exchangerate.dev vs Alpha Vantage

Name: exchangerate.dev — FX rate API
Brand: exchangerate.dev

exchangerate.dev brings intraday FX, daily history, and MCP together in one API.

Verdict

Choose exchangerate.dev when intraday freshness, per-value provenance, MCP-native access, and free-tier headroom matter. Keep Alpha Vantage if you need its forex time series, CSV output, or educational access.

At a glance

Feature	exchangerate.dev	Alpha Vantage
Free tier	10,000 requests/month	25 requests/day
Cheapest paid plan	Basic · $10/month	$49.99/month
Update speed	Major pairs about 60s on trading days	FX cadence not published
History	Daily from 1999; varies by pair	FX depth not published
Coverage	31 currencies; any supported base	FX count not published
Interfaces	REST; MCP; WebSocket on Realtime	REST; MCP
SDKs	Not published	Community libraries
Commercial use on free tier	✗ Non-commercial only	Not published; contact sales

Price at your usage

The lowest published plans for each monthly request volume, with traffic spread across the month.

Requests a month	exchangerate.dev	Alpha Vantage
1,000	Free · $0/month	$49.99 plan · $49.99/month
10,000	Free · $0/month	$49.99 plan · $49.99/month
100,000	Basic · $10/month	$49.99 plan · $49.99/month

The $49.99 tier supports all three volumes at 75 requests per minute with no daily cap.

Switch in a few minutes

Fetch EUR per USD with a latest-rates endpoint and bearer authentication on your server.

Alpha Vantage

# Change: URL and auth
curl -G \
  "https://www.alphavantage.co/query" \
  --data-urlencode "function=CURRENCY_EXCHANGE_RATE" \
  --data-urlencode "from_currency=USD" \
  --data-urlencode "to_currency=EUR" \
  --data-urlencode "apikey=YOUR_API_KEY"

Alpha Vantage

// Change: URL and auth
const url = new URL(
  "https://www.alphavantage.co/query"
);
url.search = new URLSearchParams({
  "function": "CURRENCY_EXCHANGE_RATE",
  "from_currency": "USD",
  "to_currency": "EUR",
  "apikey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
}).toString();
const response = await fetch(url, {
  method: "GET",
});
if (!response.ok) {
  throw new Error(String(response.status));
}
console.log(await response.json());

Alpha Vantage

import requests

# Change: URL and auth
response = requests.get(
    "https://www.alphavantage.co/query",
    params={
        "function": "CURRENCY_EXCHANGE_RATE",
        "from_currency": "USD",
        "to_currency": "EUR",
        "apikey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    },
    timeout=10,
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())

exchangerate.dev

# Change: URL and auth
curl -G \
  "https://api.exchangerate.dev/v1/latest/USD" \
  --data-urlencode "symbols=EUR" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

exchangerate.dev

// Change: URL and auth
const url = new URL(
  "https://api.exchangerate.dev/v1/latest/USD"
);
url.search = new URLSearchParams({
  "symbols": "EUR",
}).toString();
const response = await fetch(url, {
  method: "GET",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
  },
});
if (!response.ok) {
  throw new Error(String(response.status));
}
console.log(await response.json());

exchangerate.dev

import requests

# Change: URL and auth
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.exchangerate.dev/v1/latest/USD",
    params={
        "symbols": "EUR",
    },
    headers={
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
    },
    timeout=10,
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())

Why teams switch

Room to test a real workload

10,000 free monthly calls give you room to build around your own traffic pattern, from a small currency converter to a recurring rate lookup. No card is required, and any supported currency can be the base. The usage table maps three monthly volumes to the lowest qualifying plan, making the next step clear as requests grow. Commercial use starts on Basic at $10/month.

Rates with a time and a source

Major pairs update about every 60 seconds on trading days. Responses include source and market-session fields alongside observation timestamps, so your application can show where a value came from and when it was observed. Daily references remain identifiable as daily data. That context belongs beside the number in a customer interface, an internal report, or an agent answer that explains the rate it used.

One account for apps and agents

REST and MCP are included on every plan. Daily history begins in 1999 for many pairs, bringing current lookups and dated records into the same service. A developer can start with the HTTP examples above, then use MCP for agent queries without adding another subscription. The same base and target currencies carry through the workflow, from fetching a current rate to looking up a historical observation.

When they are the better pick

Alpha Vantage is a better fit when you need its forex time-series endpoints or CSV output. It has an official MCP server. Verified open-source and educational projects can qualify for unlimited free requests.

Questions

Is there a free Alpha Vantage alternative for FX?

Yes. exchangerate.dev offers 10,000 calls per month, no card required. Alpha Vantage allows 25 free requests per day. Verified open-source and educational projects can qualify for unlimited requests.

What does Alpha Vantage charge for paid access?

Paid plans start at $49.99 per month for 75 requests per minute with no daily limit. FX Intraday is a premium endpoint.

When is Alpha Vantage a better fit?

Choose Alpha Vantage when you need its daily, weekly, or monthly forex time series, or JSON and CSV output. It also has an official MCP server. exchangerate.dev includes MCP on every plan.

Can I use exchangerate.dev Free commercially?

Free is for non-commercial work. Commercial use starts on Basic at $10/month, subject to terms and source rights.

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Sources and review date

Reviewed 2026-10-04.