# Visual Crossing, free: Air quality API

> Visual Crossing’s Timeline Weather API provides high-quality air quality data for teams who need to track localized air pollution levels.

Visual Crossing's air quality API on its Free plan. It costs $0.00 per 1,000 places. It returns 4 of the 6 key fields we check: US AQI, European AQI, Particles, Gases.
We rank 94 plans by price. [OpenWeather's £370 monthly plan](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/openweather/370-monthly-professional-get-data-2-5-air-pollution/llms.txt) is the cheapest paid plan per 1,000 places: $0.00049.
[WeatherAPI.com](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/weatherapi-com/7-monthly/llms.txt), [Open-Meteo](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/open-meteo/99-monthly-api-professional-get-v1-air-quality-air-quality/llms.txt) and [Weatherbit](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/weatherbit/495-monthly-business-get-v2-0-forecast-airquality/llms.txt) are the best air quality API providers in our benchmark.

- This page: https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/visual-crossing/free
- [Best air quality API in 2026: pricing compared](https://datacircle.dev/best-air-quality-api.txt)
- Get it: https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-data-pricing/
- Request: `GET https://weather.visualcrossing.com/VisualCrossingWebServices/rest/services/timeline/{location}`
- API key: with the plan, on https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-data-pricing/
- Its API docs: https://www.visualcrossing.com/resources/documentation/weather-api/air-quality-elements-in-the-weather-api/
- Sold by: Visual Crossing (https://www.visualcrossing.com)
- Checked: 2026-10-30

## In the answer

- Completeness: 67%
- US AQI: ✓
- European AQI: ✓
- Particles: ✓
- Gases: ✓

## Price

- $ per 1,000 places: $0.00
- Per: call
- Billing: free

## Charges

- Also pays for: from the same budget: Timeline Weather API date range queries

## Not found

- $ per 1,000: $0.00

## In their words

- Their pitch: Visual Crossing’s Timeline Weather API provides high-quality air quality data for teams who need to track localized air pollution levels.

## Data

- Keep data: no limit
- Use data: "10. DATA STORAGE. The data produced by the Service Components may be stored in any database or other storage and retrieval system." "13. RESALE OR COMPETING WEATHER DATA SERVICES. You may not use the Service Components or the data they produce to create, operate, or offer a weather data API, bulk weather dataset, weather data marketplace, or similar service that competes with Visual Crossing." "11. DATA SHARING. [...] Raw Weather Data may never be shared or distributed publicly for download and may only be shown to the general public for viewing purposes where the data is not readily exportable, downloadable, or available through bulk export, API access, structured download, automated retrieval, or similar retrieval functionality." Attribution: "Attribution for all Visual Crossing Weather Data usage is required at the Pay-as-you-go and Pro license level." (pricing page).

## Plan

- Pay: $0
- You get: 30,000 results a month
- Enough for: 30,000 calls a month

## Rate limit

- Per day: 1,000
- Concurrent: 1
- Batch: 5

## Speed

- Median: 0.07 s

## The call

- You send: location, elements "datetime,pm1,pm2p5,pm10,o3,no2,so2,co,aqius,aqieur". Optional: include, unitGroup, lang, options, iconSet, timezone, maxDistance, maxStations, elevationDifference, locationNames, forecastDataset
- Method: GET
- Path: /VisualCrossingWebServices/rest/services/timeline/{location}

## About the plan

- Plan: Free
- Who can get it: anyone

## The 19 fields the plan's answer can hold

latitude, longitude, resolved address, address, time zone, UTC offset, query cost, elevation, day, hour, US AQI, European AQI, PM1, PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide

## Visual Crossing's plans (4)

- [Visual Crossing, free](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/visual-crossing/free/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 67% complete
- [Visual Crossing, pay as you go](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/visual-crossing/pay-as-you-go/llms.txt): $0.10 per 1,000, 67% complete
- [Visual Crossing, contact us, Corporate](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/visual-crossing/contact-us-corporate/llms.txt): 67% complete
- [Visual Crossing, contact us, Enterprise](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/visual-crossing/contact-us-enterprise/llms.txt): 67% complete

## Visual Crossing's calls for this API (1)

- `GET /VisualCrossingWebServices/rest/services/timeline/{location}`: [Visual Crossing, free](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/visual-crossing/free/llms.txt)

## Visual Crossing's APIs (3)

- [Visual Crossing: air quality API pricing, 4 plans](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/visual-crossing/free/llms.txt)
- [Visual Crossing: current weather API pricing, 4 plans](https://datacircle.dev/current-weather-apis/visual-crossing/free/llms.txt)
- [Visual Crossing: weather forecast API pricing, 4 plans](https://datacircle.dev/weather-forecast-apis/visual-crossing/free/llms.txt)

## Visual Crossing: air quality API alternatives

- [World Weather Online, $1 monthly, Pro, GET /premium/v1/weather.ashx](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/world-weather-online/1-monthly-pro-get-premium-v1-weather-ashx/llms.txt): $0.067 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [Open-Meteo, €29 monthly, API Standard, GET /v1/air-quality, Air quality, full](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/open-meteo/29-monthly-api-standard-get-v1-air-quality-air-quality-full/llms.txt): $0.098 per 1,000, 100% complete, live
- [API Ninjas, $1,188 yearly](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/api-ninjas/1188-yearly/llms.txt): $0.099 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [Foreca, €1,089 yearly, Stratus, GET /api/v1/air-quality/forecast/daily/{location}](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/foreca/1089-yearly-stratus-get-api-v1-air-quality-forecast-daily-location/llms.txt): $0.102 per 1,000, 33% complete

## Sources

From each provider's own pricing page and docs, and from what providers tell us. We read this row from these pages on 2026-10-30.

- https://www.visualcrossing.com/air-quality-api
- https://www.visualcrossing.com/resources/documentation/weather-api/air-quality-elements-in-the-weather-api/
- https://www.visualcrossing.com/resources/documentation/weather-api/timeline-weather-api/
- https://www.visualcrossing.com/resources/documentation/weather-api/what-is-the-querycost-parameter
- https://www.visualcrossing.com/resources/documentation/weather-data/understanding-and-optimizing-the-visual-crossing-weather-pay-as-you-go-plan
- https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-api
- https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-data-pricing/
- https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-service-terms