SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
SerpApi Google News (4.0/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. SerpApi Google News is the better choice for developers who need exactly what Google News ranks. 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.
SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | SerpApi Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 | 2015 |
| HQ | Austin, Texas, USA | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | 11–50 | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 4.0 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Google News rankings and story groupings as structured JSON | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month |
| Pricing model | Monthly search plans; free allowance | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | $25/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Python SDK | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | SEO, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack: overview
SerpApi Google News
SerpApi has been bootstrapped since Julien Khaleghy founded it in Austin, Texas, in 2017, and it has an estimated 20–50 staff. Its Google News API returns what Google News shows for a query or topic as JSON, with titles, sources, dates and Google's story groupings. Developer experience is a strength: there is an interactive playground that shows the request and response side by side, and official libraries for Python, Node, Ruby and several other languages. Third-party roundups put the free allowance at about 250 searches a month and paid plans from roughly $25 for 1,000. The data is scraped from Google's pages, so you get no article text, and SerpApi offers US customers a legal-protection pledge covering that scraping.
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: SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack
| Capability | SerpApi Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✗ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✓ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✓ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | SerpApi Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| 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: SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack
| Criterion | SerpApi Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $25/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Monthly search plans; free allowance | Monthly request plans |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans, Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
Who each API suits: SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack
| Dimension | SerpApi Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | SEO, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | Checking where a brand appears in Google News. SEO and PR reporting dashboards. | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| SerpApi Google News | |
|---|---|
| + | The playground makes building a query fast |
| + | Official client libraries in many languages |
| + | One account covers Google Search, Maps, Shopping and other engines |
| + | A legal-protection pledge for US customers |
| - | Titles and links only, with no article body or archive |
| - | Results depend on Google's layout, which can change without notice |
| - | Per-search billing adds up for wide monitoring |
| 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 SerpApi Google News?
A typical fit: checking where a brand appears in Google News.
Google News rankings and story groupings as structured JSON. Paid access starts at $25/mo. Typical uses: SEO, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring.
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: SerpApi Google News 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 | SerpApi Google News |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | SerpApi Google News |
Use case fit: SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack
| Use case | SerpApi Google News fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO | Strong | Limited | SerpApi Google News |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | SerpApi Google News |
| Media monitoring | Strong | Limited | SerpApi Google News |
| News & content apps | Limited | Strong | Mediastack |
Verdict: SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack
SerpApi Google News (4.0/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Google News rankings and story groupings as structured JSON.
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
SerpApi Google News vs Mediastack FAQ
Is SerpApi Google News better than Mediastack?
SerpApi Google News (4.0/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. SerpApi Google News's strongest advantage: the playground makes building a query fast. Mediastack's strongest advantage: among the lowest paid entry prices for general news.
How do SerpApi Google News and Mediastack differ in pricing?
SerpApi Google News: monthly search plans; free allowance, with paid access from $25/mo. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: SerpApi Google News or Mediastack?
SerpApi Google News 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 SerpApi Google News and Mediastack?
What sets SerpApi Google News apart: google News rankings and story groupings as structured JSON. What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. They also differ on entry price ($25/mo vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (SEO, Marketing & PR vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.