Free APIs with no key
84 services, checked weekly
These free APIs work without an API key, a sign-up or an account: you can call them straight from your code, a script or the browser. They are ideal for trying something out, for small projects and for teaching. Most ask you to keep the number of requests reasonable, and some ask for a User-Agent that names your app.
| Service | Category | Formats | Free use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jina Reader | Artificial intelligence | – | Free without an API key at a lower rate limit per IP address; a new free API key comes with 10 million free tokens and higher limits. |
| Pollinations.ai | Artificial intelligence | – | Free, works without a key or sign-up; registering gives higher limits. |
| arXiv API | Books and research | XML | Free, no key needed; the provider asks for at most one request every three seconds. |
| bible-api.com | Books and research | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| Crossref REST API | Books and research | JSON | Free, no key needed; add your e-mail address to requests to use the faster 'polite' pool. |
| Google Books API | Books and research | JSON | Free; a free API key is strongly recommended, as the shared quota without a key is often used up. |
| Gutendex | Books and research | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed; it is a community service without uptime guarantee, so you can host it yourself for heavy use. |
| Internet Archive Advanced Search | Books and research | JSON, XML | Free, no key needed. |
| Library of Congress API | Books and research | JSON | Free, no key needed; the library asks you to keep request rates moderate. |
| Open Library API | Books and research | JSON | Free, no key needed; identify your app with a User-Agent and keep traffic reasonable, and use the bulk data dumps for large jobs. |
| OpenAlex | Books and research | JSON | Free, no key needed for basic use; a free key gives higher limits and is needed for deep paging. |
| PoetryDB | Books and research | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| Semantic Scholar API | Books and research | JSON | Free; without a key all users share one rate limit, so request a free API key for regular use. |
| Wikidata Query Service | Books and research | JSON, XML | Free, no key needed; data is CC0. |
| Wikipedia REST API | Books and research | JSON | Free, no key needed; send a User-Agent that identifies your app. |
| ExchangeRate-API (open access) | Currency and finance | JSON | Free, with attribution required; the keyed plans give more frequent updates, conversion endpoints and historical data. |
| Frankfurter | Currency and finance | JSON | Free, no key needed and no usage limits. |
| Free Currency Exchange Rates API (fawazahmed0) | Currency and finance | JSON | Free. |
| TempConvert (W3Schools) | Currency and finance | – | Free, no key needed. |
| TimeAPI.io | Currency and finance | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| World Bank Indicators API | Currency and finance | JSON, XML | Free, open data, no key needed. |
| country.is | IP to location APIs | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| ip-api | IP to location APIs | JSON | Free for non-commercial use without a key, at up to 45 requests per minute over HTTP; commercial use and HTTPS need the paid Pro plan. |
| ipapi.co | IP to location APIs | JSON, XML, CSV | Free without a key up to about 1,000 requests per day; paid plans for more. |
| ipify | IP to location APIs | JSON | Free and open source, no key and no usage limit. |
| ipwho.is | IP to location APIs | JSON | Free without a key for non-commercial use; the paid ipwhois.io plans are for commercial use and higher volumes. |
| GeoPhrase | Location Information | – | – |
| Nager.Date public holidays | Location Information | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| Postcodes.io | Location Information | JSON | – |
| Sunrise-Sunset | Location Information | JSON | Free, no key needed; the provider asks for a link back. |
| Zippopotam.us | Location Information | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| 7Timer! | Weather forecasts | JSON, XML | Free, no key needed; a simple, long-running service without uptime guarantee. |
| Aviation Weather Center Data API | Weather forecasts | JSON, XML | Free, no key needed; keep the number of requests reasonable. |
| MET Norway Weather API | Weather forecasts | JSON | Free, also for commercial use, under an open licence that asks for attribution; send a User-Agent that identifies your app and cache the results. |
| National Weather Service API | Weather forecasts | JSON | Free and no key needed; send a User-Agent that identifies your app. |
| NOAA Tides and Currents API | Weather forecasts | JSON, XML, CSV | Free, public domain, no key needed. |
| Open-Meteo | Weather forecasts | JSON | Free for non-commercial use; commercial use needs a paid plan. |
