Fixer API

Overview

Fixer is an API service designed for retrieving current and historical foreign exchange rate data. Established in 2012, the platform provides access to exchange rates for more than 170 world currencies, sourced from financial data providers and updated regularly. The API is structured around REST principles, offering endpoints for various data types including real-time rates, historical snapshots, time-series data, and currency conversion capabilities.

The service is designed for developers and technical buyers who need to integrate accurate currency data into their applications. This includes financial software developers building trading platforms or portfolio trackers, e-commerce businesses needing to display prices in multiple currencies, and data analysts performing economic research. Fixer's architecture emphasizes consistent data formatting and clear documentation, aiming to streamline the integration process for various programming environments such as PHP, Python, and Node.js.

Fixer supports common use cases such as displaying localized pricing on e-commerce websites, calculating foreign currency transactions for accounting systems, and tracking currency fluctuations over time for investment analysis. For example, an e-commerce platform can use Fixer to automatically convert product prices into a customer's local currency based on the latest exchange rates. Similarly, a financial application might use the time-series data to visualize historical trends for specific currency pairs.

The API is owned by apilayer GmbH, a company that is part of Idera, Inc. It operates with a free tier that allows for 250 API requests per month, enabling developers to test and implement the service before committing to a paid plan. Paid plans offer increased request limits and access to more frequent data updates and advanced features like time-series data. The platform also emphasizes compliance with data protection regulations, including GDPR, to address data privacy concerns for users within the European Union and beyond.

Integrating currency data effectively can be a complex task due to the volatility of exchange rates and the need for reliable data sources. Fixer aims to abstract away much of this complexity by providing a unified API endpoint that delivers structured JSON responses. This approach allows developers to focus on their application's core logic rather than managing data acquisition and parsing from multiple, potentially inconsistent, sources. For further comparison of currency data providers, an overview of market data APIs indicates the types of data offerings available across the industry, highlighting the importance of real-time accuracy for financial applications.

Key features

• Real-time Exchange Rates API: Provides immediate access to the latest foreign exchange rates for over 170 currencies, updated frequently. This is critical for applications that require up-to-the-minute data, such as live trading dashboards or dynamic pricing engines.
• Historical Exchange Rates API: Allows retrieval of exchange rate data for any specific past date, useful for historical analysis, financial reporting, and auditing purposes. Developers can query rates from earlier periods to reconstruct conversions or analyze market trends.
• Currency Conversion API: Facilitates direct conversion between any two supported currencies based on current or historical exchange rates. This simplifies the process for applications needing to perform calculations, such as multi-currency e-commerce checkouts or international expense management.
• Time-Series Data API: Offers exchange rate data over a specified period, enabling the tracking of currency fluctuations and the development of trend analysis tools. This feature supports long-term financial modeling and visualization of economic data.
• Endpoint for Latest Rates: A dedicated endpoint to fetch the most recent exchange rates, typically updated every 60 minutes on free plans and more frequently on paid tiers.
• Base Currency Specification: Users can define a preferred base currency for all API requests, allowing for flexible data retrieval tailored to specific regional or business needs. The default base currency is typically EUR, but this can be adjusted.
• GDPR Compliance: Adheres to General Data Protection Regulation standards, ensuring data privacy and protection for users, particularly those operating within the EU.

Pricing

Fixer offers a tiered pricing structure, including a free plan and various paid subscriptions, catering to different usage volumes and feature requirements. The plans are primarily differentiated by the number of API requests allowed per month and the frequency of data updates. As of May 2026, the pricing details are as follows:

Pricing information is subject to change. For the most current details, refer to the official Fixer pricing page.

Common integrations

Fixer's API is designed for broad compatibility, allowing integration into various applications and platforms where currency data is needed. Its RESTful interface and JSON output make it adaptable for custom solutions built with common programming languages.

• E-commerce Platforms: Integrate Fixer to display product prices in multiple currencies, manage international transactions, and provide localized shopping experiences. This can be achieved by fetching current exchange rates and applying them to product listings.
• Financial Applications: Use Fixer for portfolio management tools, trading dashboards, and accounting software to track asset values, perform currency conversions for transactions, and generate financial reports. Developers can find implementation details in the Fixer PHP example.
• Business Intelligence Tools: Incorporate currency data into BI dashboards to analyze global sales, interpret international market trends, and inform strategic decisions. Historical and time-series data are particularly useful here.
• Content Management Systems (CMS): Dynamic websites can use Fixer to automatically update currency information displayed to users, such as in travel blogs or international news portals.
• Mobile Applications: Develop apps that require real-time currency conversions, such as travel budgeting tools, expense trackers, or international payment utilities.
• Automation Workflows: Connect Fixer with integration platforms like Tray.io to automate tasks involving currency conversion, such as updating internal financial records or generating multi-currency invoices. Tray.io offers extensive Fixer connector reference.

Alternatives

When considering currency exchange rate APIs, several alternatives offer similar functionalities, often with different pricing models, data sources, or specific feature sets.

• ExchangeRate-API: Provides free and paid plans for current and historical exchange rates, focusing on ease of use and broad currency coverage.
• Open Exchange Rates: Offers a developer-focused API with JSON output for current and historical rates, known for its extensive free tier.
• Currencyapi.com: Delivers real-time and historical currency data, supporting over 170 currencies with a focus on simplicity and performance.

Getting started

To begin using the Fixer API, you typically need to sign up for an API key on their website. Once you have your API key, you can make requests to their various endpoints. The following cURL example demonstrates how to fetch the latest exchange rates, using a placeholder for your API key. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual key.

curl "https://api.fixer.io/latest?access_key=YOUR_API_KEY&base=USD&symbols=GBP,JPY,EUR"

This cURL command requests the latest exchange rates with USD as the base currency, specifically for GBP, JPY, and EUR. The API will return a JSON object containing the requested rates.

For Python, you can use the requests library to achieve the same result:

import requests

API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY'
BASE_CURRENCY = 'USD'
TARGET_SYMBOLS = 'GBP,JPY,EUR'

url = f"https://api.fixer.io/latest?access_key={API_KEY}&base={BASE_CURRENCY}&symbols={TARGET_SYMBOLS}"
response = requests.get(url)
data = response.json()

if response.status_code == 200:
    print(data)
else:
    print(f"Error: {data.get('error', 'Unknown error')}")

Before executing, ensure you replace 'YOUR_API_KEY' with your valid Fixer API key. This Python snippet will print the JSON response containing the latest exchange rates, or an error message if the request fails. The Fixer API documentation provides comprehensive examples for different programming languages and endpoints.