Compare the options
Prices are monthly USD paid entry plans, except Frankfurter, which is free. UniRateAPI counts requests per day. Columns compare free allowances, update frequency, history, and coverage. Faster updates, historical access, and conversion may require a different plan from the paid entry plan shown.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
The shortlist
exchangerate.dev
| Best fit | Delayed free rates with conversion and MCP |
|---|---|
| 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 app moving from daily free rates to delayed indicative rates with conversion and MCP. Free includes 5,000 monthly requests and 30 days of daily history, with commercial display allowed through visible linked credit. Basic provides live rates at $19 per month for 100,000 requests. The trade-off is that Free still carries a fifteen-minute delay, and the catalogue covers 144 currencies. Check your required codes before migrating. Rates remain indicative, not executable or settlement prices.
Narwhal API
| Best fit | FX with commodities, economics, and calendars |
|---|---|
| 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 a migration that also needs data beyond currency rates. It combines FX conversion and historical observations with commodities, economics, and release calendars under one REST and MCP key. Free includes 5,000 successful requests per UTC month, shared across those interfaces. The trade-off is freshness: Free FX is the previous day’s close, so it does not provide an intraday alternative to daily rates. Basic adds live FX at $59 per month, and the FX update interval is not published.
Open Exchange Rates
| Best fit | Hourly free rates for 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 a USD-based app seeking hourly free updates. Free includes up to 1,000 monthly requests, while Developer adds any base for $12 per month. The service lists over 200 currencies and end-of-day history from January 1999. The trade-off is that Free keeps the base fixed to USD. The plan page also lists direct conversion requests on Unlimited at $97 per month, so a migration from free pair conversion needs an explicit decision about endpoint access or local calculation.
Full comparison: Open Exchange Rates vs exchangerate.dev →currencyapi
| Best fit | Paid commercial use with official 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 app that needs an official MCP integration alongside REST currency data. Its MCP server provides 16 tools, with calls charged against the plan quota. Small permits commercial use at $9.99 per month and updates hourly; Medium offers sixty-second updates. The trade-off is Free access: it includes 300 monthly requests, daily updates, and private use only. Documentation does not state whether Free keys can use MCP. Its coverage combines fiat currencies, crypto, and precious metals, so compare the required symbols individually.
Full comparison: currencyapi vs exchangerate.dev →Fixer
| Best fit | Paid conversion and selectable base currencies |
|---|---|
| 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 app prepared to use a paid plan for conversion and base selection. Basic costs $14.99 per month and includes both, with hourly updates. Its 170-currency catalogue and history back to January 1999 make it relevant to dated currency lookups as well as current amounts. The trade-off is the Free plan: it has 100 monthly requests, non-commercial use, a fixed base, and no conversion endpoint. Sixty-second updates require Professional Plus at $99.99 per month rather than the entry paid plan.
Full comparison: Fixer vs exchangerate.dev →Frankfurter
| Best fit | Keyless daily rates and self-hosting |
|---|---|
| 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 to remove API key handling and monthly quotas. It uses blended central-bank and official sources, supports MCP, and can be self-hosted with Docker. Its catalogue includes legacy currencies, with some series extending to 1948. The trade-off is that it has no direct conversion endpoint: the app retrieves a rate and multiplies the amount. Updates are daily, so it changes the access model rather than providing an intraday replacement for ExchangeRate-API Free. Abuse rate limits still apply.
Full comparison: Frankfurter vs exchangerate.dev →CurrencyFreaks
| Best fit | Hourly paid conversion with historical lookups |
|---|---|
| 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 a migration that needs current and historical conversion together. Starter offers both at $9.99 per month with hourly updates and all base currencies. Its open-source MCP server also exposes conversion and historical tools on Starter and above. The trade-off is that Free only provides daily USD-base rates, with no historical access or conversion. Free MCP access is restricted to latest rates and the currency list. The advertised catalogue includes crypto, so check the actual fiat currencies needed by your existing application.
Full comparison: CurrencyFreaks vs exchangerate.dev →UniRateAPI
| Best fit | Fifteen-minute updates with daily request quotas |
|---|---|
| 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 application comparing daily request budgets with a monthly allowance. Free provides 200 daily requests, with a key and a 30-request-per-minute limit. The homepage states fifteen-minute updates, and the API includes a conversion endpoint. The trade-off is documentation consistency: currency totals differ across its pages, and history is a Pro feature per its pricing page. Pro costs $9 per month for 25,000 daily requests. Its terms prohibit redistribution and state that the data is not intended for trading or investing.
Full comparison: UniRateAPI vs exchangerate.dev →Check the migration requirements
Write down which ExchangeRate-API calls the app uses today. Then compare the replacement plan against those calls, rather than choosing from request allowances alone.
| Endpoint parity | Test latest rates, pair conversion, and any historical requests separately. Keep a working example of the original response so you can compare amount direction and returned dates. |
|---|---|
| Update requirement | Choose the oldest acceptable observation for the screen. Compare daily, hourly, delayed, and live access on the actual plan you will use. |
| Free permissions | Check commercial use and attribution before changing providers. A higher free quota does not establish permission for the same customer-facing use. |
| MCP access | If the app needs MCP, verify authentication, available tools, and quota accounting with the intended plan. A published server does not establish every plan’s eligibility. |
How we chose
We compared replacements for daily rate retrieval, pair conversion, historical lookups, and MCP workflows. Sources were checked on 17 Oct 2026. This is a documented-feature comparison, not a benchmark of speed, accuracy, or reliability. The order reflects fit for these application needs; ExchangeRate-API is the reference service and is not listed as an alternative. exchangerate.dev publishes this comparison and appears under the same criteria. Unverified server availability and endpoint entitlements remain qualified. exchangerate.dev and Narwhal API are owned and operated by Nusantara Ventures, LLC.
Sources checked . Prices and entitlements can change.
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