HG Weather Pricing: Plans, Tiers & Real-World Costs (2026)

Pricing overview

HG Weather provides a structured pricing model designed to accommodate varying usage levels, from individual developers to large enterprises. The core of its pricing is based on the volume of API requests made per month, with different plans offering various API call allocations and feature sets. This pay-as-you-go structure ensures users only pay for what they consume beyond the free tier, a common model for cloud services. Users can access current weather, historical data, and forecast information, with specific endpoints contributing to the overall request count. Additional services, such as enhanced data granularity or specific map layers, may also influence costs depending on the chosen plan.

The pricing structure includes a perpetual free tier, followed by tiered subscription plans. These plans scale in price and request limits, with higher tiers often including premium features like increased data refresh rates, longer historical data retention, or dedicated support. All plans provide access to the HG Weather API documentation and support resources.

Plans and tiers

HG Weather organizes its offerings into several distinct plans, each tailored to different user requirements and usage scales. These plans dictate the monthly API call allowance, available features, and support levels. The primary differentiating factors between tiers are the number of API requests included, the refresh rate of real-time data, and access to advanced historical or forecast data. Each plan builds upon the features of the preceding one, offering more capabilities at higher price points.

Each plan includes access to the core HG Weather API reference, which details endpoints for current weather, hourly and daily forecasts, and historical observations. Overages beyond the included monthly requests are typically billed on a per-request basis, with rates varying by plan. Specific overage rates are detailed on the official HG Weather pricing page.

Free tier and limits

HG Weather offers a comprehensive free tier designed for initial testing, personal projects, and evaluating the API's capabilities before committing to a paid plan. The free plan provides users with 1,000 API calls per day, which resets every 24 hours. This allowance is sufficient for many basic applications or for developers to explore the various weather data endpoints, including current conditions and short-term forecasts.

Key limitations of the free tier include:

• Request Volume: Limited to 1,000 API calls per 24-hour period.
• Data Refresh Rate: Standard refresh rates (e.g., 15-minute intervals for real-time data).
• Historical Data Access: Limited access, typically to recent historical data or a reduced query range.
• Forecast Data: Standard forecast horizons (e.g., 5-day forecast).
• Support: Basic community or email support, without priority response times.

Users on the free plan gain experience with the API's integration methods and data structures. It serves as a foundational entry point, allowing developers to build and test applications without incurring costs until their usage scales beyond introductory limits. For projects requiring higher volumes or more advanced features, upgrading to a paid plan becomes necessary.

Real-world cost examples

To illustrate HG Weather's pricing, consider several common use cases and their associated costs:

1. Personal Weather App (Low Volume): A hobbyist developer creates a simple mobile app that displays current weather and a 3-day forecast for a user's location. If the app makes 20 API calls per user per day, and has 50 active users, this totals 1,000 calls per day (50 users * 20 calls). This usage would fit within the Free Plan's 1,000 daily call limit, incurring no cost.

2. Small Business Website (Moderate Volume): A local restaurant chain's website displays the current weather for each of its 10 locations, updated every hour. This requires 10 API calls per hour. Over a month (30 days * 24 hours * 10 calls), this totals 7,200 API calls. This usage would easily fit within the Developer Plan's 50,000 monthly calls, costing $19 per month.

3. Agricultural Monitoring System (Higher Volume): An agricultural tech company monitors weather conditions for 1,000 farms. Each farm requires hourly updates for current conditions and daily updates for a 7-day forecast. Assuming 2 API calls per farm per hour (current + forecast), this is 2,000 calls per hour. Monthly, this amounts to 1,440,000 API calls (1,000 farms * 2 calls/hour * 24 hours/day * 30 days/month). This usage would require the Business Plan at $299 per month, which includes 2,000,000 calls. If usage slightly exceeded this, overage fees would apply, which are typically a few dollars per 10,000 additional calls, as outlined on the official HG Weather pricing details.

4. Global Logistics Platform (Enterprise Volume): A logistics company tracks weather patterns along thousands of shipping routes globally, requiring near real-time updates and extensive historical data for predictive modeling. This scenario involves millions of API calls daily and access to high-resolution data. Such a large-scale operation would fall under the Enterprise Plan, requiring custom pricing negotiation based on specific data needs, refresh rates, and support level agreements (SLAs).

These examples demonstrate how monthly costs scale directly with API call volume and the need for advanced features or refresh rates. Users can monitor their API usage through the HG Weather dashboard to manage costs effectively.

How the pricing compares

When evaluating HG Weather's pricing, it's useful to compare it against alternative weather data providers in the market. Many APIs adopt a similar tiered, usage-based pricing model, but specific limits, features, and per-request costs can vary significantly. Key competitors include OpenWeatherMap, AccuWeather, and Weatherstack, each with distinct pricing philosophies.

• OpenWeatherMap: Offers a free plan with 1,000 calls/day, similar to HG Weather. Its paid plans, such as the "One Call API" or "Professional Collection," also scale by request volume, with prices starting around $40/month for increased limits. OpenWeatherMap is often cited for its extensive global coverage and frequently has competitive rates for basic and mid-range usage, as detailed on OpenWeatherMap's pricing page.

• AccuWeather: Known for its detailed forecasts and global network. AccuWeather's Developer Program pricing includes a free tier (50 calls/day) which is significantly lower than HG Weather's. Paid plans typically start at a higher entry point than HG Weather's Developer Plan, often targeting businesses that require high-accuracy data and brand recognition, potentially making it more suitable for premium applications despite the higher cost per request.

• Weatherstack: Provides a free plan offering 25,000 requests per month, which is a higher monthly volume than HG Weather's daily free limit, but it imposes stricter rate limits. Weatherstack's paid plans start at around $9.99/month for 200,000 requests, making it a potentially cost-effective option for applications with moderate, consistent usage, as described on Weatherstack's pricing plans.

HG Weather's pricing positions it competitively in the mid-range of these providers. Its free tier offers a generous daily allowance, making it accessible for development. The Developer Plan at $19/month for 50,000 calls represents a balance between cost and capability, suitable for growing projects. While some alternatives might offer lower entry prices for specific request volumes, HG Weather's progression through its Professional and Business plans offers a clear path for scaling without immediate steep price jumps, making it a viable option for applications with evolving weather data needs.