Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Mediastack (3.8/5) edges ahead of NYT Developer APIs (3.5/5) overall. Mediastack is the better choice for hobby projects and low-volume apps on a tight budget. NYT Developer APIs is the stronger option for historians and students researching Times coverage. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | 1851 |
| HQ | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera | New York, USA |
| Team size | Part of Idera | 5,000+ |
| Rating | 3.8 / 5 | 3.5 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data | Searchable metadata for the full Times archive since 1851 |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Free developer keys |
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | Free |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | Research & academia, News & content apps |
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: overview
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.
NYT Developer APIs
The New York Times, founded in 1851, offers free developer APIs that include Article Search, Archive, Top Stories, Most Popular and Books. Article Search and Archive reach back to 1851 but return headlines, abstracts, keywords and links, while full text stays behind the paywall. Commonly cited limits are 4,000 requests a day and 10 a minute, under terms aimed at non-commercial use. The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft over AI training in December 2023, so using its content in AI systems without a licence is a bad idea.
Features: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Capability | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✗ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✗ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Licensed publisher content | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Format / SDK | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| 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: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Criterion | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $24.99/mo | Free |
| Pricing model | Monthly request plans | Free developer keys |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans | Free tier |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Free |
Who each API suits: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Dimension | Mediastack | NYT Developer APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Marketing & PR | Research & academia, News & content apps |
| Example use cases | A news ticker or category feed for a small website. A learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. | Historical research on how a topic was covered. Teaching API basics with a well-known source. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs: pros and cons
| 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 |
| NYT Developer APIs | |
|---|---|
| + | Archive metadata back to 1851, unmatched for historical research |
| + | Free keys with clear, published rate limits |
| + | Top Stories and Most Popular endpoints make quick demos |
| - | No full article text |
| - | Non-commercial terms and an active legal stance against unlicensed AI use |
| - | Single publisher |
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.
Who should choose NYT Developer APIs?
A typical fit: historical research on how a topic was covered.
Searchable metadata for the full Times archive since 1851. Paid access starts at Free. Typical uses: Research & academia, News & content apps.
Decision matrix: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | NYT Developer APIs |
| You need full article text in the response | Neither returns full text |
| You need years of historical news | Both |
| You need licensed premium or wire content | Neither; look at Factiva, AP or LexisNexis |
| You are wiring news into an LLM agent | Both work through plain REST calls |
Use case fit: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
| Use case | Mediastack fit | NYT Developer APIs fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Mediastack |
| Research & academia | Limited | Strong | NYT Developer APIs |
Verdict: Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs
Mediastack (3.8/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data.
NYT Developer APIs (3.5/5) is worth a look if you need teaching API basics with a well-known source. If your situation matches that, NYT Developer APIs is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Mediastack vs NYT Developer APIs FAQ
Is Mediastack better than NYT Developer APIs?
Mediastack (3.8/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Mediastack's strongest advantage: one of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month. NYT Developer APIs's strongest advantage: archive metadata back to 1851, unmatched for historical research.
How do Mediastack and NYT Developer APIs differ in pricing?
Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. NYT Developer APIs: free developer keys, with paid access from Free. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Mediastack or NYT Developer APIs?
Neither sells an enterprise contract. Neither carries licensed publisher content, so check copyright terms before republishing anything.
What are the main differences between Mediastack and NYT Developer APIs?
What sets Mediastack apart: paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. What sets NYT Developer APIs apart: searchable metadata for the full Times archive since 1851. They also differ on entry price ($24.99/mo vs Free) and typical uses (News & content apps, Marketing & PR vs Research & academia, News & content apps).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.