Brave Search API vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Brave Search API (3.9/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. Brave Search API is the better choice for teams wanting an independent, non-Google news search index. Mediastack is the stronger option for hobby projects and low-volume apps on a tight budget. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Brave Search API vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Brave Search API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | 2015 |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | 201–500 | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Its own crawler and index, independent of Google and Bing | Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data |
| Pricing model | Metered per request | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | $5 per 1,000 requests | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, MCP server | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, News & content apps, SEO | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
Brave Search API vs Mediastack: overview
Brave Search API
Brave Software, founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco, runs its own web index for Brave Search and sells API access to it. The news endpoint returns recent articles with age, source and thumbnail fields from that index, so results do not come from Google or Bing. Reports from 2026 say Brave moved all developers to metered billing at roughly $5 per 1,000 requests and dropped the old free plan, although some of Brave's own docs still show the earlier tiers. Responses are search snippets, and full text has to be fetched separately.
Mediastack
Mediastack is one of the apilayer products, alongside ipstack and weatherstack. apilayer was founded in Vienna in 2015 by Julian and Paul Zehetmayr and acquired by the US software group Idera in January 2021. The API aggregates live and historical news from 7,500+ sources in 13 languages, filtered by country, category, language and keyword. The free plan allows 100 requests a month, and paid plans run from $24.99 for 10,000 requests to $249.99 for 250,000. Its source list is far smaller than the big crawlers here, and it adds no enrichment beyond basic metadata.
Features: Brave Search API vs Mediastack
| Capability | Brave Search API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✗ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Licensed publisher content | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✗ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Brave Search API vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | Brave Search API | 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 |
| S3/bulk delivery | N/A | N/A |
| BigQuery | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison: Brave Search API vs Mediastack
| Criterion | Brave Search API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $5 per 1,000 requests | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Metered per request | Monthly request plans |
| Access models | Pay-as-you-go, Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
Who each API suits: Brave Search API vs Mediastack
| Dimension | Brave Search API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Teams with budget | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, News & content apps, SEO | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | News search inside a privacy-focused product. LLM grounding that does not rely on Google. | A news ticker or category feed for a small website. A learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. |
| How you get access | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier |
Brave Search API vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| Brave Search API | |
|---|---|
| + | An independent index is one of the few replacements left since Microsoft retired Bing's search APIs in 2025 |
| + | Fast responses and high queries-per-second limits on paid plans |
| + | Plans with explicit data rights for AI use |
| + | One key covers web, news, image and video search |
| - | The free tier was reportedly removed in 2026 |
| - | Snippets only, with no full article text or archive |
| - | Smaller index than Google for niche local outlets |
| Mediastack | |
|---|---|
| + | One of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month |
| + | Same conventions as other apilayer APIs, which helps if you already use one |
| + | Historical news included on paid plans |
| + | Short docs with copy-paste examples |
| - | Only 7,500 sources and 13 languages |
| - | The free plan is 100 requests a month, which runs out in a day of testing |
| - | Descriptions only, with no full text, sentiment or entities |
Who should choose Brave Search API?
A typical fit: news search inside a privacy-focused product.
Its own crawler and index, independent of Google and Bing. Paid access starts at $5 per 1,000 requests. Typical uses: AI & LLM apps, News & content apps, SEO.
Who should choose Mediastack?
A typical fit: a news ticker or category feed for a small website.
Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. Paid access starts at $24.99/mo. Typical uses: News & content apps, Marketing & PR.
Decision matrix: Brave Search API vs Mediastack
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Mediastack |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Brave Search API |
| You need full article text in the response | Neither returns full text |
| You need years of historical news | Mediastack |
| You need licensed premium or wire content | Neither; look at Factiva, AP or LexisNexis |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Brave Search API |
Use case fit: Brave Search API vs Mediastack
| Use case | Brave Search API fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Brave Search API |
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| SEO | Strong | Limited | Brave Search API |
| Marketing & PR | Limited | Strong | Mediastack |
Verdict: Brave Search API vs Mediastack
Brave Search API (3.9/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Its own crawler and index, independent of Google and Bing.
Mediastack (3.8/5) is worth a look if you need a learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. If your situation matches that, Mediastack is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Brave Search API vs Mediastack FAQ
Is Brave Search API better than Mediastack?
Brave Search API (3.9/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Brave Search API's strongest advantage: an independent index is one of the few replacements left since Microsoft retired Bing's search APIs in 2025. Mediastack's strongest advantage: one of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month.
How do Brave Search API and Mediastack differ in pricing?
Brave Search API: metered per request, with paid access from $5 per 1,000 requests. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Only Mediastack offers free access.
Which is better for enterprise: Brave Search API or Mediastack?
Brave Search API 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 Brave Search API and Mediastack?
What sets Brave Search API apart: its own crawler and index, independent of Google and Bing. What sets Mediastack apart: paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. They also differ on entry price ($5 per 1,000 requests vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (AI & LLM apps, News & content apps vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.