🌐 25+ Free APIs Every Developer Should Know
In this blog: We’ll explore a collection of fun, powerful, and free APIs that every developer should know. These are great for learning, building side projects, or just experimenting with new ideas.
Let’s be honest. as developers, we love free stuff. Especially when it helps us learn, experiment, or build something exciting. APIs are like little superpowers that connect your project with real-world data. You can pull in weather updates, random jokes, cat pictures, or even space images from NASA… all with just a few lines of code.
So if you’re looking for ideas for your next side project or just want to explore the world of APIs, here’s a handpicked list of 25+ free APIs every developer should know.
🧩 1. JSONPlaceholder
URL: https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/
A classic for frontend developers who need instant fake data. JSONPlaceholder gives you a fully functional mock REST API filled with sample users, posts, comments, and more. It’s perfect for learning CRUD operations, testing fetch requests, or even demoing UI components before the backend is ready. You can plug it in directly and get JSON responses without any setup or authentication.
🌦️ 2. OpenWeatherMap API
URL: https://openweathermap.org/api
If you’ve ever thought of building a weather dashboard or mobile app, this API should be on your list. OpenWeatherMap gives you current conditions, forecasts, air quality, and even historical data. The free tier provides enough requests to power small projects, and you can fetch data for any city by name or coordinates. It’s one of the most popular APIs used in hackathons and learning projects.
💰 3. CoinGecko API
URL: https://www.coingecko.com/en/api
This one is a must for anyone experimenting with cryptocurrency dashboards or trading tools. CoinGecko provides real-time data about thousands of coins, including prices, charts, market caps, and exchange info. The best part is that it’s completely free and doesn’t require authentication for most endpoints. You can easily integrate it into charts or financial widgets.
📸 4. Unsplash API
URL: https://unsplash.com/developers
Need high-quality images for your project? Unsplash is the gold standard for free stock photos, and their API lets you fetch them programmatically. You can get random photos, search by keyword, or pull curated collections. It’s a great way to add beautiful visuals to your projects or mockups without worrying about licensing.
🐱 5. The Cat API
A personal favorite for pet lovers. The Cat API gives you adorable cat images, GIFs, and even breed information. It’s fun, easy to use, and perfect for testing image rendering or just adding some personality to your projects. You can build random cat generators, mood boosters, or simply use it to learn how to handle API calls with images.
🐶 6. Dog CEO’s Dog API
Dogs deserve equal attention! This API is similar to The Cat API but focuses on dogs of all breeds. You can fetch random pictures, breed lists, or even filter by breed. It’s lighthearted, but still an excellent playground for learning API integration and JSON parsing.
😂 7. Giphy API
URL: https://developers.giphy.com/
If your app needs a little fun and motion, Giphy is the perfect choice. It lets you fetch trending, random, or keyword-based GIFs and stickers with a simple API call. Developers love it for adding reactions, animations, and playful moments to chat apps or social feeds. It’s super easy to use and makes any UI feel more lively and engaging.
📰 8. NewsAPI
URL: https://newsapi.org/
Stay updated with global headlines and news from thousands of sources using NewsAPI. It lets you fetch top stories, search by keyword, or filter by country and category. This API is perfect for news aggregators, dashboards, or widgets that display trending topics. Even with the free plan, you get enough data for most side projects.
🐉 9. PokeAPI
URL: https://pokeapi.co/
A treasure for Pokémon fans. PokeAPI gives you data about every Pokémon, from their stats and abilities to evolution chains. The community has made it so comprehensive that you can build full-fledged games, cards, or encyclopedias just using this data. It’s one of the best-documented and most loved public APIs around.
🤪 10. JokeAPI
URL: https://jokeapi.dev/
Need to make your users smile? JokeAPI delivers random jokes that can be filtered by type, language, or category. You can fetch one-liners or full setups with punchlines, all in a clean JSON format. It’s perfect for building fun apps, Slack bots, or just adding a touch of humor to your project.
🌍 11. REST Countries API
URL: https://restcountries.com/
Ever wanted to fetch country flags, codes, or population data? This API has you covered. It gives you detailed information about every country, including languages, currencies, time zones, and more. It’s super handy for building travel, education, or geography-based apps.
