Currents vs REST Countries
Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.
Currents vs REST Countries: common questions
Which is more reliable, Currents or REST Countries?
Both are neck-and-neck — Currents and REST Countries each measure 100% uptime over 90 days on our probe schedule. Reliability here is verified from our own scheduled checks; use the 30-day bars above to see which has been steadier lately.
Which is faster, Currents or REST Countries?
REST Countries has the lower median latency in our checks — Currents responds in 586 ms versus REST Countries at 328 ms (P50). Tail latency (P95) is in the table above; for most workloads the median is the number that shapes how the API feels.
Do Currents and REST Countries need an API key?
REST Countries needs no key, while Currents requires a free API key. If you want to start calling without signup, reach for REST Countries first.
Can I call Currents and REST Countries from the browser?
Neither sends browser-friendly CORS headers reliably, so call Currents and REST Countries from a server or proxy rather than client-side. The CORS and HTTPS rows above show exactly what we detected for each.
Are Currents and REST Countries free for commercial use?
Currents has unclear commercial terms, and REST Countries allows commercial use on its free tier. We track service terms and the data license as separate fields — see the Commercial use and Data license rows above, and confirm both before shipping either in a paid product.