up Sync Schedule

You’re now on Step 5: Sync Schedule where you’ll configure how data flows into your local DuckDB cache and how long it is retained.

Understanding the DuckDB Cache

Query Streams stores all iTick market data in a local DuckDB database file on your machine. DuckDB is a high-performance columnar analytics engine — the same technology used by data engineers and quantitative analysts for processing millions of rows. Your SQL queries run against this local cache, delivering instant results without hitting the iTick API for every request.

Sync Settings:

• quote_live – Updated continuously via WebSocket (no sync interval needed when streaming is enabled)
• prices_daily – Syncs daily OHLCV bars on a configurable schedule (recommended: once per day after market close, or every few hours for crypto which trades 24/7)
• tick_history – Written continuously from the WebSocket stream. No sync interval — data arrives in real time.
• depth – Updated continuously via WebSocket when depth streaming is enabled

Data Retention

Tick data can accumulate quickly — especially for active symbols. Configure retention to manage DuckDB file size:

• Tick History retention – How many days of raw tick data to keep (e.g., 7 days, 30 days, or unlimited)
• Daily Prices retention – How many days of OHLCV history to retain (e.g., 365 days, 5 years)

Older data is automatically purged on schedule. For most users, 7-14 days of tick history and 1-2 years of daily bars provides the right balance between analytical depth and storage efficiency.

Click Finish to save your iTick connection. The agent will immediately begin its initial sync — pulling historical daily prices and establishing the WebSocket stream for your watchlist symbols. This typically completes within 30-60 seconds.

Install the Microsoft Excel Add-On

Now that your iTick account is connected through the Query Streams agent, you’ll need to install the Microsoft Excel add-on to start running queries and pulling live market data.

Method 1: Direct Installation (Recommended)

The fastest way to install the Query Streams add-on is through the direct link:

-> Install Query Streams for Microsoft Excel

1. Click the link above to go directly to Microsoft AppSource
2. Click Get it now to install the add-on
3. Sign in with your Microsoft account if prompted
4. The add-on will be automatically added to your Microsoft Excel installation

Method 2: Install Through Microsoft Excel

Alternatively, you can install the add-on directly from within Microsoft Excel:

1. Open Microsoft Excel on your computer
2. Access the Add-ins store:
   • Go to the Home ribbon
   • Click Add-ins in the ribbon menu
   • Select More Add-ins from the dropdown
3. Search for Query Streams:
   • In the search box, type query streams
   • Click Add next to “Query Streams”

Run Your First Market Data Query

Once the Microsoft Excel add-on is installed, it opens in a side panel. You can start streaming market data into your spreadsheet immediately by writing SQL against your iTick DuckDB tables.

Running a Query in Microsoft Excel

1. Open Microsoft Excel and launch the Query Streams add-on
2. Click Stream a Query
3. Select your iTick connection from the data source dropdown
4. Write your SQL query in the editor
5. Choose destination: Create a new sheet
6. Click the Play button to execute — data streams directly into your spreadsheet

Example: Latest Quote for a Single Stock

Get the current live quote for Apple, including last price, bid, ask, volume, and change percent. This query hits the quote_live table which is updated in real time via WebSocket:

SELECT *
FROM itick.quote_live
WHERE symbol = 'AAPL'

Example: 30-Day Daily OHLCV for Cryptocurrency

Pull the last 30 days of daily candlestick data for Bitcoin. Each row contains open, high, low, close, and volume — ideal for charting or calculating moving averages in Microsoft Excel:

SELECT *
FROM itick.prices_daily
WHERE symbol = 'BTCUSDT'
ORDER BY date DESC
LIMIT 30

Example: Recent Forex Tick History

Query the raw tick stream for EUR/USD over the last hour. Every individual price update from the WebSocket is captured with a millisecond timestamp, giving you the granularity needed for intraday forex analysis:

SELECT *
FROM itick.tick_history
WHERE symbol = 'EURUSD'
  AND timestamp >= epoch_ms(now() - INTERVAL 1 HOUR)
ORDER BY timestamp DESC

Example: Multi-Asset Portfolio Overview

See every symbol on your watchlist ranked by daily performance. This query gives you a quick portfolio snapshot across stocks, crypto, and forex in a single result set:

SELECT
    symbol,
    asset_type,
    price,
    change_percent
FROM itick.quote_live
ORDER BY change_percent DESC

Example: Singapore Exchange (SGX) Blue Chip Stocks

Pull live stock prices for the top Singapore Exchange blue chips — DBS Bank, OCBC, and Singtel — in a single query. This is ideal for anyone tracking the Singapore stock market or building a Straits Times Index component tracker in Microsoft Excel:

