Weather APIs sell forecast and observation data by the call, the record or the day, and the unit chosen shapes your bill more than the headline price.
This guide ranks eleven providers on setup effort, cost once traffic grows, ease of leaving, independence from a larger owner and fit, and flags where a vendor page leaves prices or limits unstated.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What weather apis software does
A weather API is a web service that returns current conditions, forecasts, historical records or alerts for a location, billed by request volume under limits set by the provider.
Our order comes from five tests, taken in turn: effort to set up, what you really pay, what happens to your data on the way out, how locked in you are, and the intended customer. One rule overrides the order: smaller vendors take the first three places when the category offers them, and the best-known brands start at four. For why these five were chosen, and why nothing here gets a numeric score, see how we work.
Weather API sold by monthly call budget, with a non-commercial open tier
Ranked #1 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The open tier allows 600 calls a minute, 5,000 an hour and 10,000 a day inside the 300,000 monthly total, which suits a hobby dashboard or a classroom project. Standard adds 1 million calls and commercial rights at a fixed monthly price.
The FAQ adds that monthly limits are not enforced until a usage dashboard goes live, so today's behaviour may change. The vendor itself frames the open tier as evaluation and prototyping.
What stands out
300,000 monthly calls on open tier
Non-commercial open access
Servers in Europe and North America
Where it costs you
Commercial use is excluded from the open tier, so a product with revenue must pay from day one.
The pricing page shows no amounts for Standard, Professional or Enterprise, so budgeting needs an account or a conversation.
No imprint or street address is given, only an email and a note that servers sit in Europe and North America.
Right for
Prototypes and non-commercial projects that need a large monthly call allowance
Wrong for
Commercial products that need prices written down before signing
Not stated by the vendorTiered by monthly call budget; commercial use starts at the Standard tier and the page lists no amounts
Dark Sky style JSON forecasts with minute precipitation, cloud or local
Ranked #2 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Forecasts draw on guidance from NOAA, ECMWF, FMI and CMC, with optional AI guidance from NOAA AIGFS and AIGEFS or ECMWF AIFS. Historic requests reach back to 1940 through ERA5 reanalysis in the same response format, which saves a second integration.
Access comes as REST or through an MCP server. The unusual point is the pairing of a cloud endpoint with local running: you decide whether the vendor or your own machine answers.
What stands out
Dark Sky compatible JSON
ERA5 history from 1940
MCP server access
Where it costs you
The homepage names no licence for the code, so reuse rights cannot be confirmed from it.
Paid tiers were not listed on the page, which leaves the cost beyond 10,000 monthly calls unknown.
The homepage gives neither a country nor a company address.
Right for
Developers migrating Dark Sky style code who also want history and alerts
Wrong for
Buyers who need a priced commercial plan before starting
Not stated by the vendorCloud endpoint with a monthly call allowance on the homepage; paid tier terms are not stated there
Request-per-day plans with commercial use from the Medium tier
Ranked #3 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
The step from Small to Medium multiplies the daily allowance tenfold, from 500 to 5,000 requests, for a little over two and a half times the price, and adds commercial use and full support at the same moment.
Large reaches 25,000 daily requests. Annual billing takes ten percent off paid plans. Because limits reset daily, a product with uneven traffic should size for its busiest day, not its average one.
What stands out
Daily request quotas
Commercial use from Medium
Annual billing discount
Where it costs you
The free plan allows only 10 requests per day and carries no support.
Commercial use is listed from the Medium plan upwards, so Small needs its terms checked before a paid product ships.
Quotas reset daily, not monthly, so a burst can use up a whole allowance quickly.
Right for
Small commercial products with steady daily traffic and a fixed euro budget
Wrong for
Projects that need support or commercial rights on a zero budget
Not stated by the vendorPublished monthly plans in euros by daily request quota; annual billing is discounted; Enterprise by email
Daily request tiers up to two million, with a 21-day trial
Ranked #4 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Free tierPricing on requestElsewhere
The free plan covers current weather and 7-day daily forecasts at 50 requests a day, which only proves a connection works. The trial lifts that to as many as 1,500 requests daily for 21 days, and no card is required.
Between Standard and Plus the allowance rises tenfold, from 25,000 to 250,000 requests a day, so the tier you need depends on how many places you poll.
What stands out
21-day Business trial
Daily request tiers
7-day forecast on entry plan
Where it costs you
Prices for Standard, Plus and Business are not visible on the pricing page.
The 21-day trial is a Business trial capped at 1,500 requests per day, so it does not exercise the top tier's volume.
