What ExchangeRate-API does

ExchangeRate-API operates a currency exchange rate REST API serving developers, SaaS platforms, e-commerce stores, internal financial dashboards, and spreadsheet power users globally. The service covers 165 currencies used across 200 countries and delivers JSON-formatted forex data via a tiered subscription model: a free tier (1,500 requests/month, daily updates) and three paid tiers priced at Pro ($10/month, 30,000 requests/month, hourly updates), Business ($30/month, 125,000 requests/month, 5-minute updates), and custom-priced Volume for high-volume enterprise usage. The product is accessed entirely through self-serve sign-up on the company's website, with no sales team involvement in acquisition.

The platform blends exchange rate data from more than 30 central bank and commercial sources through a proprietary algorithm that applies historically weighted checks and data-age weightings to produce stable indicative midpoint rates. The infrastructure is hosted on AWS with multi-Availability Zone redundancy, delivered via Cloudflare, with ancillary services from Hetzner, Mailgun, and Postmark, and Paddle.com acting as Merchant of Record for global billing. The product surface includes Standard, Pair Conversion, Historical Data (back to 1990 for major currencies), Enriched Data (country codes, currency symbols, flag URLs), Supported Codes, and Quota endpoints. A keyless Open Access endpoint with attribution is also offered as a top-of-funnel acquisition channel.

The legal entity is AYR Tech (Pty) Ltd, incorporated in South Africa (registration 2014/090625/07) with a registered office in Cape Town. The company is bootstrapped, private, and operating without disclosed outside funding. Marquee customers displayed on the website include Zoho, Accenture, Alibaba, Salesforce, Mastercard, PwC, F-Secure, Anker, Flexjet, SKF, Le Creuset, OVO, DKNY, Arc'teryx, and Cognizant, with more than 100,000 developers on the free tier generating hundreds of millions of API requests per month. A defining strategic policy is the Long Term Support commitment: paid-customer API endpoints have never been deprecated, with original V1 endpoints launched in 2010 still functioning for current customers.

Name

ExchangeRate-API

Legal name

AYR Tech (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://exchangerate-api.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ExchangeRate-API is a bootstrapped South African SaaS company operating a self-serve currency exchange rate REST API serving developers, SaaS firms, e-commerce stores, and enterprises across 200 countries, with 165 currencies, tiered subscriptions, and Long Term Support commitments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Data API

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

FX Conversion, Pricing & Hedging Infrastructure (Treasury/Rate Engines) (FSAGAKAG)

Keywords

• Currency exchange rate API
• Foreign exchange data
• Financial data API
• Currency conversion service
• Forex rate integration

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription Plans: Tiered subscription model with four levels: Free (1,500 requests/month, daily updates), Pro ($10/month, 30,000 requests/month, hourly updates, email support), Business ($30/month, 125,000 requests/month, 5-minute updates, priority support, enriched data, historical data), and Volume (custom pricing for high-volume needs). Monthly and annual billing options available with 2 months free for annual payments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ExchangeRate-API provides a REST API delivering currency conversion and foreign exchange rate data for 165 currencies covering 200 countries. The service blends data from 30+ central bank and commercial sources using a proprietary algorithm to produce indicative midpoint rates, with update frequencies ranging from daily to every 5 minutes depending on plan. It is offered via tiered subscriptions (Free, Pro, Business, Volume) with historical data going back to 1990 for major currencies.

Product overview

ExchangeRate-API offers a unified currency conversion API platform that aggregates forex data from 30+ central bank and commercial sources. The product portfolio includes a core Exchange Rate API, four subscription tiers (Free, Pro at $10/mo, Business at $30/mo, and Volume), plus a free Open Access endpoint requiring attribution. API endpoints include Standard (all plans), Pair Conversion (all plans), Historical Data (Pro+), Enriched Data (Business+), Supported Codes, and Quota tracking. Data covers 165 currencies used in 200 countries, with update frequencies ranging from daily (Free/Open) to every 5 minutes (Business/Volume).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Exchange Rate API A currency conversion REST API providing exchange rates for 165 currencies across 200 countries. Delivers JSON-formatted forex data suitable for SaaS, dashboards, and e-commerce applications. Includes Standard, Pair Conversion, Historical Data, Enriched Data, Supported Codes, and Quota endpoints accessed via API key or Bearer token authentication.
• Open Access API A free, keyless API endpoint returning exchange rates with attribution required. Rate limited and suitable for small projects. Returns data updated once every 24 hours.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.99% uptime in 2024 as measured by Pingdom
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Paddle.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationPaddle.com serves as the Merchant of Record for all orders, handling payment processing, billing, VAT invoicing for 45+ countries including the EU, and customer service for billing-related support requests. ExchangeRate-API uses Paddle for secure payment processing without having access to customer card details.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS provides cloud infrastructure hosting with multi-Availability Zone setup for high redundancy. ExchangeRate-API uses fault-tolerant AWS services across multiple availability zones for exceptional uptime.
• CloudflarecoreTechnology or IntegrationCloudflare provides network delivery, DDoS protection, and latency-reducing features for the ExchangeRate-API service.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Stripe Currency Conversion:
• Wise (TransferWise) Data & APIs:
• XE.com: XE.com is a globally recognized currency information and remittance brand with currency data APIs and historical rate feeds. It overlaps with ExchangeRate-API on FX data distribution but operates at significantly broader scale and consumer brand recognition.
• OANDA: OANDA is a long-established FX broker and data provider offering exchange rates, historical data, and a developer API as part of a broader currency and trading platform. It competes with ExchangeRate-API on data quality and enterprise credibility but serves a wider retail and institutional trading audience.

Direct peers

• Fixer.io: Fixer.io is a foreign exchange rates API operated by APILayer, offering historical and real-time currency conversion data on a freemium subscription model. It overlaps directly with ExchangeRate-API on product, customer base (developers/SaaS), and pricing structure.
• Open Exchange Rates: Open Exchange Rates is a long-standing currency exchange rate API serving developers and businesses with a freemium SaaS model. It is the most directly comparable competitor, targeting the same developer-first audience with overlapping JSON API endpoints, tiered pricing, and currency coverage.
• Currencylayer: Currencylayer is another APILayer-owned FX rates API offering real-time and historical exchange rate data via JSON endpoints on tiered subscriptions. It is a direct head-to-head competitor for the same developer and SMB customers.
• CurrencyAPI: CurrencyAPI offers a REST-based currency conversion API with real-time, historical, and enriched data on a tiered freemium subscription model. It targets the same developer and SaaS customer base with a similar product surface and pricing philosophy.

Emerging players

• Frankfurter: Frankfurter is a free, open-source exchange rates API published by the European Central Bank. It serves as a free alternative for basic FX data needs, putting pricing pressure on the lower tiers of ExchangeRate-API.
• exchangerate.host: exchangerate.host provides a free, keyless exchange rate API sourcing data from the European Central Bank. While narrower in features and update frequency than ExchangeRate-API, it competes on the same horizontal axis for developers who don't need premium tiers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ExchangeRate-API