Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Mediastack (3.8/5) edges ahead of TheNewsAPI (3.6/5) overall. Mediastack is the better choice for low-traffic sites needing a cheap commercial headline feed. TheNewsAPI is the stronger option for personal dashboards needing a cheap general feed. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Mediastack | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | Not disclosed |
| HQ | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera | Not publicly disclosed |
| Team size | Part of Idera | Not publicly disclosed |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 3.6 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month | Possibly the lowest paid entry price here, if third-party pricing is current |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Monthly plans |
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | $9/mo (third-party listing) |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | News & content apps |
Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI: overview
Mediastack
Mediastack belongs to apilayer, the Vienna company behind ipstack and weatherstack, which Julian and Paul Zehetmayr founded in 2015 and the US software group Idera bought in January 2021. If you already use another apilayer API, the key format, parameters and error codes will look familiar. It covers live and historical news from 7,500+ sources in 13 languages, with filters for country, category, language and keyword. The free plan gives 100 requests a month, which a day of testing can use up, and paid plans run from $24.99 for 10,000 requests to $249.99 for 250,000. Responses carry descriptions and metadata, without full text or enrichment.
TheNewsAPI
TheNewsAPI offers headline, top-story and all-news endpoints with language, locale, category and domain filters, and its FAQ says you can start without payment details. Each search counts as one request against a free limit of 100 a day, but free responses are capped at three articles, which makes pagination tests tedious. One comparison site lists a paid Basic tier from $9 a month (independently unverifiable). The site does not name the company behind it, where it is based or who works on it.
Features: Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI
| Capability | Mediastack | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI
| Format / SDK | Mediastack | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | N/A | 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: Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI
| Criterion | Mediastack | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | $9/mo (third-party listing) |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Monthly plans |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
Who each API suits: Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI
| Dimension | Mediastack | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | News & content apps |
| Example use cases | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. | A personal morning-news page. A feed limited to a few chosen domains. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI: pros and cons
| Mediastack | |
|---|---|
| + | Among the lowest paid entry prices for general news |
| + | Shares conventions with the other apilayer APIs |
| + | History included on paid plans |
| + | Short docs with copy-paste code |
| - | 100 free requests a month barely covers testing |
| - | Only 7,500 sources in 13 languages |
| - | No full text, entities or sentiment |
| TheNewsAPI | |
|---|---|
| + | Start without a card |
| + | Domain filters make curated feeds easy |
| + | Very low reported paid price |
| - | Three articles per free response |
| - | Operator and coverage are unverified |
| - | No published detail on archive depth or enrichment |
Who should choose Mediastack?
A typical fit: a category news feed on a small website.
Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. Paid access starts at $24.99/mo. Typical uses: News & content apps, Marketing & PR.
Who should choose TheNewsAPI?
A typical fit: a personal morning-news page.
Possibly the lowest paid entry price here, if third-party pricing is current. Paid access starts at $9/mo (third-party listing). Typical uses: News & content apps.
Decision matrix: Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | TheNewsAPI |
| You need full article text in the response | Neither returns full text |
| You need years of historical news | Both |
| You want an official SDK | Neither; both are plain REST |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Both work through plain REST calls |
Use case fit: Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI
| Use case | Mediastack fit | TheNewsAPI fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Mediastack |
Verdict: Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI
Mediastack (3.8/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month.
TheNewsAPI (3.6/5) is worth a look if you need a feed limited to a few chosen domains. If your situation matches that, TheNewsAPI is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Mediastack vs TheNewsAPI FAQ
Is Mediastack better than TheNewsAPI?
Mediastack (3.8/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Mediastack's strongest advantage: among the lowest paid entry prices for general news. TheNewsAPI's strongest advantage: start without a card.
How do Mediastack and TheNewsAPI differ in pricing?
Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. TheNewsAPI: monthly plans, with paid access from $9/mo (third-party listing). Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Mediastack or TheNewsAPI?
Neither sells an enterprise contract. Neither carries licensed publisher content, so check copyright terms before republishing anything.
What are the main differences between Mediastack and TheNewsAPI?
What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. What sets TheNewsAPI apart: possibly the lowest paid entry price here, if third-party pricing is current. They also differ on entry price ($24.99/mo vs $9/mo (third-party listing)) and typical uses (News & content apps, Marketing & PR vs News & content apps).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.