The page gives a contact form and an email but no company address.
Right for
Teams that want a trial with real volume before choosing a tier
Wrong for
Buyers who need tier prices visible on the page
Not stated by the vendorMonthly or yearly billing across Standard, Plus and Business tiers sized by daily requests; the page shows no amounts; 21-day trial
Billed per record rather than per call, with a no-key option
Ranked #5 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Per-record billing suits buyers who pull large datasets and want to pay for exactly that volume, with unlimited records and concurrency on the metered plan according to the FAQ.
The Timeline LLX Weather API handles 5,000 records per minute. Subscriptions at Professional and Corporate level carry lower rates than pay-as-you-go, which rewards steady usage, but the page leaves the amounts out, so ask before committing.
What stands out
Per-record billing
No-key anonymous access
1,000 daily records when registered
Where it costs you
The pay-as-you-go rate appears without a currency, so the real cost cannot be read from the page.
Professional and Corporate subscription prices are not shown.
Anonymous no-key use is managed by client IP address under fair-use controls, which gives no guaranteed volume.
Right for
Analysts pulling large date ranges who prefer paying per record
Wrong for
Teams that must fix a monthly cost before launch
Not stated by the vendorMetered pay-as-you-go per record, or Professional and Corporate subscriptions at lower rates; subscription amounts are not shown
Monthly call plans from 100,000 up to 500 million, priced openly
Ranked #6 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
The cost curve is gentle: 7 USD a month buys 3 million calls and 65 USD buys 10 million, so the price per call falls as volume rises.
High-volume plans run from 20 million calls at 95 USD up to 500 million at 1,275 USD, and yearly billing saves 10 percent. A buyer who expects traffic to grow can read the whole ladder before writing any code.
What stands out
Seven days of Business on signup
No card needed to start
High-volume plans to 500 million calls
Where it costs you
The free plan stops at 100,000 calls a month, so a growing product will outgrow it.
The seven-day Business period ends with an automatic move down to the free plan, so a team still testing after a week is demoted without choosing.
No country, company address or owner is stated on the pricing page.
Right for
Startups that want an open price ladder and a seven-day full trial
Wrong for
Buyers who need a named company and address on the page
Not stated by the vendorPublished monthly and yearly plans in dollars by call volume; seven-day trials on paid plans; Enterprise custom
Four published tiers with overage rates, owned by APILayer
Ranked #7 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Overage rates fall as the plan grows: about 0.0008 per call on Standard, 0.00067 on Professional and 0.0004 on Business, which makes the larger plans cheaper at the margin.
Yearly billing lowers Standard from 9.99 to 8.99 a month. Business gives 1 million calls a month for 99.99. Enterprise shows no fixed limit and goes through the company for a quote.
What stands out
Overage priced per call
Free plan of 100 calls
APILayer product
Where it costs you
Only 100 calls per month on the free plan is too small for a live trial.
The currency appears only as a dollar sign, with no code.
Ownership by APILayer makes this one line in a wider portfolio rather than a stand-alone vendor.
Right for
Small apps that want to know the cost of every extra call
Wrong for
Buyers who avoid products sitting inside a vendor's wider portfolio
Not stated by the vendorPublished monthly plans in dollars with a yearly discount and a per-call overage rate; Enterprise by quote
One-year API activation from a Swiss-badged forecast provider
Ranked #8 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The offer is a registration step, not a purchase: sign up as a meteoblue user and the API can be switched on for twelve months with no obligation.
Beyond that the page is silent on limits and commercial terms, so the first task for any buyer is to ask. Climate Services sits beside Weather APIs in the business menu, which shows the vendor sells climate work as a separate B2B line.
What stands out
One-year API activation
Weather APIs and Climate Services
Swiss quality badge
Where it costs you
The API section lists neither prices nor call limits.
The page does not say what follows the one-year activation.
A badge reading made in Switzerland is not a stated country of establishment.
Right for
Evaluators who want a full year to test before talking to sales
Wrong for
Buyers who need limits and prices visible before registering
Not stated by the vendorWeather API activated for one year on registration; no paid tiers, billing basis or limits are shown on the page
Free entry plan and quoted Enterprise tier with monitoring and routes
Ranked #9 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Free tierPricing on requestElsewhere
The product list goes beyond forecasts: Weather Forecast and Real-Time, Historical, Weather Maps, Weather Monitoring and Weather on Routes APIs. Monitoring and alerts are built into even the entry plan, in a single-location, single-alert form.
