Facts checked on 23 September 2026
Open Exchange Rates alternative: Rate-API vs Open Exchange Rates
Open Exchange Rates has run since 2011. Its free plan gives 1,000 requests a month with hourly updates and a USD base, and its paid plans reach 5-minute updates, with faster VIP tiers above them. This page sets its published plans next to Rate-API’s, says where it is the better choice, and maps its requests to Rate-API’s.
Rate-API vs Open Exchange Rates at a glance
“Not stated” means Open Exchange Rates’s own pages don’t say, so we don’t guess.
| Feature | Rate-API | Open Exchange Rates |
|---|---|---|
| Currencies | 166 | “Over 200” stated. Its currencies.json returned 173 standard codes (195 with alternative rates) on 23 September 2026 |
| API key required | Yes. The free key needs no card | Yes (App ID). No card needed to sign up |
| Free plan: requests a month | 2,500 | 1,000 |
| Free plan: update frequency | Sources are checked every hour on every plan. The ECB reference rates behind the major currencies are published once per working day | Hourly |
| Free plan: choose the base currency | Yes, with ?base= | No (USD only) |
| Free plan: historical rates | No (Pro and up) | Yes (daily historical data) |
| Free plan: HTTPS | Yes | Yes (the API is served over HTTPS) |
| Free plan: commercial use | Yes, inside your own product, on every plan. The terms do not allow redistributing the data as a feed | Meant for personal, small-scale and open-source use. Commercial apps are asked to use a paid plan |
| Free plan: support | Basic email support | Limited tech support |
| Historical data | Pro and up: daily rates back to 1999 for the currencies the ECB quotes (about 30); shorter history for the rest. Business and Enterprise: /timeseries and /fluctuation cover up to 366 days in one call | End-of-day rates back to 1 January 1999. Time-series requests of up to one month each on the Enterprise and Unlimited plans |
| Amount conversion | /convert on Pro and up. /pair returns the rate on every plan | /convert on the Unlimited plan only |
| Per-minute rate limit | Free 10, Pro 100, Business 1,000, Enterprise 1,000 requests a minute | Not stated |
| Response formats | JSON, XML and CSV (?format=) | JSON, with JSONP callbacks |
| Authentication | Key in the URL path, an Authorization: Bearer header, or an X-API-Key header | App ID in the query string, or an Authorization: Token header |
| Crypto and precious metals | 35 tracked cryptocurrencies, plus gold, silver, platinum and palladium (Pro and up) | BTC, plus gold, silver, platinum and palladium (XAU, XAG, XPT, XPD) |
| Endpoints and tooling | PHP, JavaScript and Python SDKs; an MCP server; OpenAPI 3.0 and 2.0 specs; a Postman collection | “Over 200 open source libraries and plugins”, including money.js and accounting.js; usage.json quota endpoint |
| Uptime and status | No uptime guarantee. Live status page and a public /health endpoint | At least 99.9% since monitoring began (FAQ). An uptime SLA is offered on VIP |
| Data sources | European Central Bank reference rates for the major currencies; public-domain data for the rest | Not disclosed, apart from BTC (CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index) |
Paid plans
Rate-API
| Plan | Price | Requests a month | Updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | $10/month or $100/year | 40,000 | Hourly source checks, as on Free |
| Business | $30/month or $300/year | 150,000 | Hourly source checks, as on Free |
| Enterprise | $99/month or $990/year | 2,500,000 | Hourly source checks, as on Free |
Open Exchange Rates
| Plan | Price | Requests a month | Updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | $12/month or $120/year | 10,000 | Hourly |
| Enterprise | $47/month or $470/year | 100,000 | Every 30 minutes |
| Unlimited | $97/month or $970/year | Unlimited | Every 5 minutes |
| VIP (incl. VIP Platinum) | Not published | Unlimited | Up to every second |
Where Open Exchange Rates is a better fit
No API suits every project. Based on Open Exchange Rates’s published plans, it is the stronger choice if:
- You need unlimited requests at a fixed price. The Unlimited plan is $97 a month with 5-minute updates.
- You need bid-ask prices, OHLC or intraday history, or a guaranteed uptime SLA. VIP tiers offer them.
- You want history on a free plan. Its free plan includes daily historical data, and the archive goes back to 1999. Rate-API’s history starts at Pro.
- You rely on its ecosystem of libraries and plugins, such as money.js and accounting.js.
- You need unofficial, black-market or digital rates. show_alternative (in beta) is open to all clients.
- You want a soft quota. It says you won’t be blocked or charged extra for slightly exceeding your monthly limit.
- You want 30-minute updates on 100,000 requests (Enterprise, $47 a month).
Why teams switch to Rate-API
What Rate-API offers, taken from its live plans and API code:
- Base currency switching on the free plan, with 2,500 requests a month. Open Exchange Rates’ free plan is fixed to USD, with 1,000 requests.
- Commercial use on every plan. Rate-API’s terms let you use the data inside your own product on Free too. Open Exchange Rates’ FAQ asks commercial apps to use a paid account.