👥 12. ReqRes API
URL: https://reqres.in/
ReqRes is another simple yet powerful API for testing user flows like login and registration. It helps you simulate real-world API responses without needing an actual database. You can practice sending POST, PUT, DELETE, or even error-handling requests. It’s especially useful when you’re building forms or authentication features in React or any frontend framework.
🌐 13. IPify API
A simple and clean API that returns your public IP address. You can use it for analytics, logging, or to detect a user’s location indirectly. It’s one of the most minimal yet useful APIs out there.
📍 14. IPGeoLocation API
URL: https://ipgeolocation.io/
If you want to go beyond IP addresses, this API provides detailed geolocation data like city, country, ISP, timezone, and even currency. It’s great for personalization, analytics, or custom dashboards.
🧑💼 15. RandomUser.me
Great for generating random fake users for UI or database testing. You get names, profile pictures, emails, and even location details. Perfect when you need sample data that feels realistic without creating your own seed scripts.
📚 16. Open Library API
URL: https://openlibrary.org/developers/api
Open Library is like a digital version of a public library. It provides data about millions of books, authors, and covers. You can use it to build reading trackers, book search tools, or library management systems. It’s backed by the Internet Archive, so you know the data is rich and reliable.
🚀 17. NASA Open APIs
If space fascinates you, NASA’s open APIs will blow your mind. You can access daily astronomy photos, satellite data, Mars rover images, and much more. It’s a goldmine for educational or fun projects that make use of real NASA data. The API keys are free and quick to get started with.
🧑🤝🧑 18. Genderize.io
Predict the gender of a person based on their first name. It’s surprisingly accurate and widely used in data analysis or personalization projects. For example, you can make a form that automatically sets a user’s profile avatar or greeting based on name prediction.
🎯 19. Open Trivia Database
URL: https://opentdb.com/
A perfect choice for building quiz or trivia apps. You can fetch questions of different difficulty levels and categories like science, sports, or movies. It’s completely free, easy to use, and frequently updated. A fun way to test your JavaScript skills too.
💱 20. Currency Exchange Rates API
URL: https://exchangeratesapi.io/
Convert and compare exchange rates in real-time. This API provides currency conversion data, historical charts, and base rate calculations. Perfect for travel or finance-based projects that need live rate updates without relying on paid financial APIs.
🍔 21. MealDB API
URL: https://www.themealdb.com/api.php
Hungry for inspiration? MealDB lets you search meals by ingredients, area, or name and even provides step-by-step recipes with images. It’s a fantastic resource for food apps, recipe search engines, or cooking hobby projects.
🔢 22. NumbersAPI
Turn boring numbers into fun facts. This quirky API gives trivia, math, or date-based facts about any number. You can use it in educational apps, dashboards, or just to add some fun elements to your interface.
🕹️ 23. Bored API
URL: https://bored-api.appbrewery.com/
When you’re out of ideas, this API suggests random activities to do. From simple hobbies to coding ideas, it’s a great reminder that there’s always something new to try. Developers often use it to build motivational widgets or creative suggestion tools.
🎓 24. Universities API
URL: http://universities.hipolabs.com/
Get detailed information about universities worldwide, including domains, countries, and names. Ideal for education-related projects like search platforms, student applications, or informational dashboards.
🤓 25. Fun Translations API
URL: https://funtranslations.com/api
Translate boring text into fun styles like Yoda-speak, Shakespearean English, or Pirate language. It’s a hilarious way to make apps or chatbots more engaging. Try sending “Hello, friend” and get “Ahoy, matey!” in return.
💬 Final Thoughts
Exploring APIs is one of the best ways to level up as a developer. You get hands-on practice with real data, and it pushes you to think about structure, formatting, and integration.
The cool part? All of these APIs are free to use (at least within certain limits). That means you can build dashboards, games, tools, or data-driven UIs without spending a single penny.
Start small, maybe display weather data from OpenWeatherMap, or build a random cat photo app using The Cat API. Once you’re comfortable, try combining two or three APIs in one project. That’s where things get interesting.
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