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Weather Underground vs Weatherstack

Weather Underground logo

Weather Underground

Weather

Crowdsourced hyperlocal weather from personal stations

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weatherstack logo

Weatherstack

Weather

Real-time weather API trusted by thousands

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Weather Underground free public API discontinued as of December 31, 2018 with no new developer accounts accepted; Weatherstack the free tier allows 100 API calls a month, which is a demo rather than a usable allowance
  • They diverge on capability: Weather Underground covers Personal weather stations, Weatherstack covers Real-time weather.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Weather Underground and Weatherstack actually diverge.

Attributes where Weather Underground and Weatherstack differ
AttributeWeather UndergroundWeatherstack
PlatformsWeb, Mobile web, Personal Weather Station networkApi
Founded20032016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Weather).

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 Weather Underground

  • Personal weather stations
  • Hyperlocal data
  • Historical records
  • Webcams
  • Community forums
  • PWS networks
  • Smart home
  • APIs

Only in Weatherstack

  • Real-time weather
  • Historical data
  • Forecasts
  • Location lookup
  • Bulk queries
  • REST API
  • JSON responses
  • HTTPS

What people use each for

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

Weather Underground

  • Professional Worknot Weatherstack
  • Content Creationnot Weatherstack

Weatherstack

  • Current weather lookups by location in an applicationnot Weather Underground
  • Historical weather data for analysis on the paid tiersnot Weather Underground
  • Short and medium range forecastsnot Weather Underground
  • Bulk location queries on the higher plansnot Weather Underground

Where each one falls short

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

Weather Underground

  • Free public API discontinued as of December 31, 2018 with no new developer accounts accepted
  • Previous enterprise pricing was expensive at $150/month for Cumulus Drizzle plan
  • No longer competitive for developers needing reliable weather API access
  • Service is in wind-down phase with limited future development

Weatherstack

  • The free tier allows 100 API calls a month, which is a demo rather than a usable allowance
  • Historical weather data starts at the Standard plan, $9.99 a month for 50,000 calls
  • Forecasting is tiered: 7 days from Professional at $49.99 a month and 14 days from Business at $99.99
  • Multi-language responses and bulk queries need Professional or above
  • Going past the monthly quota incurs overage charges rather than throttling

Pricing, plan by plan

Weather Underground

Free
  • FreeFree
    • PWS data access
    • Forecasts
    • Historical data
  • Ad-Free$1.99/month
    • No advertisements
    • Premium features

Weatherstack

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 250 calls/month
    • Current weather
    • Basic data
  • Standard$9.99/month
    • 50,000 calls/month
    • Forecasts
    • Historical

Which should you pick?

Choose Weather Underground if

  • You need personal weather stations.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile web, Personal Weather Station network.
  • You also want hyperlocal data.
Weather Underground review

Choose Weatherstack if

  • You need real-time weather.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Api.
  • You also want historical data.
Weatherstack review

Questions people ask

Is Weather Underground or Weatherstack better?
Neither clearly leads. Weather Underground starts at Free and Weatherstack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Weather Underground or Weatherstack?
Weather Underground starts at Free and Weatherstack at Free.
Does Weather Underground or Weatherstack run on more platforms?
Weather Underground runs on Web, Mobile web, Personal Weather Station network. Weatherstack runs on Api.
Can I use Weather Underground for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Weather Underground best used for?
Weather Underground is most often used for professional work, content creation. Of those, professional work and content creation are not what Weatherstack is typically brought in for.
What can Weather Underground do that Weatherstack cannot?
Weather Underground covers Personal weather stations, Hyperlocal data, Historical records, Webcams. Weatherstack covers Real-time weather, Historical data, Forecasts, Location lookup.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Weather Underground: What happened to the Weather Underground API?

The free public API was discontinued on December 31, 2018, after IBM acquired The Weather Company. The service is now in a wind-down phase with no new developer accounts accepted.

Source
Weatherstack: Is there a free plan for Weatherstack?

Yes, Weatherstack has a free plan that includes 100 API calls per month with real-time weather data and HTTPS encryption.

Source
Weather Underground: Can I still use Weather Underground's data?

Free API keys are still available for Personal Weather Station (PWS) owners who upload data to the network. General developers need to migrate to alternative weather API providers.

Source
Weatherstack: What is the cheapest paid plan for Weatherstack?

The Standard plan costs $9.99 per month (or $8.99 monthly when billed annually) and includes 50,000 API calls per month.

Source
Weather Underground: What was the pricing for Weather Underground's Cumulus plans?

The Cumulus Drizzle plan cost $150/month, which many developers found prohibitively expensive for weather data compared to modern alternatives.

Source
Weatherstack: Do Weatherstack's paid plans allow overage charges beyond the monthly limit?

Yes, all paid tiers allow overage charges for API calls beyond the monthly allocation.

Source
Weather Underground: Does Weather Underground still offer a consumer-facing service?

Yes. The consumer website continues to provide weather forecasts, news, alerts, and access to personal weather station data through the PWS network.

Source
Weatherstack: How much can I save with annual billing on Weatherstack?

Annual billing offers up to 15% savings compared to monthly payments across all paid tiers.

Source
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