ADS-B Exchange API

Beginner's Pick Transportation / No Auth Required Beginner HTTPS
Free to Use
79 B
Measured Score 0 50 100 Speed 21/30 Consistency 20/20 Security 20/20 Browser access 10/15 Transparency 8/15 TESTED 2026-08-10

Overview

ADS-B Exchange is a community-driven API that provides real-time and historical position data for aircraft around the world. Unlike commercial providers it does not filter out military or sensitive flights, making it popular with aviation enthusiasts and researchers. No API key is required for basic access, so you can start querying aircraft data immediately.

Beginner Tip

Use an ICAO hex code or a geographic bounding box to narrow results; querying the entire feed at once can return thousands of aircraft and slow your app. Check the ADS-B Exchange docs for the correct endpoint version as v2 endpoints differ from legacy ones.

Measurement Record

What actually happened when we called this API from our own infrastructure. Every value below was recorded by the request, not copied from the provider's documentation.

Request
GET https://adsbexchange.com/api/aircraft/json/lat/37.62/lon/-122.38/dist/25/
Result
HTTP 200 · application/json · 11 bytes · compressed
Response time
137 ms (median of 3) · fastest 134 ms
Transport
TLSv1.3 · TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 · certificate issued by Google Trust Services
Browser CORS
Allowed — Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://apisscore.com
Served by
cloudflare
Recorded
2026-08-10

Available Data

The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.

ADS-B Exchange data via REST API

Example Response

Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.

JSON Response · Illustrative
{
  "route": "Line 1",
  "origin": "Station A",
  "destination": "Station B",
  "departure": "08:30",
  "arrival": "09:15",
  "status": "On Time",
  "delays_min": 0
}

Field Reference

icao The 6-character ICAO 24-bit transponder address uniquely identifying the aircraft.
call Flight callsign as broadcast by the aircraft transponder.
lat Latitude of the aircraft in decimal degrees.
lon Longitude of the aircraft in decimal degrees.
alt_baro Barometric altitude in feet above sea level.
spd Ground speed of the aircraft in knots.

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://adsbexchange.com/api/aircraft/json/lat/37.62/lon/-122.38/dist/25/";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

403 Forbidden RapidAPI key required for the commercial endpoint.
Register for a RapidAPI key and include it in the X-RapidAPI-Key header, or use the community endpoint which has no key requirement.
Empty aircraft array No aircraft are within the specified radius or the coordinates are incorrect.
Verify your lat/lon values and increase the search radius; use a busy airport area for testing.
Stale data ADS-B positions are updated every few seconds and heavy load can delay the feed.
Check the now field in the response for the server timestamp and poll at 5-10 second intervals rather than faster.

Measured Score Breakdown

Live HTTP request to the API endpoint

Speed 21/30
Consistency 20/20
Security 20/20
Browser access 10/15
Transparency 8/15
Endpoint Response Time 137ms

Fully tested on Aug 10, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Transportation
Difficulty Beginner
Endpoint last called: 2026-08-10

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