Best Exchange Rate API for Hong Kong in 2026: 8 Compared for HKD Rates, HKAB and HKMA Data

Hong Kong companies invoice in US dollars, settle in renminbi and report in Hong Kong dollars. There is no VAT return to drive the choice of rate, but there are tax returns, stamp duty, customs rules and year-end closings that each want a Hong Kong dollar figure with a source. An API that serves Hong Kong's official tables alongside live rates covers both the product and the paperwork.

This comparison looks at eight exchange rate APIs from the point of view of a team in Hong Kong. Free-tier limits and prices were read from each provider's own pricing page on 10 November 2026; they change often, so confirm before you commit.

What a team in Hong Kong needs from an exchange rate API

• Live HKD pairs against the US dollar, renminbi and the region's currencies.
• A same-day official Hong Kong rate. The HKMA series is released monthly, so a daily source is needed for anything dated this month.
• Buying and selling sides, because salaries tax and several ordinances distinguish them.
• Long history for averages and prior-year closings.

Quick comparison

The Hong Kong rates and what they are for

• HKAB daily table. The Hong Kong Association of Banks, a statutory body, sets selling and buying rates at the opening of business. Its selling rate is the conversion rate named in the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance and in the rules for cross-boundary cash declarations.
• HKMA figures. Daily Hong Kong dollar rates for 17 currencies back to 1981, released monthly with the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the 3rd and 6th business days.
• IRD average rates. The Inland Revenue Department posts average rates for eight currencies for salaries tax (buying and selling) and profits tax.
• Stamp duty. Foreign-currency consideration is converted at a rate determined by the Monetary Authority; HKEX posts it each trading day for renminbi and US dollars.
• Accounting. HKAS 21 asks for the transaction-date rate and the closing rate and names no source.

The point for choosing an API: a market mid-rate and an official table are different products. A market rate is right for showing a customer a price. It is not the figure a tax form or an auditor asks for.

The eight providers

1. AllRatesToday

Best for: teams that need both kinds of rate. Mid-market rates for 160+ currencies refresh every 60 seconds on every plan, on any base currency, over HTTPS. The same key serves the official tables of 123 central banks and 6 tax authorities, each with the publisher's own date. For Hong Kong that means the HKAB daily table with selling, telegraphic transfer buying and middle rates, the HKMA figures back to 1981, and the board rates of HSBC Hong Kong and Bank of China (Hong Kong). Output is JSON, CSV, XML or Excel from the same endpoints, with SDKs for JavaScript, Python, PHP, Go and Rust and an MCP server for AI agents. Paid plans start at €4.99 a month; dated tables and history are on paid plans.

2. Frankfurter

Best for: projects that only need official fixings and want them free. Frankfurter is open source, needs no key and has no monthly cap. It now aggregates 111 central banks and official sources. For Hong Kong its source list has the HKMA series, which is released monthly: on 11 November 2026 its newest Hong Kong record was 31 October 2026. It has no HKAB table, serves official fixings rather than a live market rate, and is a free service with no paid tier or support contract.

3. ExchangeRate-API

Best for: dashboards and reports that need volume and can live with one update a day. The free plan gives 1,500 requests a month with daily updates; the Pro plan is $10 a month for 30,000 requests with hourly updates. Rates are a blended market figure, not a named institution's table.

4. Open Exchange Rates

Best for: teams that want a long-established vendor and work from a US dollar base. The free plan gives 1,000 requests a month with hourly updates on a USD base; other base currencies start with the $12 a month plan.

5. CurrencyAPI

Best for: small private projects. The free plan gives 300 requests a month with daily updates and is for private use only; paid plans start at $12.99 a month.

6. Fixer

Best for: teams already on the apilayer marketplace. The free plan gives 100 calls a month with hourly updates for non-commercial use, and base-currency switching is listed only on paid plans, which start at $14.99 a month.

7. currencylayer

Best for: the same apilayer stack with a dollar source. The free plan gives 100 calls a month with daily updates for non-commercial use; paid plans start at $14.99 a month.

8. XE Currency Data

Best for: banks and large companies that need a recognised vendor on an annual contract. There is a trial but no free plan; the entry plan is $599 a year for 10,000 requests a month with daily rates.

Try it for HKD

# live mid-market rate
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=HKD" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# HKAB, today's official table
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/hkab"

# the HKMA table for a closing date
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/central-bank/hkma/2025-12-31" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

The first call needs a free API key. The official table responses carry the table's own date, so you can show which publication a figure came from.

Which one should you pick?

FAQ

What is the best exchange rate API for Hong Kong in 2026?

For live HKD rates plus the HKAB daily table and HKMA figures on one key, AllRatesToday. For the HKMA series free and without a key, Frankfurter. For the largest free quota of daily market rates, ExchangeRate-API.

Does the HKMA publish a daily exchange rate?

The HKMA figures are daily in detail but are released monthly with the Monthly Statistical Bulletin, on the 3rd and 6th business days. For a same-day official rate, Hong Kong uses the Hong Kong Association of Banks table.

How many currencies does the HKAB table cover?

The API serves 22 currencies from the HKAB table, each with a selling rate, a telegraphic transfer buying rate and the middle of the two.

Is there a legal requirement to use a particular rate in Hong Kong?

For some obligations, yes. The Dutiable Commodities Ordinance and the cross-boundary cash declaration rules name the HKAB selling rate, and stamp duty uses a rate determined by the Monetary Authority. HKAS 21 names no source.