ONS vs Open Government, UK
Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.
ONS vs Open Government, UK: common questions
Which is more reliable, ONS or Open Government, UK?
On our scheduled checks, ONS leads on measured uptime — ONS at 100% versus Open Government, UK at 97.8% over 90 days. These are our own probe results, not provider claims; the uptime bars above show the day-by-day record for both.
Which is faster, ONS or Open Government, UK?
ONS has the lower median latency in our checks — ONS responds in 266 ms versus Open Government, UK at 1196 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 ONS and Open Government, UK need an API key?
Neither needs a paid key — ONS is callable with no signup, and Open Government, UK is callable with no signup. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.
Can I call ONS and Open Government, UK from the browser?
Yes — both ONS and Open Government, UK send CORS headers over HTTPS, so front-end code can fetch either directly with no backend proxy. That makes them easy to swap in a client-side app while you compare responses.
Are ONS and Open Government, UK free for commercial use?
ONS has unclear commercial terms, and Open Government, UK 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.