Enterprise adds route weather, premium data layers, SAML-based sign-in and minutely resolution. A team that wants alerting on fleets or sites will find more here than in a plain forecast feed, at a price it must ask for.
What stands out
Weather on Routes API
Weather Monitoring API
SAML SSO on Enterprise
Where it costs you
Capacity of the free plan is unknown, so it has to be asked about.
The step from a one-location free plan to Enterprise has no priced tier between them on the page.
No country or address is stated on the page read.
Right for
Operations teams that want weather alerts and route weather alongside forecasts
Wrong for
Buyers who need a priced mid-size plan with a stated quota
Not stated by the vendorEntry plan with a 5-day forecast and one monitored location; Enterprise priced by quote with custom SLAs
Both subscriptions and pay-per-call, with a free million monthly calls
Ranked #10 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
Subscriptions step up by rate limit as well as monthly volume: Startup allows 600 calls a minute and 10 million a month, Developer 3,000 and 100 million, Professional 30,000 and 1 billion, and Expert 100,000 and 3 billion.
One Call is billed separately at 0.0014 EUR per call after the daily allowance. A student plan is listed without describing who qualifies. Work out which model fits your traffic shape before you start.
What stands out
One Call pay-per-call API
Weather Maps and Solar products
London-based company
Where it costs you
Weather Maps 3.0 Basic is capped at 30,000 calls a month, far below the subscription volumes.
Solar Irradiance costs 0.11 EUR per call, which adds up quickly at volume.
Separate pricing models for subscriptions, One Call and add-on products make a total bill harder to forecast.
Right for
Teams that want one vendor from a free start to billions of calls
Wrong for
Buyers who want a single flat price for maps and forecasts
United KingdomPublished euro subscriptions by calls per minute, plus a pay-per-call One Call API and separately priced map and solar products
Industry weather products for marine, aviation and outdoor safety teams
Ranked #11 of 11 in Best Weather APIs in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The homepage groups offers by sector instead of by API tier. Marine and Offshore includes a Marine Weather API, NowcastingPro and Offshore Forecast Services. Aviation lists AviationSentry, MetConsole and Flight Route Alerting.
Outdoor Safety has DTN Weather Hub, and mining and events include Storm Tracker and WeatherOps Live Event Services. Access terms were not found on the pages read, so buyers must ask directly.
What stands out
Marine Weather API
Aviation alerting products
Storm and lightning alerting
Where it costs you
A 404 on the weather API address left no API terms to read.
No price, plan or trial appears on the homepage.
No country is stated on the pages read.
Right for
Marine, aviation or event teams shopping for sector-specific weather products
Wrong for
Developers who want a self-service key and visible limits
Not stated by the vendorNo plan, price or trial found on the pages read; the weather API page returned an error
A weather API is a web service that returns current conditions, forecasts, historical records or alerts for a location, billed by request volume under limits set by the provider. What separates these products is rarely a feature. Work through the steps below.
01
Check who publishes a price
The split is 4 published against 7 quoted. If you want to compare numbers first, start with Stormglass, WeatherAPI, Weatherstack, OpenWeather.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
The vendors on this page are based in 2 countries (Elsewhere 10, Europe 1). The country of the contracting company sets which authorities can ask it for your data, whatever the hosting region.
Counting weather API usage by call, record, request or day
The unit on the pricing page decides how a weather API behaves under load. Open-Meteo budgets by month and also caps calls per minute, hour and day. Stormglass counts requests per day, so a busy afternoon draws on a fixed daily pot. Visual Crossing bills per record, which ties cost to the size of the data you pull rather than the number of trips.
OpenWeather meters calls per minute on its subscriptions and charges per call on One Call. None of these is better in the abstract. Estimate your own pattern first: how many places you poll, how often, and whether your peak falls in one hour or spreads across the month. Then price the pattern against each unit, because the same traffic can look cheap under one and costly under another.
Write down polls per hour and places polled before comparing plans
Check whether the cap is per minute, day or month
Find out what happens at the limit: a stop or an overage price
Reading the free weather API tier before you build on it
Free weather API tiers differ more in their terms than in their size. Open-Meteo, Stormglass and Weatherbit restrict their open or free plans to non-commercial use, so a product with customers must move up at launch. WeatherAPI gives 100,000 calls a month, while Weatherstack gives only 100, which proves a connection and nothing more.
Tomorrow.io lists no request quota for its free plan at all, and meteoblue offers a one-year activation instead of a plan. Read the commercial clause before the call count, because a large allowance you cannot legally use in production is worth little. Then confirm what the allowance covers: some free plans include forecasts, others only current conditions or a short forecast window, and support is sometimes excluded.
