Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien): full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Mediastack (3.8/5) edges ahead of Quantexa News API (Aylien) (3.4/5) overall. Mediastack is the better choice for low-traffic sites needing a cheap commercial headline feed. Quantexa News API (Aylien) is the stronger option for teams maintaining an existing Aylien integration. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien): head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Mediastack | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | 2012 |
| HQ | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera | Dublin, Ireland (Aylien); London, UK (Quantexa) |
| Team size | Part of Idera | Part of Quantexa |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 3.4 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month | Aylien's fine-grained entity and category tagging |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Enterprise subscription; trial available |
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | Custom quote |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON | REST API, JSON, Python SDK |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | Financial services, Risk & compliance, Media monitoring |
Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien): 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.
Quantexa News API (Aylien)
Aylien, founded in Dublin in 2012, built a well-regarded NLP news API that tagged multilingual articles from about 80,000 sources with entities, categories and sentiment, and shipped Python and Node SDKs. Quantexa, the London decision-intelligence company, bought it in February 2023 for an undisclosed sum, and the product is now called Quantexa News Intelligence or Quantexa News API. Quantexa's community forum still advertises a 14-day trial, but a competitor reports that new sign-ups are directed to a customer notice, and there is no public roadmap for the standalone API. It makes most sense for existing users and Quantexa customers, and a new build is safer elsewhere.
Features: Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien)
| Capability | Mediastack | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✓ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✓ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✓ |
| Official SDK | ✗ | ✓ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien)
| Format / SDK | Mediastack | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | N/A | ✓ |
| Node.js SDK | 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 Quantexa News API (Aylien)
| Criterion | Mediastack | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | Custom quote |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Enterprise subscription; trial available |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans | Free trial, Enterprise contract |
| Price transparency | Public price | Quote only |
| Price tier | Budget | Enterprise / quote |
Who each API suits: Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien)
| Dimension | Mediastack | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | Financial services, Risk & compliance, Media monitoring |
| Example use cases | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. | Keeping a legacy Aylien integration running. News risk signals inside Quantexa. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free trial |
Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien): 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 |
| Quantexa News API (Aylien) | |
|---|---|
| + | Detailed taxonomy and entity tagging |
| + | Fits teams already on the Quantexa platform |
| + | A 14-day trial is still listed |
| - | Standalone API direction unclear since the 2023 acquisition |
| - | Docs and SDKs are split across old and new names |
| - | No public pricing |
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 Quantexa News API (Aylien)?
A typical fit: keeping a legacy Aylien integration running.
Aylien's fine-grained entity and category tagging. Paid access is quote-based. Typical uses: Financial services, Risk & compliance, Media monitoring.
Decision matrix: Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien)
| 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 | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
| You need years of historical news | Both |
| You want an official SDK | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Both work through plain REST calls |
Use case fit: Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien)
| Use case | Mediastack fit | Quantexa News API (Aylien) fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Limited | Mediastack |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Mediastack |
| Financial services | Limited | Strong | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
| Risk & compliance | Limited | Strong | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
| Media monitoring | Limited | Strong | Quantexa News API (Aylien) |
Verdict: Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien)
Mediastack (3.8/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month.
Quantexa News API (Aylien) (3.4/5) is worth a look if you need news risk signals inside Quantexa. If your situation matches that, Quantexa News API (Aylien) is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Mediastack vs Quantexa News API (Aylien) FAQ
Is Mediastack better than Quantexa News API (Aylien)?
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. Quantexa News API (Aylien)'s strongest advantage: detailed taxonomy and entity tagging.
How do Mediastack and Quantexa News API (Aylien) differ in pricing?
Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Quantexa News API (Aylien): enterprise subscription; trial available, priced by quote. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Mediastack or Quantexa News API (Aylien)?
Quantexa News API (Aylien) 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 Mediastack and Quantexa News API (Aylien)?
What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. What sets Quantexa News API (Aylien) apart: Aylien's fine-grained entity and category tagging. They also differ on entry price ($24.99/mo vs Custom quote) and typical uses (News & content apps, Marketing & PR vs Financial services, Risk & compliance).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.