Open Notify vs USGS Water Services
Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.
Open Notify vs USGS Water Services: common questions
Which is more reliable, Open Notify or USGS Water Services?
On our scheduled checks, USGS Water Services leads on measured uptime — Open Notify at 71.6% versus USGS Water Services at 87.3% 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, Open Notify or USGS Water Services?
Open Notify has the lower median latency in our checks — Open Notify responds in 241 ms versus USGS Water Services at 828 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 Open Notify and USGS Water Services need an API key?
Neither needs a paid key — Open Notify is callable with no signup, and USGS Water Services is callable with no signup. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.
Can I call Open Notify and USGS Water Services from the browser?
Only USGS Water Services is browser-friendly — it returns CORS headers over HTTPS. Open Notify needs a server-side call or proxy, so factor that into which one fits a front-end project.
Are Open Notify and USGS Water Services free for commercial use?
Open Notify has unclear commercial terms, and USGS Water Services 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.