NPPES vs Open Data NHS Scotland

Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.

Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d100%100%
Uptime · 30d100%100%
P50 · ms9101327
P95 · ms20712920
Authnonenone
CORSnono
HTTPSyesyes
Card requirednono
Commercial useyesyes
Data licenseU.S. Government (public NPI data)Open Government Licence (per dataset)
Free tierFree — no key requiredFree — limits not published
Rate limitUnpublishedUnpublished
In directory since2026-07-052026-07-05
operationalpartialdownno data

NPPES vs Open Data NHS Scotland: common questions

Which is more reliable, NPPES or Open Data NHS Scotland?

Both are neck-and-neck — NPPES and Open Data NHS Scotland 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, NPPES or Open Data NHS Scotland?

NPPES has the lower median latency in our checks — NPPES responds in 910 ms versus Open Data NHS Scotland at 1327 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 NPPES and Open Data NHS Scotland need an API key?

Neither needs a paid key — NPPES is callable with no signup, and Open Data NHS Scotland is callable with no signup. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.

Can I call NPPES and Open Data NHS Scotland from the browser?

Neither sends browser-friendly CORS headers reliably, so call NPPES and Open Data NHS Scotland from a server or proxy rather than client-side. The CORS and HTTPS rows above show exactly what we detected for each.

Are NPPES and Open Data NHS Scotland free for commercial use?

NPPES allows commercial use on its free tier, and Open Data NHS Scotland 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.