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fastFOREX API vs Open Exchange Rates

The fast alternative to Open Exchange Rates

Open Exchange Rates updates hourly on its $12 Developer plan and includes 10,000 requests. fastFOREX API updates every 60 seconds on its $18 plan — with 1,000,000 calls included. If freshness and headroom matter, the choice is simple.

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Competitor figures from Open Exchange Rates' public pricing, verified 10 September 2026.

The difference, quantified.

60x

Fresher data — 60s updates vs hourly at entry level

100x

More calls included — 1,000,000 vs 10,000 per month

$54

For 1-second updates. Their 5-minute plan is $97

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

Open Exchange Rates

Plans & pricing

Entry paid plan

$18/mo

$12/mo

API calls included

1,000,000

10,000

Update frequency (entry plan)

60 seconds

Hourly

Fastest published updates

1 second ($54)

5 minutes ($97); 1s on VIP (price on application)

Cheapest time-series plan

$18/mo (One) — every plan

$47/mo (Enterprise)

Currency coverage

ISO 4217 national & supranational currencies

155 of 155

154 of 155

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

172

168

Cryptocurrencies

500+ (750+ pairs)

Limited

Metals

Precious metals

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

Gold, silver, platinum, palladium (listed as currencies)

Base metals

Copper, aluminium, lead, nickel, zinc

None listed

Market data

Data sources

100+ named institutional contributors

“Multiple reliable providers” (unnamed)

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

Yes

VIP tier only (POA)

OHLC candles down to the minute

Yes

VIP tier only (POA)

Historical data depth

55+ years (1970, to the minute)

27 years (1999, 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)

One App ID (more on request)

Multiple users / team access

You can add other users & accounting email addresses

On request (contact support)

Support

365 days/yr

Email (tiered)

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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 Open Exchange Rates 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 Open Exchange Rates.

How hard is it to migrate from Open Exchange Rates?
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.
Open Exchange Rates vs fastFOREX API: what's the main difference?
The head-to-head table above compares Open Exchange Rates 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 Open Exchange Rates pricing compare?
The table above shows what Open Exchange Rates offers and what it costs, with sources and retrieved dates. fastFOREX API starts at $18/month with 1,000,000 API calls included.
Doesn't OXR offer 1-second updates and bid/ask too?
Only on its unpublished 'VIP' service levels — price on application, contact required. On fastFOREX API, 1-second updates, bid/ask and OHLC are on the published Premium plan at $54/mo, purchasable in the Console today.
Is Open Exchange Rates' time-series cheaper?
Watch the metering: OXR charges one request per day of data returned on time-series calls, so a year of daily data costs ~365 requests against a 10,000/month allowance. fastFOREX API time-series is available on every plan against a 1,000,000-call allowance.

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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. Open Exchange Rates 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.

60-second data for less than their hourly plan costs per call.

1s updates, bid/ask, OHLC, metals, over 55 years of history and an MCP server — from $18/month with a million calls included.

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