Marketaux vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Marketaux (3.9/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. Marketaux is the better choice for fintech developers needing ticker-tagged news cheaply. 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.
Marketaux vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Marketaux | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | Not disclosed | 2015 |
| HQ | Not publicly disclosed | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | Not publicly disclosed | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Entity-level sentiment on every article, free plan included | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | $29/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | Financial services, News & content apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
Marketaux vs Mediastack: overview
Marketaux
Marketaux saves fintech developers from writing a ticker matcher. Every stock, crypto or forex article it returns lists the entities it mentions, each with a sentiment score from -1 to 1, and that works on the free plan too. Listings put coverage at about 5,000 sources in 30+ languages and 200,000+ tracked entities (per company website; independently unverifiable). The free plan allows 100 requests a day but returns only three articles per request. The official pricing page lists Basic at $29 a month for 2,500 daily requests, and entity statistics and trending endpoints need a paid plan. The site does not say who operates it or where.
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: Marketaux vs Mediastack
| Capability | Marketaux | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✗ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Marketaux vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | Marketaux | 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: Marketaux vs Mediastack
| Criterion | Marketaux | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $29/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Monthly request plans |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
Who each API suits: Marketaux vs Mediastack
| Dimension | Marketaux | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | Financial services, News & content apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | A news tab in a portfolio tracker. Sentiment features for a hobby trading model. | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
Marketaux vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| Marketaux | |
|---|---|
| + | Ticker extraction and sentiment come built in |
| + | Commercial use from $29 a month |
| + | Covers crypto and forex as well as equities |
| + | Filters by symbol, industry and exchange |
| - | Three articles per free request makes testing slow |
| - | Anonymous operator |
| - | Financial topics only |
| 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 Marketaux?
A typical fit: a news tab in a portfolio tracker.
Entity-level sentiment on every article, free plan included. Paid access starts at $29/mo. Typical uses: Financial services, News & content 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: Marketaux 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 | Mediastack |
| 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: Marketaux vs Mediastack
| Use case | Marketaux fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial services | Strong | Limited | Marketaux |
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Marketing & PR | Limited | Strong | Mediastack |
Verdict: Marketaux vs Mediastack
Marketaux (3.9/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Entity-level sentiment on every article, free plan included.
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
Marketaux vs Mediastack FAQ
Is Marketaux better than Mediastack?
Marketaux (3.9/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Marketaux's strongest advantage: ticker extraction and sentiment come built in. Mediastack's strongest advantage: among the lowest paid entry prices for general news.
How do Marketaux and Mediastack differ in pricing?
Marketaux: monthly request plans, with paid access from $29/mo. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Marketaux or Mediastack?
Neither sells an enterprise contract. Neither carries licensed publisher content, so check copyright terms before republishing anything.
What are the main differences between Marketaux and Mediastack?
What sets Marketaux apart: entity-level sentiment on every article, free plan included. What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. They also differ on entry price ($29/mo vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (Financial services, News & content apps vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.