Narwhal API
Normalized official macro data with commercial-use Free access.
Open macro data APIs compared
Free access does not mean identical licences, limits or schemas. Compare official macro sources and open aggregators with Narwhal's normalized, keyed API and commercial-use Free tier.
Decision
Choose Narwhal for normalized official series across 36 countries through REST and MCP. Use FRED for revision vintages, IMF for projections, or direct public APIs when their structures fit.
Provider shortlist
Free access comes with different terms and limits. Narwhal API is owned and operated by Nusantara Ventures, LLC.
FRED
US economic breadth and ALFRED revision vintages.
World Bank API
Free, keyless access to annual development indicators.
IMF Data API
IMF datasets and World Economic Outlook projections.
OECD Data Explorer
SDMX access to member and partner economy datasets.
BLS Public Data API
Free US survey data, including CPI, unemployment and payrolls.
DBnomics
Free, keyless access across official data providers.
Compare the options
Best fit is not feature parity. Check the evidence and limitation together.
| Provider | Best for | Evidence checked | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narwhal API | Normalized official macro data with commercial-use Free access. | Economics spans 36 countries; Free includes 5,000 successful monthly requests through REST and MCP. | A key is required; no forecasts, policy-rate series or revision vintages. |
| FRED | US economic breadth and ALFRED revision vintages. | Free keyed API with more than 800,000 series from over 100 sources. | Default terms cover non-commercial, educational and personal use; commercial restrictions and third-party copyrights apply. |
| World Bank API | Free, keyless access to annual development indicators. | Nearly 16,000 time-series indicators across more than 45 databases. | Mostly annual data; its official Data360 MCP server targets a different platform. |
| IMF Data API | IMF datasets and World Economic Outlook projections. | Public SDMX access needs no key; separate APIs include SDMX 2.1, SDMX 3.0 and DataMapper. | SDMX structures put interpretation work on the caller. |
| OECD Data Explorer | SDMX access to member and partner economy datasets. | Free API under OECD terms, with at most 60 data downloads per hour. | Excess requests trigger temporary blocks; VPN or anonymized traffic is not allowed. |
| BLS Public Data API | Free US survey data, including CPI, unemployment and payrolls. | Unregistered version 1 allows 25 daily queries; registered version 2 allows 500. | US only; registration renews yearly, and requests need BLS series IDs. |
| DBnomics | Free, keyless access across official data providers. | Sponsorship-funded aggregator with 94 providers, millions of series and a daily update pipeline. | No cross-country normalization; use focused API queries rather than large downloads. |
Choose by requirement
Separate access from permission
Narwhal Free permits commercial apps. FRED's default free-use terms cover non-commercial, educational and personal use, with additional commercial restrictions and third-party copyrights on some series.
Plan for limits
OECD caps downloads at 60 an hour. BLS version 2 allows 500 daily queries after yearly registration. Narwhal Free includes 5,000 successful monthly requests.
Choose the data model
Narwhal normalizes official series but has no revision vintages or forecasts. Use ALFRED for vintages, IMF for projections, or DBnomics when provider codes and structures suit your workflow.
Sources and review date
Each detailed provider page lists the first-party documentation used, its evidence boundaries, and its review date.
Reviewed:
- FRED evidence and sources
- World Bank API evidence and sources
- IMF Data API evidence and sources
- OECD Data Explorer evidence and sources
- BLS Public Data API evidence and sources
- DBnomics evidence and sources
- FRED terms of use fred.stlouisfed.org
- FRED MCP connector fred.stlouisfed.org
- World Bank API documentation datahelpdesk.worldbank.org
- IMF API documentation data.imf.org
- OECD API limits oecd.org
- BLS API questions bls.gov