NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
NewsAPI.org (4.0/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. NewsAPI.org is the better choice for learning projects and prototypes that follow existing tutorials. Mediastack is the stronger option for low-traffic sites needing a cheap commercial headline feed. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | NewsAPI.org | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | Not disclosed | 2015 |
| HQ | Not publicly disclosed | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | Not publicly disclosed | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 4.0 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | The largest pile of tutorials, wrappers and answered questions of any news API | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; 20% off annual | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | $449/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Community SDKs | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Research & academia, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack: overview
NewsAPI.org
If you learned to call a REST API from a tutorial, there is a fair chance it used NewsAPI.org's /everything or /top-headlines endpoint. That familiarity is its biggest asset: community libraries exist in most languages and almost every error message has a forum answer. The operator publishes no legal name, location or team size. The free Developer plan gives 100 requests a day, delays articles by 24 hours, covers only the last month and is barred from staging and production. Going live means the Business plan at $449 a month (250,000 requests, five years of history), and an uptime SLA only comes with Advanced at $1,749. Article content in responses is truncated.
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.
Features: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
| Capability | NewsAPI.org | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | NewsAPI.org | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| 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: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
| Criterion | NewsAPI.org | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $449/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; 20% off annual | Monthly request 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: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
| Dimension | NewsAPI.org | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Research & academia, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | Following a tutorial or course. Building a demo before choosing a production API. | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| NewsAPI.org | |
|---|---|
| + | Help is easy to find for nearly any problem you hit |
| + | Endpoints have stayed stable for years |
| + | Five years of history on the Business plan |
| + | Enterprise adds clustering and custom tagging if you outgrow the basics |
| - | The free plan is not allowed in staging or production |
| - | Going live costs $449 a month, with nothing in between |
| - | Content is truncated, so full text needs your own fetching |
| - | No SLA until the $1,749 plan |
| 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 |
Who should choose NewsAPI.org?
A typical fit: following a tutorial or course.
The largest pile of tutorials, wrappers and answered questions of any news API. Paid access starts at $449/mo. Typical uses: News & content apps, Research & academia, AI & LLM apps.
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.
Decision matrix: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Mediastack |
| 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: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
| Use case | NewsAPI.org fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Research & academia | Strong | Limited | NewsAPI.org |
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | NewsAPI.org |
| Marketing & PR | Limited | Strong | Mediastack |
Verdict: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
NewsAPI.org (4.0/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. The largest pile of tutorials, wrappers and answered questions of any news API.
Mediastack (3.8/5) is worth a look if you need classroom projects that need commercial terms. If your situation matches that, Mediastack is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack FAQ
Is NewsAPI.org better than Mediastack?
NewsAPI.org (4.0/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. NewsAPI.org's strongest advantage: help is easy to find for nearly any problem you hit. Mediastack's strongest advantage: among the lowest paid entry prices for general news.
How do NewsAPI.org and Mediastack differ in pricing?
NewsAPI.org: monthly plans; 20% off annual, with paid access from $449/mo. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: NewsAPI.org or Mediastack?
NewsAPI.org 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 NewsAPI.org and Mediastack?
What sets NewsAPI.org apart: the largest pile of tutorials, wrappers and answered questions of any news API. What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. They also differ on entry price ($449/mo vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (News & content apps, Research & academia vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.