Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Mediastack (3.8/5) edges ahead of NYT Developer APIs (3.5/5) overall. Mediastack is the better choice for low-traffic sites needing a cheap commercial headline feed. NYT Developer APIs is the stronger option for students and historians working with Times metadata. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | 1851 |
| HQ | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera | New York, USA |
| Team size | Part of Idera | 5,000+ |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 3.5 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month | Searchable headlines and abstracts for every Times issue since 1851 |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Free developer keys |
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | Free |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | Research & academia, News & content apps |
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: overview
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.
NYT Developer APIs
The New York Times, founded in 1851, runs a developer portal with Article Search, Archive, Top Stories, Most Popular and Books APIs. Keys are free and limits are published, commonly cited as 4,000 requests a day and 10 a minute, which makes the portal a common first API for students. Article Search and Archive reach back to 1851, but responses hold headlines, abstracts, keywords and links, while the full text stays behind the paywall. Terms are aimed at non-commercial use. The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023 over AI training, so do not feed its content to an AI system without a licence.
Features: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Capability | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Format / SDK | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| 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: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Criterion | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | Free |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Free developer keys |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans | Free tier |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Free |
Who each API suits: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Dimension | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | Research & academia, News & content apps |
| Example use cases | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. | Historical coverage research. A first REST API project in a course. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: pros and cons
| 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 |
| NYT Developer APIs | |
|---|---|
| + | More than 170 years of archive metadata |
| + | Free keys with clear published limits |
| + | Several small endpoints that are easy to demo |
| - | No article text |
| - | Non-commercial terms and an active legal stance on AI use |
| - | One publisher |
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.
Who should choose NYT Developer APIs?
A typical fit: historical coverage research.
Searchable headlines and abstracts for every Times issue since 1851. Paid access starts at Free. Typical uses: Research & academia, News & content apps.
Decision matrix: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | NYT Developer APIs |
| You need full article text in the response | Neither returns full text |
| You need years of historical news | Both |
| 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: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Use case | Mediastack fit | NYT Developer APIs fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Mediastack |
| Research & academia | Limited | Strong | NYT Developer APIs |
Verdict: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
Mediastack (3.8/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month.
NYT Developer APIs (3.5/5) is worth a look if you need a first REST API project in a course. If your situation matches that, NYT Developer APIs is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs FAQ
Is Mediastack better than NYT Developer APIs?
Mediastack (3.8/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Mediastack's strongest advantage: among the lowest paid entry prices for general news. NYT Developer APIs's strongest advantage: more than 170 years of archive metadata.
How do Mediastack and NYT Developer APIs differ in pricing?
Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. NYT Developer APIs: free developer keys, with paid access from Free. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Mediastack or NYT Developer APIs?
Neither sells an enterprise contract. Neither carries licensed publisher content, so check copyright terms before republishing anything.
What are the main differences between Mediastack and NYT Developer APIs?
What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. What sets NYT Developer APIs apart: searchable headlines and abstracts for every Times issue since 1851. They also differ on entry price ($24.99/mo vs Free) and typical uses (News & content apps, Marketing & PR vs Research & academia, News & content apps).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.