Search each free tier for the words commercial and non-commercial
Confirm which data types the free allowance includes
Note whether support is part of the plan
Weather API pricing when the vendor page shows no amounts
Several vendors here describe plan sizes without printing prices. Open-Meteo lists Standard, Professional and Enterprise call budgets with no amounts, Weatherbit names its tiers but leaves the paid figures out, and Visual Crossing shows a metered rate with no currency and no subscription prices. Meteoblue and DTN Weather APIs show no API prices at all on the pages read.
Compare that with WeatherAPI, Weatherstack and Stormglass, which print every tier, or OpenWeather, which prints subscriptions and per-call rates. A missing price is not a bad sign by itself, but it adds a step: ask in writing, get the monthly figure for your volume, and ask what the overage rate is. Do this before integration work, not after, so a quote cannot change the choice late.
Request a written monthly figure for your expected volume
Ask for the overage rate or the action at the cap
Confirm the currency and whether tax is included
Matching a weather API to alerts, maps and history
A forecast feed is only one thing a weather API can sell. Tomorrow.io lists separate monitoring, maps, historical and route weather APIs, and its entry plan already includes one monitored location and one alert. Pirate Weather offers ERA5 reanalysis from 1940 in the same format as its forecasts, plus minute-by-minute precipitation. OpenWeather prices Weather Maps and Solar Irradiance as separate products.
DTN Weather APIs organises offers by sector, with marine, aviation and event products on its homepage. Decide which of these your product needs before you compare plan sizes, because an extra product often sits outside the main allowance and is priced on its own. A plain forecast widget needs none of it; a fleet or site-safety tool may need most.
List every data type the product needs, not only forecasts
Check whether maps, history and alerts share the main allowance
Test one real location for each type before committing
What goes wrong most often when buying weather apis software
Choosing a weather API from the size of its free allowance without reading whether production use is permitted.
Comparing a per-record price with a per-call price as if the units were the same.
Forgetting that a daily cap, as at Stormglass or Weatherbit, behaves differently from a monthly one during traffic spikes.
Treating a missing price on a vendor page as a low price instead of asking for a written figure.
07
Frequently asked questions
6 answers
What is the best weather apis in 2026?
Open-Meteo takes first place among the 11 we reviewed. Open-Meteo opens the list because its pricing page spells out call budgets at every level: 300,000 calls a month on the open tier, then 1 million, 5 million and over 50 million on the paid ones.
The open tier is for non-commercial use only, so a business must buy Standard. No prices appear on the page, and no country or imprint is stated, only an email address.
Which weather apis tools publish their pricing?
4 out of 11 state a price model on their own site:
Stormglass: Published monthly plans in euros by daily request quota; annual billing is discounted; Enterprise by email.
WeatherAPI: Published monthly and yearly plans in dollars by call volume; seven-day trials on paid plans; Enterprise custom.
Weatherstack: Published monthly plans in dollars with a yearly discount and a per-call overage rate; Enterprise by quote.
OpenWeather: Published euro subscriptions by calls per minute, plus a pay-per-call One Call API and separately priced map and solar products.
The remaining 7 sell by quote.
Is there a free weather apis tool?
Stormglass, Weatherbit, WeatherAPI, Weatherstack, Tomorrow.io, OpenWeather come with a no-cost entry point, a free plan or a self-hosted edition.
Where are these weather apis vendors established?
In 2 countries across 2 regions: Elsewhere 10, Europe 1.
Open-Meteo: Not stated by the vendor.
Pirate Weather: Not stated by the vendor.
Stormglass: Not stated by the vendor.
Weatherbit: Not stated by the vendor.
Visual Crossing: Not stated by the vendor.
WeatherAPI: Not stated by the vendor.
Weatherstack: Not stated by the vendor.
Meteoblue: Not stated by the vendor.
Tomorrow.io: Not stated by the vendor.
OpenWeather: United Kingdom.
DTN Weather APIs: Not stated by the vendor.
What should you use instead of Open-Meteo?
The next in line are Pirate Weather, aimed at Developers migrating Dark Sky style code who also want history and alerts, and Stormglass, aimed at small commercial products with steady daily traffic and a fixed euro budget.
Who should not buy Open-Meteo?
Commercial products that need prices written down before signing. Commercial use is excluded from the open tier, so a product with revenue must pay from day one..
Makers of weather apis products can ask us to look at theirs. Say what it does and who uses it. We choose what to add, and nothing can be bought; see software advice for what a listing means.
