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Fixer vs Open Exchange Rates (2026)

Fixer vs Open Exchange Rates turns on free quotas, base currencies and paid feature access. Their entry paid plans both update hourly, but conversion and time series have different plan restrictions. exchangerate.dev appears as an option and is not one of the two compared services. Narwhal API is another option for applications combining FX with broader data.

20 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

Compare the options

The table compares pricing, free quotas, updates, history, coverage, conversion and MCP. It records documented access and restrictions, but does not establish measured performance or imply that historical dates and time-series access mean the same thing.

Plans, frequency, historical depth, and currency coverage

ProviderPrice fromFree tierUpdate frequencyHistoryCoverage
exchangerate.dev$19/month Basic; 100,000 requests5,000 requests/month; commercial use with a visible credit linkAbout 60 seconds for all 144 currencies on trading days, 15 minutes late on Free; ECB daily fallbackFree 30 days; Basic 1 year; Plus/Pro to 1999 where available144 currencies
Narwhal API$59/month Basic; 100,000 requests5,000 requests/month; previous day closeFree: end of day (00:00 UTC); paid: live; interval not publishedStored observations by date range; start date not published144 currencies
Fixer$14.99/month Basic; 10,000 requests100 requests/month; non-commercial; fixed base currencyHourly on Free and Basic; 10 minutes Professional; 60 seconds Professional PlusBack to January 1999170 currencies
Open Exchange Rates$12/month Developer; 10,000 requestsUp to 1,000 requests/month; USD base onlyHourly on Free and Developer; 30 minutes Enterprise; 5 minutes UnlimitedEnd-of-day rates back to 1 January 1999Over 200 currencies

The shortlist

exchangerate.dev

  • Best fit: Commercial rate displays needing conversion and included 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 commercial rate displays needing conversion and MCP. Basic costs $19 per month for 100,000 requests. Free provides 5,000 requests with a visible linked credit for commercial display. Free requires no card. Paid rates update about every 60 seconds across 144 currencies on trading days. Single and batch conversion and nine MCP tools are included. The trade-off is that rates are indicative, not executable or settlement prices; Free and keyless calls are 15 minutes late.

Sources: Plans and limits, API reference, Historical data, MCP server.

Narwhal API

  • Best fit: Applications combining FX with commodities and economic data
  • 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 applications needing FX alongside commodities, economics and calendars. Basic costs $59 per month for 100,000 requests and live FX across 144 currencies. Free includes 5,000 monthly requests using the previous day's close at 00:00 UTC. It offers decimal-safe conversion and stored observations by date range. Hosted MCP uses the same key and quota. The trade-off is that its live update interval and historical start date are not published.

Sources: FX API documentation, Pricing.

Fixer

  • Best fit: Paid conversion and selectable bases on Basic
  • 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 applications wanting conversion and all base currencies on Basic. That plan costs $14.99 per month for 10,000 requests and hourly updates. Its 170-currency coverage includes history back to January 1999. Professional adds time series, 100,000 requests and 10-minute updates for $59.99 per month. The trade-off is that Free allows only 100 non-commercial requests per month with a fixed base; single-date history is available, but conversion and time series are excluded.

Sources: Pricing and plan features. Full comparison: Fixer vs exchangerate.dev →

Open Exchange Rates

  • Best fit: Larger free quota for hourly USD rates
  • 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 hourly USD applications needing a larger free quota: up to 1,000 monthly requests. Developer costs $12 per month for 10,000 requests and any base. Coverage exceeds 200 currencies, with one end-of-day historical set per UTC day from 1 January 1999. The trade-off is that time series require Enterprise or Unlimited, with at most one month per query; conversion is documented, but the plan page lists it on Unlimited.

Sources: Plans, API documentation. Full comparison: Open Exchange Rates vs exchangerate.dev →

Choose by free access and paid features

Compare the plan you need for your base currency, conversion and historical queries. An hourly entry plan does not mean that every endpoint is included.

If you needStart with
Free quotaFor hourly USD rates, compare Open Exchange Rates' 1,000 free requests with Fixer's 100. Fixer Free is non-commercial and fixes the base currency; Open Exchange Rates Free uses USD.
Base currencyChoose the tier that supports your required base. Fixer Basic allows all bases; Open Exchange Rates Developer allows any base. Both entry paid plans provide hourly updates.
Conversion endpointIf you need endpoint-based conversion, Fixer includes it from Basic. Open Exchange Rates documents a convert endpoint, while its plan page lists conversion on Unlimited; retain that distinction.
Historical queriesSeparate single-date history from time series. Fixer adds time series on Professional. Open Exchange Rates requires Enterprise or Unlimited and limits each time-series query to one month.

How we chose

We compared documented pricing, quotas, bases, updates, history, conversion and MCP. Sources were checked on 18 Oct 2026. This is a documented-feature comparison, not a benchmark. exchangerate.dev publishes this comparison and appears under the same criteria. Unstated features remain unstated. Differences between endpoint documentation and plan listings are preserved rather than resolved by assumption. exchangerate.dev and Narwhal API are owned and operated by Nusantara Ventures, LLC.

Sources checked October 18, 2026. Prices and entitlements can change.

Frequently asked questions

Which service has the larger free request quota?

Open Exchange Rates offers up to 1,000 monthly requests on Free. Fixer offers 100. Both provide hourly updates on Free, but Fixer's free use is non-commercial and each service restricts the base currency.

Can I change the base currency on Free?

Fixer Free does not allow changing the base currency. Open Exchange Rates Free uses USD only. Fixer Basic supports all bases, while Open Exchange Rates Developer supports any base; both paid entry plans update hourly.

Where is conversion included?

Fixer includes conversion from Basic, which costs $14.99 per month. Open Exchange Rates documents a convert endpoint, but its plan page lists conversion on Unlimited. The endpoint documentation alone does not establish access on cheaper plans.

How do history and time series differ?

Fixer has history back to January 1999 and single-date history on Free; time series require Professional. Open Exchange Rates has daily history from 1 January 1999, with time series on Enterprise and Unlimited only.

How much history does exchangerate.dev include?

exchangerate.dev Free includes 30 days of daily history, and Basic includes one year. Plus and Pro reach back to 1999 where available, with later starts for some currencies. These are plan-specific history limits.

Keep reading

Start with a free API key

exchangerate.dev offers keyless evaluation; a free key includes 5,000 calls a month across 144 currencies with no card. All 144 currencies update roughly every 60 seconds on trading days, every response carries source and market_session, and MCP ships on every plan.

Get a free key