name: FoodData Central Plans and Pricing
description: FoodData Central API access plans and pricing tiers from USDA
url: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/api-guide
created: 2026-06-13
modified: 2026-06-13
plans:

  - name: Demo Key
    description: Limited access key for testing and evaluation purposes without registration.
    url: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/api-guide
    price: 0.00
    currency: USD
    billingCycle: none
    rateLimit:
      requests: 30
      period: hour
    dailyLimit:
      requests: 50
      period: day
    features:
      - Access to all FoodData Central API endpoints
      - No registration required
      - Limited to DEMO_KEY usage

  - name: Standard (Free)
    description: >
      Full API access available at no cost after registering for a data.gov API key.
      Provides 1,000 requests per hour per IP address. Suitable for most applications.
      All data is in the public domain under CC0 1.0 Universal licensing.
    url: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/api-key-signup
    price: 0.00
    currency: USD
    billingCycle: none
    rateLimit:
      requests: 1000
      period: hour
    features:
      - Access to all FoodData Central API endpoints
      - 600,000+ food items including branded, foundation, survey, and experimental
      - Foundation Foods, SR Legacy, Survey (FNDDS), and Branded Food data types
      - Nutrient composition data
      - Search, list, and individual food lookup endpoints
      - CC0 1.0 Universal public domain data
      - Monthly updates for Branded Foods
      - Twice-annual updates for Foundation Foods (April and October)

  - name: High Volume (Custom)
    description: >
      Higher request rate limits available upon request by contacting FoodData Central.
      Intended for applications that exceed the standard 1,000 requests/hour threshold.
    url: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/contact
    price: 0.00
    currency: USD
    billingCycle: none
    rateLimit:
      requests: custom
      period: hour
    features:
      - All Standard tier features
      - Custom rate limit negotiated with FoodData Central team
      - Contact required to enable