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Verified Free / Data & APIs

Is Open-Meteo actually free?

Truly 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

What the free tier actually gives you

Card requiredNo
Free ceilingRate limited
API key neededNo
Bulk downloadYes
Commercial useNon-commercial only
Self-hostableYes
Sleeps when idleNever

Same questions, same order, for every listing in Data & APIs — so you can compare them side by side. Deliberately no exact allowances: those change monthly, the shape of the limit doesn't.

Free facts

VerdictTruly Free
Card requiredNo
Auto-bills—
AccountNone needed
LimitsFree for non-commercial use under a daily call allowance
The real costNothing 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

Common questions

Does Open-Meteo require a credit card?
No — Open-Meteo does not ask for a card to use the free version. Auto-billing: —.
What are the limits of Open-Meteo's free plan?
Free for non-commercial use under a daily call allowance. 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.
How do I use Open-Meteo without paying?
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
What does Open-Meteo really cost?
Nothing for personal and non-commercial projects. Commercial use is a paid plan.
Why is Open-Meteo free?
Nothing for personal and non-commercial projects. Commercial use is a paid plan. The main alternative gates comparable data behind an account, a key, and a card on file.
Is Open-Meteo still free?
As of our last check, yes. 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. Free tiers change without notice, which is why every page here carries the date it was checked.

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: August 2026site-wide date · Verdict: Truly Free — no card, no account wall, no meaningful catch. use it and go.

Visit Open-Meteo →

Was this verdict right?

Free tiers change without notice. If you have just used it, you know something we don't.

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