exchangerate.dev vs UniRateAPI

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 UniRateAPI if you need its crypto and metals catalog within its data-use terms.

At a glance

Feature	exchangerate.dev	UniRateAPI
Free tier	10,000 requests/month	200 requests/day; 30/min
Cheapest paid plan	Basic · $10/month	Pro · $9/month
Update speed	Major pairs about 60s on trading days	Every 15 minutes
History	Daily from 1999; varies by pair	Forex from 1999 on Pro
Coverage	31 currencies; any supported base	170+ fiat; 500+ crypto advertised
Interfaces	REST; MCP; WebSocket on Realtime	REST; MCP not published
SDKs	Not published	9 language SDKs
Commercial use on free tier	✗ Non-commercial only	Not published

Price at your usage

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

Requests a month	exchangerate.dev	UniRateAPI
1,000	Free · $0/month	Free · $0/month
10,000	Free · $0/month	Pro · $9/month
100,000	Basic · $10/month	Pro · $9/month

Free allows 200 daily requests; Pro allows 25,000 daily requests plus a separate 1,000 historical requests per day.

Switch in a few minutes

Request EUR directly with the symbols parameter instead of fetching every USD rate on your server.

UniRateAPI

# Change: URL and auth
curl -G \
  "https://api.unirateapi.com/api/rates" \
  --data-urlencode "api_key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "from=USD"

UniRateAPI

// Change: URL and auth
const url = new URL(
  "https://api.unirateapi.com/api/rates"
);
url.search = new URLSearchParams({
  "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "from": "USD",
}).toString();
const response = await fetch(url, {
  method: "GET",
});
if (!response.ok) {
  throw new Error(String(response.status));
}
console.log(await response.json());

UniRateAPI

import requests

# Change: URL and auth
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.unirateapi.com/api/rates",
    params={
        "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "from": "USD",
    },
    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

UniRateAPI is a better fit when you need its crypto and metals coverage or nine SDKs. Pro provides 25,000 requests per day plus 1,000 historical requests per day for $9 per month. Redistribution is prohibited.

Questions

Is there a free UniRateAPI alternative?

Yes. exchangerate.dev includes 10,000 calls per month and history to 1999. UniRateAPI offers 200 free requests per day and 30 per minute, with 15-minute updates and no historical data on the free plan.

When is UniRateAPI a better fit?

Choose UniRateAPI for its catalog of over 170 fiat currencies and over 500 cryptocurrencies, or its nine SDKs. Pro costs $9 per month for 25,000 requests per day plus 1,000 historical requests per day. Forex history starts in 1999.

Can I redistribute UniRateAPI data?

No. Its terms prohibit redistribution and say the data is not intended for trading or investing.

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.