Topic: Accuweather API

[Jáchym]

So I was asked again if I could implement Accuweather into my template pages.

This was of course one of the first websites I visited when developing it and I soon found out that unlike the other APIs (WU, Aeris, WWO OWM etc.) they don't offer any free plan even with limited number of calls. In the documentation it just says "contact the sales department for pricing".

Because I was asked again recently, I actually tried to search what the price would be and I found just one discussion where other SW developers were discussing it and what they actually said was shocking for me.

So based on this discussion, the most basic plan, which only provides current conditions (no forecast) and has 1000 calls/day, costs 650 dollars a month, with a minimum subscription period of three months! I still cannot believe someone would pay almost 700 dollars a month for just current conditions, given there are free alternatives! I understand this is one of the best sites in terms of their accuracy and coverage, but...

Does anyone have any info if this really is true or if not, what the actual cost is?

[Maumelle Weather]

Hi Jachym,

I looked at Accuweather's site and could not find any information regarding their API for free. The $650/month may have been for a custom version based on their Professional setup. The Premium version for personal use is $7.95/mo. The Professional version for personal use is $19.95/mo. For that kind of money, I would get an Allisonhouse Map subscription or purchase a copy of Weather Studio ver. 3 Professional Version and not worry about a recurring fee.

IMHO, I haven't been real impressed with them. This is the same company that boasted in 2015 about creating a computer model that predicted a tornadoes' formation by 6 hours on Twitter (The company founder, Michael Smith was the one who boasted on the model via Twitter). He was promptly pounced on by at least one of the meteorologists at the Storm Prediction Center regarding that "model" on Twitter. They asked point blank how many times that "model" had been run to achieve this result. To the best of my knowledge, they have not received a repsonse.

Just my 2 cents,

John