Categories · Data & Web

Weather APIs

Current conditions, forecasts, historical weather, and severe-weather alerts as an API.

TL;DR: Top pick: OpenWeather. 14 APIs compared, 11 with a free tier; cheapest published entry $2 month (Pirate Weather). Why →

Looking for a recommendation? See the Best Weather APIs guide. · Last verified 2026-06-14

What is a Weather API?

A Weather API lets developers current conditions, forecasts, historical weather, and severe-weather alerts as an api over HTTP. The Weather APIs below are compared on pricing, compliance, capabilities, and developer experience from structured, cited data.

To be listed as a Weather API, an API must have a public HTTP endpoint and published, sourced data. Listings are ranked on those verifiable fields, never on payment.

By job: APIs for Historical Weather Data · APIs for Severe Weather Alerts

Sorted by a data-readiness score (published pricing, free tier, self-serve access, compliance, webhooks/sandbox, capability breadth). No paid placement. How we rank. yes · no · · unknown.

14 APIs compared
#APIPricingFreeSelf-serveSOC 2HIPAAGDPRWebhooksActions
1OpenWeatherHybrid - 20
2Visual Crossing Weather APIHybrid·18
3WeatherAPI.comSubscription·17
4MeteosourceSubscription··13
5Open-MeteoSubscription···14
6Google Weather API (Google Maps Platform)UsageType II6
7WeatherbitSubscription·21
8Xweather (AerisWeather)Sales-led?59
9Meteomatics Weather APISales-led·17
10Pirate WeatherSubscription···16
11WeatherstackSubscription·9
12AmbeeSales-led?23
13AccuWeather APISubscription·21
14Tomorrow.io Weather APISales-led···29

The APIs

  • #1 OpenWeather

    69 / 100

    OpenWeather is a global weather data platform launched in 2012, offering REST APIs for current conditions, hourly and daily forecasts, historical data, air quality, solar irradiance, and specialized feeds for agriculture, energy, and road risk assessment. It uses a hybrid pricing model with a generous free tier of up to 1 million calls per month, and paid plans starting at $40 per month with self-serve signup and no sales call required. SDKs are available for Python, PHP, Go, and JavaScript, and the platform holds ISO 27001 certification and GDPR compliance. Customers include Google and Samsung.

    PricingHybrid · from $40 month · free tier
    TrustGDPR · ISO 27001
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Hyperlocal / nowcast
    • Air quality
    Used byGoogle, Samsung
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    OpenWeather profile →

  • #2 Visual Crossing Weather API

    55 / 100

    Visual Crossing Weather API is a REST-based weather data service covering current conditions, forecasts up to 15 days, and over 50 years of historical records globally, with additional endpoints for air quality, solar and wind energy, maritime conditions, and astronomy data. It targets developers and businesses of all sizes, with self-serve signup, a free tier of 1,000 records per day, and paid plans starting at $35 per month. SDKs are available for 16 languages including Python, JavaScript, Java, Go, and Rust, making integration straightforward across most tech stacks.

    PricingHybrid · from $35 month · free tier
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Marine
    • Air quality
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Visual Crossing Weather API profile →

  • #3 WeatherAPI.com

    75 / 100

    WeatherAPI.com is a REST API providing global weather data for developers and businesses, covering real-time conditions, forecasts, historical records back to 2010, air quality, marine weather, astronomy, pollen, and IP geolocation. Paid plans start at $7 per month with a free tier of 100,000 calls per month (attribution required), and enterprise plans are available with a published SLA. SDKs are offered for eight languages including JavaScript, Python, PHP, Go, and Swift, and an MCP server is available for AI integrations.

    PricingSubscription · from $7 month · free tier
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Marine
    • Air quality
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    WeatherAPI.com profile →

  • #4 Meteosource

    65 / 100

    Meteosource is a global weather API providing real-time conditions, hourly and daily forecasts, minutely precipitation, historical data going back up to 20 years, air quality, severe weather alerts, and astronomy data for any GPS coordinate or city worldwide. It targets developers with a self-serve subscription starting at $5/month and a free tier of 400 calls per day (with attribution required). SDKs are available for Python, JavaScript, PHP, and C++, and paid plans from the Startup tier upward include a 99.5% uptime SLA with GDPR compliance.

