WeatherAPI.com vs Visual Crossing

Visual Crossing counts usage in records (days of weather data) rather than requests, with a free daily allowance, metered billing and fixed-price plans, and is strong on long history. WeatherAPI.com counts requests, with flat monthly plans from $7, and adds radar, next-hour rain, tides and pollen.

Visual Crossing'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	Visual Crossing
Free plan	100,000 calls a month, 3-day forecast, no card needed	1,000 records a day (records are days of data, not requests); commercial use allowed
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	Metered: $0.0001 a record after 1,000 free a day; Professional and Corporate plans priced on their website
Forecast length	Up to 14 days hourly; long-range outlook up to 300 days (Pro+ and above)	15 days with hourly data; long-range statistical forecast
Next-hour rain, minute by minute	Starter and above: radar-based in the US and much of Europe, model-based elsewhere	Sub-hourly data option (beta); no radar-based next-hour rain listed
Radar map tiles	Pro+ and above: US and much of Europe, past 2 hours and 1-hour nowcast	Weather maps on every plan (10,000 map requests a month on Free); radar not listed as a plan feature
Historical weather	Back to 1 January 2010 on Business; past 365 days on Pro+	50+ years on every plan
Air quality	Current and forecast on every plan (limited on Free)	Air quality API (AQI, particulates, gases)
Pollen	Starter and above	Not listed
Marine weather and tides	Every plan; tides on Pro+ and above	Waves and swell on Corporate; no tides listed
Government weather alerts	Every plan (limited on Free)	Active weather warnings
Agriculture (soil, evapotranspiration)	Agriculture API with soil, evapotranspiration, growing degree days and spray windows (Business)	Soil and evapotranspiration on Corporate and Enterprise
Solar irradiance and PV	Irradiance on Starter and above; PV power forecast on Business	Solar radiation fields; advanced solar and wind energy on Corporate and Enterprise
Climate normals and degree days	Climate averages, records and degree days (Business)	Degree days and climate normals on Corporate and Enterprise
Many locations in one request	Up to 50 locations per request (Pro+ and above)	5 locations per query on Free, 100 on Professional, 1,000 on Corporate; bulk dataset downloads
Webhooks	Pro+ and above	Not listed
Commercial use on the free plan	Allowed	Allowed
When you reach your plan's limit	Calls stop at the limit unless you top up; automatic top-ups on paid plans	Metered accounts are billed per record with no limit; otherwise requests are refused (HTTP 429)
Uptime commitment	99% on Starter and Pro+, 99.9% on Business; SLA on Enterprise	99.5% on Free, 99.9% on paid plans

Choose Visual Crossing if…

You need decades of history (50+ years), including on the free plan.
You want pay-as-you-go billing per record instead of a monthly plan.
You need hundreds of locations in one query, or scheduled bulk datasets.

Choose WeatherAPI.com if…

You want radar map tiles and radar-based next-hour rain (Pro+, $25 a month).
You want a flat monthly price per request: 3 million calls for $7, 5 million for $25, 10 million for $65.
You need tides, pollen, sports or astronomy data.
You want agriculture data, climate averages and degree days on a $65 self-serve plan (Business).
You want webhooks that call your server when conditions are met.

Questions

Is WeatherAPI.com a good Visual Crossing alternative?

Yes, if you want flat monthly pricing per request, radar map tiles, next-hour rain, tides and pollen. Visual Crossing is a strong choice for very long history (50+ years) and metered billing per record.

What is the difference between a call and a record?

WeatherAPI.com counts each request as one call, whatever it returns (bulk requests count one call per location). Visual Crossing counts records, which are days of weather data, so a 15-day forecast uses more than one record.