RatesDB is a free foreign exchange rate and currency conversion JSON API, with data sourced from exchange rates published by the European Central Bank. Built for developers, it supports HTTP GET queries for the latest rates, rates for all supported currencies, and historical rates for a specified date, with historical data going back as far as 1999-01-04.
Functionally, RatesDB has a very lightweight API design: from is the required base currency, to is the target currency, and date can be used for historical queries. If no rate was published on the specified date, it returns the previous dayβs rate; if historical data is missing for certain currencies, the rate value may be null. Responses are JSON-only, and error codes include 404, 422, and 429, making it easier for developers to handle no-result, invalid-parameter, and rate-limit scenarios. The main documentation does not mention an official SDK or support for specific languages/frameworks, but as a standard HTTP API, it should be relatively easy to integrate.
Supported currencies include common options such as EUR, USD, GBP, CNY, JPY, CHF, CAD, and AUD, though coverage is limited by the European Central Bankβs data. The FAQ says the code and technical overview are available in a public GitHub repository, but it does not disclose the license or clearly state whether self-hosting is supported. In terms of ecosystem, the main content does not show plugins, third-party integrations, webhooks, or platform-level capabilities; it is more of a single-purpose API service.
RatesDB is advertised as free, with no paid plans or payment method information visible. The API rate limit is 100 requests per minute, making it suitable for personal projects, prototypes, scheduled backend synchronization, or small-to-medium traffic use cases. For high-frequency trading, real-time financial products, or large-scale commercial systems, it may be constrained by request limits, lack of SLA details, and limited support information.
Its strengths are that it is free, simple to use, well documented with examples, parameters, error codes, and a currency list, and transparent about its data source. Its drawbacks are that it only supports JSON and lacks clear information on SLA, authentication, commercial support, SDKs, and enterprise features. It is a good fit for developers, independent websites, ecommerce displays, multi-currency reporting, and data scripts that need quick access to exchange rate queries. It is less suitable for finance-grade scenarios with strict requirements around real-time accuracy, stability, and compliance support.
The main content does not provide information on availability from mainland China, payment methods, or local alternatives, so its accessibility from China is rated as unknown. If using it in a production environment in China, it is recommended to first test the connectivity, latency, and stability of free.ratesdb.com, and prepare a similar exchange rate API or a self-hosted European Central Bank data synchronization service as a fallback.
β This review is compiled from public sources and does not constitute a purchase recommendation. Verify all facts on the vendor's official site. Verify on ratesdb.com official site.
ratesdb.com is an Unknown Dev Tools provider. TG4G tracks its product information, an overall rating of 7.0/10, and a China-accessibility score of China direct-connect friendly. Click "Visit Official Site" to reach ratesdb.com directly.