CurrencyLayer is one of the most recognized exchange rate APIs — part of the APILayer network and used by roughly 250,000 companies. If you're evaluating it, the first question is usually: how much does it cost?
This guide breaks down every CurrencyLayer pricing tier in 2026, what each plan actually includes, and how it compares to alternatives.
CurrencyLayer Pricing at a Glance
| Plan | Price (monthly) | Requests/month | Update Frequency | Base Currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 100 | Daily | USD only |
| Basic | $13.99 | 10,000 | Hourly | Any |
| Professional | $52.99 | 100,000 | 10 min | Any |
| Professional+ | $84.99 | 500,000 | 60 seconds | Any |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | 60 seconds | Any |
Annual billing knocks roughly 20% off the monthly rates.
What Each Plan Actually Gives You
Free — $0/month
- 100 API requests per month
- Daily rate updates
- USD base currency only (you do cross-rate math in code for any other pair)
- HTTPS access
- Basic endpoints (live rates, historical)
Usable for: prototypes, tutorials, testing the integration. Not usable for any production traffic — 100 requests is roughly 3 per day.
Basic — $13.99/month
- 10,000 requests/month
- Hourly updates
- Any base currency
- Commercial use allowed
Usable for: small SaaS products, internal dashboards, low-traffic e-commerce. Hourly updates are fine if the rate doesn't drive pricing decisions customers see.
Professional — $52.99/month
- 100,000 requests/month
- 10-minute updates
- Time-series and change endpoints
- All currencies and metals
Usable for: production e-commerce, multi-currency SaaS billing, reporting dashboards.
Professional+ — $84.99/month
- 500,000 requests/month
- 60-second updates
- Full access to every endpoint
Usable for: high-traffic apps, fintech products, anything touching payments or trading.
Enterprise — Custom
- Unlimited requests
- Dedicated support (platinum tier)
- Custom SLAs
What You Don't Get at Any Price
- Historical rates on the free plan — paid only.
- Real-time updates on the free plan — daily only.
- Any base currency on the free plan — USD only.
- CORS — no cross-origin requests from the browser on any plan. You must proxy through a backend.
The CORS restriction matters more than most teams notice at signup. If your frontend wants to call the API directly (static sites, Jamstack, widgets), you'll need a server-side proxy.
How CurrencyLayer Compares to Alternatives
| Provider | Free tier | 60s updates start at | Historical on free |
|---|---|---|---|
| AllRatesToday | 300 req/mo, any base, historical included | ~$10/mo equivalent | Yes |
| CurrencyLayer | 100 req/mo, USD only | $84.99/mo | No |
| Fixer.io | 100 req/mo, EUR only | ~$52.99/mo | No |
| ExchangeRate-API | 1,500 req/mo, daily | $10/mo (5min) | No |
| Open Exchange Rates | 1,000 req/mo, USD only | $97/mo (5min) | No |
CurrencyLayer is priced in the middle of the market. The free tier is tight, the paid tiers are reasonable, but 60-second updates are gated behind the $85 plan.
When CurrencyLayer Is Worth It
- You're already in the APILayer ecosystem and want consolidated billing.
- You need the specific currencies and metals CurrencyLayer covers (168 symbols + metals).
- You value the long-running brand — the service has been around since 2015.
When to Look Elsewhere
- You need a real free tier — AllRatesToday offers historical rates on the free plan, which CurrencyLayer doesn't at any price below Professional.
- You need real-time updates cheaply — AllRatesToday's 60s tier is significantly cheaper than CurrencyLayer's Professional+ at $85/month.
- You need CORS — CurrencyLayer doesn't support it. AllRatesToday and ExchangeRate-API do.
- You're building globally and USD-base is inconvenient — the CurrencyLayer free plan locks you to USD.
Is CurrencyLayer Free?
Technically yes — there's a $0 plan. Practically, the combination of 100 requests/month, USD-only base, and daily updates makes it a trial tier, not a production free tier.
FAQ
How many currencies does CurrencyLayer support?
168 fiat currencies plus four precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium).
Does CurrencyLayer support cryptocurrencies?
No. It's a fiat and metals API. For crypto you'd need a dedicated crypto API or a mixed provider like CurrencyFreaks.
What is the CurrencyLayer update frequency?
Daily on free, hourly on Basic, every 10 minutes on Professional, and every 60 seconds on Professional+. Enterprise matches Professional+.
Does CurrencyLayer have CORS support?
No — all plans require server-side calls.
What's the cheapest real-time currency API?
For 60-second updates, AllRatesToday's paid tiers start at a lower price than CurrencyLayer Professional+. Worth comparing if real-time is the main requirement.
If you need real-time rates, historical data, and CORS on a smaller budget, try AllRatesToday — free tier, Reuters/Refinitiv-sourced, and no credit card required.