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NOAA NCEI Web Services

Free#15 of 18 in Apis Data Services

NOAA NCEI Web Services: A free REST API for querying climate datasets, observations, stations, and locations. Ranked #15 of 18 in Apis Data Services by our editors (7.1/10); pricing: Free plan; best for researchers accessing climate and weather datasets.

7.1/10Editor score
Visit NOAA NCEI
NOAA NCEI Web Services7.1 Visit NOAA NCEI

At a glance

  • Editor score
    7.1 / 10
  • Pricing
    Free plan
  • Best for
    Researchers accessing climate and weather datasets
  • Free plan
    Yes
  • Paid from
    Free
  • Historical data
    Yes
  • Facts checked
    24 Sep 2026

  • Where it wins

    • Query climate data by dataset, type, location, station, and date range
    • Use JSON responses with pagination through the CDO API v2
    • Access geospatial and data services in formats including Shapefile and NetCDF

  • Where it doesn't

    • Requires an API token requested using an email address
    • Token documentation sets limits of five requests per second and 10,000 per day
    • Focuses on NCEI environmental data rather than a broad range of data services

Our verdict on NOAA NCEI Web Services

NOAA NCEI Web Services provide API access to environmental data for researchers, developers, and others building scripts or applications around climate and weather datasets. The Climate Data Online (CDO) API uses REST endpoints to search datasets and retrieve observations, with queries organized around dataset, data type, location, or station. Historical records and global coverage make it relevant to work that needs observations over time or across locations. This is a focused route into NCEI holdings, rather than a general-purpose data API catalog.

For CDO API v2, responses are in JSON, and queries can use date ranges as well as pagination through limits and offsets. Endpoints cover datasets, categories, data types, locations, stations, and observations. Beyond CDO, NCEI offers geospatial and other data-access services in formats that include CSV, XML, Shapefile, KMZ, and NetCDF. Those formats broaden how data can be consumed, but the services are not all the same API: the CDO-specific capabilities should not be assumed to apply to every NCEI service. Access is free, and CDO requires a token requested with an email address. Token documentation sets limits of five requests per second and 10,000 requests per day.

The published access model suits researchers who can work directly with APIs and want to query climate observations or use NCEI geospatial data in their own workflows. Documentation is the listed support channel, so this is a better fit for teams comfortable interpreting API documentation than for buyers seeking guided onboarding or a packaged data application. Its climate and environmental focus is also a boundary: choose another service if the project needs broad, unrelated datasets or features such as webhooks. For climate research that benefits from direct access and format choices, the focused scope can be a practical fit.

Your product? Our editors can test NOAA NCEI Web Services in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

NOAA NCEI Web Services pricing

Plans Free planFree Free to use — no paid tier required for the core job.
See plans on ncei.noaa.gov

NOAA NCEI Web Services fact sheet

Free planYes
Paid fromFree
Monthly request limitNot verified
Rate limitNot verified
API styleRest
Historical dataYes
WebhooksNo
Official SDKsNot verified
Data coverageGlobal
DeploymentCloud
SupportDocs
Built forSolo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate)
PricingFree plan
Websitencei.noaa.gov
Facts checked24 Sep 2026

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Featured on iTechGuides — NOAA NCEI Web Services 7.1/10

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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