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Weather & Environment · head to head

OpenWeatherMap vs Planet Labs

OpenWeatherMap logo

OpenWeatherMap

Weather & Environment

Developer-friendly weather API with global coverage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Planet Labs logo

Planet Labs

Weather & Environment

Daily satellite imagery for environmental monitoring

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only OpenWeatherMap has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: OpenWeatherMap free tier capped at 60 calls/minute and 1,000,000 calls/month; Planet Labs planet publishes no price for its monitoring subscriptions: no rate per square kilometre, no minimum area and no commitment length appears on the product page
  • They diverge on capability: OpenWeatherMap covers Weather API, Planet Labs covers Daily satellite imagery.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenWeatherMap and Planet Labs actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenWeatherMap and Planet Labs differ
AttributeOpenWeatherMapPlanet Labs
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Api
Founded20172010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Weather & Environment).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in OpenWeatherMap

  • Weather API
  • Current conditions
  • Forecasts
  • Historical data
  • Weather maps
  • REST API
  • JSON format
  • Widgets

Only in Planet Labs

  • Daily satellite imagery
  • Change detection
  • Agriculture monitoring
  • Forest tracking
  • Climate data
  • API access
  • GIS platforms
  • Cloud services

Both cover

  • Api support
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

OpenWeatherMap

  • Embedding current weather and short-term forecasts into third-party apps/websitesnot Planet Labs
  • Pulling historical and statistical weather data for researchnot Planet Labs
  • Displaying weather map overlays (precipitation, clouds, etc.) via the Weather Maps APInot Planet Labs
  • Monitoring air pollution levels via the Air Pollution APInot Planet Labs
  • Geocoding locations for weather lookupsnot Planet Labs

Planet Labs

  • Daily satellite imagery monitoring of a defined area of interestnot OpenWeatherMap
  • Detecting change in land use, agriculture and infrastructure over timenot OpenWeatherMap
  • Feeding satellite imagery into analytics and machine learning pipelinesnot OpenWeatherMap

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

OpenWeatherMap

  • Free tier capped at 60 calls/minute and 1,000,000 calls/month
  • Free tier limited to current weather, 3-hour/5-day forecast, air pollution, 15 map layers, and geocoding only
  • One Call API free allowance is only 1,000 calls/day before pay-per-call charges apply
  • Paid tier (Startup, Developer, Professional, Expert) exact USD prices are not published on the public pricing page

Planet Labs

  • Planet publishes no price for its monitoring subscriptions: no rate per square kilometre, no minimum area and no commitment length appears on the product page
  • Access is sold only through a subscription scaled by sales to the customer's stated needs, so there is no self service purchase
  • Every pricing route on the page is a contact sales button

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenWeatherMap

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 60 calls/min
    • 1,000,000 calls/month
    • current weather, 3-hr/5-day forecast, air pollution, 15 map layers, geocoding

Planet Labs

On request
  • ExplorerFree
    • Limited imagery
    • Basic tools
    • Entry tier
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full archive
    • API access
    • Custom analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenWeatherMap if

  • You need weather api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want current conditions.
OpenWeatherMap review

Choose Planet Labs if

  • You need daily satellite imagery.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want change detection.
Planet Labs review

Questions people ask

Is OpenWeatherMap or Planet Labs better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenWeatherMap starts at Free and Planet Labs at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenWeatherMap or Planet Labs?
OpenWeatherMap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for OpenWeatherMap and On request for Planet Labs.
Does OpenWeatherMap or Planet Labs run on more platforms?
OpenWeatherMap runs on Web. Planet Labs runs on Web, Api.
Can I use OpenWeatherMap for free?
Yes. OpenWeatherMap has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Planet Labs starts at On request.
What is OpenWeatherMap best used for?
OpenWeatherMap is most often used for embedding current weather and short-term forecasts into third-party apps/websites, pulling historical and statistical weather data for research, displaying weather map overlays (precipitation, clouds, etc.) via the weather maps api, monitoring air pollution levels via the air pollution api. Of those, embedding current weather and short-term forecasts into third-party apps/websites and pulling historical and statistical weather data for research are not what Planet Labs is typically brought in for.
What can OpenWeatherMap do that Planet Labs cannot?
OpenWeatherMap covers Weather API, Current conditions, Forecasts, Historical data. Planet Labs covers Daily satellite imagery, Change detection, Agriculture monitoring, Forest tracking. Both handle Api support, Web support.
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