Every exchange rate API, fxapi included, returns numbers for currency pairs – the differences are in update frequency, how much history you get, which endpoints are included on which plan, and what you pay. The pages below compare fxapi with nine widely used services, using facts from each provider’s own pricing and documentation pages. Each page also maps the provider’s endpoints to fxapi’s so you can estimate the effort of switching.
Exchange rate APIs at a glance
| API | Free tier | Entry price | Fastest update | Historical data | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fxapi | 300 req/month, daily, any base | $9.99/month (15,000 req) | 60 s (from $34.99) | Daily since 1999-01-01 | Fluctuation and averages on Free; 190+ currencies incl. crypto and metals; MCP server |
| Open Exchange Rates | 1,000 req/month, hourly, USD base | $12/month (10,000) | 5 min (Unlimited, $97); 1 s on VIP (on request) | Since 1999-01-01 | Unlimited-request plan; time series from $47 |
| ExchangeRate-API | 1.5K req/month, daily | $10/month (30,000) | 5 min (Business, $30) | Paid plans; full list from 2021, some pairs from 1990 | Keyless open endpoint with attribution |
| CurrencyFreaks | 1,000 calls/month, daily, USD base | $9.99/month (15,000) | 60 s (Professional, $99.99) | Back to 1984 for major fiat; Starter and up | 871 cryptocurrencies; IP-to-currency; XML |
| CurrencyBeacon | 5,000 req/month, hourly, USD base | $10/month (50,000) | 1 min (Startup, $99); real-time on Professional ($599) | Since 1996, all plans | MCP server; attribution and 8-hour caching limit in its terms |
| CurrencyAPI.net | 500 req/month, hourly, personal use only | $9.99/month (20,000) | 60 s (StartUp, $34.99) | Since 2000; Essential and up | OHLC on Professional; XML |
| FastForex | 7-day trial, no permanent free plan | From $18/month (1,000,000) | 60 s on One; 1 s on Premium | Back to 1970 for some pairs | Bid/ask from Extra; WebSockets; MCP server |
| UniRate API | 200 req/day, no historical data | $9/month (25,000/day) | Stated differently across its pages | Since 1999; Pro only | VAT, IBAN and calendar data; JSON, XML, CSV |
| AllRatesToday | Small quota, no commercial use (stated inconsistently) | €4.99/month (5,000) | 1 min on paid plans | Market rates back to 2000 per its homepage | Official central-bank rates on Business; XLSX |
| Frankfurter | Free, no key, no quotas (rate-limited) | – (open source, self-hostable) | Daily | Since 1948 | 223 currencies from 104 central banks and official sources |
Competitor information checked on October 8 and 9, 2026 from openexchangerates.org/signup, exchangerate-api.com, currencyfreaks.com/pricing, currencybeacon.com/pricing, currencyapi.net/pricing, fastforex.io, unirateapi.com/pricing, allratestoday.com/pricing and frankfurter.dev. Plans change – verify on their site.
How to choose an exchange rate API
- Update frequency. Daily rates are fine for invoices, reports and most analytics. Checkout pricing and payments usually need hourly or faster – see end-of-day vs real-time rates.
- Base currency. If your books or prices aren’t in USD or EUR, check whether the free plan lets you change the base. Otherwise you’ll compute cross rates yourself.
- History and time series. Backtesting and reporting need deep, consistent history and a time-series endpoint that returns a range in one request rather than one request per day.
- Accounting needs. IAS 21 and ASC 830 often call for period averages – an average exchange rates API saves you from averaging daily data yourself.
- Cost at your volume. Compare the plan you’ll need in a year, not just the free tier. fxapi’s plans are on the pricing page, and the free exchange rate API page shows what Free includes.
- Data provenance. If you must cite an official source, a central-bank-based API such as Frankfurter may be required. fxapi provides mid-market reference rates for pricing, conversion, reporting and analytics.
Frequently asked questions
Which exchange rate API has the best free plan?
It depends on what you need. Frankfurter is free with no key or quota but updates daily; UniRate API, CurrencyBeacon, ExchangeRate-API and Open Exchange Rates offer large keyed free quotas, mostly without historical data or base-currency switching; fxapi’s free plan includes any base currency, historical data, fluctuation and period averages.
Which exchange rate APIs have an MCP server for AI agents?
fxapi, CurrencyBeacon, FastForex and AllRatesToday run hosted MCP servers; UniRate API publishes one you run yourself. fxapi’s MCP server exposes all eight endpoints as tools.
How current is the information on these comparison pages?
Competitor details were checked on October 8 and 9, 2026 from each provider’s own pricing and documentation pages, which are linked on every comparison. Plans change, so verify on their sites before you decide.
How hard is it to switch exchange rate APIs?
Usually the changes are the base URL, parameter names, how the API key is sent and how values are read from the response. Each comparison page includes an endpoint map for that provider.