Reuters Connect vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Reuters Connect (3.8/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. Reuters Connect is the better choice for media companies licensing Reuters wire content. 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.
Reuters Connect vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Reuters Connect | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1851 | 2015 |
| HQ | London, UK | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | 1,000+ (Thomson Reuters) | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Reuters' own global reporting with publishing rights | Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data |
| Pricing model | Negotiated licence | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | Custom quote | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, XML | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Financial services, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
Reuters Connect vs Mediastack: overview
Reuters Connect
Reuters, owned by Thomson Reuters, distributes its text, pictures, video and graphics to media customers through Reuters Connect, which includes a REST API for searching and retrieving editorial content. Reuters issues credentials only after a commercial agreement, and there is no self-serve key. Banks and trading firms usually take Reuters news through LSEG terminals and machine-readable feeds instead, under a separate licence. Thomson Reuters has licensed Reuters content to AI companies too, including Meta in 2024, and pricing is negotiated in every case.
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: Reuters Connect vs Mediastack
| Capability | Reuters Connect | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Licensed publisher content | ✓ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✗ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Reuters Connect vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | Reuters Connect | 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: Reuters Connect vs Mediastack
| Criterion | Reuters Connect | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Custom quote | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Negotiated licence | Monthly request plans |
| Access models | Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Quote only | Public price |
| Price tier | Enterprise / quote | Budget |
Who each API suits: Reuters Connect vs Mediastack
| Dimension | Reuters Connect | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Enterprise only | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Financial services, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | Publishers adding Reuters wire copy to their sites. AI assistants that cite Reuters reporting under licence. | A news ticker or category feed for a small website. A learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. |
| How you get access | Enterprise contract | Free tier |
Reuters Connect vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| Reuters Connect | |
|---|---|
| + | Reuters' international and business reporting, licensed for publication |
| + | Pictures, video and graphics on the same platform |
| + | High credibility for financial and political news |
| + | A licensing track record with AI companies, including Meta in 2024 |
| - | Credentials only after a commercial agreement |
| - | Finance-grade real-time news is a separate LSEG product and contract |
| - | Single-publisher scope |
| 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 Reuters Connect?
A typical fit: publishers adding Reuters wire copy to their sites.
Reuters' own global reporting with publishing rights. Paid access is quote-based. Typical uses: News & content apps, Financial services, 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: Reuters Connect vs Mediastack
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Mediastack |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Mediastack |
| You need full article text in the response | Reuters Connect |
| You need years of historical news | Both |
| You need licensed premium or wire content | Reuters Connect |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Both work through plain REST calls |
Use case fit: Reuters Connect vs Mediastack
| Use case | Reuters Connect fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Financial services | Strong | Limited | Reuters Connect |
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Reuters Connect |
| Marketing & PR | Limited | Strong | Mediastack |
Verdict: Reuters Connect vs Mediastack
Reuters Connect (3.8/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Reuters' own global reporting with publishing rights.
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
Reuters Connect vs Mediastack FAQ
Is Reuters Connect better than Mediastack?
Reuters Connect (3.8/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Reuters Connect's strongest advantage: Reuters' international and business reporting, licensed for publication. Mediastack's strongest advantage: one of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month.
How do Reuters Connect and Mediastack differ in pricing?
Reuters Connect: negotiated licence, priced by quote. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Only Mediastack offers free access.
Which is better for enterprise: Reuters Connect or Mediastack?
Reuters Connect sells enterprise contracts with negotiated volume and SLA terms. Reuters Connect carries licensed publisher content, which matters for legal review.
What are the main differences between Reuters Connect and Mediastack?
What sets Reuters Connect apart: Reuters' own global reporting with publishing rights. What sets Mediastack apart: paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. They also differ on entry price (Custom quote vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (News & content apps, Financial services vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.