exchangerate.devCompare the options
Prices show monthly USD paid entry plans; Frankfurter is free. Columns compare free allowances, update frequency, history, and coverage. Source-currency switching, conversion, and time-series access are separate requirements. Compare the plan that supports the intended workflow rather than the entry price alone.
Plans, frequency, historical depth, and currency coverage
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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; from 1990 for a few currencies, all codes from 2021 | About 165 currencies |
| currencyapi | $9.99/month Small; 15,000 requests | 300 requests/month; personal use only | Daily on Free; hourly Small; 60 seconds Medium and up | Daily history back to 1999 | 171 fiat currencies, 16 crypto, 4 precious metals |
| 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 |
| 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: Indicative app rates with a free starting plan
- 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 an application needing currency rates, amount conversion, and MCP on a free starting plan. Free includes 5,000 monthly requests across 144 currencies, with commercial display allowed through visible linked credit. Basic provides live rates for $19 per month and 100,000 requests. The trade-off is Free freshness: rates are fifteen minutes late, with 30 days of daily history. Plus extends daily history from 1999-01-04 where available, with later starts for some currencies. Rates remain indicative rather than executable or settlement prices.
Sources: Plans and limits, API reference, Historical data, MCP server.
Narwhal API
- Best fit: FX alongside commodities and economic context
- 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 combining FX with commodities, economics, and release calendars. Its broader data API provides decimal-safe conversion and stored historical observations through REST, alongside hosted MCP under the same key and quota. Free includes 5,000 successful requests per UTC month. The trade-off is that Free FX uses the previous day’s close; live FX requires Basic at $59 per month. The FX page publishes neither an update interval nor a universal archive start date. Check the required observations before migrating a historical workflow.
Sources: FX API documentation, Pricing.
Open Exchange Rates
- Best fit: Hourly rate tables with selectable paid bases
- 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 that can retrieve a rate table and calculate amounts locally. Free provides up to 1,000 monthly requests with hourly updates and a USD-only base. Developer adds other bases for $12 per month, and daily history extends to January 1999. The trade-off is direct conversion access: its plan page lists conversion requests on Unlimited at $97 per month. Time-series requests also require higher plans. Check the endpoint and historical query pattern separately from the hourly rate-retrieval workflow.
Sources: Plans, API documentation. Full comparison: Open Exchange Rates vs exchangerate.dev →
ExchangeRate-API
- Best fit: Free pair conversion with daily updates
- 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; from 1990 for a few currencies, all codes from 2021
- Coverage: About 165 currencies
- Conversion: Pair conversion with an optional amount, on Free
- MCP: No MCP server found on its site
ExchangeRate-API suits a small converter needing a direct pair request with an optional amount. Free includes that endpoint, 1,500 monthly requests, and daily updates. Pro costs $10 per month for 30,000 requests and hourly updates. The trade-off is historical access: it requires a paid plan. History starts on 1 January 1990 for a few currencies, with all codes from 1 January 2021. A separate keyless open endpoint permits commercial use with attribution, subject to rate limits and a ban on redistribution.
Sources: Plans, Documentation, Free and open access. Full comparison: ExchangeRate-API vs exchangerate.dev →
currencyapi
- Best fit: Commercial conversion and multi-asset MCP tools
- Price from: $9.99/month Small; 15,000 requests
- Free tier: 300 requests/month; personal use only
- Update frequency: Daily on Free; hourly Small; 60 seconds Medium and up
- History: Daily history back to 1999
- Coverage: 171 fiat currencies, 16 crypto, 4 precious metals
- Conversion: Convert endpoint
- MCP: Yes, official, 16 tools; calls count against the plan quota
currencyapi suits an application needing currency conversion alongside crypto or precious metals. Small permits commercial use at $9.99 per month with hourly updates and 15,000 requests. Its official MCP server documents 16 tools that count against the plan quota. The trade-off is Free access: it is private use only, with 300 monthly requests and daily updates, and MCP eligibility is not stated. Sixty-second updates start at Medium for $39.99 per month. Compare the plan that meets the application’s freshness and usage requirements.
Sources: Pricing, Homepage, MCP documentation. Full comparison: currencyapi vs exchangerate.dev →
CurrencyFreaks
- Best fit: Paid current and historical amount conversion
- 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 application that needs current and historical conversion on one paid entry plan. Starter includes both, all base currencies, and hourly updates for $9.99 per month with 15,000 requests. Its official open-source MCP server provides conversion and historical tools on Starter and above. The trade-off is that Free is a daily USD-base service without history or conversion. Free MCP tools cover latest rates and currency listing. The advertised catalogue includes crypto, so check the required fiat codes instead of relying on the headline total.
Sources: Pricing, MCP server. Full comparison: CurrencyFreaks vs exchangerate.dev →
Frankfurter
- Best fit: Keyless daily rates with self-hosting available
- 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 an application that can use daily rates and calculate converted amounts itself. It blends central-bank and official sources, requires no key, and applies abuse rate limits rather than a monthly quota. MCP and Docker self-hosting are documented. The trade-off is that it has neither an intraday feed nor an amount conversion endpoint. Its 223-currency catalogue includes legacy codes, with some series from 1948, but coverage varies by pair. Test the required currencies and historical dates before treating that archive start as complete coverage.
Sources: Documentation, Source code. Full comparison: Frankfurter vs exchangerate.dev →
Check the plan behind each feature
List the source currencies, conversion calls, and historical queries in the current integration. Compare those exact workflows on the replacement plan.
| If you need | Start with |
|---|---|
| Source selection | Test every base or source currency the application sends. A currency appearing in a catalogue does not establish selectable-base access on Free. |
| Commercial display | Check whether the intended plan permits customer-facing use and requires attribution. Treat redistribution permission as a separate question from displaying a converted amount. |
| Conversion and history | Call the current amount endpoint and required historical dates separately. Confirm date-range access rather than assuming all history features share one entitlement. |
| Updates and tools | Compare update frequency and MCP eligibility on the plan you intend to use. Include tool calls in the request budget where quotas are shared. |
How we chose
We compared source-currency selection, conversion endpoints, free-use permissions, update plans, historical access, request allowances, and MCP documentation. Sources were checked on 18 Oct 2026. This is a documented-feature comparison, not a benchmark of accuracy, speed, or uptime. Currencylayer and the other listed APILayer brands are excluded from the alternatives. exchangerate.dev publishes this comparison and appears under the same criteria. Unstated plan eligibility and historical query access remain qualified. exchangerate.dev and Narwhal API are owned and operated by Nusantara Ventures, LLC.
Sources checked October 18, 2026. Prices and entitlements can change.
Related comparisons
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- 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
- currencyapi alternatives (2026): Commercial terms, free access, update plans, and conversion
- Fixer alternatives (2026): Base selection, conversion access, and alternatives to Fixer
- Open Exchange Rates alternatives (2026): Free bases, amount endpoints, MCP, and billing periods
- Best historical exchange rate APIs (2026): Archive depth, date ranges, and historical plan access
- Best currency APIs with MCP (2026): MCP connections, tool access, quotas, and rate terms
- Exchange rates in Google Sheets and Excel: Sheets formulas, Apps Script, Excel data, and Power Query
- OANDA API alternatives: Observation types, historical depth, and alternatives to OANDA
- Frankfurter alternatives: Daily rates, newer observations, conversion, and keyless access
- exchangerate.host alternatives: Free access, date ranges, and alternatives to exchangerate.host
- XE API alternatives: Annual billing, update intervals, and alternatives to XE
- XE vs Wise exchange rates: Converter displays, transfer quotes, and rates in code