What You'll Need
- n8n Cloud or self-hosted n8n instance
- Hetzner VPS or Contabo VPS for hosting your automation infrastructure
- A code editor (VS Code recommended)
- Basic familiarity with REST APIs and JSON
Table of Contents
- Why Free APIs Matter for Automation
- The Top 12 Free APIs You Should Know
- Building Your First API-Powered Workflow
- Authentication and Rate Limiting Best Practices
- Real-World Automation Examples
- Scaling Free APIs Into Production
- Getting Started
Why Free APIs Matter for Automation
I've been building automation workflows for three years, and I can tell you the biggest game-changer hasn't been expensive tools—it's been understanding which free APIs actually work at scale. The difference between a startup that scales and one that burns cash on SaaS subscriptions often comes down to API selection.
Free APIs aren't just cost-effective. They're educational, flexible, and when combined properly, they replace hundreds of dollars in monthly subscriptions. I've written about how 5 n8n Workflows That Replace $200/Month in SaaS Tools by chaining together free APIs with smart orchestration. The workflows that perform best aren't always the ones using premium integrations—they're built on rock-solid free APIs with proper error handling and rate limit management.
The trick isn't finding any free API. It's finding the right ones—services that won't disappear next quarter, have reliable documentation, and actually integrate cleanly into your n8n automation pipelines.
The Top 12 Free APIs You Should Know
1. OpenWeather – Real-Time Weather Data
OpenWeather gives you 1,000 free API calls per day. I use this constantly in location-based automation workflows. The free tier includes current weather, forecasts, and air quality data.
Use case: Trigger workflows based on weather conditions, send alerts when temperatures drop below thresholds, or auto-schedule outdoor tasks.
Endpoint example:
GET https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=London&appid=YOUR_API_KEY&units=metric
Response:
{
"coord": { "lon": -0.1257, "lat": 51.5085 },
"weather": [{ "id": 803, "main": "Clouds", "description": "broken clouds" }],
"main": {
"temp": 12.5,
"humidity": 72,
"pressure": 1013
},
"wind": { "speed": 4.5, "deg": 210 }
}
2. JSONPlaceholder – Mock Data Testing
JSONPlaceholder is a lifesaver for testing workflows without hitting real APIs. It provides free fake data for posts, users, comments, and more. Zero authentication needed.
Use case: Develop and test your workflow logic before connecting to production APIs.
Endpoint example:
GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users/1
Response:
{
"id": 1,
"name": "Leanne Graham",
"username": "Bret",
"email": "Sincere@april.biz",
"address": {
"street": "Kulas Light",
"city": "Gwenborough",
"zipcode": "92998-3874"
},
"phone": "1-770-736-8031",
"website": "hildegard.org",
"company": {
"name": "Romaguera-Crona"
}
}
3. REST Countries – Geographic & Country Data
Get comprehensive country information including borders, languages, currencies, and capitals. No API key needed.
Use case: Auto-populate country fields in forms, validate international phone numbers, determine shipping costs by region.
Endpoint example:
GET https://restcountries.com/v3.1/name/united%20states
Response:
[
{
"name": {
"common": "United States",
"official": "United States of America"
},
"cca2": "US",
"cca3": "USA",
"region": "Americas",
"subregion": "North America",
"languages": { "eng": "English" },
"currencies": { "USD": { "name": "United States dollar", "symbol": "$" } },
"borders": ["CAN", "MEX"]
}
]
4. Public APIs – The Aggregator
Public APIs is a GitHub project listing over 1,000 free APIs. It's your go-to directory when you need something specific but haven't found it yet. APIs are categorized by function: weather, sports, finance, health, news, etc.
Use case: Discover niche APIs for your specific automation needs. I found a free sports API here that powers live score notifications in my workflows.
5. Quotable.io – Random Quote API
Simple, no-auth endpoint that returns random quotes. Useful for social media automation and content generation workflows.
Endpoint example:
GET https://api.quotable.io/random
Response:
{
"_id": "5d91b45001471c0dc060bcf6",
"content": "The only way to do great work is to love what you do.",
"author": "Steve Jobs",
"tags": ["famous-quotes", "inspiration"],
"authorSlug": "steve-jobs",
"length": 50,
"dateAdded": "2019-10-09"
}
6. IP API – Geolocation by IP Address
Get location, ISP, and timezone data from any IP address. 45 requests per minute free tier.
