Head to head
Open-Meteo vs Visual Crossing
As a weather API, Open-Meteo rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 79.3 to 76.4, a 2.9-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Open-Meteo | Visual Crossing |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 79.3 | 76.4 |
Specifications
| Open-Meteo | Visual Crossing | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Free open-source weather API | Historical & timeline weather data |
| Free tier | 10k calls/day, no key (non-commercial) | 1,000 records/day |
| Pricing | Free non-commercial / per-call commercial | Per record ($0.0001) |
| Official SDKs | 7 languages | 10 languages |
Is Open-Meteo better than Visual Crossing?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Open-Meteo rates higher (79.3 vs 76.4). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Open-Meteo leads by 2.9 points (79.3 vs 76.4) and wins 3 of 4 criteria; Visual Crossing wins 1.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 82 | 78 | |
| Reliability | 66 | 74 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 76 | 66 | |
| Accessibility | 96 | 90 |
Choose Open-Meteo if… / choose Visual Crossing if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (82 vs 78)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (76 vs 66)
- →accessibility matters most to you (96 vs 90)
- →your use case matches its focus: free open-source weather api
- →reliability matters most to you (74 vs 66)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (10 official SDKs vs 7)
- →your use case matches its focus: historical & timeline weather data
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Free non-commercial / per-call commercial
- Free tier
- 10k calls/day, no key (non-commercial)
- Free / Open-Access (non-commercial)$0
- API Standard$29/mo
- API Professional$99/mo
- API EnterpriseCustom (contact info@open-meteo.com)
- Model
- Per record ($0.0001)
- Free tier
- 1,000 records/day
- Free$0
- Metered (Pay-as-you-go)$0.0001 / record
- Professional$35 / month
- Corporate$150 / month
- EnterpriseCustom
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Open-Meteo) and 2026-06-27 (Visual Crossing).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 4
PythonSwiftJavaR (community)
Only Open-Meteo · 3
TypeScriptKotlinDart (community)
Only Visual Crossing · 6
JavaScript / Node.jsC# / .NETPHPMATLABGoPerl
Strengths and weaknesses
- +No API key or account required for non-commercial use, a single HTTP GET returns JSON
- +Blends 30+ models from 15+ national weather services and auto-selects the best local high-res model per coordinate
- +Exceptionally broad data: forecast, historical (1940-present), marine, air quality, solar/PV, ensemble, seasonal, flood, climate
- –Model data only, no real station observations, so no validated actuals or hyperlocal radar nowcasting
- –Free tier rate limits (600/min, 5k/hr, 10k/day) frustrate some developers with bursty workloads
- –Commercial use legally requires a paid plan even at low volumes
- +Single Timeline endpoint unifies geocoding, history, current, forecast, and climate stats in one call
- +Transparent record-based pricing with a genuinely useful 1,000-records/day permanent free tier
- +Deep historical archive (50+ years) interpolated to exact coordinates, ideal for ML training and analytics
- –No public live status page or independently audited uptime history despite marketed 99.9% guarantee
- –Forecast accuracy claims rely on vendor methodology, with no published third-party-verified error figures
- –Thin presence on major review platforms (G2/Capterra/Trustpilot), making independent sentiment hard to gauge
Open-Meteo vs Visual Crossing: questions
- Which has better documentation, Open-Meteo or Visual Crossing?
- Open-Meteo scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 82 vs 78 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Open-Meteo or Visual Crossing?
- Visual Crossing scores higher on reliability: 74 vs 66 out of 100.
- Do Open-Meteo and Visual Crossing have a free tier?
- Open-Meteo: yes (10k calls/day, no key (non-commercial)). Visual Crossing: yes (1,000 records/day).
- How are Open-Meteo and Visual Crossing priced?
- Open-Meteo: Free non-commercial / per-call commercial. Visual Crossing: Per record ($0.0001).
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Visual Crossing lists 10 official SDKs, Open-Meteo lists 7.