Exchange Rate API with JSON and CSV Output (plus Excel)

Get exchange rates as JSON or CSV from one endpoint: add format=csv to any AllRatesToday table endpoint. Real responses, plus Python and Node examples.

By Madhushan, Founder & Lead Developer · Updated 6 Nov 2026

Short answer: AllRatesToday returns JSON by default. Add format=csv to any table endpoint to get CSV from the same URL, with the same parameters, key and quota. format=xlsx returns an Excel workbook and format=xml returns XML. Every format works with every key, including the free one.

All responses on this page were captured from the live API on 6 November 2026.

Which endpoints support JSON and CSV

Formats also work on /api/historical-rates, /api/v1/central-banks, and the central-bank history and availability endpoints. See Response Formats in the docs.

Live rates as JSON

curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR,GBP" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

[
  {"rate":0.897384,"source":"USD","target":"EUR","time":"2026-11-06T14:45:01+00:00"},
  {"rate":0.748419,"source":"USD","target":"GBP","time":"2026-11-06T14:45:01+00:00"}
]

The same rates as CSV

curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR,GBP&format=csv" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" -o rates.csv

source,target,rate,time
USD,EUR,0.897384,2026-11-06T14:45:01+00:00
USD,GBP,0.748419,2026-11-06T14:45:01+00:00

The response is sent as text/csv; charset=utf-8 with a download filename. It starts with a UTF-8 byte-order mark so that Excel shows currency symbols correctly. Most CSV parsers need to be told to skip it. In Python, decode with utf-8-sig.

Official central bank rates as CSV

You can try this one with no key. It returns the latest table the European Central Bank published, under the bank's own date:

curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/open/central-bank/ecb?format=csv"

rate_date,base,quote,rate_type,value
2026-11-05,EUR,AUD,reference,1.6033
2026-11-05,EUR,BRL,reference,6.1355
2026-11-05,EUR,CAD,reference,1.5675
2026-11-05,EUR,CHF,reference,0.918
...

Use any code from the list of institutions. Keyless tables are for non-commercial use, and public pages that show them need a visible link. Commercial products need a paid plan.

Ask for one pair with a key. If the bank did not print that pair directly, the row says so:

curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/central-bank/ecb/latest?source=USD&target=EUR&format=csv" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

rate_date,source,target,rate,rate_type,derived,method
2026-11-05,USD,EUR,0.8909479686,reference,true,inverse

Here the ECB publishes EUR/USD, so USD/EUR is marked derived with the method inverse.

Excel workbooks

curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR,GBP&format=xlsx" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" -o rates.xlsx

This is a real .xlsx workbook, not a renamed CSV, so Excel opens it without a format warning. The Excel guide shows how to refresh rates in a workbook, and the bulk download page covers date-range files.

Parsing examples

Python (CSV)

import csv, io, os, requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates",
    params={"source": "USD", "target": "EUR,GBP", "format": "csv"},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['ALLRATES_KEY']}"},
    timeout=10,
)
response.raise_for_status()

# utf-8-sig removes the byte-order mark from the first column name
text = response.content.decode("utf-8-sig")
for row in csv.DictReader(io.StringIO(text)):
    print(row["source"], row["target"], float(row["rate"]))

Node.js (JSON)

const response = await fetch(
  'https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR,GBP',
  { headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer ' + process.env.ALLRATES_KEY } }
);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error('Request failed: ' + response.status);

const rows = await response.json();
for (const row of rows) console.log(row.source, row.target, row.rate);

Which format should you use?

FAQ

Is CSV available on the free plan?

Yes. Output format isn't plan-gated. Historical data needs a paid plan in any format.

Does a CSV request cost more than JSON?

No. It counts once against your quota. A date range is billed the same way in every format.

What happens with an unsupported format?

You get a 400 that lists the valid values, and it is not charged.

Can I get a conversion as CSV?

No. A request with amount= always returns JSON, because a conversion is a single result rather than a table.

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