A good exchange rate API provides accurate rates, enables quick currency conversion, and protects data with the latest security technology, like 256-bit encryption. Hence, you can run your international business without any hassle. Plenty of solutions are available online. But which is the most reliable free foreign exchange rate API? In this post, you will find 11 top APIs offering free exchange rate data. Let’s take a look at them.
Table of Contents
What Is a Foreign Exchange Rate API?
A foreign exchange rate API (aka. currency exchange API) is a tool for quickly integrating exchange data into applications. These tools support a variety of data sources to fetch current and historical rates. Also, they support multiple formats, like XML, CSV, and JSON. Hence, you can return the data in your preferred format.
Read: What’s an API?
Why Do You Need an Exchange Rate API?
The currency values continuously change. Without knowing the right exchange rate, it’s impossible to do business with international clients. Also, you can’t make effective business decisions without knowing the values.
This is where exchange rate API comes into play. These APIs accurately provide current and historical rates. They offer a lot of benefits. Let’s find them out.
Accuracy
Currency values are constantly changing. To do international business, you need to get accurate rates. By using the best currency exchange API, you can easily get accurate data. Also, many APIs update data every 60 seconds. Hence, you will always get the latest rate.
Multiple Currency Support
The free foreign exchange rates API supports a large number of currencies. You can effortlessly convert and exchange currencies. Hence, you can efficiently work with global markets.
Comprehensive Data Sources
The free foreign exchange rates API gathers currency data from thousands of sources, like global banks, financial institutions, and financial providers. Hence, it can deliver current and historical data with high accuracy.
It provides you with several key advantages. For example, you can accurately track the fluctuations in the values, and it helps you to make predictions efficiently. Therefore, you can make smart business decisions.
Read: What Is A Currency Symbol?
Easy To Use
A good exchange API is very user-friendly. The developers can effortlessly integrate it into your web apps. The whole process takes just a few minutes.
Security and Performance
A reliable free foreign exchange rates API comes with advanced security features. For example, it comes with 256-bit bank-level security and HTTPS connections. As a result, it becomes very difficult for attacks to hack into the data.
Also, the free foreign exchange rates API offers robust and scalable infrastructure. It can efficiently handle thousands of requests every second. As a result, you will get faster performance and high scalability.
What Are The 11 Most Reliable Free Foreign Exchange Rates APIs?
1. Currencylayer – The Best Free Foreign Exchange Rates API for 2022
Currencylayer is a real-time JSON API. It provides accurate currency conversion and exchange rates for your business. It collects data from banks and commercial sources. It supports 168 world currencies.
Currencylayer delivers the data in JSON format for easy integration. Also, it provides compatibility with multiple applications. Besides, it provides several advanced features, including switching source currency and time frame queries.
Currencylayer provides historical data. Hence, you can get access to currency exchange rates for the past 19 years. It protects your data stream by encrypting the API connection with the industry-standard 256-bit HTTPS.
Currencylayer comes with comprehensive documentation. It explains all the features in detail. Also, it provides intuitive code examples in different languages, including JavaScript and PHP. By following them, you can effortlessly integrate the API into your applications.
Here is a code example of integrating Currencylayer into a JavaScript web app:
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// set endpoint and your access key endpoint = 'live' access_key = 'YOUR_ACCESS_KEY'; // get the most recent exchange rates via the "live" endpoint: $.ajax({ url: 'https://api.currencylayer.com/' + endpoint + '?access_key=' + access_key, dataType: 'jsonp', success: function(json) { // exchange rata data is stored in json.quotes alert(json.quotes.USDGBP); // source currency is stored in json.source alert(json.source); // timestamp can be accessed in json.timestamp alert(json.timestamp); } }); |
As you can see, the integration process is very simple. It involves writing just a few lines of code. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes. Overall, it is the best free foreign exchange rates API for 2022.
2. Fixer API – An Effective Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
Fixer is a lightweight and simple API. It provides historical and current foreign exchange rate data. Fixer uses reliable data sources for real-time exchange rates. Hence, SMBs, large corporations, and developers around the world love to use it.
Fixer updates exchange rate data every 60 seconds. It supports over 170 world currencies. You will always get accurate rates because it gathers data from banks, including the European Central Bank. Also, it collects information from financial data providers. Besides, the Fixer API uses bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption to secure the data. Hence, you will never have to worry about security issues. On top of that, Fixer API is easy to implement in web apps. By following the code examples, you can complete the integration within 10 minutes. It provides detailed API documentation and a straightforward API structure.
