--- title: "ExchangeRate-API vs AllRatesToday: Which Currency API Should You Choose?" description: "A detailed comparison of ExchangeRate-API and AllRatesToday. Compare pricing, data sources, SDKs, update frequency, and features." canonical: https://allratestoday.com/blog/exchangerate-api-vs-allratestoday-2026/ source: AllRatesToday (https://allratestoday.com/) — Markdown mirror of the page above; index of all pages at https://allratestoday.com/llms.txt generated: 2026-10-08T09:36:27.664Z --- ![Comparing two options](https://images.pexels.com/photos/8844389/pexels-photo-8844389.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940) ExchangeRate-API and AllRatesToday have similar-sounding names, serve similar use cases, and both appear in search results when you look for a currency exchange rate API. That overlap causes real confusion: developers sign up for one thinking it is the other, or assume they are the same service. They are not. This article is a direct, side-by-side comparison. We cover data sources, update frequency, free tier limits, SDK availability, API design, and the situations where each service makes sense. If you are evaluating both, this should save you the time of reading two separate documentation sites. ## Side-by-Side Comparison Here is how the two APIs compare across the features that matter most to developers: | Feature | ExchangeRate-API | AllRatesToday | | --- | --- | --- | | Update Frequency | Once per day | Every 60 seconds | | Data Sources | Various financial sources | institutional interbank market data | | Rate Type | Not specified | Mid-market rates | | Currencies | 160+ | 160+ | | Free Tier | 1,500 req/month | Free tier available | | Auth Method | API key in URL path | Bearer token header | | Official SDKs | None | JS/TS, Python, PHP, React | | Historical Rates | Yes (paid plans) | Yes | | Currency Conversion | Yes | Yes | | Response Format | JSON | JSON | | HTTPS | Yes | Yes | ## Data Sources Where an API gets its exchange rate data determines how accurate and current the rates are. **ExchangeRate-API** describes its data sources as "various financial sources" without naming specific providers. The rates are aggregated and published once per day. For many use cases — static price displays, periodic batch jobs, internal dashboards that do not need live data — this is perfectly adequate. **AllRatesToday** sources its rates from **institutional interbank market data**. These are mid-market rates: the true exchange rate between two currencies before any bank markup is applied. This is the same data used by financial institutions, Google Finance, and XE for their rate displays. **Why mid-market rates matter:** Mid-market rates represent the real value of a currency pair. They are the standard reference point for financial professionals and are essential for accurate invoicing, accounting, and compliance reporting. ## Update Frequency This is the most significant difference between the two services. **ExchangeRate-API** updates its rates **once per day**. If your application fetches a rate at 9 AM, you are getting the same rate that was published earlier that day (or, depending on timing, the previous day). For applications where a few hours of staleness is acceptable — travel budget calculators, static product listings — daily updates work fine. **AllRatesToday** updates rates **every 60 seconds**. If you are building a trading dashboard, a checkout flow that needs current conversion rates, a fintech application, or any system where rate accuracy within the last minute matters, this is a meaningful difference. **Rule of thumb:** If your users would notice a rate being several hours old, you need real-time data. If rates are informational and approximate, daily updates may be sufficient. ## Free Tier Comparison Both services offer free access, but the terms differ: **ExchangeRate-API** provides 1,500 API requests per month on its free plan. The free tier includes access to the standard endpoints (latest rates and pair conversion). Historical data and enriched endpoints require a paid plan. **AllRatesToday** offers a free tier that includes access to real-time rates, historical rates, and conversion endpoints. Visit the [pricing page](https://allratestoday.com/pricing) for current plan details and limits. For hobby projects and prototypes, either free tier will work. The difference becomes apparent when you need historical data or real-time rates on a free plan — AllRatesToday includes both. ## Official SDKs This is an area where the two services differ sharply. ### ExchangeRate-API: No Official