exchangerate.dev vs Twelve Data

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 Twelve Data if you need its market-data API and WebSockets within individual-plan terms.

At a glance

Feature	exchangerate.dev	Twelve Data
Free tier	10,000 requests/month	800 credits/day; 8/min
Cheapest paid plan	Basic · $10/month	Grow · $29/month
Update speed	Major pairs about 60s on trading days	Per-plan 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; WebSocket
SDKs	Not published	Official Java client
Commercial use on free tier	✗ Non-commercial only	✗ Individual plans are non-commercial

Price at your usage

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

Requests a month	exchangerate.dev	Twelve Data
1,000	Free · $0/month	Basic · $0/month
10,000	Free · $0/month	Basic · $0/month
100,000	Basic · $10/month	Grow · $29/month

At one credit per request, Basic supports eight per minute and 800 daily; Grow removes the daily cap.

Switch in a few minutes

Replace the slash-separated symbol with a base currency and target parameter in your server request.

Twelve Data

# Change: URL and auth
curl -G \
  "https://api.twelvedata.com/exchange_rate" \
  --data-urlencode "symbol=USD/EUR" \
  --data-urlencode "apikey=YOUR_API_KEY"

Twelve Data

// Change: URL and auth
const url = new URL(
  "https://api.twelvedata.com/exchange_rate"
);
url.search = new URLSearchParams({
  "symbol": "USD/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());

Twelve Data

import requests

# Change: URL and auth
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.twelvedata.com/exchange_rate",
    params={
        "symbol": "USD/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

Twelve Data is a better fit when you need its market-data API and WebSocket access. Basic includes 8 trial WebSocket credits. Grow provides 55 credits per minute with no daily cap.

Questions

Is there a free Twelve Data alternative for FX?

Yes. exchangerate.dev includes 10,000 calls per month and MCP on every plan. Twelve Data Basic includes forex, 8 credits per minute, 800 per day, and 8 trial WebSocket credits. Credits and calls are different limits.

What does Twelve Data Grow include?

Grow starts at $29 per month with 55 credits per minute and no daily cap. Twelve Data describes its individual plans as being for personal, internal, and non-commercial purposes.

When is Twelve Data a better fit?

Choose Twelve Data when its market-data API and WebSocket access fit your project. Its free plan lets you try WebSockets, and paid plans offer larger credit limits.

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.