Four-way comparison · 2026

Best Exchange Rate API in 2026: OXR vs Fixer vs ExchangeRate-API vs ApogeoAPI

Four of the most-used live FX rate APIs compared on free-tier quota, currencies covered, refresh frequency, base currency selection, and bundled data.

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Feature comparison

Eleven dimensions. The differentiators are bundled data, base currency selection on free, and refresh-frequency-vs-quota tradeoff.

Feature
OXR
Fixer.io
ExchangeRate-API
ApogeoAPI
Currencies covered
✓170+
✓170
✓161
✓161
Free tier (req/month)
~1,000 / mo
~100 / mo
✓1,500 / mo
✓1,000 / mo + 14-day full trial
Refresh frequency (free)
✓Hourly
✓Hourly
~~6 hours
✓4 hours
Selectable base currency
~Paid only
~Paid only
✓
✓25 base currencies
Historical rates
✓Paid plans
✓Paid plans
✓Paid plans
✗Not yet
Time-series queries
✓Paid plans
✓Paid plans
✗
✗Not yet
Country metadata bundled
✗
✗
✗
✓250+ countries
Cities catalog (150K+) bundled
✗
✗
✗
✓
IP geolocation bundled
✗
✗
✗
✓
Paid plans starting at
✓$12 / mo
✓$15 / mo
✓$10 / mo
✓$19 / mo
SLA
✓99.95%
✓99.99%
✓99.95%
✓99% (Basic+)

When to pick each

OXR

Largest currency catalog (170+). Time-series queries on paid plans.

  • —Need exotic / minor currencies
  • —OK paying for non-USD base
  • —Need historical time-series

Fixer.io

Apilayer family. 99.99% SLA on paid. Limited 100-req/mo free tier.

  • —Already in the apilayer ecosystem
  • —Need top-tier SLA (99.99%)
  • —OK with 100/mo free quota

ExchangeRate-API

Best free-tier quota (1,500/mo). Selectable base currency on free. FX-only.

  • —High free-tier volume
  • —Need any base currency
  • —No need for cities or IP geo

ApogeoAPI

FX bundled with full country, 5K states, 150K cities, IP geo. One API instead of four.

  • ✓Localized pricing UIs
  • ✓Need country + currency together
  • ✓LATAM (ARS / BRL / MXN) coverage
  • ✓25 base currencies

Frequently asked

Which exchange rate API is best for free use?

ExchangeRate-API at 1,500 req/mo free is the best FX-only deal. OXR offers 1,000/mo (USD-base only on free). Fixer offers 100/mo. ApogeoAPI offers 1,000/mo + 14-day full trial — narrower FX quota but bundled with country / city / IP-geo data.

How often are the rates updated?

OXR / Fixer: hourly on free. ExchangeRate-API: ~6 hours on free. ApogeoAPI: every 4 hours fixed (matches the ECB update cadence).

Why is the base currency limited on free OXR?

OXR ties pricing to base currency selection. Free tier locks to USD; EUR-base requires paid. ApogeoAPI offers 25 base currencies on every paid tier with no per-base markup.

Do these APIs cover Latin American currencies (ARS, BRL, MXN)?

All four cover major LATAM pairs. ECB-sourced free datasets (Frankfurter etc.) do NOT include ARS — only paid services. ApogeoAPI uses ExchangeRate-API + our own scrapers so ARS / BRL / CLP / COP / MXN / PEN are all covered.

Can I get country / city data alongside the FX rates?

Only ApogeoAPI bundles FX with full country, state, city data. OXR / Fixer / ExchangeRate-API are FX-only specialists.

Looking for a specific alternative?

Open Exchange Rates alternativeNo base-currency lock on free planFixer alternativeFree plan available, no forced EUR baseExchangeRatesAPI alternative4× more free requests than ExchangeRatesAPICurrencyLayer alternativeHTTPS on free plan + 10× more free quotaFrankfurter API alternative161 currencies vs 33 ECB-only currencies

FX rates + country data + IP geo — bundled

ApogeoAPI gives you 161 currencies + 250 countries + 150K cities + IP geolocation in one API. 1,000 req/mo free + 14-day full trial. No credit card.

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