Top 10 Best Car APIs & Alternatives (2021)

The VIN-Decoder API is an online resource connected to VinFreeCheck.com. It offers several options for gathering information based on a car’s VIN.

Decode VIN: Users can search for information about cars in North American, European and Asian markets by posting a VIN to the API. Salvage Information: An application can share whether the car in question has been registered to a salvage yard. Plate Decode: This beta feature can return the VIN connected to a North American license plate.

The VIN-Decoder has one of the largest lists of worldwide vehicle identification numbers. Users can track the global history of a vehicle. Because VinFreeCheck is an active service, the API is updated frequently. Pricing A free basic plan offers 50 VIN searches each month. The $69 Pro plan increases that number to 3,000 per day, and the $99 Ultra plan gives 20,000 daily searches.

This car-related API from Competitive Intelligence Services connects users to information about dealers and car sales. Users can compare prices for the same model and see what brands are selling in a requested region.

VIN Decoding: Users can enter a VIN to receive information about individual vehicles. Pricing Data: Applications can obtain pricing data about makes and models similar to the VIN. Dealership Data: The API includes searchable information about dealers in a geographic region.

The popularity of this API is a result of its wide range of available information. Applications focused on car sales can easily offer price comparisons. Pricing The free basic plan includes 300 requests per month with a small cost for additional requests. The $50 Pro and $340 Mega plans lower the rate for additional requests and increase the number of requests allowed per second.

This second API from Competitive Intelligence Solutions has a stronger focus on VIN decoding and recall information.

VIN Decode: Users enter a VIN to receive a vehicle's information.

The API will return any recall information currently available for the vehicle. This feature could be an important tool for an auto repair shop application. Pricing A free basic plan gives developers 10 requests per day. At only $30 per month, a Pro plan offers 3,000 requests every day. The $99 Mega plan for commercial software gives 50,000 daily requests to the API.

Traffic light cameras and automatic toll stations take pictures of license plates to identify vehicles. The License Plate Recognition API connects to algorithms that turn plate images into text.

When a user submits an image to the API, it returns the license plate in text form.

When the plate is in a text format, law enforcement officials can use it to track down vehicles that run red lights or charge automatic toll accounts. Pricing The free basic package is primarily for testing and only offers 5 searches each month. However, a Pro plan gives 500 searches for only one dollar. Additional searches cost 0.002 cents.

The License Plate Search API from FindbyPlate.com is similar to VIN decoding APIs. However, this resource uses license plate numbers to identify vehicles.

Users can receive information about a vehicle registered under a submitted license plate.

Information in the database includes vehicle specifications and history, pictures of the vehicle and any websites that feature the car in question. This kind of data can help track stolen cars or check illegal registration practices. Pricing The free basic package for testing gives five searches per month. The Pro package costs $100 and allows 250 monthly searches. A Mega package gives 5,000 searches at $1,000 per month.

The VIN Lookup API has features similar to other VIN searching tools.

Users submit a VIN in a GET request to receive auto information.

The main benefit that sets this API apart from other VIN searching tools is its affordable pricing model.

The basic package is free with 100 searches per month. However, the Ultra package at $99 gives developers unlimited searches.

The Simple Salvage API connects to a broad list of salvage businesses to see if the vehicle has been sent to one of these facilities.

The API checks the database and returns “true” if the requested VIN is on a salvage list and “false” if it is not.

A free basic package features 50 searches each month. A $50 Pro package gives developers 2,000 searches each day.

The UberRide API is a tool that connects applications to the features of the Uber car service.

Users can request Uber rides through a secondary application.

Developers can add an Uber feature to their websites or mobile apps. A restaurant website could invite users to reach out to Uber for a ride to dinner.

Because including this feature benefits Uber, they make their API available to developers at no cost.

The SkyScanner Car Hire API connects users to the rental car search features of this travel service.

When users enter drop-off and pick-up dates and locations, they receive a list that compares several car rental companies.

This feature would be helpful to applications in the hospitality industry. A local hotel could link to car rental information on its website.

As with other APIs that link to commercial applications, this API is free for developer use.

The SmartCar API is a tool for applications that work with vehicles linked to a mobile service.

Users can pull information about the location, mileage and EV battery charging state of participating vehicles.

Using this API, an application could find a user’s vehicle in a parking lot. They can also see how long they must wait to reach a full charge without going back to the car.

This API is free for authorized developers.