Quick answer
UniRateAPI - UniRateAPI wins for most builders because its free tier is less cramped for testing and includes a broader slice of the paid product, while Currency Api is mainly the better choice only if you need a monthly-request bucket with no card and can live with the tighter limits.
How the free tiers compare
These two free tiers are similar on paper because both are perpetual, card-free, and aimed at currency data developers. The difference is in how much you can actually do before hitting the ceiling. Currency Api gives you 500 requests per month, which is easier to think about as a small monthly allowance, but it is very restrictive for anything beyond a toy integration and it excludes historical data, team features, and commercial use. UniRateAPI is more generous for builders who want to test a real workflow: 200 requests per day, which works out to about 6,000 per month, plus a broader currency surface and access to real-time conversion. The tradeoff is that its free tier also blocks historical data. After the free tier, both are simple flat monthly plans at the first paid step, so cost differences are mostly about how quickly you hit the limit, not about tricky metering.
Currency Api vs UniRateAPI free tier, side by side
| Currency ApiFTV 48 | UniRateAPIFTV 52 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free requestsB is materially larger on a monthly basis, though A’s cap is monthly rather than daily. | 500 monthly requests | 200 requests/day (6,000/month) |
| Historical dataNeither free tier includes historical access. | No historical rates | No historical data access |
| Update frequencyB’s free tier is described as real-time; A explicitly updates hourly. | Updated every 60 minutes | Real-time exchange rates |
| API keysA’s free tier is limited to one key; no free-tier key limit was provided for B. | Only 1 API key | Not specified |
| Credit card requiredBoth inputs explicitly say no credit card is required. | No | No |
After you outgrow the free tier
Both products switch to simple flat monthly pricing at the first paid tier. Currency Api starts at $9.99/month for Essential, then moves up to $34.99/month and $74.99/month as request volume and features expand. UniRateAPI’s first paid tier is Pro Tier at $9/month, and there is only one paid tier provided, so the pricing path is simpler. For small teams, UniRateAPI is slightly cheaper at the entry point, while Currency Api offers more paid tiers and a much higher top end. No usage-based rates were provided, so there are no call-by-call cost scenarios to calculate.
When to pick each one
Pick Currency Api when…
- You only need a tiny monthly allowance for a personal side project.
- You want a simple monthly quota instead of thinking in daily limits.
- You do not need historical rates, team management, or support.
- You want the cheapest way to keep a low-traffic currency widget running.
Pick UniRateAPI when…
- You are testing an app or dashboard and need more than a few hundred calls to validate it.
- You want a broader free surface area for real-time currency and conversion work.
- You expect steady day-to-day usage rather than a one-off monthly burst.
- You want to stay on free while building a small but active prototype.
Bottom line
For the most common builder use case, UniRateAPI is the better free-tier pick because it gives you more room to experiment before you pay, with a broader daily allowance and a more generous free package overall. Currency Api only wins if you specifically prefer a monthly cap, need its particular paid ladder later, or are building something so small that 500 monthly requests is enough. If you are choosing based on the free tier alone, UniRateAPI is the safer starting point.
Read the full listings: Currency Api and UniRateAPI. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.