Head to head
Open-Meteo vs Weatherbit
As a weather API, Open-Meteo rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 79.3 to 71.7, a 7.6-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Open-Meteo | Weatherbit |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 79.3 | 71.7 |
Specifications
| Open-Meteo | Weatherbit | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Free open-source weather API | Multi-domain weather datasets |
| Free tier | 10k calls/day, no key (non-commercial) | Always-free hobby tier + 1,500 req/day business trial |
| Pricing | Free non-commercial / per-call commercial | Tiered subscriptions |
| Official SDKs | 7 languages | 5 languages |
Is Open-Meteo better than Weatherbit?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Open-Meteo rates higher (79.3 vs 71.7). 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 7.6 points (79.3 vs 71.7) and wins 3 of 4 criteria; Weatherbit wins 1.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 82 | 74 | |
| Reliability | 66 | 70 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 76 | 64 | |
| Accessibility | 96 | 80 |
Choose Open-Meteo if… / choose Weatherbit if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (82 vs 74)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (76 vs 64)
- →accessibility matters most to you (96 vs 80)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (7 official SDKs vs 5)
- →your use case matches its focus: free open-source weather api
- →reliability matters most to you (70 vs 66)
- →your use case matches its focus: multi-domain weather datasets
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
- Tiered subscriptions
- Free tier
- Always-free hobby tier + 1,500 req/day business trial
- Free$0/mo
- Standard~$40/mo
- Plus~$180/mo
- Business~$475/mo
- Enterprise~$950/mo+ (custom)
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Open-Meteo) and 2026-06-27 (Weatherbit).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 1
Python
Only Open-Meteo · 6
TypeScriptSwiftKotlinJavaR (community)Dart (community)
Only Weatherbit · 4
OpenAPI/Swagger spec (language-agnostic)Postman collectionRapidAPI marketplace listingAWS Marketplace listing
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 API covers current, 16-day/240-hour/60-minute forecasts, 30-year history, air quality, ag-weather, energy and lightning, broad dataset breadth
- +ML-based bias correction blending regional (HRRR) and global (GFS) models, marketed for higher accuracy than raw single-model feeds
- +Forecasts refreshed roughly hourly in most locations, suiting operational dashboards and alerting
- –99.9% SLA and 200ms response guarantee are restricted to Advanced/Enterprise plans; lower tiers get 99.5% and no SLA
- –Historical requests over 10 days count as multiple calls against the daily quota, burning quota fast on backfills
- –Archived forecast runs require a separate custom-report system, not the live endpoints
Open-Meteo vs Weatherbit: questions
- Which has better documentation, Open-Meteo or Weatherbit?
- Open-Meteo scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 82 vs 74 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Open-Meteo or Weatherbit?
- Weatherbit scores higher on reliability: 70 vs 66 out of 100.
- Do Open-Meteo and Weatherbit have a free tier?
- Open-Meteo: yes (10k calls/day, no key (non-commercial)). Weatherbit: yes (Always-free hobby tier + 1,500 req/day business trial).
- How are Open-Meteo and Weatherbit priced?
- Open-Meteo: Free non-commercial / per-call commercial. Weatherbit: Tiered subscriptions.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Open-Meteo lists 7 official SDKs, Weatherbit lists 5.