ExchangeRate-API vs AllRatesToday: Which Currency API Should You Choose?

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:

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 Reuters (Refinitiv) and interbank market feeds. 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, XE, and Bloomberg for their rate displays.

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.

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 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}`);

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']}")

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";

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 <span>Loading...</span>;

  return (
    <span>
      {(amount * rate).toFixed(2)} {to}
    </span>
  );
}

// Usage: <PriceDisplay amount={99.99} from="USD" to="EUR" />

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 (Reuters/Refinitiv, interbank feeds), 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. 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";

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 Reuters/Refinitiv, 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.