--- title: "Best Exchange Rate API for India in 2026: 8 Compared for INR Rates, RBI Reference Rate, SBI TT and GST" description: "Eight exchange rate APIs compared for teams in India, with free tiers and prices checked on 10 November 2026: live INR rates, RBI, SBI TT and CBIC rates, history and cost for AllRatesToday, Frankfurter, ExchangeRate-API, Open Exchange Rates, CurrencyAPI, Fixer, currencylayer and XE." canonical: https://allratestoday.com/blog/best-exchange-rate-api-for-india-2026/ source: AllRatesToday (https://allratestoday.com/) — Markdown mirror of the page above; index of all pages at https://allratestoday.com/llms.txt generated: 2026-11-10T17:00:27.688Z --- An Indian developer shopping for an exchange rate API finds that almost every provider is built for dollar and euro users. They return a market rate for USD/INR and stop there. Indian accounting and tax work asks for something more specific: the RBI reference rate, the SBI telegraphic transfer buying rate that the income-tax rules name, and the customs rate CBIC notifies. Very few APIs carry those. This comparison looks at eight exchange rate APIs from the point of view of a team in India. 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 India needs from an exchange rate API - **Live INR pairs** for pricing, remittance quotes and dashboards. - **The RBI reference rate** (computed and announced by FBIL since July 2018) for accounting and FEMA-side reporting. - **The SBI TT buying rate**, which income-tax Rule 115 names for converting foreign income. - **CBIC-notified customs rates**, which CGST Rule 34 names for the value of goods; services follow generally accepted accounting principles. - **History by date** for invoices, year-end and audit. ## Quick comparison | Provider | Free tier | Updates on free | RBI, SBI TT and CBIC rates | Cheapest paid plan | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **[AllRatesToday](https://allratestoday.com/)** | Free key | Every 60 seconds | RBI reference rate, CBIC customs rates, SBI and six more bank TT boards | €4.99/mo | | Frankfurter | Free, no key, no monthly cap | Official fixings as each source releases them | FBIL reference rate; no CBIC, no bank TT rates | No paid plan | | ExchangeRate-API | 1,500 requests a month | Once a day | No, market rates only | $10/mo | | Open Exchange Rates | 1,000 requests a month, USD base | Hourly | No, market rates only | $12/mo | | CurrencyAPI | 300 requests a month, private use only | Daily | No, market rates only | $12.99/mo | | Fixer | 100 calls a month, non-commercial | Hourly | No, market rates only | $14.99/mo | | currencylayer | 100 calls a month, non-commercial | Daily | No, market rates only | $14.99/mo | | XE Currency Data | Trial only | Daily on the entry plan | No, market rates only | $599/yr | ## The Indian rates and what they are for - **RBI reference rate.** The daily reference rate for USD, EUR, GBP and JPY against the rupee, computed and announced by Financial Benchmarks India (FBIL) and listed in the RBI's Reference Rate Archive. - **SBI TT buying rate.** Rule 115 of the Income-tax Rules converts foreign-currency income at the telegraphic transfer buying rate, defined by reference to the rate adopted by the State Bank of India. SBI publishes it as a daily PDF that is overwritten each day. - **CBIC exchange rates.** Rule 34 of the CGST Rules values goods at the rate of exchange notified by the Board under section 14 of the Customs Act, and services at the rate determined under generally accepted accounting principles. 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](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/institutions/), each with the publisher's own date. For India that means: RBI reference rate, CBIC customs rates, SBI and six more bank TT boards. 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 India its source list covers: FBIL reference rate; no CBIC, no bank TT rates. It serves official fixings, not a live market rate, and it 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 INR ``` # live mid-market rate curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=INR" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" # RBI reference rate, today's table curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/rbi" # SBI TT buying and selling rate curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/open/bank-rates/in/sbi?ccy=USD" ``` 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? | If you are building | Look at | | --- | --- | | An Indian SaaS, exporter or marketplace billing in foreign currency | [AllRatesToday](https://allratestoday.com/) for live INR pairs on any base, with the RBI and CBIC tables on the same key. | | ITR tools: Schedule FA, RSU and ESPP, foreign income | You need the SBI TT buying rate by date. [AllRatesToday](https://allratestoday.com/) serves the SBI board as JSON; none of the market-rate APIs do. | | Books and audit on the RBI reference rate | [AllRatesToday](https://allratestoday.com/) or Frankfurter (as FBIL). Frankfurter is free and keyless; AllRatesToday adds CSV, Excel and the bank boards. | | A dashboard that refreshes once a day | ExchangeRate-API has the largest free quota for daily data. | | A hobby project on a USD base | Open Exchange Rates' free plan. | ## FAQ ### What is the best exchange rate API for India in 2026? For live INR rates together with the RBI reference rate, CBIC customs rates and SBI TT rates, AllRatesToday. For the FBIL reference rate alone, free and without a key, Frankfurter. For a large free quota of daily market rates, ExchangeRate-API. ### Is there an RBI exchange rate API? The RBI and FBIL publish the reference rate on their websites without a public developer API. AllRatesToday serves the RBI table as JSON, CSV, XML and Excel, and Frankfurter lists FBIL among its sources. ### Which API gives the SBI TT buying rate? AllRatesToday serves the State Bank of India telegraphic transfer board, along with six other Indian banks, as JSON. General currency APIs return a market rate, which is not the rate Rule 115 names. ### Which exchange rate should a GST invoice use? Under CGST Rule 34, goods use the rate CBIC notifies under the Customs Act and services use the rate determined under generally accepted accounting principles for the date of supply. ## Live INR rates and the official tables on one key Mid-market rates every 60 seconds and the official tables of [123 central banks and 6 tax authorities](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/institutions/), as JSON, CSV, XML or Excel. Paid plans from €4.99 a month. [See plans](https://allratestoday.com/pricing/) ## Related Articles - [Exchange rate API for India: RBI, CBIC, bank TT and live INR rates](https://allratestoday.com/exchange-rate-api-india/) - [SBI TT buying rate for income-tax Rule 115](https://allratestoday.com/blog/sbi-tt-buying-rate-income-tax-rule-115/) - [Exchange rate for GST invoices](https://allratestoday.com/blog/gst-invoice-exchange-rate-india/) - [RBI reference rate: today's table and endpoints](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/rbi/) - [Bank forex rates today in India: seven banks compared](https://allratestoday.com/blog/bank-forex-rates-today-india-sbi-axis-bob-compared/)