Compare the options
Prices are monthly USD paid entry plans; Frankfurter is free. UniRateAPI counts requests per day. Columns show free allowances, update frequency, history, and coverage. Commercial use, conversion endpoints, and faster updates depend on the provider and plan, as described below.
| Provider | Price from | Free tier | Update frequency | History | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| exchangerate.dev | $19/month Basic; 100,000 requests | 5,000 requests/month; commercial use with a visible credit link | About 60 seconds for all 144 currencies on trading days, 15 minutes late on Free; ECB daily fallback | Free 30 days; Basic 1 year; Plus/Pro to 1999 where available | 144 currencies |
| Narwhal API | $59/month Basic; 100,000 requests | 5,000 requests/month; previous day close | Free: end of day (00:00 UTC); paid: live; interval not published | Stored observations by date range; start date not published | 144 currencies |
| ExchangeRate-API | $10/month Pro; 30,000 requests | 1,500 requests/month with a key; keyless open endpoint with attribution | Daily on Free; hourly Pro; 5 minutes Business | Paid plans only; over 30 years advertised on Pro | About 165 currencies |
| Open Exchange Rates | $12/month Developer; 10,000 requests | Up to 1,000 requests/month; USD base only | Hourly on Free and Developer; 30 minutes Enterprise; 5 minutes Unlimited | End-of-day rates back to 1 January 1999 | Over 200 currencies |
| Fixer | $14.99/month Basic; 10,000 requests | 100 requests/month; non-commercial; fixed base currency | Hourly on Free and Basic; 10 minutes Professional; 60 seconds Professional Plus | Back to January 1999 | 170 currencies |
| CurrencyFreaks | $9.99/month Starter; 15,000 requests | 1,000 requests/month; USD base only | Every 24 hours on Free; hourly Starter; 10 minutes Growth; 60 seconds Professional | Paid plans only | 1000+ currencies advertised, including crypto |
| UniRateAPI | $9/month Pro; 25,000 requests/day | 200 requests/day; 30 requests/minute; key required | 15 minutes | A Pro feature per its pricing page | Fiat and crypto currencies; count stated differently across its pages |
| Frankfurter | Free; no paid plans; self-hosting with Docker | No key and no quota; abuse rate limits only | Daily | Some series from 1948 | 223 currencies, including legacy codes |
The shortlist
exchangerate.dev
| Best fit | Free commercial displays and indicative conversion |
|---|---|
| Price from | $19/month Basic; 100,000 requests |
| Free tier | 5,000 requests/month; commercial use with a visible credit link |
| Update frequency | About 60 seconds for all 144 currencies on trading days, 15 minutes late on Free; ECB daily fallback |
| History | Free 30 days; Basic 1 year; Plus/Pro to 1999 where available |
| Coverage | 144 currencies |
| Conversion | Single-amount and batch conversion endpoints |
| MCP | Yes, nine tools, every plan including Free |
exchangerate.dev suits a commercial display that needs a free starting plan and direct amount conversion. Free allows 5,000 requests per month with visible linked credit, and MCP is included. Basic provides live rates at $19 per month for 100,000 requests. The trade-off is coverage and delay: the catalogue has 144 currencies, and Free rates are fifteen minutes late with 30 days of daily history. Check your required currencies first. Rates are indicative, not executable or settlement prices.
Narwhal API
| Best fit | Broader data for FX and economic dashboards |
|---|---|
| Price from | $59/month Basic; 100,000 requests |
| Free tier | 5,000 requests/month; previous day close |
| Update frequency | Free: end of day (00:00 UTC); paid: live; interval not published |
| History | Stored observations by date range; start date not published |
| Coverage | 144 currencies |
| Conversion | Decimal-safe conversion endpoint |
| MCP | Yes, hosted, same key and quota as REST |
Narwhal API suits an application that needs FX together with commodities, economics, and release calendars. A single key covers REST and hosted MCP, including decimal-safe FX conversion and stored historical observations. Free provides 5,000 successful requests per UTC month shared across both interfaces. The trade-off is that Free FX uses the previous day’s close. Live FX requires Basic at $59 per month, so the broader scope is most relevant when the app actually needs those other datasets. An FX update interval is not published.
