--- title: "AllRatesToday vs ExchangeRate-API.com (2026): Real-Time vs Daily" description: "AllRatesToday vs ExchangeRate-API.com in 2026 — compare real-time vs daily updates, historical rate access, latency, accuracy, and total cost for production apps." canonical: https://allratestoday.com/blog/allratestoday-vs-exchangerate-api-com/ source: AllRatesToday (https://allratestoday.com/) — Markdown mirror of the page above; index of all pages at https://allratestoday.com/llms.txt generated: 2026-10-23T18:04:59.523Z --- ![Software comparison](https://images.pexels.com/photos/4007745/pexels-photo-4007745.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940) ExchangeRate-API.com is the cleanest of the "free FX API" options. Simple endpoint, fast responses, no surprises — if you can live with daily updates. That last bit is the whole conversation. This comparison covers **AllRatesToday** vs **ExchangeRate-API.com** in 2026 across the criteria that matter for production: update frequency, accuracy, historical rate access, latency, free-tier scope, and DX. ## TL;DR — Quick Comparison Table | Feature | AllRatesToday | ExchangeRate-API.com | | --- | --- | --- | | Update frequency (free) | Real-time (60s) | Daily (24h) | | Data source | institutional foreign exchange market data | Aggregated central-bank feeds | | Historical rates | Paid plans (from €4.99/mo) | Paid only (Pro plan) | | Free request quota | 300 one-time (never resets) | 1,500 / month | | HTTPS | Yes | Yes | | CORS | Browser: keyless endpoints; keyed API server-side | Yes | | Base currency | Any | Any | | Currencies covered | 160+ + metals | 161 | | Average latency | ~214ms (real-time) | ~134ms (cached daily) | ## Update Frequency: Real-Time vs Daily This is the core trade-off. ExchangeRate-API.com refreshes **once every 24 hours** on the free tier. The data is then aggressively cached at the edge, which is why responses are so fast — but the rate you fetch at 3pm is the same rate everyone else fetched at 9am, and at 4am the day before. For some use cases that's fine: a static "currency converter" widget, an end-of-day reporting tool, an admin dashboard that shows yesterday's totals. For anything that converts money in real time — checkouts, payment splits, expense tracking, marketplace fees — daily rates are not safe. Major pairs routinely move 0.5–2% intraday, and that delta becomes a tax on your gross margin. AllRatesToday refreshes every **60 seconds** on every plan, sourced from institutional foreign exchange market data. The ~80ms latency penalty over ExchangeRate-API.com's daily-cached responses is worth a 1,440x improvement in freshness. Winner: AllRatesToday for any real-money use case. ExchangeRate-API.com for display-only, daily-acceptable scenarios. ## Historical Rates: Pro Plan vs Small Plan ExchangeRate-API.com gates the historical/timeseries endpoint behind the **Pro plan**. The free Open tier returns latest rates only. AllRatesToday does not include history on the free tier either. Historical rates come with every paid plan, starting with Small at €4.99/mo: daily market rates up to one year back, plus central-bank archives that go back decades. ``` # AllRatesToday: historical rate (paid plans) curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR&time=2026-01-15" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" ``` If you're building anything that touches past rates — invoice reconciliation, accounting, P&L conversion, backtesting, charts — compare the entry price of each provider's history-enabled plan. Winner: AllRatesToday on entry price for history (€4.99/mo). Neither includes history on the free tier. ## Accuracy: Live Market Data vs Aggregated Central-Bank Feeds ExchangeRate-API.com aggregates "rates from multiple commercial sources" plus central-bank end-of-day publications. The result is a clean mid-market rate, but it can lag actual interbank by hours during active sessions. AllRatesToday serves mid-market rates aggregated from institutional foreign exchange market data, refreshed every 60 seconds for major pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY) and the rest of its 160+ currencies. For most consumer-facing display use cases, the accuracy difference is invisible. For anything where 5–20 basis points compounds — payments, marketplace settlement, B2B FX — it shows up in the bottom line. Winner: AllRatesToday for accuracy-sensitive flows. Tie for display-only. ## Latency ExchangeRate-API.com is genuinely fast: ~134ms average response time from a US edge, because the daily-cached payload sits in CDN memory. AllRatesToday averages ~214ms, which