    PricingSubscription · from $5 month · free tier
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Hyperlocal / nowcast
    • Air quality
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Meteosource profile →

  • #5 Open-Meteo

    54 / 100

    Open-Meteo is an open-source weather API providing forecasts, historical data back to 1940, air quality, marine conditions, flood forecasts, and climate change projections to 2050, drawing on 30+ models from national meteorological agencies worldwide. It is free for non-commercial use with no API key required, supporting up to 300,000 calls per month, while commercial plans start at $29 per month with unlimited rate limits and a 99.9% uptime target on reserved servers. SDKs are available in eight languages including Python, TypeScript, Go, and Rust, and Home Assistant is a documented integration partner.

    PricingSubscription · from $29 month · free tier
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Marine
    • Air quality
    Used byHome Assistant
    The catchFree and key-less for non-commercial use with genuinely open data, but commercial use requires a paid subscription despite the open licensing.

    Open-Meteo profile →

  • #6 Google Weather API (Google Maps Platform)

    72 / 100

    Google Weather API, part of Google Maps Platform, provides current conditions, hourly and daily forecasts, historical weather, and public alerts for locations worldwide via a REST interface. Launched in April 2025 and reaching general availability in June 2025, it is priced at $0.15 per 1,000 calls with a free tier of 10,000 calls per month and self-serve signup. Coverage is global for most countries, though China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria are excluded, and Japan and Korea support alerts only. The API is backed by SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certifications, GDPR compliance, and a published SLA, with an MCP server available for integration.

    PricingUsage · from $0.15 1,000 calls · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · ISO 27001
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    Used byL'Oréal

    Google Weather API (Google Maps Platform) profile →

  • #7 Weatherbit

    58 / 100

    Weatherbit is a REST weather API, launched in 2017, covering global current conditions, hourly and daily forecasts, historical data, severe weather alerts, air quality, lightning, and agricultural and energy calculations. Paid plans start at $40 per month with self-serve signup and a published SLA; a free tier is available at 50 calls per day for non-commercial use only and requires attribution. The API uses API key authentication and includes a Python SDK, with rate limits scaling from 25,000 requests per day on Standard up to 2,000,000 on Business.

    PricingSubscription · from $40 month · free tier
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Hyperlocal / nowcast
    • Air quality
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Weatherbit profile →

  • #8 Xweather (AerisWeather)

    41 / 100

    Xweather (formerly AerisWeather) is a REST weather API covering current conditions, forecasts up to 15 days, historical data back to 2004, severe alerts, lightning analytics, air quality, wildfire, road weather, maritime, and renewable energy data globally, making it a broad-coverage choice for applications from logistics to parametric insurance. Pricing starts at around $300 per month and requires a sales conversation for paid plans, though a no-credit-card 30-day developer trial is available at 1,000 calls per day for non-commercial testing. The platform holds ISO 27001 certification, is GDPR compliant, and offers SDKs for JavaScript, Python, iOS, and Android, as well as an MCP server for AI integrations.

    PricingSales-led · free tier
    TrustGDPR · ISO 27001
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Marine
    • Air quality
    Used byKUBRA, Satcom Global
    Avoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front

    Xweather (AerisWeather) profile →

  • #9 Meteomatics Weather API

    38 / 100

    Meteomatics Weather API, founded in 2012, delivers current conditions, forecasts, historical records, climate scenarios, air quality, and marine data via a REST interface, with query types spanning time series, grids, routes, polygons, and weather alerts at up to 1 km native resolution across Europe and the US. It serves industries including aviation, energy, agriculture, insurance, and defense, with customers such as Tesla, NASA, Airbus, and Shell. Pricing is contract-based with no published rates, though a free non-commercial tier offers 500 queries per day across 15 parameters. SDKs are available in ten languages including Python, Go, and Rust, and an MCP server is supported alongside GDPR compliance and a published SLA.

