WeatherAPI.com vs OpenWeatherMap

OpenWeatherMap (OpenWeather) sells monthly subscriptions by call volume, plus the One Call API paid per call and several separately priced add-ons. WeatherAPI.com puts forecast, history, alerts, air quality and marine data in one plan, with prices from $7 a month.

OpenWeatherMap's details checked on 4 November 2026 from their own website (sources at the end of this page). Prices are in US dollars unless stated.

Feature and price comparison

Feature	WeatherAPI.com	OpenWeatherMap
Free plan	100,000 calls a month, 3-day forecast, no card needed	1,000,000 calls a month (60 a minute), 5-day forecast in 3-hour steps; attribution required
Paid plans from	$7 a month for 3 million calls (Starter); $25 for 5 million (Pro+); $65 for 10 million (Business); High Volume up to 500 million	Startup $40 a month for 10 million calls; One Call API: 1,000 calls a day free, then $0.0015 a call
Forecast length	Up to 14 days hourly; long-range outlook up to 300 days (Pro+ and above)	5 days (3-hourly) on Free; 16 days daily from Startup; 4 days hourly and 30 days daily from Developer ($180); One Call: 48 hours hourly
Next-hour rain, minute by minute	Starter and above: radar-based in the US and much of Europe, model-based elsewhere	Next 60 minutes in the One Call API (paid per call)
Radar map tiles	Pro+ and above: US and much of Europe, past 2 hours and 1-hour nowcast	Radar layer in Weather Maps 3.0, an add-on from $250 a month; basic map layers on every plan
Historical weather	Back to 1 January 2010 on Business; past 365 days on Pro+	Back to 1979 in the One Call API (paid per call); History API on Professional ($470) and Expert; bulk history $10 per location
Air quality	Current and forecast on every plan (limited on Free)	Current, forecast and history (from November 2020) on every plan
Pollen	Starter and above	Not listed
Marine weather and tides	Every plan; tides on Pro+ and above	Wave and swell map layers (Weather Maps 3.0); no tides
Government weather alerts	Every plan (limited on Free)	In the One Call API
Agriculture (soil, evapotranspiration)	Agriculture API with soil, evapotranspiration, growing degree days and spray windows (Business)	Soil map layers; accumulated temperature and rain on Professional and above; Agro API priced on request
Solar irradiance and PV	Irradiance on Starter and above; PV power forecast on Business	Solar Irradiance API at $0.12 a call; PV energy prediction $320 a month per location
Climate normals and degree days	Climate averages, records and degree days (Business)	Statistical weather data on Expert ($1,200 a month)
Many locations in one request	Up to 50 locations per request (Pro+ and above)	Bulk downloads of preset city lists on Professional and above
Webhooks	Pro+ and above	Not listed
Commercial use on the free plan	Allowed	Allowed, with attribution
When you reach your plan's limit	Calls stop at the limit unless you top up; automatic top-ups on paid plans	Subscriptions: requests refused (HTTP 429) over the limit. One Call: billed per call, up to a daily cap you set
Uptime commitment	99% on Starter and Pro+, 99.9% on Business; SLA on Enterprise	95% (Free, Startup) to 99.9% (Expert); no SLA on self-serve plans

Choose OpenWeatherMap if…

You need a very large number of simple calls at a flat price: their Professional plan is 1 billion calls a month for $470.
A 5-day forecast in 3-hour steps is enough and you want 1 million free calls a month.
You need hourly history going back to 1979 and are happy to pay per call or per location for it.
You need air quality history on a low-cost plan.

Choose WeatherAPI.com if…

You want hourly forecasts up to 14 days, history, alerts, air quality and marine data in one plan, without separate add-ons or per-call charges.
You want radar map tiles and next-hour rain included in the plan: both are on Pro+ ($25 a month).
You need tides, pollen, evapotranspiration or degree days.
You'd rather not show attribution: it isn't required on any plan (we appreciate a link on the Free plan).
You want up to 50 locations in one request, or webhooks that call your server when conditions are met.

OpenWeatherMap's plans

Plan	Price	Includes
Free	$0	1,000,000 calls a month, 60 a minute
One Call API	Pay per call	1,000 calls a day free, then $0.0015 a call
Startup	$40 a month	10 million calls a month, 600 a minute
Developer	$180 a month	100 million calls a month, 3,000 a minute
Professional	$470 a month	1 billion calls a month, 30,000 a minute
Expert	$1,200 a month	3 billion calls a month, 100,000 a minute
Enterprise	On request	Contract

Our plans and everything they include are on the pricing page.

Questions

Is WeatherAPI.com a good OpenWeatherMap alternative?

Yes, if you want forecast, history, alerts, air quality and marine data in one plan. WeatherAPI.com plans start at $7 a month for 3 million calls, and radar map tiles and next-hour rain are included from Pro+ at $25 a month. OpenWeatherMap is a good fit for very high call volumes at a flat price.

Does WeatherAPI.com require attribution like OpenWeatherMap?

No. Attribution isn't required on any WeatherAPI.com plan; we appreciate a link back on the Free plan. OpenWeatherMap asks for attribution on its Free to Professional plans.