---
title: "currencylayer Alternative: AllRatesToday Currency API"
description: "currencylayer caps the free tier at 100 requests, locks it to a USD base, and updates hourly on lower plans. AllRatesToday gives you real-time rates, any base currency, and low EUR pricing."
canonical: https://allratestoday.com/compare/currencylayer-alternative/
source: AllRatesToday (https://allratestoday.com/) — Markdown mirror of the page above; index of all pages at https://allratestoday.com/llms.txt
generated: 2026-10-06T19:33:29.361Z
---

# currencylayer Alternative: AllRatesToday Currency API

currencylayer caps the free tier at 100 requests, locks it to a USD base, and updates hourly on lower plans. AllRatesToday gives you real-time rates, any base currency, and low EUR pricing.

currencylayer is one of apilayer's flagship currency products and a dependable choice for USD-based, hourly-refresh use cases. But its free tier is tight — around 100 requests per month, USD base only — real-time updates are reserved for the higher plans, and pricing climbs steeply as your volume grows. AllRatesToday is a modern alternative with real-time data on every plan, any base currency, and smaller pricing steps. (We've also written a detailed [AllRatesToday vs currencylayer](https://allratestoday.com/blog/allratestoday-vs-currencylayer/) breakdown.)

## At a glance

|  | AllRatesToday | currencylayer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier requests | Free tier | Around 100 req/mo |
| Free tier base currency | Any of 160+ | USD only |
| Update cadence | Real-time, every 60 seconds, all plans | Hourly on free and lower paid tiers |
| HTTPS on free tier | Yes | Historically a paid feature |
| Authentication | Bearer token header | `access_key` query parameter |
| Entry paid plan | €4.99/mo — 5,000 req | Per their public pricing page; climbs quickly with volume |
| Official central bank rates | 121 central banks + 3 tax authorities, same key | Not offered |
| Cancel anytime | Yes, self-serve | Yes |

Pricing and feature details are based on each provider's public pricing pages and may change. Check the vendor's site for the latest figures.

## Why teams switch from currencylayer to AllRatesToday

### 1. Real-time on every plan, not just the top tiers

currencylayer refreshes hourly on the free and lower paid tiers, with real-time reserved for Professional and above. In a volatile session a major pair can move noticeably within an hour — stale enough to matter at a checkout or in a trading-adjacent dashboard. AllRatesToday updates every 60 seconds on all plans, free included.

### 2. Any base currency from day one

The USD-base lock on currencylayer's lower plans means EUR- or GBP-centric apps cross-divide on the client, which introduces rounding and extra handling. AllRatesToday lets any plan use any of 160+ currencies as the source.

### 3. Gentler pricing curve

currencylayer's pricing steps up steeply as volume grows. AllRatesToday's plans go €4.99 → €9.99 → €49.99 per month (5,000 / 10,000 / 100,000 requests), so you buy roughly what you use. Full details on the [pricing page](https://allratestoday.com/pricing/), and our [currencylayer cost breakdown](https://allratestoday.com/blog/how-much-is-currencylayer-api/) walks through their tiers.

### 4. Header auth instead of keys in URLs

currencylayer authenticates with an `access_key` query parameter, which tends to leak into logs, analytics, and pasted URLs. AllRatesToday uses a standard `Authorization: Bearer` header.

## Official central bank rates — the part no market feed offers

Beyond live market rates, AllRatesToday serves the *official published rates* of [121 central banks](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/) and three [tax authorities](https://allratestoday.com/tax-authority-rates-api/) (HMRC, US Treasury, Swiss BAZG) under the same API key — the ECB reference rate for EU accounting, the Banxico FIX that legally settles USD obligations in Mexico, HMRC's monthly customs rates, and more, each under the bank's own publication date. If your workload ever touches invoicing, accounting, customs, or audit, this is the difference that matters: a market feed answers "what does the pair trade at?", while compliance asks "which rate were you required to use?" (Our [central bank API comparison](https://allratestoday.com/blog/best-central-bank-exchange-rate-api-2026/) covers the landscape.)

## Drop-in code example

The endpoint families map closely — latest, historical, convert — so migration is mostly a URL and auth change:

```
// Before — currencylayer (access_key in the query string)
fetch('http://api.currencylayer.com/live?access_key=YOUR_KEY&source=USD&currencies=EUR,GBP')

// After — AllRatesToday (Bearer header, any source currency)
fetch('https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=EUR&target=USD,GBP', {
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer art_live_xxxxx' }
})
  .then(r => r.json())
  .then(rows => console.log(rows));
```

## Honest pros and cons

#### Where AllRatesToday wins

- Real-time (60-second) updates on every plan
- Any base currency, including on the free tier
- HTTPS everywhere by default
- Lower EUR entry pricing with smaller steps
- Official central bank and tax authority rates on the same key

#### Where currencylayer may still suit you

- USD-base, hourly data is genuinely enough for your use case
- You're already integrated and the response format is load-bearing
- Your procurement only approves apilayer-billed vendors

    Migration tip: keep your currencylayer key active while you ship the AllRatesToday call behind a feature flag. Compare a day of rates side by side, then cut over.

## FAQ

### Will my currencylayer code work with minor changes?

Mostly yes — replace the host with `allratestoday.com/api/v1`, move the key from the `access_key` query parameter to an `Authorization: Bearer` header, and adjust the response keys (we use a flat rates structure).

### Is AllRatesToday free?

Yes — the free tier includes real-time rates and HTTPS, no credit card required. Historical data and commercial use start on the €4.99/mo plan.

### Where does the data come from?

Institutional interbank market data for live rates, plus the official published tables of 121 central banks and 3 tax authorities for compliance use cases.

## Try it in two minutes

Get a free API key and migrate your first endpoint today.

 [Get free API key](https://allratestoday.com/register) [See pricing](https://allratestoday.com/pricing)

## Compare with other providers

  [AllRatesToday vs currencylayerThe full feature-by-feature breakdown](https://allratestoday.com/blog/allratestoday-vs-currencylayer/) [How much is currencylayer?Their pricing tiers explained](https://allratestoday.com/blog/how-much-is-currencylayer-api/) [Fixer.io alternativeapilayer's other currency product](https://allratestoday.com/compare/fixer-alternative/) [exchangeratesapi.io alternativeAlso apilayer-owned now](https://allratestoday.com/compare/exchangeratesapi-io-alternative/) [Best exchange rate APIs in 2026Independent roundup](https://allratestoday.com/best/best-exchange-rate-api/)