Every use case on this page runs on the same foreign exchange rates API: 190+ currencies, any base currency, daily history back to 1999 and JSON or CSV responses. What differs is which endpoints you combine and how fresh the rates need to be. Customer-facing prices need current rates and a cache; finance needs end-of-day and average rates with an audit trail; data teams need long time series in bulk.
Which endpoint fits which use case
| Use case | Main endpoints | Minimum plan |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce multi-currency pricing | /v1/latest, /v1/currencies | Free (daily); Basic for hourly prices |
| Accounting & IAS 21 reporting | /v1/historical, /v1/average | Free |
| Fintech & payments | /v1/latest, /v1/convert, /v1/historical, /v1/fluctuation | Basic; Professional for 60-second rates |
| SaaS billing & invoicing | /v1/convert, /v1/historical, /v1/average | Free; Basic for /v1/convert |
| BI & analytics | /v1/range (CSV), /v1/average | Professional |
| Travel & booking | /v1/latest, /v1/currencies, /v1/historical | Free |
| ERP integration | /v1/historical, /v1/average | Free |
| AI agents & LLMs | All endpoints via the MCP server | Free; Basic for getConvert |
“Minimum plan” means the cheapest plan that offers every endpoint the pattern relies on. Request volume is the second factor: a daily import uses about 31 requests a month, an hourly refresh about 744, a 60-second refresh about 44,640. The Free plan includes 300 requests per month, Basic 15,000, Professional 600,000 and Enterprise 1,700,000.
Patterns shared by every use case
- Call fxapi from your server, never from a browser or mobile app, and send the key in the
apikeyheader. - Cache by update interval and serve users from the cache – see caching exchange rates.
- Store the rate and
last_updated_atwith every converted amount so results can be traced later. - Round per currency using
decimal_digitsfrom/v1/currencies.
New to the topic? Start with what an exchange rate API is, browse all features, or read the API documentation.
Frequently asked questions
Which fxapi plan do I need for my use case?
/v1/convert starts at Basic, and /v1/range time series start at Professional. Update frequency also differs: daily on Free, hourly on Basic, every 60 seconds on Professional and Enterprise – see pricing.