4 Best Python Currency APIs for Developers

If you are a forex trading application developer Python could be one of the simplest programming languages that you could use. However, to be successful in developing programs you require currency APIs to help you retrieve forex data for use in your programs.

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In this article, we shall look at the four best Python currency APIs that are available online:

1. CurrencyAPI.io

CurrencyAPI.io is one of the most reliable currency APIs that you can use to retrieve Forex data using Python.

It is a fast, friendly API that offers JSON output.

It is built by developers for developers and users can find detailed documentation on how to use it with various programming languages including Python thus making it easy to use even for beginners.

Contrary to most currency APIs, CurrencyAPI.io only has one endpoint called markets thus making things less complicated for developers since they do not have to use different endpoints to query different data.

It comes in two plans: the starter and the premium.

• Starter (7 days free trial)

This is the lowest plan and it requires a user to pay a monthly subscription of $19 after the 7-day free trial expires.

It offers the following to users:

1. Access to up to 10,000 API calls/month
2. Ability to query Real-Time Forex Data
3. A 100MS latency
4. A 99.95% SLA Guarantee
5. Ability to use REST API
6. The API calls can be used on 1800+ Forex Pairs, 300+ Cryptocurrencies, Gold and also Silver
7. Premium Support
8. Bank-level 256-bit encryption

The only disadvantage with the Starter plan is that it does not allow users to retrieve historical data through API calls.

• Premium

This plan though slightly more expensive offers more functionality than the starter plan. Users are required to pay a monthly subscription fee of $199.

It offers the following to users:

1. Access to up to 100,000 API calls/month
2. Ability to query Real-Time Forex and cryptocurrency Data
3. A 100MS latency
4. A 99.95% SLA Guarantee
5. Ability to use REST API, GRAPHQL, and WebSocket
6. The API calls can be used on 1800+ Forex Pairs, 300+ Cryptocurrencies, Gold and also Silver
7. Premium Support
8. Bank-level 256-bit encryption
9. Ability to retrieve historical data

2. ExchangeRate-API

ExchangeRate-API is another currency API that Python developers can use to retrieve Forex data.

It has four endpoints for retrieving different kinds of data. These endpoints include the Standard endpoint, the Pair Conversion endpoint, the Enriched Data endpoint, and the Historical Data endpoint.

• The standard endpoint is used for retrieving the current exchange rates of various currencies.
• The pair conversion endpoint is used for currency conversion.
• The enriched endpoint is used for retrieving more detailed data that includes the currency name, its display symbol, associated region or country, and a flag image URL.
• The historical endpoint is used for retrieving historical data.

ExchangeRate-API has three plans that users can subscribe to and they include the free plan, the Pro plan, and the business plan.

• Free plan 

This allows users to use the ExchangeRate-API for free.

It however offers a limited functionality since users can only use the standard and currency conversion endpoints when they chose this plan.

It updates once per day; meaning the data retrieved could be out of date.

Users can only access 1500 API calls per month.

• Pro plan

This is a more advanced plan than the free plan.

Users are required to pay a $10 monthly subscription fee.

It updates every one hour (60 minutes); meaning the data that is retrieved is more updated than that retrieved using the free plan.

It allows users to access 30,000 API calls per month.

It also has a high availability infrastructure and users are guaranteed an LTS commitment and email support from the team.

Users can also use the historical and enriched endpoints to retrieve historical and enriched data respectively.

• Business plan

 This plan requires users to pay a $30 monthly subscription fee.

It offers all the functionalities of the Pro plan with the only difference being that it allows users to access 100,000 API calls per month, it updates every 5 minutes, and users are entitled to a priority email address.

3. Fixer.io

Fixer.io is another great currency API that Python developers can use to retrieve forex data.

It has different API endpoints which are accessed depending on the plan that a user subscribes to. These endpoints include:

• Latest rates endpoint – for retrieving real-time exchange rate data.
• Convert endpoint – for conversion of any amount from one currency to another.
• Historical rates endpoint – for retrieving historical exchange rate data.
• Time-Series data endpoint for retrieving daily historical exchange rate data between two specified dates.
• Fluctuation data endpoint – for retrieving fluctuation data between two specified dates.

Fixer.io has four plans: the free plan, the basic plan, the professional plan, and the professional plus plan.

• Free plan

This allows users to access 250 API calls per month, and it updates after every hour.

Users can use the historical endpoint in addition to the latest rates endpoint.

It however has limited support.

• Basic plan

Users are required to pay a $10 monthly subscription or an $8 yearly subscription.

This allows users to access 10,000 API calls per month, and it updates after every hour.

Users can use the historical endpoint, the latest rate endpoint, and the convert endpoint.

It also offers premium support.

• Professional plan

Users are required to pay a $40 monthly subscription or a $32 yearly subscription.

This allows users to access 100,000 API calls per month, and it updates after every ten minutes.

Users can use the historical endpoint, the latest rate endpoint, the convert endpoint, and the Time-Series data endpoint.

It also offers premium support.

• Professional plus plan

Users are required to pay an $80 monthly subscription or a $72 yearly subscription.

This plan allows users to access 500,000 API calls per month and use all the available endpoints.

It updates every 60 seconds and offers premium support.

4. OpenExchangeRates API

The OpenExchangeRates API allows Python developers to retrieve live and historical exchange rates of over 200 world currencies. It also offers time-series and conversion APIs.

It has three plans; the Developer Plan, the Enterprise Plan, and the Unlimited Plan.

• Developer Plan

Users are required to pay a $12 monthly subscription fee.

It allows users to access 10,000 API calls per month and updates hourly.

• Enterprise Plan

Users are required to pay a $47 monthly subscription fee.

It allows users to access 100,000 API calls per month and updates every 30 minutes.

It also allows users to place time-series requests.

• Unlimited Plan

Users are required to pay a $97 monthly subscription fee.

It allows users to access unlimited API calls per month and updates every 5 minutes.

Conclusion

If you are a Python forex programs developer, you can choose from the above-listed currency APIs depending on your budget, how frequent (number of calls) you intend to use the API in a month, and the type of data that you want to retrieve using the API.

Different currency APIs have different plans that allow users to access a different number of API calls per month and also retrieve different kinds of data. The higher the plan the more functionalities.
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