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 developers who want the most documented, familiar news API. 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.
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 | More tutorials and community libraries than any other news API, which shortens learning time | Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data |
| 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
NewsAPI.org is one of the oldest general-purpose news APIs, and its two endpoints, /everything and /top-headlines, appear in countless tutorials. The company behind it does not publish a legal name, location or team size. The free Developer plan allows 100 requests a day, delays articles by 24 hours, searches only the past month and is restricted to development environments. Production starts with the Business plan at $449 a month (250,000 requests, five years of history), and the $1,749 Advanced plan is the first tier with an uptime SLA.
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: NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack
| Capability | NewsAPI.org | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Licensed publisher content | ✗ | ✗ |
| 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 | Learning projects and coding tutorials. Prototypes that will move to a paid plan later. | A news ticker or category feed for a small website. A learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
NewsAPI.org vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| NewsAPI.org | |
|---|---|
| + | A huge body of tutorials, client libraries and Stack Overflow answers |
| + | Simple, stable endpoints that rarely change |
| + | The Business plan includes five years of searchable history |
| + | An Enterprise tier adds clustering and custom tagging for teams that outgrow the basics |
| - | The free plan cannot be used in staging or production, even internally |
| - | At $449 a month, the first paid tier is a big jump with no middle option |
| - | Article content is truncated, so full text needs separate fetching |
| - | No uptime SLA below the $1,749 Advanced plan |
| 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 NewsAPI.org?
A typical fit: learning projects and coding tutorials.
More tutorials and community libraries than any other news API, which shortens learning time. Paid access starts at $449/mo. Typical uses: News & content apps, Research & academia, AI & LLM apps.
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: 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 need licensed premium or wire content | Neither; look at Factiva, AP or LexisNexis |
| 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. More tutorials and community libraries than any other news API, which shortens learning time.
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
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: a huge body of tutorials, client libraries and Stack Overflow answers. Mediastack's strongest advantage: one of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month.
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: more tutorials and community libraries than any other news API, which shortens learning time. What sets Mediastack apart: paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. 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.