APIs power the modern web. Whether you’re building a weather app, a payment system, or a social media dashboard, you’ll need to work with APIs.
I’ve collected 20 free APIs that every web developer should know. No API keys required for most of them. Just start building.
Table of Contents
What is an API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface. Think of it as a waiter in a restaurant. You (the client) tell the waiter what you want. The waiter tells the kitchen (the server). The kitchen cooks your food and the waiter brings it back to you.
APIs work the same way. Your app sends a request to an API. The API processes that request and sends back data. No need to understand how the kitchen works.
1. JSONPlaceholder (Fake API for Testing)
URL: jsonplaceholder.typicode.com
JSONPlaceholder provides fake data for testing and prototyping. No registration required.
Example request: https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1
What you get: A fake post object with userId, id, title, and body properties.
Want to test these APIs faster? Install the Thunder Client extension from our 10 Best VS Code Extensions article to test APIs directly inside your editor.
2. OpenWeatherMap
Get current weather, forecasts, and historical data for any city worldwide. Free tier: 1,000 calls per day.
Example request: https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=London&appid=YOUR_API_KEY
What you get: Temperature, humidity, wind speed, weather conditions, and more.
3. REST Countries
URL: restcountries.com
Get population, capital, currency, languages, flag, and borders for any country. No API key needed.
Example request: https://restcountries.com/v3.1/name/pakistan
What you get: Full country data including capital, population, languages, currency, and flag URL.
4. Dog CEO (Random Dog Images)
URL: dog.ceo/dog-api
Fun API for beginners. Get random dog images, list of all breeds, or images by specific breed. No API key needed.
Example request: https://dog.ceo/api/breeds/image/random
What you get: A random dog image URL as a JSON response with a status message.
5. Cat Facts
URL: catfact.ninja
Get random cat facts. Great for learning how to make GET requests. No API key required.
Example request: https://catfact.ninja/fact
What you get: A random cat fact string and the length of the fact.
6. PokéAPI (Pokémon Data)
URL: pokeapi.co
Everything about Pokémon. Get Pokémon by name, ID, or type. Get moves, abilities, evolutions, and more. No API key needed.
Example request: https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/pokemon/pikachu
What you get: Pokémon data including abilities, base experience, height, weight, stats, and types.
7. Random User Generator
URL: randomuser.me
Generate fake user data including name, email, address, phone number, and profile picture. Perfect for testing user profiles or signup forms.
Example request: https://randomuser.me/api/
What you get: A random user object with name, email, location, phone, and profile picture URL.
8. The Meal DB
URL: themealdb.com
Search for recipes by ingredient, category, or area. Get detailed recipe instructions and ingredient lists. No API key needed.
Example request: https://www.themealdb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php?s=pizza
What you get: Recipe name, category, area, instructions, ingredients, and measurements.
9. GitHub API
The GitHub API lets you access public repository data, user profiles, issues, pull requests, and more. No API key required for public data.
Example request: https://api.github.com/repos/facebook/react
What you get: Stars, forks, open issues, contributors, languages used, and repository metadata.
10. Bored API
Get random activity suggestions when you’re bored. You can filter by type (education, recreational, social, charity, etc.) or number of participants. No API key needed, but requests are limited to 100 per 15 minutes. This is a great teaching tool from the App Brewery.
Example request: https://bored-api.appbrewery.com/random
What you get: A random activity object including name, type, participants, price, accessibility, duration, and an optional link to learn more.
11. Agify.io
URL: agify.io
Enter a first name and get the predicted age based on US social security data. Free tier: 1,000 calls per day. No API key needed.
Example request: https://api.agify.io?name=arsalan
What you get: Name, predicted age, and count of records used for prediction.
12. Genderize.io
URL: genderize.io
Enter a first name and get the predicted gender based on international data. Free tier: 1,000 calls per day.
Example request: https://api.genderize.io?name=arsalan
What you get: Name, predicted gender, probability, and count of records used.
13. Nationalize.io
URL: nationalize.io
Enter a first name and get the predicted nationality. Free tier: 1,000 calls per day.
Example request: https://api.nationalize.io?name=arsalan
What you get: Name and a list of country codes with probability percentages.
14. JokeAPI
URL: v2.jokeapi.dev
Get jokes in multiple categories: Programming, Misc, Dark, Pun, Spooky, Christmas. Filter by type (single or two-part). No API key needed.
Example request: https://v2.jokeapi.dev/joke/Programming
What you get: A joke (single or two-part with setup and delivery) and category information.
15. Dictionary API
URL: dictionaryapi.dev
Enter any English word and get its definition, pronunciation, and example sentences. No API key needed.
Example request: https://api.dictionaryapi.dev/api/v2/entries/en/developer
What you get: Word meanings, phonetic pronunciation, part of speech, definition, and example sentence.
16. Open Library API (Search for Books)
URL: openlibrary.org/developers/api
The Open Library API lets you search for books, get author information, and access cover images. No API key is required, making it perfect for learning how to work with JSON data.
Example request: https://openlibrary.org/search.json?q=javascript
What you get: A list of books with titles, authors, first publish year, and cover IDs.
17. IPify (Get Your Public IP)
URL: ipify.org
Get your public IP address in plain text or JSON format. No API key needed. Simple and reliable.
Example request: https://api.ipify.org?format=json
What you get: Your public IP address as a JSON object.
18. Disease.sh (COVID-19 & Infectious Disease Data)
URL: disease.sh
The Disease.sh API provides real-time statistics for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Used by researchers and developers worldwide. No API key required for basic endpoints.
Example request: https://disease.sh/v3/covid-19/all
What you get: Global cases, deaths, recovered, active cases, and today’s statistics in JSON format.
19. NASA API
URL: api.nasa.gov
Get Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), Mars rover photos, near-earth object data, and more. Free API key required but easy to get.
Example request: https://api.nasa.gov/planetary/apod?api_key=DEMO_KEY
What you get: Astronomy picture title, explanation, image URL, and date.
20. Deck of Cards API
URL: deckofcardsapi.com
Create a new deck of cards. Shuffle. Draw cards. Reshuffle. Perfect for building card games. No API key needed.
Example request: https://deckofcardsapi.com/api/deck/new/draw/?count=1
What you get: A shuffled deck ID, remaining card count, and the card object with value, suit, and image URL.
How to Start Using These APIs
Here’s a simple JavaScript example to call any REST API:
// Fetch data from an API
fetch('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1')
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => console.log(data))
.catch(error => console.error('Error:', error));That’s it. Replace the URL with any API from this list and start building.
Final Thoughts
These 20 free APIs are perfect for learning, prototyping, and building real projects. Start with JSONPlaceholder to understand how APIs work. Then move to the fun ones like Dog CEO or PokéAPI.
What API are you building with? Let me know in the comments below.
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