Head to head
OpenWeather vs WeatherAPI.com
As a weather API, OpenWeather rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 84.6 to 80.4, a 4.2-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | OpenWeather | WeatherAPI.com |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 84.6 | 80.4 |
Specifications
| OpenWeather | WeatherAPI.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Ubiquitous developer weather API | Frictionless freemium weather API |
| Free tier | 1M calls/mo (classic) + 1k One Call calls/day | 1M calls/mo (3-day forecast) |
| Pricing | Per call / freemium tiers | Per call / monthly tiers |
| Official SDKs | 5 languages | 7 languages |
Is OpenWeather better than WeatherAPI.com?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, OpenWeather rates higher (84.6 vs 80.4). 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
OpenWeather leads by 4.2 points (84.6 vs 80.4) and wins 2 of 4 criteria; WeatherAPI.com wins 1.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 80 | 80 | Tie |
| Reliability | 82 | 74 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 90 | 78 | |
| Accessibility | 88 | 92 |
Choose OpenWeather if… / choose WeatherAPI.com if…
- →reliability matters most to you (82 vs 74)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (90 vs 78)
- →your use case matches its focus: ubiquitous developer weather api
- →accessibility matters most to you (92 vs 88)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (7 official SDKs vs 5)
- →your use case matches its focus: frictionless freemium weather api
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Per call / freemium tiers
- Free tier
- 1M calls/mo (classic) + 1k One Call calls/day
- Free$0
- One Call API 3.0 (pay as you call)1,000 calls/day free, then ~0.0012 GBP (~$0.0015) per call
- Startup~$40/month
- Developer~$180/month
- Professional~$470/month
- Enterprisefrom $3,000/month
- Model
- Per call / monthly tiers
- Free tier
- 1M calls/mo (3-day forecast)
- Free$0/mo
- Starter$7/mo (or $75/yr)
- Pro+$25/mo (or $270/yr)
- Business$65/mo (or $702/yr)
- EnterpriseCustom
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (OpenWeather) and 2026-06-27 (WeatherAPI.com).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 1
Python (PyOWM, community)
Only OpenWeather · 4
REST/JSON (HTTP, language-agnostic)Java / Android (OWM JAPIs, community)JavaScript / Node.js (community wrappers)Curated community library list (awesome-openweather)
Only WeatherAPI.com · 6
JavaScript/Node (npm, incl. weatherapi-mcp)PHPJavaGoRubySwagger/OpenAPI spec
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Permanent free tier plus pay-as-you-call billing (1,000 free calls/day) makes it extremely cheap to start and prototype
- +One Call API 3.0 consolidates current, minute, hourly (48h), daily (8d), alerts and 47-year history into one endpoint
- +Hyperlocal ML model updated ~every 10 minutes; vendor cites <1% of temperature predictions deviating more than 5C
- –Reported inconsistency between the Geocoding API and weather endpoints (duplicate/mismatched city results)
- –Meaningful uptime (99.5%+) and faster data refresh are gated behind higher paid tiers; Startup targets only ~95%
- –No prominent public real-time status/incident page for self-service customers
- +Generous free tier (100K calls/month) plus a low $7 paid entry point, among the cheapest in the weather-API market
- +Extremely clean, simple JSON responses that make first integration fast
- +Single API key works across all endpoints and stays the same when you upgrade plans
- –Reported uptime (~99.91-99.93%) sits below a guaranteed 99.9%+ and trails four-nines enterprise rivals
- –Formal SLA is gated to the custom Enterprise tier only
- –Occasional forecast inaccuracies and lighter hyperlocal/minute-level precision than heavier providers like OpenWeatherMap One Call 3.0
OpenWeather vs WeatherAPI.com: questions
- Which has better documentation, OpenWeather or WeatherAPI.com?
- OpenWeather and WeatherAPI.com score the same on documentation and developer experience (80).
- Which is more reliable, OpenWeather or WeatherAPI.com?
- OpenWeather scores higher on reliability: 82 vs 74 out of 100.
- Do OpenWeather and WeatherAPI.com have a free tier?
- OpenWeather: yes (1M calls/mo (classic) + 1k One Call calls/day). WeatherAPI.com: yes (1M calls/mo (3-day forecast)).
- How are OpenWeather and WeatherAPI.com priced?
- OpenWeather: Per call / freemium tiers. WeatherAPI.com: Per call / monthly tiers.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- WeatherAPI.com lists 7 official SDKs, OpenWeather lists 5.