Serper Google News vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Serper Google News (3.9/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. Serper Google News is the better choice for agent prototypes needing cheap Google News lookups. 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.
Serper Google News vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Serper Google News | 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 | About $1 per 1,000 Google queries on the entry pack, by third-party figures | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month |
| Pricing model | Prepaid credit packs | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | $50 credit pack (third-party listing) | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, SEO, Marketing & PR | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
Serper Google News vs Mediastack: overview
Serper Google News
Serper is a Google search API that many agent frameworks list as a default search tool, and it can return Google News results as well as web results. Signup needs no card and comes with 2,500 free queries, which third-party write-ups describe as a one-time allowance. Billing is in prepaid credits: one credit for up to 10 results, two for up to 100. A third-party pricing breakdown lists packs from $50 for 50,000 credits, valid for six months, and one report says the public pricing page was offline in mid-2026, so check the figures in your account. The company behind it publishes little about itself, and like any Google-scraping API it returns titles, snippets and links instead of article text.
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: Serper Google News vs Mediastack
| Capability | Serper Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✗ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Serper Google News vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | Serper Google News | 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: Serper Google News vs Mediastack
| Criterion | Serper Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $50 credit pack (third-party listing) | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Prepaid credit packs | Monthly request plans |
| Access models | Free trial, Pay-as-you-go | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
Who each API suits: Serper Google News vs Mediastack
| Dimension | Serper Google News | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, SEO, Marketing & PR | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | A news search tool for an agent prototype. Cheap rank tracking in Google News. | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. |
| How you get access | Free trial | Free tier |
Serper Google News vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| Serper Google News | |
|---|---|
| + | 2,500 free queries with no card is enough for a full prototype |
| + | Per-query cost is among the lowest for Google results |
| + | Widely supported as a search tool in agent frameworks |
| + | Simple POST requests with a JSON body |
| - | No article text or archive |
| - | Credits expire six months after purchase |
| - | Little public information about the operator or official pricing |
| 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 Serper Google News?
A typical fit: a news search tool for an agent prototype.
About $1 per 1,000 Google queries on the entry pack, by third-party figures. Paid access starts at $50 credit pack (third-party listing). Typical uses: AI & LLM apps, SEO, Marketing & PR.
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: Serper 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 | Neither; both are plain REST |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Both work through plain REST calls |
Use case fit: Serper Google News vs Mediastack
| Use case | Serper Google News fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Serper Google News |
| SEO | Strong | Limited | Serper Google News |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| News & content apps | Limited | Strong | Mediastack |
Verdict: Serper Google News vs Mediastack
Serper Google News (3.9/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. About $1 per 1,000 Google queries on the entry pack, by third-party figures.
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
Serper Google News vs Mediastack FAQ
Is Serper Google News better than Mediastack?
Serper Google News (3.9/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Serper Google News's strongest advantage: 2,500 free queries with no card is enough for a full prototype. Mediastack's strongest advantage: among the lowest paid entry prices for general news.
How do Serper Google News and Mediastack differ in pricing?
Serper Google News: prepaid credit packs, with paid access from $50 credit pack (third-party listing). Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Serper Google News 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 Serper Google News and Mediastack?
What sets Serper Google News apart: about $1 per 1,000 Google queries on the entry pack, by third-party figures. What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. They also differ on entry price ($50 credit pack (third-party listing) vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (AI & LLM apps, SEO vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.