ExchangeRate-API alternative: currency conversion plus 150+ endpoints

ExchangeRate-API gives you currency conversion and that's it. Fixer.io gives you exchange rates and that's it. If your app also needs email validation, IP geolocation, and QR codes, you're now managing 4 API keys and 4 billing cycles.

Botoi bundles live currency conversion with 150+ other endpoints under one key and one quota. You get the same exchange rate data for the common use case (live conversion, current rates) without signing up for a single-purpose service.

Feature comparison: ExchangeRate-API vs Fixer.io vs botoi

Feature	ExchangeRate-API	Fixer.io	Botoi
Free tier limit	1,500 req/month	100 req/month	5 req/min, 100 req/day (no key)
Paid pricing (starter)	$9.99/month	$14.99/month	$9/month
Number of currencies	161	170	170+
Historical rates	Yes (paid)	Yes (paid)	No
Time-series data	Yes (paid)	Yes (paid)	No
HTTPS on free tier	Yes	No	Yes
Other endpoints included	0	0	150+ (IP, DNS, email, QR, PDF, etc.)
Response format	JSON	JSON	JSON

The headline difference: ExchangeRate-API and Fixer.io are single-purpose APIs. Every dollar you spend goes toward currency data only. Botoi's plans include exchange rates alongside everything else, so the currency endpoints are effectively free if you're already using other botoi features.

The Fixer.io HTTPS problem

Fixer.io does not serve HTTPS on its free tier. If you're building anything that runs in a browser, your requests go over plain HTTP. That means mixed-content warnings, blocked requests on HTTPS pages, and credentials visible in transit. You have to upgrade to a paid plan for something every other API gives you by default.

Both ExchangeRate-API and botoi serve HTTPS on every tier, including free.

Botoi's currency endpoints

Three endpoints cover the common currency operations. All accept POST with a JSON body and return a consistent { "success": true, "data": { ... } } structure.

Convert between two currencies

POST /v1/currency/convert

curl -X POST https://api.botoi.com/v1/currency/convert \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"from": "USD", "to": "EUR", "amount": 100}'

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "from": "USD",
    "to": "EUR",
    "amount": 100,
    "result": 91.80,
    "rate": 0.9180
  }
}

You get the converted result and the raw rate used. Both fields are useful: display the result to the user, show the rate for transparency.

Fetch all rates for a base currency

POST /v1/currency/rates

curl -X POST https://api.botoi.com/v1/currency/rates \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"base": "USD"}'

Response (truncated):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "base": "USD",
    "rates": {
      "EUR": 0.9180,
      "GBP": 0.7891,
      "JPY": 149.52,
      "CAD": 1.3612,
      "AUD": 1.5340,
      "CHF": 0.8821,
      "INR": 83.4150,
      "BRL": 4.9720,
      "MXN": 17.1340
    }
  }
}

One request returns 170+ rates. Cache it locally and you can convert any amount without additional API calls. This is the right approach for pricing pages and checkout flows that need multiple target currencies.

List all supported currencies

POST /v1/currency-list/list

curl -X POST https://api.botoi.com/v1/currency-list/list \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

Response (truncated):

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "currencies": {
      "USD": "United States Dollar",
      "EUR": "Euro",
      "GBP": "British Pound Sterling",
      "JPY": "Japanese Yen",
      "CAD": "Canadian Dollar",
      "...": "170+ currencies total"
    }
  }
}

Use this to populate currency dropdowns in your UI. The response includes every supported code and its full name.

Practical example: multi-currency pricing table

SaaS pricing pages often display prices in 4-5 currencies. This Node.js function fetches rates once, caches them for an hour, and builds a pricing table for any set of currencies.

const API_KEY = process.env.BOTOI_API_KEY;
const BASE = "https://api.botoi.com/v1";

const headers = {
  "Content-Type": "application/json",
  Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
};

// Fetch all rates once, cache for 1 hour, convert locally
let ratesCache = null;
let cacheTime = 0;
const ONE_HOUR = 60 * 60 * 1000;

async function getRates(base = "USD") {
  if (ratesCache && Date.now() - cacheTime < ONE_HOUR) {
    return ratesCache;
  }

  const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/currency/rates`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers,
    body: JSON.stringify({ base }),
  });
  const { data } = await res.json();

  ratesCache = data.rates;
  cacheTime = Date.now();
  return ratesCache;
}

// Build a multi-currency pricing table
async function getPricingTable(priceUsd, currencies) {
  const rates = await getRates("USD");

  return currencies.map((currency) => ({
    currency,
    price:
      currency === "USD"
        ? priceUsd
        : Math.round(priceUsd * rates[currency] * 100) / 100,
    rate: rates[currency] || 1,
  }));
}

// Usage
const table = await getPricingTable(29, ["USD", "EUR", "GBP", "JPY", "BRL"]);
console.log(table);
// [
//   { currency: "USD", price: 29, rate: 1 },
//   { currency: "EUR", price: 26.62, rate: 0.918 },
//   { currency: "GBP", price: 22.88, rate: 0.7891 },
//   { currency: "JPY", price: 4336, rate: 149.52 },
//   { currency: "BRL", price: 144.19, rate: 4.972 }
// ]

The function calls the API once per hour, not once per visitor. A pricing page that gets 10,000 views per day uses 24 API requests. That's well within the free tier.

Where ExchangeRate-API and Fixer.io still win

Dedicated currency APIs exist for a reason. They offer features botoi doesn't.

• Historical rates. ExchangeRate-API and Fixer.io both provide rates for any past date. Botoi only returns the current day's rates. If you're building financial reports, accounting tools, or trend charts, you need historical data.
• Time-series endpoints. Both offer endpoints that return rates across a date range in a single request. Botoi has no equivalent.
• Fluctuation data. Fixer.io returns the percentage change between two dates. Useful for currency dashboards and alerting systems.
• Rate update frequency. ExchangeRate-API updates multiple times per day on higher tiers. Botoi's rates update once per business day via the European Central Bank and other public sources.

If historical data, time-series queries, or intraday rate updates are core requirements, a dedicated currency API is the right call. Botoi covers live conversion for the 80% case: pricing pages, checkout flows, invoice generation, and display currency switching.

Why the bundled approach matters

Consider a typical SaaS checkout flow. You need currency conversion to display local prices. You also need email validation to verify the buyer's address. You need IP geolocation to auto-detect their country and pre-fill the currency. And you might need a QR code for a payment link.

With single-purpose APIs, that's four providers: ExchangeRate-API for currency, ZeroBounce for email, ipinfo.io for geolocation, and QRCode Monkey for QR codes. Four keys, four billing dashboards, four sets of documentation, four error formats.

With botoi, it's one key. /v1/currency/convert, /v1/email/validate, /v1/ip/lookup, and /v1/qr/generate all share the same authentication, the same response structure, and the same monthly quota. Your error handling code works for all of them.

Key points

• ExchangeRate-API and Fixer.io are single-purpose currency APIs. They're strong on historical data, time-series queries, and fluctuation tracking. Botoi doesn't offer those features.
• Botoi's /v1/currency/convert, /v1/currency/rates, and /v1/currency-list/list cover live conversion across 170+ currencies. Rates update once per business day.
• Fixer.io charges for HTTPS access on its free tier. ExchangeRate-API and botoi include it by default.
• Botoi's value is the bundle: currency conversion plus 150+ other endpoints (email, IP, DNS, QR codes, PDFs, and more) under one key and one bill.
• If you only need exchange rates, pick a dedicated currency API. If your app needs exchange rates alongside validation, lookup, and generation endpoints, botoi eliminates the multi-provider overhead.