SELECT
    symbol,
    price,
    bid,
    ask,
    volume,
    change_percent
FROM itick.quote_live
WHERE symbol IN ('D05.SI', 'O39.SI', 'Z74.SI')
ORDER BY change_percent DESC

Example: Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) — Tencent and Alibaba

Track live Hang Seng Index blue chip stocks from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) directly in Microsoft Excel. This query pulls the current Tencent stock price and Alibaba stock price alongside other HKEX-listed equities on your watchlist:

SELECT
    symbol,
    price,
    bid,
    ask,
    volume,
    change_percent
FROM itick.quote_live
WHERE symbol IN ('0700.HK', '9988.HK', '1299.HK', '0005.HK')
ORDER BY change_percent DESC

Example: Custom 5-Minute Candlesticks from Tick Data

Build custom candlestick intervals that don’t exist in the source data. This DuckDB query aggregates raw tick data into 5-minute OHLC bars for Bitcoin — perfect for intraday technical analysis. You can change the interval to 1 MINUTE, 15 MINUTES, 1 HOUR, or any duration:

SELECT
    time_bucket(INTERVAL '5 minutes', to_timestamp(timestamp / 1000.0)) AS bucket,
    arg_min(price, timestamp) AS open,
    arg_max(price, timestamp) AS close,
    min(price) AS low,
    max(price) AS high
FROM itick.tick_history
WHERE symbol = 'BTCUSDT'
GROUP BY bucket
ORDER BY bucket

Example: Bid-Ask Spread Analysis

Analyze real-time bid-ask spreads across your watchlist to identify the most liquid and tightest-spread instruments:

SELECT
    symbol,
    bid,
    ask,
    (ask - bid) AS spread,
    ROUND((ask - bid) / ask * 100, 4) AS spread_pct
FROM itick.quote_live
WHERE bid > 0 AND ask > 0
ORDER BY spread_pct ASC

These are just starting points. Because your market data lives in DuckDB, you have access to the full power of SQL — window functions, CTEs, aggregations, joins across tables, and more. Build moving averages, RSI calculations, volume-weighted average prices (VWAP), correlation matrices, and any other analysis you need, all streamed directly from Microsoft Excel.

iTick Plan Tiers

iTick offers multiple plan tiers with increasing data access and WebSocket capacity. Query Streams works with all tiers — the capability probe during setup automatically detects your plan and configures available features.

Free Tier:

• Real-time US stock quotes
• Limited WebSocket connections
• Basic historical data
• Ideal for getting started and evaluating the iTick API with Microsoft Excel

Basic Tier:

• Expanded US equity coverage
• Additional WebSocket channels
• Extended historical data range
• Cryptocurrency pairs available

Professional Tier:

• Full multi-asset coverage (stocks, crypto, forex, indices)
• Higher WebSocket throughput
• Order book depth data
• International exchange access

Premium Tier:

• Maximum API rate limits and WebSocket capacity
• Full historical depth
• Priority data delivery
• All asset classes and exchanges

Visit itick.org for current pricing and detailed feature comparisons. Regardless of your tier, Query Streams connects the same way — you simply get access to more symbols, faster updates, and deeper history as you upgrade.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

What’s Next

Congratulations — you’ve connected iTick to Microsoft Excel through Query Streams. You now have a live, SQL-queryable market data feed covering stocks, cryptocurrency, and forex, all streaming into your spreadsheets without writing a single line of API code.

What you’ve accomplished:

• Live market data in Excel – Real-time stock prices, crypto quotes, and forex rates streamed via WebSocket into Microsoft Excel
• SQL access to market data – Query live quotes, daily OHLCV, tick history, and order book depth using familiar SQL syntax
• DuckDB-powered analytics – Run complex aggregations, custom candlestick intervals, and portfolio analysis locally with sub-second performance
• Secure API access – iTick credentials stay on your machine, team members query data without seeing keys
• Free tier supported – Get started with real-time US stock data at zero cost

Expand your data connectivity: Query Streams supports multiple API connectors and direct database connections. Combine iTick market data with Stripe revenue data, Shopify sales, HubSpot CRM records, or any of your SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite databases — all queryable from the same Microsoft Excel interface. Visit QueryStreams.com to explore additional integrations.

Start your free Query Streams account today at my.querystreams.com and bring live market data into the spreadsheets your team already uses.

Related Guides

The Query Streams Team comprises seasoned database experts, network security professionals, and enterprise networking veterans with over 25 years of combined experience in data management, analytics, and secure software development.