includes the cost of serving rates refreshed every 60 seconds. If your only criterion is "fastest GET", ExchangeRate-API.com wins. If your criterion is "accurate enough to charge a customer," AllRatesToday's extra ~80ms is the cost of correctness. Winner: ExchangeRate-API.com on raw speed. AllRatesToday on freshness-per-millisecond. ## Free Tier: What You Actually Get ExchangeRate-API.com's Open plan is straightforward: - 1,500 requests / month. - Daily updates. - Latest rates only (no historical). - Any base currency, HTTPS, CORS. AllRatesToday's free tier: - 300 requests, one-time (the quota never resets), no credit card. - Real-time (60s) updates. - Latest rates only; historical rates need a paid plan from €4.99/mo. - Personal, non-commercial use only. - Any base currency, HTTPS, header auth; keyless endpoints (official rates, symbols) for browser use, keyed API server-side. Different shapes. ExchangeRate-API.com gives far more free requests on daily data; AllRatesToday gives fresher data but a small one-time quota meant for evaluation, with commercial use and history on paid plans. ## Authentication and DX ExchangeRate-API.com puts the API key in the URL path: ``` https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR-API-KEY/latest/USD ``` This is functional but means the key appears in browser history, server logs, and CDN access logs. AllRatesToday uses a standard `Authorization: Bearer` header: ``` curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" ``` ## Migrating from ExchangeRate-API.com The migration is straightforward: 1. Replace `v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6//latest/` with `allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=`. 2. Move the API key from the URL path to `Authorization: Bearer`. 3. Read each rate from the returned array of `source`/`target`/`rate` objects instead of the `conversion_rates` map. 4. Optionally add `&target=EUR` to scope the response to one pair (smaller payloads). ## When ExchangeRate-API.com Still Wins - You need maximum free request quota (1,500/month is high) and daily rates are sufficient. - Latency is your hard constraint and freshness isn't. - Display-only widgets, daily reporting, static-site converters. ## The Bottom Line For any use case where the rate touches money — checkouts, conversions, settlement, accounting — AllRatesToday is the right call: - 60-second updates vs daily snapshots. - Historical rates from €4.99/mo (Small plan). - Live institutional FX market data vs aggregated central-bank feeds. - Same HTTPS / any-base basics, plus header auth (keyed API is called from your server; keyless endpoints work in the browser). ExchangeRate-API.com remains a strong choice when freshness genuinely doesn't matter and request volume does. ## FAQ ### Is ExchangeRate-API.com free? Yes — the Open plan is 1,500 requests/month with daily updates and no historical data. Paid plans add real-time and historical. ### How often does ExchangeRate-API.com update? Daily on the free tier. Hourly or 60-second updates on paid plans. ### Why pick AllRatesToday over ExchangeRate-API.com? Real-time (60s) updates are included on the AllRatesToday free tier (300 one-time requests), and historical rates come with every paid plan from €4.99/mo. ExchangeRate-API.com's free tier updates daily and its historical endpoint requires the Pro plan. AllRatesToday serves mid-market rates aggregated from institutional foreign exchange market data. ### Are the rates accurate? Both publish mid-market rates. AllRatesToday sources directly from institutional foreign exchange market data; ExchangeRate-API.com aggregates central-bank end-of-day data. ### How do I migrate from ExchangeRate-API.com? Point requests at `allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates`, move the key from the URL path to `Authorization: Bearer`, and read rates from the returned array instead of `conversion_rates`. Ready to switch? ``` npm install @allratestoday/sdk ``` ## 1,440x Fresher Rates, History From €4.99/mo Mid-market rates, 60-second updates on every plan, 300 free requests with no credit card. [Get Your Free API Key](https://allratestoday.com/register) ## Related Articles - [ExchangeRate-API vs AllRatesToday 2026](https://allratestoday.com/blog/exchangerate-api-vs-allratestoday-2026/) - [AllRatesToday vs Fixer, XE, ExchangeRate-API](https://allratestoday.com/blog/allratestoday-vs-fixer-xe-exchangerate-api/) - [ExchangeRate-API Alternative](https://allratestoday.com/compare/exchangerate-api-alternative/) - [Best Exchange Rate APIs](https://allratestoday.com/best/best-exchange-rate-api/)