SDKs ExchangeRate-API does not provide official client libraries. To use it, you write raw HTTP calls in your language of choice: ``` // ExchangeRate-API - raw fetch (no official SDK) const response = await fetch( 'https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR_API_KEY/latest/USD' ); const data = await response.json(); const eurRate = data.conversion_rates.EUR; console.log(`1 USD = ${eurRate} EUR`); ``` This works, but it means you handle error responses, rate limiting, retries, and response parsing yourself. Community-maintained wrappers exist, but they vary in quality and may not stay current with API changes. ### AllRatesToday: Official SDKs for Four Platforms AllRatesToday provides production-ready, officially maintained SDKs: ### JavaScript / TypeScript ``` npm install @allratestoday/sdk ``` ``` import AllRatesToday from '@allratestoday/sdk'; const client = new AllRatesToday('art_live_...'); const rate = await client.getRate('USD', 'EUR'); console.log(`1 USD = ${rate} EUR`); const result = await client.convert('USD', 'EUR', 1000); console.log(`$1,000 = €${result.result}`); ``` **npm:** [@allratestoday/sdk](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@allratestoday/sdk) — [View on GitHub](https://github.com/allratestoday/exchange-rates-api/tree/main/sdks/javascript) ### Python ``` pip install allratestoday ``` ``` from allratestoday import AllRatesToday client = AllRatesToday("art_live_...") rate = client.get_rate("USD", "EUR") print(f"1 USD = {rate} EUR") result = client.convert("USD", "EUR", 1000) print(f"$1,000 = €{result['result']}") ``` **PyPI:** [allratestoday](https://pypi.org/project/allratestoday/) — [View on GitHub](https://github.com/allratestoday/exchange-rates-api/tree/main/sdks/python) ### PHP ``` composer require allratestoday/sdk ``` ``` use AllRatesToday\AllRatesToday; $client = new AllRatesToday('art_live_...'); $rate = $client->getRate('USD', 'EUR'); echo "1 USD = {$rate[0]['rate']} EUR\n"; $result = $client->convert('USD', 'EUR', 100); echo "$100 = €{$result['result']}\n"; ``` **Packagist:** [allratestoday/sdk](https://packagist.org/packages/allratestoday/sdk) — [View on GitHub](https://github.com/allratestoday/exchange-rates-api/tree/main/sdks/php) ### React AllRatesToday also provides a React component for displaying live currency conversions: ``` import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'; import AllRatesToday from '@allratestoday/sdk'; const client = new AllRatesToday('art_live_...'); function useExchangeRate(from, to) { const [rate, setRate] = useState(null); useEffect(() => { client.getRate(from, to).then(setRate); }, [from, to]); return rate; } function PriceDisplay({ amount, from, to }) { const rate = useExchangeRate(from, to); if (!rate) return Loading...; return ( {(amount * rate).toFixed(2)} {to} ); } // Usage: ``` ## API Design Comparison The two APIs take different approaches to authentication and endpoint structure. ### ExchangeRate-API ExchangeRate-API embeds the API key directly in the URL path: ``` GET https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR_API_KEY/latest/USD GET https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR_API_KEY/pair/USD/EUR GET https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR_API_KEY/pair/USD/EUR/1000 ``` This approach is simple but has a downside: API keys can leak into browser history, server logs, and referrer headers. Most security best practices recommend sending credentials in headers, not URLs. ### AllRatesToday AllRatesToday uses standard Bearer token authentication in the `Authorization` header: ``` GET https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR Authorization: Bearer art_live_... GET https://allratestoday.com/api/historical-rates?source=USD&target=EUR&from=2026-01-01&to=2026-05-25 Authorization: Bearer art_live_... ``` This follows REST conventions and keeps credentials out of URLs. The query parameter approach also makes it straightforward to request multiple targets or add filtering options without changing the URL structure. ## When to Choose ExchangeRate-API ExchangeRate-API is a reasonable choice when: - **Daily rates are sufficient.** If your application only needs approximate exchange rates and does not require intraday accuracy, daily updates work fine. - **You prefer URL-based auth.** Some developers find embedding the key in the URL simpler for quick prototypes or server-side scripts where header configuration is verbose. - **You are already integrated.** If your application is already using ExchangeRate-API and the daily update frequency meets your needs, there may be no reason to switch. - **You need a simple, no-frills API.