# Weatherbit API vs Xweather Weather API

> Xweather Weather API scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against Weatherbit API's 57.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Weatherbit API leads on reliability. Both do weather current. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/weatherbit-vs-xweather
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/weatherbit-vs-xweather.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/weatherbit-vs-xweather.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/weatherbit-vs-xweather.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Xweather Weather API scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against Weatherbit API's 57.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Weatherbit API leads on reliability. Both do weather current.

- Weatherbit API: grade C, 57.7/100, rank #466 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/weatherbit.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/weatherbit.json
- Xweather Weather API: grade B, 67.1/100, rank #219 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/xweather.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/xweather.json

## Which one, for what

### Weatherbit API (C)

Good for: An application that needs forecasts plus specialised datasets (air quality, lightning, soil and degree days) from one paid subscription, queried by coordinates.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 91 against 74

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: The key is accepted only as the `key` query parameter, and the spec lists plain http as a scheme

### Xweather Weather API (B)

Good for: Teams that need lightning, hail, road weather or tropical data beside ordinary conditions and forecasts, with an MCP server and an OpenAPI file ready for agents.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 83 against 72
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 61
- Security & auth, 52 against 39
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 21
- Transparency & trust, 68 against 63

Watch for: The REST API documents `client_id` and `client_secret` only as query parameters, and the MCP server also accepts the key as `?api_key=`


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Weatherbit API | Xweather Weather API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 91 | 74 | Weatherbit API +17 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 83 | Xweather Weather API +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 61 | 78 | Xweather Weather API +17 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 39 | 52 | Xweather Weather API +13 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 32 | Xweather Weather API +2 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 21 | 81 | Xweather Weather API +60 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 68 | Xweather Weather API +5 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **57.7 · C** | **67.1 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Weatherbit API | Xweather Weather API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Weatherbit LLC | Vaisala Oyj |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.weatherbit.io/v2.0` | `https://data.api.xweather.com` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Weatherbit's terms of service. The free plan's data is under a Creative Commons non-commercial licence. The Python SDK is MIT | Proprietary service under the General Conditions of Subscription Services of Vaisala Group. The OpenAPI files and the agent skills on GitHub are MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 19 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `com.xweather/weather` |
| Last release | 2025-08-01 | 2026-09-14 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-05-01 | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2023-12-26 | 2020-06-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 78 PyPI/wk | 0 stars, 1.4k npm/wk |

## Verdicts

**Weatherbit API.** A read-only weather API with a Swagger 2.0 spec, quota headers on every response and a status page showing 100 per cent on three API monitors over 90 days. The key travels only in the query string, the free plan allows 50 requests a day for non-commercial use, and the last dated API announcement is 1 August 2025.

**Xweather Weather API.** A public OpenAPI file with 236 operations, a hosted MCP server in the official registry and a free tier of 15,000 accesses a month suit agents. REST credentials travel only in the query string, per-minute limits are unpublished, and the group terms bar commercial use of free plans and passing data to third parties unless a service description allows it.

## Before you call either

### Weatherbit API

1. Pass lat and lon. City, postal code and station lookups are accepted, but the docs recommend coordinates and mark station ID as use with caution
2. Read X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Reset on each response. Daily quotas reset at 00:00 UTC and a spent quota returns 429 until then
3. Treat HTTP 204 with an empty body as no data found, not as an error
4. Split historical requests into ranges of one month or less. History needs the Plus plan or higher and has its own daily quota
5. Keep the key out of logs. It is part of the URL on every call, so always use https://api.weatherbit.io/v2.0

### Xweather Weather API

1. Check `success` and `error.code` on every response. Application errors such as `invalid_location` return HTTP 200 with `success` false
2. Send `fields`, `limit` and `plimit`. The docs put a 15-day hourly forecast at about 600 KB, and about 25 KB with three fields
3. Read `X-Cost-Tokens` after each call. Cost is the endpoint multiplier times the intervals requested, so narrow `from` and `to`
4. For MCP, send `Authorization: Bearer <client_id>_<client_secret>` and avoid the `api_key` query parameter, which puts the secret in the URL
5. Add `include_tags` or `include_tools` to the MCP URL to load only the tool groups the task needs
6. On 429 read `Retry-After` and the `X-RateLimit-Reset-*` headers. `maxhits_min` clears at the next minute, `maxhits` at the period reset

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Weatherbit API or Xweather Weather API?

Xweather Weather API scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against Weatherbit API's 57.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Weatherbit API leads on reliability.

### Do Weatherbit API and Xweather Weather API need an API key?

Weatherbit API needs an API key. Xweather Weather API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Weatherbit API and Xweather Weather API without installing anything?

Yes. Weatherbit API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.weatherbit.io/v2.0 and Xweather Weather API at https://data.api.xweather.com.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/weatherbit-vs-xweather.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/weatherbit-vs-xweather.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "weatherbit", "b": "xweather"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare weatherbit xweather`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/weatherbit.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/xweather.json

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