exchangerate.dev vs UniRateAPI

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

exchangerate.devReviewed October 2026

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.

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At a glance

Featureexchangerate.devUniRateAPI
Free tier5,000 requests/month200 requests/day; 30/min
Cheapest paid planBasic · $19/monthPro · $9/month
Update speed144 currencies ~60s on trading days; Free 15m lateEvery 15 minutes
HistoryFree 30 days; Basic 1 year; Plus/Pro to 1999Forex from 1999 on Pro
Coverage144 currencies; any supported base170+ fiat; 500+ crypto advertised
InterfacesREST; MCP; WebSocket on Plus and ProREST; MCP not published
SDKsNot published9 language SDKs
Commercial use on free tier✓ With a linked creditNot published

Price at your usage

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

Requests a monthexchangerate.devUniRateAPI
1,000Free · $0/monthFree · $0/month
10,000Basic · $19/monthPro · $9/month
100,000Basic · $19/monthPro · $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"

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"

Why teams switch

Room to test a real workload

5,000 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. Free permits commercial display with linked credit; paid plans need no credit.

Rates with a time and a source

All 144 currencies update about every 60 seconds on trading days, 15 minutes late on Free. 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

Every plan includes REST and MCP. Plus and Pro daily history reaches 1999 for majors; pair starts vary, combining current and dated records. 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 5,000 calls per month and 30 days of daily history. 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: commercial display with visible linked credit near rates. Basic: no credit required, $19/month.

Sources and review date

Reviewed