** ExchangeRate-API has a straightforward API surface with minimal configuration required. ## When to Choose AllRatesToday AllRatesToday is the better fit when: - **You need real-time rates.** Checkout flows, trading dashboards, fintech applications, and any system where stale rates cause financial discrepancies. - **Data source transparency matters.** If you need to know exactly where your rates come from (institutional interbank market data), AllRatesToday is explicit about its sources. - **You want official SDKs.** Production-ready libraries for JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, PHP, and React mean less boilerplate, built-in error handling, and guaranteed compatibility with the API. - **You need mid-market rates.** For invoicing, accounting, compliance, and any financial calculation that requires the true interbank rate without markup. - **You want historical data on a free plan.** AllRatesToday includes historical rate access, which is useful for charting trends and financial reporting. ## Migration Guide: ExchangeRate-API to AllRatesToday If you are currently using ExchangeRate-API and want to switch, here is what the migration looks like in practice. ### Step 1: Get your API key Sign up at [allratestoday.com/register](https://allratestoday.com/register). Your API key will have the format `art_live_...`. ### Step 2: Replace raw HTTP calls with the SDK **Before (ExchangeRate-API, raw fetch):** ``` // ExchangeRate-API const response = await fetch( 'https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR_KEY/pair/USD/EUR/1000' ); const data = await response.json(); console.log(data.conversion_result); ``` **After (AllRatesToday SDK):** ``` // AllRatesToday import AllRatesToday from '@allratestoday/sdk'; const client = new AllRatesToday('art_live_...'); const result = await client.convert('USD', 'EUR', 1000); console.log(result.result); ``` ### Step 3: Replace raw HTTP calls in Python **Before (ExchangeRate-API, raw requests):** ``` # ExchangeRate-API import requests response = requests.get( "https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR_KEY/latest/USD" ) data = response.json() eur_rate = data["conversion_rates"]["EUR"] print(f"1 USD = {eur_rate} EUR") ``` **After (AllRatesToday SDK):** ``` # AllRatesToday from allratestoday import AllRatesToday client = AllRatesToday("art_live_...") rate = client.get_rate("USD", "EUR") print(f"1 USD = {rate} EUR") ``` ### Step 4: Replace raw HTTP calls in PHP **Before (ExchangeRate-API, raw cURL):** ``` // ExchangeRate-API $url = "https://v6.exchangerate-api.com/v6/YOUR_KEY/latest/USD"; $response = file_get_contents($url); $data = json_decode($response, true); $eurRate = $data['conversion_rates']['EUR']; echo "1 USD = {$eurRate} EUR\n"; ``` **After (AllRatesToday SDK):** ``` // AllRatesToday use AllRatesToday\AllRatesToday; $client = new AllRatesToday('art_live_...'); $rate = $client->getRate('USD', 'EUR'); echo "1 USD = {$rate[0]['rate']} EUR\n"; ``` **Migration tip:** You can run both APIs in parallel during migration. Fetch rates from AllRatesToday as your primary source and fall back to your existing ExchangeRate-API integration until you are confident in the switch. ## Summary Both ExchangeRate-API and AllRatesToday are legitimate currency exchange rate APIs. The right choice depends on what your application requires: - **ExchangeRate-API** is a solid, simple API for applications that only need daily exchange rates and do not require SDKs or real-time data. - **AllRatesToday** is the better choice for production applications that need real-time rates (updated every 60 seconds), transparent data sourcing from institutional interbank market data, mid-market rates, and official SDKs for JavaScript, Python, PHP, and React. If you are building anything where rate freshness, data source transparency, or developer experience matters, AllRatesToday is the stronger option. ## Try AllRatesToday for Free Get your API key in 30 seconds. Real-time mid-market rates for 160+ currencies, official SDKs, and historical data included. Compare all options on our [Exchange Rate API](https://exchange-rateapi.com/) page. [Get Your Free API Key](https://allratestoday.com/register) ## Related Articles - [AllRatesToday vs ExchangeRate-API](https://allratestoday.com/blog/allratestoday-vs-exchangerate-api-com/) - [10 Best Currency Exchange APIs](https://allratestoday.com/blog/best-free-currency-exchange-api-2026/) - [ExchangeRate-API Alternative](https://allratestoday.com/compare/exchangerate-api-alternative/)