Is the MCP server free?

Yes. The free plan includes 3,000 requests a month with no credit card, and it works with the MCP server. The free plan reaches historical rates back 30 days; paid plans reach back to 1999.

Do I need an API key to discover the tools?

No. initialize, tools/list, and list_currencies work without a key. The four rate tools need one, and the error returned without a key says where to get it.

Which MCP clients work?

The setup above covers Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf. The server speaks standard Streamable HTTP, so a client that supports remote MCP servers over HTTP with custom headers can use the same endpoint and bearer header.

Does it count against my request quota?

Each call to get_latest_rates, convert_currency, get_historical_rates, or get_rates_timeseries counts as one request against your monthly quota, shared with the REST API. Calls with invalid arguments are rejected before metering and cost nothing. list_currencies, initialize, and tools/list are never counted.

MCP Server for Currency Exchange Rates

The Currency Exchange Rate API runs a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, so an AI assistant can look up and convert exchange rates itself instead of guessing from stale training data. It exposes five read-only tools for current rates, conversions, historical rates, and time series across about 160 currencies. Setup is one command or one JSON snippet, with no local process to install.

Get a free API key REST API docs

Endpoint and authentication

MCP endpoint

HTTPS

1https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp

initialize, tools/list, and list_currencies need no API key, so an agent can discover the server first. The other four tools need a key sent as Authorization: Bearer <key>; keys start with cxr_. The server is stateless and answers with JSON over POST (Streamable HTTP); GET returns 405. Create a free key, with no credit card, by signing up, then manage keys in API keys. The free plan includes 3,000 requests a month.

Tools

Tool	Arguments	Metered	What it returns
get_latest_rates	base?, symbols?	Yes	Current rates per one unit of any base currency (default USD), with updatedAt and nextUpdateAt.
convert_currency	from, to, amount?	Yes	Converts an amount (default 1) at the current rate.
get_historical_rates	date, base?, symbols?	Yes	Closing rates for one past UTC day. Free plan: last 30 days; paid plans: back to 1999.
get_rates_timeseries	start, end, base?, symbols?	Yes	Daily closing rates from start to end inclusive, at most 366 days.
list_currencies	none	No	Every supported ISO 4217 code with its English name.

Arguments marked with ? are optional. Metered tools count one request each against the monthly quota.

Setup

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with a key that starts with cxr_.

Claude Code

Shell

1claude mcp add --transport http currency-rates https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json

JSON

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "currency-rates": {4      "url": "https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp",5      "headers": {6        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"7      }8    }9  }10}

VS Code: .vscode/mcp.json

JSON

1{2  "servers": {3    "currency-rates": {4      "type": "http",5      "url": "https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp",6      "headers": {7        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:cxr-key}"8      }9    }10  },11  "inputs": [12    {13      "type": "promptString",14      "id": "cxr-key",15      "description": "Currency Exchange Rate API key",16      "password": true17    }18  ]19}

Windsurf: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

JSON

1{2  "mcpServers": {3    "currency-rates": {4      "serverUrl": "https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp",5      "headers": {6        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"7      }8    }9  }10}

curl: raw JSON-RPC

Shell

1# 1. Initialize (no key needed)2curl https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp \3  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \4  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \5  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2025-06-18","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"curl","version":"1.0.0"}}}'6 7# 2. List the tools (no key needed)8curl https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp \9  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \10  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \11  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/list"}'12 13# 3. Convert 100 EUR to GBP (counts one request)14curl https://api.currencyexchangerate-api.com/api/v1/mcp \15  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \16  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \17  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \18  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"convert_currency","arguments":{"from":"EUR","to":"GBP","amount":100}}}'

Using the REST API from an AI coding assistant

To have an assistant write the integration instead, give it this prompt. It points at the full API reference and the OpenAPI description.

Prompt

Text

1Add live exchange rates to this project with the Currency Exchange Rate API.2- Read https://currencyexchangerate-api.com/llms-full.txt for the full API reference, and https://currencyexchangerate-api.com/openapi.json for the OpenAPI description.3- Call the API from server-side code only, never from the browser. Read the API key from the environment variable CXR_API_KEY and send it as "Authorization: Bearer $CXR_API_KEY".4- Cache the GET /latest response until its nextUpdateAt timestamp instead of calling on every request.5- Do not hard-code the key or any exchange rate.

FAQ

Is the MCP server free?: Yes. The free plan includes 3,000 requests a month with no credit card, and it works with the MCP server. The free plan reaches historical rates back 30 days; paid plans reach back to 1999.
Do I need an API key to discover the tools?: No. initialize, tools/list, and list_currencies work without a key. The four rate tools need one, and the error returned without a key says where to get it.
Which MCP clients work?: The setup above covers Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf. The server speaks standard Streamable HTTP, so a client that supports remote MCP servers over HTTP with custom headers can use the same endpoint and bearer header.
Does it count against my request quota?: Each call to get_latest_rates, convert_currency, get_historical_rates, or get_rates_timeseries counts as one request against your monthly quota, shared with the REST API. Calls with invalid arguments are rejected before metering and cost nothing. list_currencies, initialize, and tools/list are never counted.