ExchangeRate-API
| Best fit | Free pair conversion with daily rates |
|---|---|
| Price from | $10/month Pro; 30,000 requests |
| Free tier | 1,500 requests/month with a key; keyless open endpoint with attribution |
| Update frequency | Daily on Free; hourly Pro; 5 minutes Business |
| History | Paid plans only; over 30 years advertised on Pro |
| Coverage | About 165 currencies |
| Conversion | Pair conversion with an optional amount, on Free |
| MCP | No MCP server found on its site |
ExchangeRate-API suits an app needing a direct amount conversion request on a free plan. Its Pair Conversion endpoint accepts an optional amount, and Free includes 1,500 monthly requests with daily updates. Pro costs $10 per month and updates hourly. The trade-off is history: it requires a paid plan. No MCP server was found on its site, so an MCP-dependent workflow needs another option or its own integration. Its separate keyless open endpoint supplies daily rates with an attribution link and prohibits redistribution.
Full comparison: ExchangeRate-API vs exchangerate.dev →Open Exchange Rates
| Best fit | Hourly free access with a USD base |
|---|---|
| Price from | $12/month Developer; 10,000 requests |
| Free tier | Up to 1,000 requests/month; USD base only |
| Update frequency | Hourly on Free and Developer; 30 minutes Enterprise; 5 minutes Unlimited |
| History | End-of-day rates back to 1 January 1999 |
| Coverage | Over 200 currencies |
| Conversion | Convert endpoint documented; plan page lists conversion on Unlimited |
| MCP | No official MCP server found |
Open Exchange Rates suits an application whose rate table can stay based in USD. Free offers hourly updates with up to 1,000 monthly requests, and Developer opens other bases for $12 per month. Its catalogue covers over 200 currencies, with end-of-day history from January 1999. The trade-off is direct conversion access: the plan page lists conversion requests on Unlimited at $97 per month. If the application already computes amounts from rates, compare that rate-retrieval workflow separately from a dedicated conversion endpoint.
Full comparison: Open Exchange Rates vs exchangerate.dev →Fixer
| Best fit | Paid base selection and historical reference rates |
|---|---|
| Price from | $14.99/month Basic; 10,000 requests |
| Free tier | 100 requests/month; non-commercial; fixed base currency |
| Update frequency | Hourly on Free and Basic; 10 minutes Professional; 60 seconds Professional Plus |
| History | Back to January 1999 |
| Coverage | 170 currencies |
| Conversion | Basic and up |
| MCP | No official MCP server found |
Fixer suits an application evaluating paid conversion alongside historical reference rates. Basic includes conversion and all base currencies for $14.99 per month with hourly updates. It lists 170 currencies and history back to January 1999. The trade-off is that Free is non-commercial, fixes the base, and omits conversion. It therefore does not replace a commercial paid workflow for free. Sixty-second updates start at Professional Plus for $99.99 per month; compare that plan when minute-level freshness is the reason for switching.
Full comparison: Fixer vs exchangerate.dev →CurrencyFreaks
| Best fit | Commercial conversion with historical amount tools |
|---|---|
| Price from | $9.99/month Starter; 15,000 requests |
| Free tier | 1,000 requests/month; USD base only |
| Update frequency | Every 24 hours on Free; hourly Starter; 10 minutes Growth; 60 seconds Professional |
| History | Paid plans only |
| Coverage | 1000+ currencies advertised, including crypto |
| Conversion | Paid plans only |
| MCP | Yes, open source, 7 tools; Free gets latest rates and the currency list |
CurrencyFreaks suits an app needing current and historical amount conversion on the same paid entry plan. Starter includes both, all base currencies, and hourly updates for $9.99 per month. Its official open-source MCP server provides conversion and historical tools on Starter and above. The trade-off is Free access: the allowance is 1,000 monthly requests, but rates update daily with a USD-only base and no history. Free MCP tools are restricted to latest rates and currency listing, rather than the full paid workflow.