    PricingSales-led · free tier
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Marine
    • Air quality
    Used byTesla, NASA, Airbus, CVS Health
    Avoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front

    Meteomatics Weather API profile →

  • #10 Pirate Weather

    55 / 100

    Pirate Weather is an open-source REST API providing current conditions, hourly and daily forecasts, minutely precipitation, severe weather alerts, historical data, and extended data such as fire index, air quality, and solar radiation, with global coverage via NOAA GFS and enhanced regional models for the US, Canada, and Europe. Positioned as a Dark Sky replacement, it is used by Home Assistant, KDE Plasma, and several weather apps. Pricing starts at $2/month with a free tier of 10,000 calls per month, self-serve signup, and no sales call required. Authentication is via API key, a Python SDK is available, and an MCP server is supported.

    PricingSubscription · from $2 month · free tier
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Hyperlocal / nowcast
    Used byHome Assistant, MerrySky, Breezy Weather, Weathergraph
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Pirate Weather profile →

  • #11 Weatherstack

    58 / 100

    Weatherstack is a REST API delivering real-time, historical, and forecast weather data for any location worldwide in JSON format, with coverage extending back to 2008 and additional marine, astronomy, and tide data. Paid plans start at $9.99 per month with a free tier of 100 calls per month, scaling up to enterprise; self-serve signup requires no sales call. The API is GDPR-compliant with a published SLA, and counts Microsoft, Warner Brothers, and Deloitte among its documented customers.

    PricingSubscription · from $9.99 month · free tier
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Marine
    Used byMicrosoft, Warner Brothers, Deloitte
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Weatherstack profile →

  • #12 Ambee

    23 / 100

    Ambee is a REST API platform providing real-time and forecast data across weather, air quality, pollen, wildfire risk, and related environmental signals, covering 150+ countries and over one million postal codes. It targets health, agriculture, logistics, and advertising use cases, with customers including Bayer, GSK, Kimberly-Clark, and WPP. A 15-day evaluation plan offers 100 calls per day, but all paid plans require a sales conversation. The API is GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001 certified, supports API key auth and webhooks, and includes a Python SDK.

    PricingSales-led · free tier
    TrustGDPR · ISO 27001
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Air quality
    Used byBayer, GSK, Boots, Kimberly-Clark
    Avoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front

    Ambee profile →

  • #13 AccuWeather API

    43 / 100

    AccuWeather API is a REST-based weather data service covering over 3.5 million locations worldwide, offering current conditions, hourly and daily forecasts, minute-by-minute precipitation, severe weather alerts, air quality, lightning, tropical cyclone tracking, and more. Pricing starts at $2/month on a subscription model with self-serve signup, a 14-day trial at 500 calls per day, and plans scaling up to enterprise tiers. Notable customers include Caterpillar and SmartNews. Key restrictions include mandatory AccuWeather attribution, a ban on AI/ML training use, and prohibitions on broadcast, connected vehicle, and commercial use at the Starter tier.

    PricingSubscription · from $2 month · free tier
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Hyperlocal / nowcast
    • Marine
    • Air quality
    Used byCaterpillar, SmartNews
    The catchTrusted brand and forecast quality, but the Starter tier is personal/non-commercial only and the useful data sits behind higher paid tiers.

    AccuWeather API profile →

  • #14 Tomorrow.io Weather API

    43 / 100

    Tomorrow.io Weather API is a REST-based weather data service covering real-time conditions, forecasts up to 14 days, historical data, alerts, route-based weather, air quality, solar irradiance, and risk indices for fire, flood, and lightning, with global coverage. It offers a free tier capped at 500 calls per day, while paid and enterprise plans require a sales conversation and carry undisclosed pricing. SDKs are available for Python and R, webhooks are supported, and an MCP server is available. Customers include Delta Air Lines, Uber, Ford Motor Company, and NASA.

    PricingSales-led · free tier
    Does
    • Forecast
    • Historical data
    • Severe-weather alerts
    • Hyperlocal / nowcast
    • Marine
    • Air quality
    Used byDelta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Uber, Ford Motor Company
    Avoid ifYou need transparent pricing up front

    Tomorrow.io Weather API profile →