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✨ fastFOREX API MCP is now Generally Available - let your agents manage your fastFOREX API ✨

fastFOREX API vs ExchangeRate-API

The fast alternative to ExchangeRate-API

ExchangeRate-API is a solid budget choice — but its Pro plan updates hourly, its fastest plan every 5 minutes, and by its own docs the data is 'unsuitable for forex trading' with no bid/ask spread. fastFOREX API delivers 60-second to 1-second updates, live bid/ask on 2,300+ pairs, and 1,000,000 calls from $18.

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Competitor figures from ExchangeRate-API's public pricing, verified 10 September 2026.

The difference, quantified.

300x

Fresher data — 1s on Premium vs their 5-minute best

33x

More calls — 1,000,000 vs 30,000 on comparable entry plans

2,300+

Bid/ask FX pairs — they publish no spread data at all

Head to head

Feature comparison.

What you get on comparable plans.

Currency, time-series, metals, sign-in, account and MCP rows were checked on 2 October 2026. Currency counts come from each provider's published currency list, classified against the official ISO 4217 list (SIX Group, published 17 September 2026). Other rows were checked on 10 September 2026.

fastFOREX API

ExchangeRate-API

Plans & pricing

Entry paid plan

$18/mo

$10/mo

API calls included

1,000,000

30,000

Update frequency (entry plan)

60 seconds

Hourly

Fastest published updates

1 second ($54)

5 minutes ($30 Business)

Cheapest time-series plan

$18/mo (One) — every plan

No range endpoint (single-date history from $10/mo)

Currency coverage

ISO 4217 national & supranational currencies

155 of 155

151 of 155

Total currencies listed (fiat, pegged, supranational & instruments)

172

164

Cryptocurrencies

500+ (750+ pairs)

No

Metals

Precious metals

Gold, silver, platinum, palladium (from Premium, $54/mo)

None listed

Base metals

Copper, aluminium, lead, nickel, zinc

None listed

Market data

Data sources

100+ named institutional contributors

Central banks + commercial (unnamed, min. 3 per currency)

Live bid/ask quotes (2,300+ pairs)

Yes

No

OHLC candles down to the minute

Yes

No

Historical data depth

55+ years (1970, to the minute)

30+ years (daily)

Streaming & AI

WebSocket streaming

Premium + WS plan

No

MCP server for AI agents (official)

Yes

None found

Account & support

Sign-in options

Google, GitHub, email

Email + password only

Multiple API keys

Multiple keys (live, dev, test)

Not stated

Multiple users / team access

You can add other users & accounting email addresses

Not stated

Support

365 days/yr

Email (paid plans)

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  • Data that never sleeps

    Midpoint rates every 60, 30 or 1 second by plan — and crypto every second on every plan. If your app shows a price, it should be the current one.

  • Trading-grade market data

    Beyond midpoint rates: live bid/ask on 2,300+ pairs, OHLC candles down to the minute, real-time gold and metals, and over 55 years of history for backtesting.

  • A million calls, one price

    Every fastFOREX API plan includes 1,000,000 API calls per month from $18. No metering anxiety, no surprise overage bills.

  • Built for the AI era

    A native MCP server connects ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and your agents straight to live FX data, with 25 tools including six for metals.

Switch in under an hour.

Both APIs speak JSON over HTTPS, so migrating from ExchangeRate-API is usually a base-URL and response-shape change. Follow the migration guide, run both side by side on your free trial, and cut over when the numbers check out.

Read the Migration GuideStart Side-by-Side Trial

"We had intermittent failures with our previous currency exchange API provider. We switched to fastFOREX — setup was easy, and we always get fast response times. That's all we need."

Esteban Tósta

Beyond Bath & Bed — switched to fastFOREX API

Switching questions.

What developers ask when moving from ExchangeRate-API.

How hard is it to migrate from ExchangeRate-API?
Both APIs return simple JSON over HTTPS, so most migrations are a base-URL and response-shape change. Most developers are done in under an hour.
Can I test both side by side?
Yes. The 7-day free trial gives full access to your plan's features with no credit card, so you can benchmark latency and data quality against your current provider before switching.
Where does fastFOREX API data come from?
We aggregate from 100+ FX contributors, major OTC inter-dealer brokers, and the dealing rooms of leading market-making banks including HSBC, JPMorgan, Barclays Capital and UBS. See our data sources.
What if I need more than a million calls?
Top up in 1M blocks at $18/month, with volume discounts from 10M calls per month.
ExchangeRate-API vs fastFOREX API: what's the main difference?
The head-to-head table above compares ExchangeRate-API with fastFOREX API line by line — update speed, data depth, limits, pricing and support — with every figure sourced and dated 10 September 2026.
How does ExchangeRate-API pricing compare?
The table above shows what ExchangeRate-API offers and what it costs, with sources and retrieved dates. fastFOREX API starts at $18/month with 1,000,000 API calls included.
ExchangeRate-API says its data isn't for trading. Is yours?
Their docs state their rates are indicative midpoints 'unsuitable for forex trading' with no buy/sell spread. fastFOREX API provides live bid/ask across 2,300+ pairs from Tier-1 institutional liquidity — real market data, though as with any data API, our rates are informational rather than offers to deal.

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Free 7-day trial, no credit card, cancel anytime.

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Sources & verification

Competitor figures were taken from the public pages below, last verified 2 October 2026 (pricing rows 10 September 2026). Plans and prices may have changed since.

Read how we compare providers. ExchangeRate-API is a trademark of its owner; we reference it only to describe a factual comparison. Spot something outdated? Tell us and we'll correct it promptly.

When hourly midpoints stop being enough.

60-second to 1-second updates, live bid/ask, OHLC, metals and an MCP server — from $18/month.

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