Diffbot vs Currents API: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Diffbot (3.7/5) edges ahead of Currents API (3.3/5) overall. Diffbot is the better choice for developers collecting news from a fixed list of sites. Currents API is the stronger option for coursework and hackathons needing a free feed. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Diffbot vs Currents API: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Diffbot | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 | 2018 |
| HQ | Menlo Park, California, USA | Not publicly disclosed |
| Team size | 11–50 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Rating | 3.7 / 5 | 3.3 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Parser-free extraction from any article URL, linked to a Knowledge Graph | A free tier that tutorials and roundups often recommend |
| Pricing model | Monthly credit plans | Free tier; monthly plans |
| Entry price | $299/mo | $69/mo (third-party listing) |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Python SDK | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Research & academia, Marketing & PR, Financial services | News & content apps, Research & academia |
Diffbot vs Currents API: overview
Diffbot
Diffbot, founded by Mike Tung in 2008 and based in Menlo Park, California, has an estimated 30–40 staff. Point its Article API at any news URL and it returns title, author, date and clean text without a site-specific parser, and Crawlbot can follow a list of publishers you choose. Its Knowledge Graph links articles to companies, people and topics, so it can also be queried as a news source. The free plan includes 10,000 credits at five calls a minute, Startup costs $299 a month for 250,000 credits, and each exported Knowledge Graph entity costs 25 credits. It works best when you want to build your own news collection from chosen sites.
Currents API
Currents API has run since about 2018 with latest-news and search endpoints filtered by language, region and category. Developer roundups often point beginners to its free tier, but they quote the limit as 600 requests a day, 600 a month or 250 a day depending on the article, and the free plan returns latest news only, with no historical search or commercial use. One report lists paid plans from $69 a month for 75,000 requests (independently unverifiable). The operator, location and team are not published.
Features: Diffbot vs Currents API
| Capability | Diffbot | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✗ |
| NLP enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✓ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Diffbot vs Currents API
| Format / SDK | Diffbot | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | ✓ | N/A |
| Node.js SDK | N/A | N/A |
| Webhooks | N/A | N/A |
| WebSocket | N/A | N/A |
| MCP server | N/A | N/A |
| S3/bulk delivery | N/A | N/A |
| BigQuery | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison: Diffbot vs Currents API
| Criterion | Diffbot | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $299/mo | $69/mo (third-party listing) |
| Pricing model | Monthly credit plans | Free tier; monthly plans |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans, Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Mid-market | Budget |
Who each API suits: Diffbot vs Currents API
| Dimension | Diffbot | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Research & academia, Marketing & PR | News & content apps, Research & academia |
| Example use cases | Monitoring niche trade publications. Clean article text for an LLM from known URLs. | Class assignments. Hackathon news features. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
Diffbot vs Currents API: pros and cons
| Diffbot | |
|---|---|
| + | No custom scrapers to maintain when a site changes layout |
| + | 10,000 free credits with no card |
| + | Knowledge Graph links coverage to companies and people |
| + | Crawlbot handles crawling the publishers you pick |
| - | Five calls a minute on the free plan |
| - | Knowledge Graph exports cost 25 credits each |
| - | You assemble the feed yourself |
| Currents API | |
|---|---|
| + | Free key is quick to obtain |
| + | Two simple endpoints |
| + | Several languages and regions |
| - | Quoted free limits disagree |
| - | Free plan has no history and bars commercial use |
| - | No identifiable operator or support terms |
Who should choose Diffbot?
A typical fit: monitoring niche trade publications.
Parser-free extraction from any article URL, linked to a Knowledge Graph. Paid access starts at $299/mo. Typical uses: AI & LLM apps, Research & academia, Marketing & PR, Financial services.
Who should choose Currents API?
A typical fit: class assignments.
A free tier that tutorials and roundups often recommend. Paid access starts at $69/mo (third-party listing). Typical uses: News & content apps, Research & academia.
Decision matrix: Diffbot vs Currents API
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Currents API |
| You need full article text in the response | Diffbot |
| You need years of historical news | Diffbot |
| You want an official SDK | Diffbot |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Both work through plain REST calls |
Use case fit: Diffbot vs Currents API
| Use case | Diffbot fit | Currents API fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Diffbot |
| Research & academia | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Diffbot |
| Financial services | Strong | Limited | Diffbot |
| News & content apps | Limited | Strong | Currents API |
Verdict: Diffbot vs Currents API
Diffbot (3.7/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Parser-free extraction from any article URL, linked to a Knowledge Graph.
Currents API (3.3/5) is worth a look if you need hackathon news features. If your situation matches that, Currents API is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Diffbot vs Currents API FAQ
Is Diffbot better than Currents API?
Diffbot (3.7/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Diffbot's strongest advantage: no custom scrapers to maintain when a site changes layout. Currents API's strongest advantage: free key is quick to obtain.
How do Diffbot and Currents API differ in pricing?
Diffbot: monthly credit plans, with paid access from $299/mo. Currents API: free tier; monthly plans, with paid access from $69/mo (third-party listing). Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Diffbot or Currents API?
Diffbot sells enterprise contracts with negotiated volume and SLA terms. Neither carries licensed publisher content, so check copyright terms before republishing anything.
What are the main differences between Diffbot and Currents API?
What sets Diffbot apart: parser-free extraction from any article URL, linked to a Knowledge Graph. What sets Currents API apart: a free tier that tutorials and roundups often recommend. They also differ on entry price ($299/mo vs $69/mo (third-party listing)) and typical uses (AI & LLM apps, Research & academia vs News & content apps, Research & academia).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.