openAFRICA vs REST Countries

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

Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d1.0%100%
Uptime · 30d1.7%100%
P50 · ms177328
P95 · ms1771189
Authnonenone
CORSnono
HTTPSyesyes
Card requirednono
Commercial useunclearyes
Data licenseUnverifiedMPL-2.0
Free tierFree — limits not publishedUnlimited
Rate limitUnpublishedNone published
In directory since2026-07-052026-05-02
operationalpartialdownno data

openAFRICA vs REST Countries: common questions

Which is more reliable, openAFRICA or REST Countries?

On our scheduled checks, REST Countries leads on measured uptime — openAFRICA at 1.0% versus REST Countries at 100% 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, openAFRICA or REST Countries?

openAFRICA has the lower median latency in our checks — openAFRICA responds in 177 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 openAFRICA and REST Countries need an API key?

Neither needs a paid key — openAFRICA is callable with no signup, and REST Countries is callable with no signup. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.

Can I call openAFRICA and REST Countries from the browser?

Neither sends browser-friendly CORS headers reliably, so call openAFRICA 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 openAFRICA and REST Countries free for commercial use?

openAFRICA 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.