FRED

API

Free economic data API from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Overview

The FRED API provides RESTful endpoints to access thousands of economic time series data (e.g., GDP, unemployment rates, inflation metrics) from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Key endpoints include /series (metadata for economic series), /series/observations (historical data points), /releases (data release schedules), and /categories (browse economic categories). Responses are in JSON format. Use cases include building financial forecasting models, creating interactive economic dashboards, academic macroeconomic research, and integrating economic indicators into fintech apps or investment analysis tools.

Example Integration (JavaScript)

script.js JS


fetch('https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(data => console.log(data))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

Key Features

RESTful endpoints
JSON response format
Free access
Extensive economic dataset
Comprehensive documentation

Frequently Asked Questions

? Is FRED free to use?

Yes, FRED API access is completely free; you only need to register for an API key to authenticate requests.

? Does it require an API Key?

Yes, a free API key is mandatory to make requests to the FRED API, which you can obtain by registering on the FRED website.

? What is the response format?

The FRED API returns responses in JSON format, which is widely supported and easy to parse across programming languages.

Top Alternatives

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Tool Info

Pricing Free

Category Finance

Platform Public API

Pros

⊕ Trusted source (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
⊕ Vast library of over 800,000 economic series
⊕ No cost for access

Cons

⊖ Rate-limited (1000 requests/day per API key)
⊖ No real-time data (released on scheduled dates)
⊖ Requires familiarity with series codes for precise queries