Fixer offers scalable volumes. Also, it provides high availability and performance. It responds within milliseconds to your queries. Besides, Fixer comes with time-series data and separate endpoints for the single currency conversion. It provides historical data up to 1st January 1999.
3. Exchangerates – Another Great Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
Exchangerates is a free REST API. It provides real-time stock market data across the globe. It updates the data every 60 seconds. JSON format. Hence, you will always get reliable and accurate exchange rate data for your business.
Exchangerates API gathers information from reliable sources. Therefore, you will never have to worry about accuracy. Also, the API provides scalable infrastructure. Hence, it can efficiently handle thousands of requests every second. Overall, it’s one of the best free foreign exchange rate APIs for 2022.
4. Currencyapi – A Top Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
Currencyapi is another free foreign exchange rate API. It provides current and historical foreign exchange conversions in over 170 currencies. The API refreshes data every 60 seconds. Hence, it offers accurate foreign exchange quotes in real time. Also, the API uses a stable design. Therefore, it can efficiently handle millions of requests per second.
Currencyapi focuses on enhancing the developer experience. It is fully customizable. Also, it lets you easily complete the integration with just a few lines of code. Currencyapi offers several cool features, including team functionality and performance overview. Overall, it’s one of the top free foreign exchange rate APIs available online.
5. Abstract API – A Good Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
Abstract’s Currency Exchange and Forex API provides the latest rates for 150+ currencies and 10,000+ pairs. It can update data every minute to ensure accuracy. Also, it provides historical data at your fingertips.
The Abstract API offers high scalability. Also, it provides exceptional performance and robust uptimes. Hence, it is an ideal choice for enterprise uses. Also, the API supports 256-bit encryption to ensure data safety.
6. CURRENCY API – A Top-Notch Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
CURRENCY API has made currency conversion simple. It enables you to get the latest exchange rates with just a single API call. It delivers the data in both XML and JSON formats. Hence, you can conveniently use the data with your applications.
CURRENCY API supports over 170 currencies. Also, it provides historical rates from 2010. You just need to make a single request to get the data. The API quickly converts multiple currencies.
CURRENCY API comes with a scalable infrastructure. It provides 99.99% uptime. Also, it offers fast performance. The average response time is 61 milliseconds. Besides, it provides code examples in different languages, including JavaScript, Curl, PHP, and Python.
Here is a sample in Python:
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import requests key = "{YOUR_API_KEY}" parameters = {"api_key": key, "format": "json"} url = "https://api.getgeoapi.com/v2/currency/list response = requests.get(url, parameters) print(response.json()) |
7. Open Exchange Rates – A Reliable Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
Open Exchange Rates is a powerful free foreign exchange rate API. It provides reliable and accurate exchange rate data. Therefore, you can dynamically power your business with consistent currency conversion.
Open Exchange Rates supports over 200 open-source plugins and libraries. It serves the data in JSON format. Hence, you can easily integrate the information into your web apps. Also, it provides quick tech support and comprehensive documentation.
Here is one of the code examples of using the API in JavaScript:
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import "./styles.css"; var oxr = require("open-exchange-rates"), fx = require("money"); oxr.set({ app_id: "2ed1a9a97b824880bb7b175dbdfcda78" }); oxr.latest(function() { // Apply exchange rates and base rate to `fx` library object: fx.rates = oxr.rates; fx.base = oxr.base; // money.js is ready to use: }); fx.base = "USD"; fx.rates = { EUR: 0.745101, // eg. 1 USD === 0.745101 EUR GBP: 0.64771, // etc... MXN: 19.2, USD: 1 // always include the base rate (1:1) }; fx.rates = oxr.rates; fx.base = oxr.base; document.write( fx(100) .from("USD") .to("MXN") ); // ~8.0424 |
8. ExchangeRate-API – A Free Foreign Exchange Rates API Offering High Availability
ExchangeRate-API is a free foreign exchange rate API. It guarantees a high uptime of 99.99%. It is highly reliable. Hence, it is a great choice for dashboards.
ExchangeRate-API can convert and exchange 160 major currencies. It provides the result in transparent JSON format. Hence, the result is easy to read and parse. Also, it enables hassle-free integration.
The currency API utilizes reliable and stable FX data. Therefore, you will always get accurate conversions. Also, it provides quick exchange rate updates.
You can easily sign up and get the API key. You can use HTTP or cURL library in its development environment. The documentation is well written. It discusses everything, like the API endpoint formats and URLs. Also, it provides intuitive code examples.
Read: What Is An API key?
