Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Trying to get an exact price on weather data can be a bit confusing, but we have some tools and resources that can help you. In this document, we will cover the usage of the Cost Calculator:
https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-data-cost-calculator
Also, we will cover the reasons why you would choose one plan over another. There are several categories for weather data that can create different costs for a customer. Here are a few for you to consider:
- Is this a one-time download, or is this a recurrent download or stream that you will need?
- Is there any specialty data that you need, such as our Advanced Energy Elements or Historical Data?
- Is your query large enough that you will benefit from a monthly subscription such as Pro or Corporate?
- Does your organization require special terms, support or other needs that require an Enterprise License?
These additional items and limits are spelled out on the Pricing Editions page on our site:
https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-data-editions
The basic plan that we will refer to often in this document is the “Metered” plan. This is a type of pay-as-you-go plan where you get billed to your credit card for every record you download. The current cost is $.0001.
Also, note that if you are on the Free plan, you are still using metered, but since you have not provided a Credit Card payment option on your account, you are limited to the 1000 free per day afforded by the Metered Plan.
Also, in this document, we will mostly refer to records, and since most of our examples for history are a row of data = record. However, if you get a full 15-day forecast instead of history, that full forecast for a single location is only one record. So please keep that in mind and refer to our document on what a record is here:
What exactly is a weather record?
Basic Data Download
One of the simplest dataset costs to calculate is the basic, one-time weather data download. Here is the basic set of variables and formulas for figuring this out:
Number of Locations: How many locations, cities, addresses, and lat/longs will you need weather for?
Number of days/hours of data: If you need data for a single location for all of 2021 and 2022, that is 365 days X 2 = 730 days of weather data. If you prefer hourly data, then multiply that X 24 = 17,520 records.
The highest cost you will pay for data with Visual Crossing is $.0001/record, so you can use that as a baseline and try to economize from there based on your volume. So the cost for the hourly data above is: $1.75 (1 location, 730 days x 24 hours)
Tools: Cost Calculator
If you want to make the math easy and foolproof, you can use our calculator:
https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-data-cost-calculator
Here we can make our dates more complicated for 17 locations, many random dates:
As we can see, the calculation is similar, but the counting of days makes it really simple and gives you a final dollar amount.
NOTE: If you are a Metered (or Free Account), the first thousand records each day are free, so you should see a $0.10 lower amount on your actual bill.
Please note that the Cost Calculator also has the ability to consider monthly recurring costs, which helps greatly when choosing when to upgrade to a Monthly/Annual Plan.
Tools: Query Builder
We have many documents and tutorials on how to use Query Builder to import lists of locations, build weather queries, schedule or download the data, and much more. You can review one of our tutorials here:
How to Build a Weather Dataset for Download, Bulk Import or Scheduling
One item that we will highlight here is that you can build your exact weather query in Query Builder, see a sample of the data, sample output formats, the API query string, and, most importantly for our topic is you can see the cost before you download. Here we have a 14-location sample for random dates over multiple years with daily data:
Here we can get a good view of all the data we will get, and we can click into JSON, CSV to see our formats. But as we click either of the ‘Download’ links, we will start the process, but rest assured, you are not yet being charged; you are simply choosing what you want the download to look like and how you will retrieve it.
Once in the download section:
We can clearly see the cost in records that this query has. Again, we can multiply this by $.0001 to get our Metered Plan cost. If you have a Monthly/Annual Plan, it will simply keep track of your usage.
Should I use a Monthly Plan?
There are many benefits that come with one of our monthly plans, but the primary reason is simply data volume. If you divide the monthly cost of the plan by $.0001 (metered record cost) you will come up with the “breakeven” cost.
Currently, for Pro($35/mo), the breakeven is 350,000 records in a month, and for Corporate($150/mo) it is 1,500,000 records in a month. If your record count is above these breakeven numbers, you should consider monthly.
The benefits of the Metered Plan:
- Pay only for what you use, there is not wasted difference between the monthly allotment of records and what you use.
- You can never hit a limit or be throttled in any way.
- You will have unlimited concurrency all of the time.
The benefits of a Pro License:
- Affordable monthly data volumes
- Access to the Dataset Scheduler in Query Builder
The benefits of a Corporate License:
- No caps on data, although you may hit the Fair Use Limit if you are doing extremely large volumes > 10M per day, and then you will be throttled to a slower limit.
- Access to additional datasets and elements (see pricing page)
- Advanced Technical Support
- Quote-Invoicing-Wire payment options (for Annual subscriptions only)
- No Attribution of the data is required.
- Multiple User Logins
The benefits of an Enterprise License:
- All of the Corporate License benefits.
- Custom License Terms and Security Reviews.
- Vendor account management.
- Very large, custom data limits with dedicated delivery.
- Active account monitoring with Priority Technical Support.
Can I use a monthly plan for only one month?
Yes. However, you cannot use partial months or request a refund. If you require a large amount of data for only one month, you are welcome to use the monthly plans and then revert back to a Metered Plan.
Commercial Use and Data Storage
All of our licenses permit Commercial Use, but all except Corporate and Enterprise require attribution and may have other limits. Data Storage is permitted with all plans, but please read our Terms of Service for details:
https://www.visualcrossing.com/weather-services-terms
If you have further questions, please email us at info@visualcrossing.com with your questions.
FAQs: Understanding Weather Data Costs with Visual Crossing
How much does weather data cost with Visual Crossing?
On a metered plan, data costs $0.0001 per record. The first 1,000 records each day are free.
What is a “record”, and how does it affect the total cost?
Each row of hourly or daily data is one record. A full 15-day forecast counts as a single record. More records = higher cost.
How can I calculate my expected weather data cost?
Use the Weather Data Cost Calculator to enter your locations and dates and instantly see your estimated cost.
What is the difference between a metered plan and a monthly plan?
Metered plans bill per record and never throttle. Monthly plans offer large data bundles at a fixed rate, starting at $35/month.
Are the first 1,000 weather records free every day?
Yes, users on the metered (or free) plan receive 1,000 records per day at no cost.
Can I switch between a monthly plan and a metered plan?
Yes. You can switch back to metered at any time, but monthly plans are charged per full month and are non-refundable.
Does Visual Crossing offer free or discounted access for specific projects?
All users can access a generous free tier. For commercial or large-scale projects, discounted annual subscriptions and custom enterprise plans are available.