| wttr.in | Weather forecasts | – | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| Iconify API | Graphics | – | Free, no key needed; the server is open source and can be self-hosted. |
| placehold.co | Graphics | – | Free, no key needed. |
| Art Institute of Chicago API | Image and photo | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| DiceBear avatars | Image and photo | XML | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| goQR.me QR code API | Image and photo | – | Free, no key needed. |
| Gravatar API | Image and photo | JSON, XML | Free; avatars need no key, the profile API uses a free API key. |
| Lorem Picsum | Image and photo | – | Free, no key needed. |
| Microlink | Image and photo | JSON | The free plan allows 50 requests per day without a key; paid plans offer more. |
| Rijksmuseum API | Image and photo | JSON | Free, no key needed; most images are in the public domain. |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection API | Image and photo | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| Wikimedia Commons API | Image and photo | JSON | Free, no key needed; check the licence of each file before you use it. |
| Dailymotion API | Video | JSON | Free; reading public data needs no key. |
| TVmaze API | Video | JSON | Free, no key needed, with a rate limit of a few dozen calls per 10 seconds; the data is licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA. |
| Datamuse | Language and text | JSON | Free, no key needed, up to 100,000 requests per day. |
| Free Dictionary API | Language and text | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| Launch Library 2 | News feeds and APIs | JSON | Free without a key with a low hourly request limit; supporters get higher limits. |
| Spaceflight News API | News feeds and APIs | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| Carbon Intensity API (GB) | Other | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| CBS Open Data (Statistics Netherlands) | Other | JSON, XML | Free, no key needed. |
| Deck of Cards API | Other | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| Dog CEO Dog API | Other | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| JokeAPI | Other | JSON, XML | Free, no key needed, with a limit of about 120 requests per minute. |
| Open Brewery DB | Other | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| Open Food Facts API | Other | JSON | Free, open data, no key needed; send a User-Agent that identifies your app. |
| Open Trivia Database | Other | JSON | Free, no key needed; the questions are licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA. |
| openFDA | Other | JSON | Free; works without a key, and a free API key raises the daily limit. |
| PokéAPI | Other | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| USGS Earthquake API | Other | JSON | Free, public domain data, no key needed. |
| Where the ISS at? | Other | JSON | Free, no key needed, with a limit of about one request per second. |
| GitHub REST API | Web development services | JSON | Free; unauthenticated requests are limited to 60 per hour, a free personal access token raises that to 5,000. |
| DEV Community API (Forem) | Blogs and publishing | JSON | Free. |
| IndexNow | Blogs and publishing | – | Free, no sign-up needed. |
| Pingomatic | Blogs and publishing | – | Free, no key needed. |
| DNS over HTTPS (Google Public DNS) | Data validators | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| LanguageTool API | Data validators | JSON | – |
| OpenIBAN | Data validators | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed. |
| VIES VAT number validation | Data validators | JSON, XML | Free, no key needed. |
| crt.sh certificate search | Security related services | JSON | Free, no key needed; avoid very heavy automated use. |
| MDN HTTP Observatory API | Security related services | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| Pwned Passwords API | Security related services | – | Free, no key needed. |
| RDAP (WHOIS) | Security related services | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| Wayback Machine Availability API | SEO and site checks | JSON | Free, no key needed; the CDX API offers a full list of snapshots. |
| httpbin | Testing and mock data | JSON | Free and open source, no key needed; you can also run it yourself in Docker. |
| JSONPlaceholder | Testing and mock data | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
| Learn web services | Testing and mock data | XML | Free, no key needed. |
| Random User Generator | Testing and mock data | JSON | Free, no key needed. |
Questions
Do these APIs really work without any key?
Yes. According to their own documentation, each service on this page answers without an API key, token or account. Some offer a free key as well, for higher limits.
Can I use APIs without a key in a commercial app?
Some allow it and some do not: the "Free use" column quotes what each service says. Keyless services also tend to limit requests per IP address, so for a busy app a service with a free key is often the safer choice.