DEV Community: gia ly bui

20 Free APIs on RapidAPI — The Complete List

gia ly bui — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:09:44 +0000

Over the past 3 weeks, I've built and published 20 APIs on RapidAPI. All free. All $0/month to run.

Categories:
📊 Business Data (3)
✅ Validation (4)
🔧 Generators (5)
🛠 Utilities (7)
📍 Location (1)

Every API listed on my profile. Free tiers on all of them.

7 Free Utility APIs That Replace Paid SaaS Tools

gia ly bui — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:23:35 +0000

URL Metadata — extract OG tags, favicon, title from any URL
Markdown to HTML — convert MD to HTML in one call
PDF to Text — extract text from PDF URLs
Language Detector — 55+ languages in one call
Sentiment Analysis — VADER lexicon, Positive/Negative/Neutral
User Agent Parser — browser, OS, device from UA strings
Currency Converter — 150+ currencies, live rates

All free. All on RapidAPI. All cost $0/month.

5 Free Generator APIs Every Indie Hacker Needs

gia ly bui — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 11:48:00 +0000

QR Code Generator — PNG or base64, customizable size
UUID Generator — v1 and v4, batch up to 100
Barcode Generator — Code128, EAN13, EAN8
Random User Generator — realistic fake profiles for testing
Text to Slug — any text → URL-friendly slug

No API keys. No limits for free tiers. All on RapidAPI.

I Built a Free Email Validator API — SMTP Handshake Explained

gia ly bui — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 10:46:09 +0000

Sending to invalid emails kills deliverability. Most validators cost $20-50/month.

Built my own. Three checks: syntax (regex), MX record (DNS), SMTP handshake (connect to mail server, ask "does this mailbox exist?", disconnect).

Stack: FastAPI + Python stdlib. Zero deps. $0/month. 1,000 free/month.

Search "Email Validator API" on RapidAPI.

I Built a Free Places Search API in One Day

gia ly bui — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:49:32 +0000

I needed business phone numbers for a sales project. Google Places wanted $0.03 per lookup. No thanks.

Built this over a weekend. Search "plumber in New York" → returns:

Business name
Phone number
Address
Website
GPS coordinates

60+ business types supported. Every country with OpenStreetMap data.

Stack: FastAPI + Render free tier + Overpass API

Total cost to run: $0/month. Free tier: 3,000 requests/month.
Paid plans from $29.99/month.

Search "Places Search API" on RapidAPI to try it.
Code on GitHub: github.com/buigialy30206-eng/google-maps-api

Why I Switched from Google Places API to a Free Alternative

gia ly bui — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:14:03 +0000

I was building a local business directory and needed location data. Google Places API pricing added up fast:

Text Search: $0.032 per call
Place Details: $0.017 per call
1,000 searches = $49 gone

So I looked for alternatives.

Found one built on OpenStreetMap data, hosted on RapidAPI. It's not Google-level coverage for every region, but for US/Europe cities it's solid.

What I get:

Business name, phone, address, website, GPS
60+ types (restaurant, hotel, pharmacy, gym...)
3,000 free requests/month
No API key sign-up

Stack behind it is FastAPI + Overpass API. The source code is on GitHub.

If you're prototyping or building something that doesn't need pixel-perfect data, this is worth a look. Search "Places Search API" on RapidAPI.

I built a free Places Search API — 60+ business types, worldwide, no API keys

gia ly bui — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 03:46:23 +0000

markdown I scrape data for a living and got tired of paying for business data APIs.

Built my own using OpenStreetMap. Returns structured JSON.

What it does
Search plumber in New York → name, phone, address, website, GPS
60+ types: restaurant, hotel, pharmacy, dentist, gym, bank...
Every country with OSM data
Free tier: 3,000 req/month
Tech
FastAPI + Render free tier + Overpass API. $0/month to run.

Links
API: API Hub — search "Places Search API"
Code: buigialy30206-eng/google-maps-api · GitHub
Feedback welcome!