World News API vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
World News API (4.1/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. World News API is the better choice for location-aware apps on a small budget. 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.
World News API vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | World News API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | 2015 |
| HQ | Dresden, Germany | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | Not publicly disclosed | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Latitude, longitude and radius filters from the $39 plan, plus a URL text extractor | Commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month |
| Pricing model | Daily points plans; per-point overage | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | $39/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, OpenAPI-generated SDKs | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
World News API vs Mediastack: overview
World News API
skycraft GmbH, a Dresden company that has built developer APIs since 2015, runs World News API. Besides article search with language, sentiment and location filters, it has front-page and top-news endpoints and an extractor that returns clean text from any article URL, which is useful even if your news comes from somewhere else. SDKs are generated from its OpenAPI spec, so most languages are covered. Billing is in points: the free plan gives 50 a day but requires a backlink and allows one request a second, Reporter costs $39 a month for 500 a day, and the largest self-serve plan is $1,779. Team size and coverage claims are not independently documented.
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: World News API vs Mediastack
| Capability | World News API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Official SDK | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: World News API vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | World News API | 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: World News API vs Mediastack
| Criterion | World News API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $39/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Daily points plans; per-point overage | 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: World News API vs Mediastack
| Dimension | World News API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | News near a user in a mobile app. Positive-only or negative-only news feeds by sentiment. | A category news feed on a small website. Classroom projects that need commercial terms. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
World News API vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| World News API | |
|---|---|
| + | Radius search is rare in this price range |
| + | The extractor cleans any article URL, including ones from other APIs |
| + | OpenAPI spec means client libraries for most languages |
| + | A German company of record, which helps EU vendor checks |
| - | The free plan needs a backlink and runs at one request a second |
| - | Different endpoints cost different points, so bills are harder to predict |
| - | Coverage figures are self-reported |
| 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 World News API?
A typical fit: news near a user in a mobile app.
Latitude, longitude and radius filters from the $39 plan, plus a URL text extractor. Paid access starts at $39/mo. Typical uses: News & content apps, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM 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: World News API 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 | World News API |
| 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: World News API vs Mediastack
| Use case | World News API fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | World News API |
Verdict: World News API vs Mediastack
World News API (4.1/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Latitude, longitude and radius filters from the $39 plan, plus a URL text extractor.
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
World News API vs Mediastack FAQ
Is World News API better than Mediastack?
World News API (4.1/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. World News API's strongest advantage: radius search is rare in this price range. Mediastack's strongest advantage: among the lowest paid entry prices for general news.
How do World News API and Mediastack differ in pricing?
World News API: daily points plans; per-point overage, with paid access from $39/mo. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: World News API 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 World News API and Mediastack?
What sets World News API apart: Latitude, longitude and radius filters from the $39 plan, plus a URL text extractor. What sets Mediastack apart: commercial use and historical news from $24.99 a month. They also differ on entry price ($39/mo vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (News & content apps, Marketing & PR vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.