AP Media API vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
AP Media API (3.9/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. AP Media API is the better choice for publishers and platforms licensing AP journalism. Mediastack is the stronger option for hobby projects and low-volume apps on a tight budget. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
AP Media API vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | AP Media API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1846 | 2015 |
| HQ | New York, USA | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | 1,000+ | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Primary-source wire content with publishing rights from AP itself | Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data |
| Pricing model | Negotiated licence | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | Custom quote | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, XML | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
AP Media API vs Mediastack: overview
AP Media API
The Associated Press, a nonprofit news cooperative founded in 1846 and based in New York, sells its text, photos, video and graphics to publishers and platforms through the AP Media API. Developers authenticate with a key from the AP developer portal and pull content by feed, search or product entitlement. Prices are not public because AP licenses content through negotiated agreements; it has also licensed its archive to AI companies, including OpenAI in 2023. This is the option for teams that need AP's own journalism with publishing rights, and it covers one publisher only.
Mediastack
Mediastack is one of the apilayer products, alongside ipstack and weatherstack. apilayer was founded in Vienna in 2015 by Julian and Paul Zehetmayr and acquired by the US software group Idera in January 2021. The API aggregates live and historical news from 7,500+ sources in 13 languages, filtered by country, category, language and keyword. The free plan allows 100 requests a month, and paid plans run from $24.99 for 10,000 requests to $249.99 for 250,000. Its source list is far smaller than the big crawlers here, and it adds no enrichment beyond basic metadata.
Features: AP Media API vs Mediastack
| Capability | AP Media API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Licensed publisher content | ✓ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✗ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: AP Media API vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | AP Media 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: AP Media API vs Mediastack
| Criterion | AP Media API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Custom quote | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Negotiated licence | Monthly request plans |
| Access models | Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Quote only | Public price |
| Price tier | Enterprise / quote | Budget |
Who each API suits: AP Media API vs Mediastack
| Dimension | AP Media API | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Enterprise only | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | News sites and apps republishing wire content. AI products licensing AP text for training or grounding. | A news ticker or category feed for a small website. A learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. |
| How you get access | Enterprise contract | Free tier |
AP Media API vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| AP Media API | |
|---|---|
| + | Republishable wire stories, photos and video, which aggregators cannot offer |
| + | Fast breaking-news coverage from AP's bureaus worldwide |
| + | A clean rights chain, since AP is the publisher |
| + | An existing AI licensing deal with OpenAI (2023) shows a route for AI use |
| - | Single publisher, so no cross-source search or deduplication |
| - | No self-serve pricing; licensing is negotiated |
| - | More than you need if links and summaries are enough |
| Mediastack | |
|---|---|
| + | One of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month |
| + | Same conventions as other apilayer APIs, which helps if you already use one |
| + | Historical news included on paid plans |
| + | Short docs with copy-paste examples |
| - | Only 7,500 sources and 13 languages |
| - | The free plan is 100 requests a month, which runs out in a day of testing |
| - | Descriptions only, with no full text, sentiment or entities |
Who should choose AP Media API?
A typical fit: news sites and apps republishing wire content.
Primary-source wire content with publishing rights from AP itself. Paid access is quote-based. Typical uses: News & content apps, AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring.
Who should choose Mediastack?
A typical fit: a news ticker or category feed for a small website.
Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. Paid access starts at $24.99/mo. Typical uses: News & content apps, Marketing & PR.
Decision matrix: AP Media API vs Mediastack
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Mediastack |
| Your budget is at the lower end | Mediastack |
| You need full article text in the response | AP Media API |
| You need years of historical news | Both |
| You need licensed premium or wire content | AP Media API |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Both work through plain REST calls |
Use case fit: AP Media API vs Mediastack
| Use case | AP Media API fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | AP Media API |
| Media monitoring | Strong | Limited | AP Media API |
| Marketing & PR | Limited | Strong | Mediastack |
Verdict: AP Media API vs Mediastack
AP Media API (3.9/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Primary-source wire content with publishing rights from AP itself.
Mediastack (3.8/5) is worth a look if you need a learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. If your situation matches that, Mediastack is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
AP Media API vs Mediastack FAQ
Is AP Media API better than Mediastack?
AP Media API (3.9/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. AP Media API's strongest advantage: republishable wire stories, photos and video, which aggregators cannot offer. Mediastack's strongest advantage: one of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month.
How do AP Media API and Mediastack differ in pricing?
AP Media API: negotiated licence, priced by quote. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Only Mediastack offers free access.
Which is better for enterprise: AP Media API or Mediastack?
AP Media API sells enterprise contracts with negotiated volume and SLA terms. AP Media API carries licensed publisher content, which matters for legal review.
What are the main differences between AP Media API and Mediastack?
What sets AP Media API apart: primary-source wire content with publishing rights from AP itself. What sets Mediastack apart: paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. They also differ on entry price (Custom quote vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (News & content apps, AI & LLM apps vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.