Use case: Auto-detect user location for workflow routing, identify VPN/proxy usage, validate traffic sources.
Endpoint example:
GET http://ip-api.com/json/8.8.8.8
Response:
{
"status": "success",
"country": "United States",
"countryCode": "US",
"region": "California",
"city": "Mountain View",
"lat": 37.4192,
"lon": -122.057404,
"isp": "Google LLC",
"timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
}
7. NewsAPI – News Aggregation
Aggregate news from 50,000+ sources worldwide. Free tier gives 100 requests per day. Excellent for building news digest workflows.
Use case: Auto-create daily news roundups, monitor brand mentions, trigger alerts on specific topics.
Endpoint example:
GET https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=us&apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY
Response:
{
"status": "ok",
"totalResults": 38,
"articles": [
{
"source": { "id": "bbc-news", "name": "BBC News" },
"author": "John Smith",
"title": "Breaking: Major Tech Announcement",
"description": "Tech giant announces...",
"url": "https://bbc.com/...",
"urlToImage": "https://...",
"publishedAt": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"content": "Full article content..."
}
]
}
8. Exchange Rate API – Currency Conversion
Real-time currency exchange rates. 1,500 requests per month free.
Use case: Auto-convert prices in multi-currency workflows, invoice automation, financial dashboards.
Endpoint example:
GET https://api.exchangerate-api.com/v4/latest/USD
Response:
{
"rates": {
"EUR": 0.95,
"GBP": 0.82,
"CAD": 1.38,
"JPY": 154.2
},
"base": "USD",
"date": "2026-01-15"
}
9. Agify.io – Predict Age from Name
Cute and simple—predict someone's age based on their name using statistical data. No auth required.
Use case: Demographic analysis in lead scoring, personalization workflows, A/B testing segments.
Endpoint example:
GET https://api.agify.io/?name=michael
Response:
{
"name": "michael",
"age": 42,
"count": 700000
}
10. Nationalize.io – Predict Nationality from Name
Predicts nationality probability from a first name using statistical modeling. Complement to Agify.
Use case: Segment audiences by likely nationality for localized campaigns, auto-populate country fields.
Endpoint example:
GET https://api.nationalize.io/?name=mario
Response:
{
"name": "mario",
"country": [
{ "country_id": "IT", "probability": 0.55 },
{ "country_id": "BR", "probability": 0.32 }
]
}
11. Open-Meteo – Weather Without API Key
The cleanest weather API I've found. No authentication, no rate limits for reasonable usage, comprehensive data. Seriously underrated.
Use case: Weather-triggered automations, forecast-based scheduling, climate monitoring.
Endpoint example:
GET https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast?latitude=40.7128&longitude=-74.0060¤t=temperature_2m,weather_code&hourly=temperature_2m,precipitation
Response:
{
"latitude": 40.71,
"longitude": -74.01,
"timezone": "America/New_York",
"current": {
"temperature_2m": 5.2,
"weather_code": 3,
"time": "2026-01-15T15:00"
},
"hourly": {
"time": ["2026-01-15T00:00", "2026-01-15T01:00"],
"temperature_2m": [4.5, 4.2],
"precipitation": [0.0, 0.1]
}
}
12. Webhook.site – Webhook Testing & Inspection
Debug incoming webhooks without writing backend code. Generate a unique URL and inspect all requests in real-time.
Use case: Test webhook integrations from n8n or other services, validate payload structure, troubleshoot webhook issues.
Visit https://webhook.site/ and you'll get a unique URL like https://webhook.site/your-uuid. Post data to it and see everything in your browser.
Building Your First API-Powered Workflow
Let me walk you through a real automation I built last month. It combines three free APIs into a single workflow that runs every morning.
💡 Fast-Track Your Project: Don't want to configure this yourself? I build custom n8n pipelines and bots. Message me with code SYS3-DEVTO.
The Setup: Weather-Based News Digest
The workflow fetches today's weather, pulls relevant news articles, and sends a summary. Here's the complete n8n configuration.
Workflow steps:
- Schedule trigger (runs daily at 6 AM)
- **
Originally published on Automation Insider.