Full comparison: CurrencyFreaks vs exchangerate.dev →UniRateAPI
| Best fit | Daily quotas for fiat and crypto conversion |
|---|---|
| Price from | $9/month Pro; 25,000 requests/day |
| Free tier | 200 requests/day; 30 requests/minute; key required |
| Update frequency | 15 minutes |
| History | A Pro feature per its pricing page |
| Coverage | Fiat and crypto currencies; count stated differently across its pages |
| Conversion | Convert endpoint |
| MCP | Not mentioned |
UniRateAPI suits an app that prefers a daily quota for currency conversion. It documents a conversion endpoint and covers fiat and crypto currencies, with fifteen-minute updates stated on the homepage. Free includes 200 requests per day; Pro provides 25,000 daily requests for $9 per month. The trade-off is that coverage totals are inconsistent across its pages, so test the specific codes you need. History is a Pro feature per its pricing page. Terms prohibit redistribution and say the data is not intended for trading or investing.
Full comparison: UniRateAPI vs exchangerate.dev →Frankfurter
| Best fit | Daily official-source data without account keys |
|---|---|
| Price from | Free; no paid plans; self-hosting with Docker |
| Free tier | No key and no quota; abuse rate limits only |
| Update frequency | Daily |
| History | Some series from 1948 |
| Coverage | 223 currencies, including legacy codes |
| Conversion | No conversion endpoint; multiply by the rate |
| MCP | Yes |
Frankfurter suits a daily-rate application that wants keyless access, no quota, and the option to self-host. It blends central-bank and official sources and offers an MCP endpoint. Its 223-currency catalogue includes legacy codes, while some historical series start in 1948. The trade-off is the workflow: no direct conversion endpoint is provided, so the application must multiply amounts by retrieved rates. It also has no intraday feed. Compare your required currencies and dates directly, since legacy coverage serves a different purpose from current currency coverage.
Full comparison: Frankfurter vs exchangerate.dev →Choose the plan you actually need
Compare the commercial workflow first, then the cost of its required freshness and endpoints. A free test request does not establish that the same plan fits a customer-facing application.
| Commercial terms | Identify whether you need customer-facing display, internal use, or redistribution. Check attribution requirements and permissions for that exact use before comparing quotas. |
|---|---|
| Update plan | Write down whether hourly observations are acceptable. If minute-level data is required, compare the plan that provides it rather than the entry price. |
| Symbol match | List the fiat currencies, crypto assets, and metals the app actually uses. Test those codes individually before replacing a provider with a differently composed catalogue. |
| Tool and endpoint | Check REST conversion and MCP tools separately. Confirm authentication, plan eligibility, and how tool calls consume the request allowance. |
How we chose
We compared commercial-use rules, free allowances, paid update intervals, conversion access, currency coverage, history, and MCP. Sources were checked on 17 Oct 2026. This is a documented-feature comparison, not a benchmark of speed or accuracy. The order reflects application fit under those criteria. currencyapi and freecurrencyapi are excluded from the alternatives list. exchangerate.dev publishes this comparison and appears under the same criteria. Conflicting coverage totals and unpublished plan eligibility are qualified rather than assumed. exchangerate.dev and Narwhal API are owned and operated by Nusantara Ventures, LLC.
Sources checked . Prices and entitlements can change.
Related comparisons
- Best exchange rate APIs for developers: The broader comparison of developer exchange-rate services
- Best currency APIs (2026): Currency coverage and amount conversion in apps
- Best forex APIs (2026): Streaming, candles, history, and execution requirements
- Free exchange rate API comparison: A closer look at free-plan limits and trade-offs
- Best free exchange rate APIs (2026): Free quotas, freshness, keyless access, and commercial terms
- Best currency converter APIs (2026): Amount conversion endpoints, plan access, and app integration
- ExchangeRate-API alternatives (2026): Alternatives for daily rates, conversion, history, and MCP
- Fixer alternatives (2026): Base selection, conversion access, and alternatives to Fixer
- Open Exchange Rates alternatives (2026): Free bases, amount endpoints, MCP, and billing periods