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ReviewsIs Open-Meteo actually free?
How free94/100
Value8/10
How these scores work
Free Score (0–100) follows a fixed rubric: cards up front, auto-billing, hard time cutoffs, withheld core features, and paying with your data or attention all deduct points. 90–100 truly free · 70–89 free forever · 45–69 squeezed · 15–44 trial mechanics · under 15 fake or gone. Value (0–10) is editorial: real-world worth of the free offering measured against its paid equivalent. Full rubric on the methodology page.
Yes for non-commercial use, and unusually so — there is no API key, no signup and no card. You call the URL and get weather back.
What it’s worth
The main alternative gates comparable data behind an account, a key, and a card on file.
What you get free
- Weather forecasts and historical data with no API key at all
- Global coverage from national weather-service models
- Historical reanalysis going back decades
- Open-source code and open data licensing
In practice: weather data with the lowest barrier to entry of anything in this category.
Drawbacks
- Non-commercial only on the free tier
- No uptime guarantee without a paid plan
- Smaller operation than the incumbents
Also paywalled
- Commercial use
- Higher call volumes and guaranteed uptime
Free facts
| Verdict | Truly Free |
| Card required | No |
| Auto-bills | — |
| Account | None needed |
| Limits | Free for non-commercial use under a daily call allowance |
| The real cost | Nothing for personal and non-commercial projects. Commercial use is a paid plan. |
The catch
The free tier is non-commercial. If it's inside a product you make money from, you're on a paid plan — that boundary is stated plainly rather than hidden, which is more than the incumbent manages.
The smart play
- No key means you can test it from a browser address bar in ten seconds
- Cache responses — the daily allowance is generous but not infinite
- If the project starts earning, move to the commercial plan; the terms are clear
More info — tap to expand
Why 'no API key' is worth noticing
Requiring a key isn't a technical necessity; it's the hook that attaches your usage to an account, and eventually to a card. A service that answers without one has given up that hook deliberately. It's the clearest signal in this category that the free tier is meant to be used rather than converted.
Last checked: July 2026 · Verdict: Truly Free — no card, no account wall, no meaningful catch. use it and go.
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