NewsData.io vs Mediastack: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
NewsData.io (4.3/5) edges ahead of Mediastack (3.8/5) overall. NewsData.io is the better choice for small teams wanting wide country coverage on a budget. 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.
NewsData.io vs Mediastack: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | NewsData.io | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 | 2015 |
| HQ | Noida, India | Vienna, Austria (apilayer); owned by Idera |
| Team size | Not publicly disclosed | Part of Idera |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 3.8 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Daily free credits plus filters for 206 countries and 89 languages | Paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data |
| Pricing model | Monthly credit plans; 20% off yearly | Monthly request plans |
| Entry price | $199.99/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Python SDK | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Media monitoring, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM apps | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
NewsData.io vs Mediastack: overview
NewsData.io
NewsData.io is run from Noida, India. Its LinkedIn page gives a 2022 founding date, while some software directories say 2019. It claims 99,000+ sources across 206 countries and 89 languages (per company website; independently unverifiable). The free plan gives 200 credits a day at up to 10 articles per credit, with a 48-hour lookback and a 12-hour delay on streamed data. Paid plans start at $199.99 a month for 20,000 credits and six months of history, and the Corporate plan reaches 1 million credits and 10 years for $1,299.99.
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: NewsData.io vs Mediastack
| Capability | NewsData.io | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✗ | ✗ |
| Licensed publisher content | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: NewsData.io vs Mediastack
| Format / SDK | NewsData.io | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | ✓ | 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: NewsData.io vs Mediastack
| Criterion | NewsData.io | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $199.99/mo | $24.99/mo |
| Pricing model | Monthly credit plans; 20% off yearly | Monthly request plans |
| Access models | Free tier, Monthly plans | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Mid-market | Budget |
Who each API suits: NewsData.io vs Mediastack
| Dimension | NewsData.io | Mediastack |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | News & content apps, Media monitoring, Marketing & PR | News & content apps, Marketing & PR |
| Example use cases | Country-specific news feeds for a regional app. Prototyping news features before committing budget. | A news ticker or category feed for a small website. A learning project that needs commercial rights cheaply. |
| How you get access | Free tier | Free tier |
NewsData.io vs Mediastack: pros and cons
| NewsData.io | |
|---|---|
| + | 200 free credits every day is generous for prototypes and hobby apps |
| + | Country and language filters reach far beyond English-language markets |
| + | History depth grows with the plan, up to 10 years on Corporate |
| + | Plain query parameters make a first working script quick to write |
| - | The step from free to $199.99 a month is steep for side projects |
| - | The free tier only looks back 48 hours |
| - | Founding date and company details differ between public profiles |
| 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 NewsData.io?
A typical fit: country-specific news feeds for a regional app.
Daily free credits plus filters for 206 countries and 89 languages. Paid access starts at $199.99/mo. Typical uses: News & content apps, Media monitoring, Marketing & PR, AI & LLM apps.
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: NewsData.io 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 | NewsData.io |
| 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: NewsData.io vs Mediastack
| Use case | NewsData.io fit | Mediastack fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| News & content apps | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| Media monitoring | Strong | Limited | NewsData.io |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Strong | Both equally |
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | NewsData.io |
Verdict: NewsData.io vs Mediastack
NewsData.io (4.3/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Daily free credits plus filters for 206 countries and 89 languages.
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
NewsData.io vs Mediastack FAQ
Is NewsData.io better than Mediastack?
NewsData.io (4.3/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. NewsData.io's strongest advantage: 200 free credits every day is generous for prototypes and hobby apps. Mediastack's strongest advantage: one of the cheapest paid entries among general news APIs, at $24.99 a month.
How do NewsData.io and Mediastack differ in pricing?
NewsData.io: monthly credit plans; 20% off yearly, with paid access from $199.99/mo. Mediastack: monthly request plans, with paid access from $24.99/mo. Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: NewsData.io 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 NewsData.io and Mediastack?
What sets NewsData.io apart: daily free credits plus filters for 206 countries and 89 languages. What sets Mediastack apart: paid plans from $24.99 with commercial use and historical data. They also differ on entry price ($199.99/mo vs $24.99/mo) and typical uses (News & content apps, Media monitoring vs News & content apps, Marketing & PR).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.