JavaScript Exchange Rate API

Quick Start

Install the official JavaScript SDK and fetch your first exchange rate in under a minute.

npm install @exchangerateapi/sdk

import ExchangeRateAPI from '@exchangerateapi/sdk';

const client = new ExchangeRateAPI({ apiKey: 'era_live_YOUR_API_KEY' });

// Get the latest USD to EUR rate
const { rates } = await client.latest({ base: 'USD', symbols: ['EUR'] });
console.log(`1 USD = ${rates.EUR} EUR`);
// Output: 1 USD = 0.9215 EUR

Using the SDK

The @exchangerateapi/sdk npm package wraps every API endpoint and handles authentication, retries, and TypeScript types for you.

Get Latest Rates

import ExchangeRateAPI from '@exchangerateapi/sdk';

const client = new ExchangeRateAPI({ apiKey: 'era_live_YOUR_API_KEY' });

// Multiple currencies in one call
const { rates } = await client.latest({ base: 'USD', symbols: ['EUR', 'GBP', 'JPY'] });
console.log(rates); // { EUR: 0.9215, GBP: 0.7891, JPY: 151.42 }

Convert an Amount

// Convert 1000 USD to EUR
const result = await client.convert('USD', 'EUR', 1000);
console.log(`$1,000 = ${result.result} EUR`);

// Historical conversion at a specific date
const past = await client.convert('USD', 'EUR', 1000, { date: '2026-01-15' });

Historical Rates

// Rates for a specific date
const data = await client.forDate('2026-01-15', { base: 'EUR', symbols: ['USD', 'GBP'] });

// Historical rates by period
const history = await client.getHistoricalRates('USD', 'EUR', '30d');

List Supported Currencies

const { symbols } = await client.symbols();
console.log(symbols); // { USD: 'United States Dollar', EUR: 'Euro', ... }

Without SDK (Using fetch)

If you prefer to call the API directly without the SDK, use the native fetch API available in Node.js 18+ and all modern browsers.

const response = await fetch(
  'https://exchange-rateapi.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR',
  { headers: { 'Authorization': 'Bearer era_live_YOUR_API_KEY' } }
);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(`1 USD = ${data[0].rate} EUR`);
// Output: 1 USD = 0.9215 EUR

Multiple Targets

const response = await fetch(
  'https://exchange-rateapi.com/api/v1/rates?source=USD&target=EUR,GBP,JPY',
  { headers: { 'Authorization': 'Bearer era_live_YOUR_API_KEY' } }
);

const rates = await response.json();
rates.forEach(r => console.log(`1 USD = ${r.rate} ${r.target}`));
// Output:
// 1 USD = 0.9215 EUR
// 1 USD = 0.7891 GBP
// 1 USD = 151.42 JPY

Error Handling

async function getRate(source, target) {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(
      `https://exchange-rateapi.com/api/v1/rates?source=${source}&target=${target}`,
      { headers: { 'Authorization': 'Bearer era_live_YOUR_API_KEY' } }
    );

    if (!response.ok) {
      if (response.status === 401) throw new Error('Invalid API key');
      if (response.status === 429) throw new Error('Rate limit exceeded');
      throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
    }

    const data = await response.json();
    return data[0].rate;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Failed to fetch rate:', error.message);
    throw error;
  }
}

Response Format

[
  {
    "rate": 0.9215,
    "source": "USD",
    "target": "EUR",
    "time": "2026-05-15T12:00:00Z"
  }
]

[
  { "rate": 0.9215, "source": "USD", "target": "EUR", "time": "2026-05-15T12:00:00Z" },
  { "rate": 0.7891, "source": "USD", "target": "GBP", "time": "2026-05-15T12:00:00Z" },
  { "rate": 151.42, "source": "USD", "target": "JPY", "time": "2026-05-15T12:00:00Z" }
]