- Amount conversion from Pro ($10/month for 40,000 requests a month). Open Exchange Rates offers /convert on Unlimited only.
- Longer ranges in one call: /timeseries covers up to 366 days and /fluctuation returns each currency’s change, on Business and Enterprise. Open Exchange Rates’ time-series requests cover up to one month, on Enterprise and Unlimited.
- XML and CSV as well as JSON, chosen per request with ?format=.
- Send the key in the URL path, as Authorization: Bearer, or as an X-API-Key header.
- Rate alerts and HMAC-signed outbound webhooks on Business and up. Open Exchange Rates’ free plan is pull-only.
- Official PHP, JavaScript and Python SDKs, an MCP server for AI assistants, and OpenAPI 3.0 and 2.0 specs.
Moving from Open Exchange Rates to Rate-API
- 1. Create a free account and copy your API key from the dashboard.
- 2. Swap each request for its Rate-API equivalent below.
- 3. Check the notes under the table for parameters and fields that differ.
| Task | Open Exchange Rates | Rate-API |
|---|---|---|
| Latest rates | GET https://openexchangerates.org/api/latest.json?app_id=YOUR_APP_ID&symbols=EUR,GBP | GET https://rate-api.com/api/v1/YOUR_KEY/latest?base=USD&symbols=EUR,GBP |
| A past datePro and up | GET https://openexchangerates.org/api/historical/2024-01-15.json?app_id=YOUR_APP_ID | GET https://rate-api.com/api/v1/YOUR_KEY/historical?date=2024-01-15&base=USD |
| A date rangeBusiness and Enterprise | GET https://openexchangerates.org/api/time-series.json?app_id=YOUR_APP_ID&start=2024-01-01&end=2024-01-31&symbols=EUR,GBP | GET https://rate-api.com/api/v1/YOUR_KEY/timeseries?start_date=2024-01-01&end_date=2024-01-31&base=USD&symbols=EUR,GBP |
| Convert an amountPro and up | GET https://openexchangerates.org/api/convert/100/USD/EUR?app_id=YOUR_APP_ID | GET https://rate-api.com/api/v1/YOUR_KEY/convert?from=USD&to=EUR&amount=100 |
| Supported currencies | GET https://openexchangerates.org/api/currencies.json | GET https://rate-api.com/api/v1/YOUR_KEY/currencies |
| Quota used | GET https://openexchangerates.org/api/usage.json?app_id=YOUR_APP_ID | GET https://rate-api.com/api/v1/YOUR_KEY/usage |
- Authorization: Token YOUR_APP_ID becomes Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY, or put the key in the path.
- The symbols parameter keeps its name. Rate-API accepts it on every plan, Free included.
- For time-series.json, start and end become start_date and end_date, and the rates object keeps its shape: keyed by date, then currency code. One call covers up to 366 days.
- Rate-API’s rates object is keyed by currency code and leaves out the base currency itself.
Notes on Open Exchange Rates’s figures
Where Open Exchange Rates’s pages disagree with each other or leave a point open:
- Update speeds conflict: the FAQ says all plans update hourly except Unlimited (every 10 minutes), while the pricing and sign-up pages say Enterprise is 30-minute and Unlimited 5-minute. This page uses the pricing and sign-up values.
- The site says “over 200” currencies, but no official page gives an exact count of 200 or more; see the currencies.json figures above.
- How far back free-plan history reaches is not stated. 1 January 1999 is the general figure in its docs.
- HTTPS is stated for the API as a whole, not per plan.
- VIP pricing is not published, and VIP update speed is stated only as “up to every 1 second”.
- Payment methods differ between the FAQ (PayPal) and the sign-up pages (cards; the Unlimited page also lists PayPal, bank transfer and Bitcoin).
- Several docs pages were last updated in June 2025, so some plan notes there may trail the pricing page.
Facts checked on 23 September 2026
Every Open Exchange Rates figure on this page comes from its own website and documentation, read on 23 September 2026. Plans and prices change, so check the sources below before you decide. Open Exchange Rates is operated by Open Exchange Rates (UK) Limited, registered in England and Wales. Rate-API’s figures come from its live plans and API code.
Official Open Exchange Rates sources (21)
- https://openexchangerates.org/
- https://openexchangerates.org/signup
- https://openexchangerates.org/signup/free
- https://openexchangerates.org/signup/developer
- https://openexchangerates.org/signup/enterprise
- https://openexchangerates.org/signup/unlimited
- https://openexchangerates.org/about
- https://openexchangerates.org/faq
- https://openexchangerates.org/terms
- https://openexchangerates.org/license
- https://openexchangerates.org/api/currencies.json
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/api-introduction
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/authentication
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/set-base-currency
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/historical-json
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/time-series-json
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/convert
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/ohlc-json
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/bid-ask-prices
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/alternative-currencies
- https://docs.openexchangerates.org/reference/usage-json
Open Exchange Rates is a trademark of its owner; this page is not affiliated with it. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
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