Coinlayer is a service that provides a REST API for accessing real-time and historical cryptocurrency exchange rates and market data for integration into applications.

How many cryptocurrencies does Coinlayer support?

Coinlayer supports over 3,800 cryptocurrencies, including major assets and a wide range of altcoins.

Does Coinlayer offer a free plan?

Yes, Coinlayer provides a Free Plan with limited monthly requests and a slower data refresh rate, suitable for basic testing and small projects.

Can I get historical crypto data from Coinlayer?

Yes, historical crypto data is available with Coinlayer's paid plans, allowing users to query rates for specific past dates.

What programming languages are supported for integration?

Coinlayer's API can be integrated with any language capable of making HTTP requests. Documentation includes examples for cURL, PHP, Python, Node.js, jQuery, Go, and Ruby.

How frequently is the data updated?

Data refresh rates vary by plan. The Enterprise Plan offers updates as frequently as every 60 seconds, while lower tiers have longer intervals.

What kind of applications benefit most from Coinlayer?

Applications such as cryptocurrency portfolio trackers, financial analysis tools, e-commerce platforms accepting crypto, and historical market data aggregators typically benefit from Coinlayer.

Coinlayer — Real-time and Historical Crypto Rates API

Overview

Coinlayer offers a dedicated API solution for accessing cryptocurrency exchange rate data, catering to developers and businesses that require up-to-date and historical information on the crypto market. Launched in 2018, the service focuses on providing a straightforward REST API with JSON responses, simplifying the integration of crypto market data into various applications and platforms. Its core offerings include real-time rates and historical data endpoints, designed to support use cases ranging from financial analysis and portfolio management to e-commerce and regulatory reporting.

The API draws data from over 25 cryptocurrency exchanges globally, processing and delivering information for more than 3,800 cryptocurrencies, including major assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), as well as a wide array of altcoins. This extensive coverage is paired with support for 160+ fiat currencies, enabling flexible conversion and valuation capabilities. Developers can retrieve exchange rates against various fiat currencies (e.g., USD, EUR, GBP) or other cryptocurrencies. The system is engineered for low latency, aiming to deliver rate updates at frequent intervals to reflect market movements as they occur.

Coinlayer is particularly well-suited for applications that need to display current crypto prices, calculate portfolio values, perform currency conversions, or conduct historical market analysis. Its historical data capabilities allow users to query rates for specific dates, which is essential for backtesting strategies, generating reports, or auditing past transactions. The API documentation provides examples in multiple programming languages, including cURL, PHP, Python, Node.js, jQuery, Go, and Ruby, to facilitate developer onboarding and integration. For instance, obtaining current exchange rates for Bitcoin and Ethereum against the USD can be achieved with a single API call, returning a structured JSON object as described in their live data documentation.

The service also features robust error handling and clear response structures, which contribute to a streamlined development experience. Security is managed through API access keys, ensuring that requests are authenticated. While Coinlayer focuses exclusively on crypto market data, it competes with broader financial data aggregators and other specialized crypto APIs. For example, similar data can be accessed via CoinGecko's API, which also provides extensive cryptocurrency market data, including price, volume, and market cap information. This competitive landscape highlights the importance of data accuracy, update frequency, and ease of integration, areas where Coinlayer aims to provide a reliable solution for its users.

Key features

Real-time Crypto Rates API: Provides current exchange rates for over 3,800 cryptocurrencies against 160+ fiat currencies, updated at frequent intervals.
Historical Crypto Rates API: Allows querying exchange rates for specific dates in the past, supporting historical analysis and reporting.
Extensive Currency Support: Covers a broad range of cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, enabling flexible conversion and valuation.
JSON API: Delivers data in a standard JSON format, compatible with most web and mobile applications.
Multiple Programming Language Examples: Documentation includes code examples for cURL, PHP, Python, Node.js, jQuery, Go, and Ruby to assist developers.
Conversion Endpoint: Facilitates direct conversion calculations between any supported cryptocurrency and fiat currency.
Time-Series Data: Offers endpoints for retrieving time-series data, useful for charting and trend analysis.
Developer-Friendly Documentation: Clear and comprehensive documentation with practical examples on their developer portal.

Pricing

Coinlayer offers a tiered pricing model, including a free plan and several paid subscriptions to accommodate varying usage levels and feature requirements. Pricing information is current as of May 2026. For the most up-to-date details, refer to the official Coinlayer pricing page.

Plan	Price (Monthly)	Request Limit (Monthly)	Data Refresh Rate	Historical Data	Key Features
Free Plan	Free	100	25 Minutes	No	Basic real-time rates
Basic Plan	$9.99	10,000	10 Minutes	Yes	All core features
Professional Plan	$29.99	50,000	5 Minutes	Yes	Enhanced support, higher limits
Enterprise Plan	Custom	Custom	60 Seconds	Yes	Dedicated support, custom integrations

Common integrations

Coinlayer's API is designed for integration into a variety of applications and systems that require cryptocurrency market data. While specific pre-built integrations are not extensively listed by Coinlayer, its RESTful nature allows for custom integration with virtually any platform or programming language capable of making HTTP requests and parsing JSON. Common integration scenarios include:

Web Applications: Displaying real-time crypto prices, creating portfolio trackers, or enabling crypto-fiat conversions on websites using Fetch API or XMLHttpRequest.
Mobile Applications: Providing cryptocurrency market data to iOS and Android applications for financial tracking, news, or trading tools.
Backend Services: Integrating into backend systems for financial analysis, algorithmic trading, or data warehousing of historical crypto prices.
Spreadsheet Tools: Connecting with tools like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel via custom scripts to pull live or historical data for financial modeling.
Business Intelligence (BI) Dashboards: Feeding crypto market data into BI platforms for real-time monitoring and reporting.

Alternatives

CoinAPI: Offers real-time and historical data from numerous crypto exchanges, supporting various protocols beyond REST.
CryptoCompare: Provides cryptocurrency data, news, and portfolio tracking tools, with a public API for developers.
CoinGecko API: A comprehensive source for cryptocurrency data, including prices, market cap, and trading volume across a wide range of assets.

Getting started

To begin using the Coinlayer API, you first need to obtain an API access key by signing up on their website. Once you have your key, you can make requests to their API endpoints. The following example demonstrates how to retrieve the live exchange rate of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) against the US Dollar (USD) using cURL. This example uses placeholders for your actual API key.

curl "https://api.coinlayer.com/live
  ?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
  &target=USD
  &symbols=BTC,ETH"

This cURL command will return a JSON response similar to the following, providing the real-time exchange rates:

{
    "success": true,
    "terms": "https://coinlayer.com/terms",
    "privacy": "https://coinlayer.com/privacy",
    "timestamp": 1678886400, 
    "target": "USD",
    "rates": {
        "BTC": 65000.00,
        "ETH": 3500.00
    }
}

For more detailed information on available endpoints, error codes, and advanced features, consult the Coinlayer API documentation.

Coinlayer

Overview

Key features

Pricing

Common integrations

Alternatives

Getting started

# frequently asked questions

## reviews

## comments

Overview

Key features

Pricing

Common integrations

Alternatives

Getting started

# frequently asked questions

# see also

## reviews

## comments