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10 Free Public APIs I’m Actually Using as a Developer in 2025

Emmanuel Mumba on June 11, 2025

If you’re a developer like me, you’re always on the hunt for good APIs — the kind that are actually free, useful, and easy to integrate. So, I spen...

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Ananya Balehithlu • Jun 11 '25

Glad to learn new things that I can immediately use in my project. Thanks!

Emmanuel Mumba • Jun 11 '25

Glad you found the list helpful.

Nikoloz Turazashvili (@axrisi) • Jun 11 '25

Purpose of Free Public APIs
- Great for learning without registration or cost
- Enables faster prototyping with live data sources
- Generous zero cost tiers for early-stage projects
- Supported by wide community engagement
Tools for API Management
- Apidog: Combines testing and documentation, suitable for both beginners and advanced users
Evaluating an API
- Check for documentation quality
- Assess response time and reliability
- Understand rate limits and usage caps
- Review authentication requirements
- Confirm data freshness and update frequency
Highlighted Free APIs
1. REST Countries API
  - Use Case: Information on countries (e.g., borders, flags)
  - Ideal for educational apps and travel guides

Open-Meteo
- Use Case: Weather forecasts by location
- Ideal for climate research and travel apps
OpenAI Playground (Free Tier)
- Use Case: Text generation, translation, and summaries
- Ideal for chatbots and content creation
DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API
- Use Case: Quick search answers while protecting user privacy
- Ideal for search engines and productivity tools
Picsum (Random Image API)
- Use Case: Generate placeholder images for designs
- Ideal for UI/UX design and front-end development
Numbers API
- Use Case: Trivia and facts related to specific numbers
- Ideal for educational platforms and trivia games
Free Dictionary API
- Use Case: English word definitions and phonetics
- Ideal for language-learning apps and writing assistants
ExchangeRate API
- Use Case: Real-time foreign exchange rates
- Ideal for finance apps and budgeting tools
GitHub REST API
- Use Case: Access GitHub profiles and repositories
- Ideal for portfolio sites and GitHub analytics
Hugging Face Inference API (Free Tier)
- Use Case: Run AI models for various tasks
- Ideal for testing ML integrations without infrastructure concerns

Additional Resources and Tips
- Consider public-apis.io and RapidAPI for more APIs
- Be mindful of rate limits and security practices when working with APIs
Conclusion
- Free public APIs enable learning, development, and product creation with enhanced community support
- Tools like Apidog simplify testing and managing APIs.

made with love by axrisi

Kristen • Jun 11 '25

Good list, thank you OP!

Emmanuel Mumba • Jun 11 '25

You are welcome Kristen. 😎😎

Ansell Maximilian • Jun 12 '25

Thanks for sharing!

Bobby • Jun 11 '25

You should also check out the QuizAPI!

Audrey Kadjar • Jun 11 '25

great list!

Sufian Babri • Jun 13 '25

This is indeed a useful list. I also like the way you have written the article. Hard to find such articles nowadays.

Meenakshi Agarwal • Jun 11 '25

Good, nice set of API resources. Would be good to find a proper usage workflow to make the most these.

Dotallio • Jun 11 '25

Love this list - Open-Meteo is underrated for side projects. Which one here surprised you most after trying it out?

Laxman Rathod • Jun 12 '25

Very Informative! Thanks for sharing, EM. ✨

Xyaran • Jun 12 '25

Thank you for this article, very useful!

Elio Nelson Cortes Martinez • Jun 14 '25

A very practical API is Rick and Morty (rickandmortyapi.com); widely used by developers, which can be consumed using GraphQL and get images of the series.

Mohammed Ahmed Hussien • Jun 13 '25

Best for testing and playing with frontend frameworks

Vida Khoshpey • Jun 11 '25

Unfortunately, there are sanctions in Iran, especially for openai🥺😭I'm programming despite unstable internet, sanctions, and not having an international card. 😂😂😶😶so sad