Here is a code example in PHP:
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// Fetching JSON $req_url = 'https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR-API-KEY/latest/USD'; $response_json = file_get_contents($req_url); // Continuing if we got a result if(false !== $response_json) { // Try/catch for json_decode operation try { // Decoding $response = json_decode($response_json); // Check for success if('success' === $response->result) { // YOUR APPLICATION CODE HERE, e.g. $base_price = 12; // Your price in USD $EUR_price = round(($base_price * $response->conversion_rates->EUR), 2); } } catch(Exception $e) { // Handle JSON parse error... } } |
9. XE – A Trusted Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
XE Currency Data API provides you with globally trusted exchange rates. It offers flexible packages ranging from free to paid versions. Also, you can select the frequency and the number of API requests per month.
XE’s Rate Blender uses over 100+ global sources. Hence, the API can maintain high accuracy. Also, it can dynamically detect and filter out errors. Besides, you can easily integrate it into your application. It supports SDKs for NodeJS, PHP, Python, and Java.
XE Currency Data API provides the result in different formats, including XML, JSON, and CSV formats. As a result, you get flexibility. Also, it provides historical data back to 1998. Besides, it supports 170 currencies and live rates. On top of that, the API offers several advanced features like monthly averages, customizable margins, and currency volatility.
10. Xignite – A User-Friendly Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
Xignite is a historical and real-time free foreign exchange rates API. It supports over 170 currencies and 29,000 currency pairs. The API provides real-time spot and currency FX exchange rate quotes. As a result, you can efficiently trade currencies.
Xignite provides different data, including forward currency rates, daily historical exchange rates, and daily cross rates. Also, it offers historical OHLC, end-of-day OHLC, and minute-level bars.
Xignite is very easy to use. You can quickly integrate foreign exchange rate data into your websites, mobile apps, and corporate applications. You just need to write a few lines of code.
Here is one of the code examples in Python:
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# Import requests library and set request url import requests url = 'http://globalcurrencies.xignite.com/xGlobalCurrencies.json/ListActiveCurrencies?&_token=USER_TOKEN' # Initiate API request response = request.get(url)# A real application should include some error handling. This example just prints the response. print(response) |
11. IBAN – An Easy-to-Use Free Foreign Exchange Rates API
IBAN’s FOREX Reference Suite is a free foreign exchange rates API. It provides automated exchange data and currency conversion retrieval. It updates rate every 10 minutes. Also, the API collects data from trusted sources. As a result, you will always get accurate results.
You can get the rate by making just a single API request. Then you can utilize the current exchange rate to make the conversion. The API uses HTTPS encrypted connection to securely communicate with the servers. It can quickly return the results.
IBAN is easy to set up. You can easily integrate it into your application to automate the conversion process.
Here is one of the code examples for using it in Python:
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import requests post_data = {'format':'json', 'api_key':'[YOUR_API_KEY]','iban':'DE46500700100927353010'} response = requests.post('https://api.iban.com/clients/api/v4/iban/',post_data) print(response.text) |
How to Choose the Best Currency Exchange API?
There are tons of free foreign exchange rates APIs available online. However, how can you find the best option? Here are some important aspects that you should keep a close eye on:
Supported Currencies
The very first thing you need to do is look at the supported currencies. How many currencies does it support? Make sure that the number is high.
Many free foreign exchange rate APIs support over a hundred currencies. Therefore, you can operate in global markets with ease. It is always better to choose an API that offers 150+ currencies, including USD, GBP, and Euro.
Data Sources
The data source is another important aspect. The APIs use them to provide the current and historical exchange rates. Hence, they need to be highly reliable.
Check whether the data sources are genuine or not. Otherwise, you will never get the accurate exchange rates. To do business, you need trustworthy data. You don’t want to be misguided by inaccurate information. That’s why you need to pick up an API that offers reliable data sources.
Update Frequency
Frequency of updates is another important factor. Does the API take a relatively long time to refresh the data? It’s not a suitable option. The best free foreign exchange rate APIs update data within 10-60 seconds. Hence, you always get accurate information right in time.
Conclusion
Getting accurate currency exchange rate data is important for your business. You cannot handle international clients without knowing the right value. By using a free foreign exchange rates API, you can quickly get access to current and historical data. Hence, you can efficiently deal with international businesses.
FAQ
What is a free foreign exchange rates API?
Free foreign exchange rates API is a simple and lightweight tool. It provides you with current and historical currency exchange rates.
What is a currency converter API?
A currency converter API is a useful tool for developers. It enables you to effortlessly convert one currency to another.
What is a currency conversion API?
Currency conversion APIs are tools that collect regular currency updates. They gather information from a variety of data sources, like international banks, investment firms, and financial suppliers.
