Perigon vs Currents API: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Perigon (4.5/5) edges ahead of Currents API (3.3/5) overall. Perigon is the better choice for indie developers and startups wanting enriched data at a known price. 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.
Perigon vs Currents API: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Perigon | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 | 2018 |
| HQ | Austin, Texas, USA | Not publicly disclosed |
| Team size | 11–50 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 3.3 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly | A free tier that tutorials and roundups often recommend |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume | Free tier; monthly plans |
| Entry price | $25/mo | $69/mo (third-party listing) |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Python SDK | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance, Marketing & PR | News & content apps, Research & academia |
Perigon vs Currents API: overview
Perigon
Perigon is an Austin, Texas startup founded in 2022 by Joshua Dziabiak and Josh Rickel, backed by a $5 million seed round that LiveOak Ventures led in February 2024. For developers its main draw is that the pricing page tells you what you will pay: Individual at $25 a month for personal use, Startup at $250 with limited commercial rights, and Commercial at $1,250 with real-time data, an SLA and SSO. Every tier returns enriched articles with entities, topics, summaries and story clusters from 230,000+ sources (per company website; independently unverifiable), and Monitors let you save a query and get matches on a schedule. Plan for the delay: below Commercial, data lags by an hour unless you pay for the real-time add-on.
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: Perigon vs Currents API
| Capability | Perigon | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✗ |
| NLP enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✓ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✓ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Perigon vs Currents API
| Format / SDK | Perigon | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | ✓ | N/A |
| Node.js SDK | ✓ | N/A |
| Webhooks | ✓ | 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: Perigon vs Currents API
| Criterion | Perigon | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $25/mo | $69/mo (third-party listing) |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume | Free tier; monthly plans |
| Access models | Free trial, Monthly plans, Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
Who each API suits: Perigon vs Currents API
| Dimension | Perigon | Currents API |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance | News & content apps, Research & academia |
| Example use cases | A startup MVP that needs commercial rights from the first month. Alerting on a brand or topic without building a scheduler. | Class assignments. Hackathon news features. |
| How you get access | Free trial | Free tier |
Perigon vs Currents API: pros and cons
| Perigon | |
|---|---|
| + | The cheapest plan already includes enrichment, which most rivals reserve for higher tiers |
| + | Monitors replace a cron job and a diffing script with a saved query |
| + | Python and Node SDKs, plus webhooks for pushed results |
| + | The license explains what you may do with the structured data, which saves a round of legal questions |
| - | Data lags by an hour below the $1,250 plan unless you buy real-time |
| - | The Startup tier caps you at 10,000 requests a month |
| - | Republishing full article text is outside the license |
| 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 Perigon?
A typical fit: a startup MVP that needs commercial rights from the first month.
Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly. Paid access starts at $25/mo. Typical uses: AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance, Marketing & PR.
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: Perigon vs Currents API
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Perigon |
| You need full article text in the response | Perigon |
| You need years of historical news | Perigon |
| You want an official SDK | Perigon |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Perigon |
Use case fit: Perigon vs Currents API
| Use case | Perigon fit | Currents API fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Media monitoring | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Risk & compliance | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| News & content apps | Limited | Strong | Currents API |
| Research & academia | Limited | Strong | Currents API |
Verdict: Perigon vs Currents API
Perigon (4.5/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly.
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
Perigon vs Currents API FAQ
Is Perigon better than Currents API?
Perigon (4.5/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Perigon's strongest advantage: the cheapest plan already includes enrichment, which most rivals reserve for higher tiers. Currents API's strongest advantage: free key is quick to obtain.
How do Perigon and Currents API differ in pricing?
Perigon: monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume, with paid access from $25/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: Perigon or Currents API?
Perigon 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 Perigon and Currents API?
What sets Perigon apart: Entity, topic and cluster data from the $25 plan up, with all tiers priced publicly. What sets Currents API apart: a free tier that tutorials and roundups often recommend. They also differ on entry price ($25/mo vs $69/mo (third-party listing)) and typical uses (AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring vs News & content apps, Research & academia).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.