Perigon vs TheNewsAPI: full comparison for 2026
Quick verdict
Perigon (4.5/5) edges ahead of TheNewsAPI (3.6/5) overall. Perigon is the better choice for startups wanting enriched news with transparent tiers. TheNewsAPI is the stronger option for personal projects that need a cheap general feed. The right pick depends on your budget, how much history you need and whether you need full text.
Perigon vs TheNewsAPI: head-to-head summary
| Criterion | Perigon | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 | Not disclosed |
| HQ | Austin, Texas, USA | Not publicly disclosed |
| Team size | 11–50 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 3.6 / 5 |
| Primary differentiator | Published plans from $25 with enrichment and saved-query monitors included | Possibly the cheapest paid tier among general news APIs, if third-party pricing is current |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume | Monthly plans |
| Entry price | $25/mo | $9/mo (third-party listing) |
| Formats & SDKs | REST API, JSON, Python SDK | REST API, JSON |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance, Marketing & PR | News & content apps |
Perigon vs TheNewsAPI: overview
Perigon
Perigon was founded in 2022 by Joshua Dziabiak and Josh Rickel, is based in Austin, Texas, and closed a $5 million seed round led by LiveOak Ventures in February 2024. The API collects from more than 230,000 sources (per company website; independently unverifiable) and returns articles with entities, topics, summaries and story clusters, plus Monitors that run saved queries on a schedule. All three plans are public: Individual at $25 a month for personal use, Startup at $250 with limited commercial rights, and Commercial at $1,250 with real-time data, an SLA and SSO. Below the Commercial tier, data carries a one-hour delay unless you buy the real-time add-on.
TheNewsAPI
TheNewsAPI offers headline, top-story and all-news endpoints with filters for language, locale, category and domain. Its FAQ says the free plan needs no payment details and counts each search as one request against a limit of 100 a day, though free responses are capped at three articles each. One comparison site lists a paid Basic tier from $9 a month (independently unverifiable). The site does not identify the company behind it, its location or its team.
Features: Perigon vs TheNewsAPI
| Capability | Perigon | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Full article text | ✓ | ✗ |
| Historical archive | ✓ | ✓ |
| NLP enrichment | ✓ | ✗ |
| Story/event clustering | ✓ | ✗ |
| Licensed publisher content | ✗ | ✗ |
| Streaming or webhooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free access | ✓ | ✓ |
Formats and SDKs: Perigon vs TheNewsAPI
| Format / SDK | Perigon | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python SDK | ✓ | N/A |
| Node.js SDK | ✓ | N/A |
| Webhooks | ✓ | 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: Perigon vs TheNewsAPI
| Criterion | Perigon | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $25/mo | $9/mo (third-party listing) |
| Pricing model | Monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume | Monthly plans |
| Access models | Free trial, Monthly plans, Enterprise contract | Free tier, Monthly plans |
| Price transparency | Public price | Public price |
| Price tier | Budget | Budget |
Who each API suits: Perigon vs TheNewsAPI
| Dimension | Perigon | TheNewsAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer type | Individuals to enterprise | Individuals to enterprise |
| Typical uses | AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance | News & content apps |
| Example use cases | A startup building a news-aware product that needs commercial rights early. Brand or risk alerts driven by saved searches. | A personal news dashboard. A curated feed from a handful of domains. |
| How you get access | Free trial | Free tier |
Perigon vs TheNewsAPI: pros and cons
| Perigon | |
|---|---|
| + | Even the $25 tier returns entity and topic data instead of bare headlines |
| + | Monitors turn a saved query into a recurring alert without extra code |
| + | The Commercial tier bundles a 10+ year archive, an SLA and SSO in one price |
| + | License terms spell out that you are buying the structured data, which helps legal review |
| - | Real-time data costs extra below the $1,250 Commercial plan; otherwise expect a one-hour delay |
| - | Request quotas are tight for the price, with 10,000 a month on Startup |
| - | The license does not cover republishing full article text |
| TheNewsAPI | |
|---|---|
| + | No card needed to start |
| + | Domain and locale filters help with curated feeds |
| + | A low reported entry price |
| - | The free plan caps each response at three articles |
| - | Anonymous operator and unverified coverage claims |
| - | No published details on enrichment or archive depth |
Who should choose Perigon?
A typical fit: a startup building a news-aware product that needs commercial rights early.
Published plans from $25 with enrichment and saved-query monitors included. Paid access starts at $25/mo. Typical uses: AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring, Risk & compliance, Marketing & PR.
Who should choose TheNewsAPI?
A typical fit: a personal news dashboard.
Possibly the cheapest paid tier among general news APIs, if third-party pricing is current. Paid access starts at $9/mo (third-party listing). Typical uses: News & content apps.
Decision matrix: Perigon vs TheNewsAPI
| Your situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You want to start free before paying | Both |
| Your budget is at the lower end | TheNewsAPI |
| You need full article text in the response | Perigon |
| 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 | Perigon |
Use case fit: Perigon vs TheNewsAPI
| Use case | Perigon fit | TheNewsAPI fit | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI & LLM apps | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Media monitoring | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Risk & compliance | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| Marketing & PR | Strong | Limited | Perigon |
| News & content apps | Limited | Strong | TheNewsAPI |
Verdict: Perigon vs TheNewsAPI
Perigon (4.5/5) is the stronger overall choice as a news data source. Published plans from $25 with enrichment and saved-query monitors included.
TheNewsAPI (3.6/5) is worth a look if you need a curated feed from a handful of domains. If your situation matches that, TheNewsAPI is a competitive option.
Related comparisons
Perigon vs TheNewsAPI FAQ
Is Perigon better than TheNewsAPI?
Perigon (4.5/5) scores higher overall, but "better" depends on your use case. Perigon's strongest advantage: even the $25 tier returns entity and topic data instead of bare headlines. TheNewsAPI's strongest advantage: no card needed to start.
How do Perigon and TheNewsAPI differ in pricing?
Perigon: monthly plans; add-ons for real-time and volume, with paid access from $25/mo. TheNewsAPI: monthly plans, with paid access from $9/mo (third-party listing). Both offer some free access for testing.
Which is better for enterprise: Perigon or TheNewsAPI?
Perigon sells enterprise contracts with negotiated volume and SLA terms. Neither carries licensed publisher content, so check copyright terms before republishing anything.
What are the main differences between Perigon and TheNewsAPI?
What sets Perigon apart: published plans from $25 with enrichment and saved-query monitors included. What sets TheNewsAPI apart: possibly the cheapest paid tier among general news APIs, if third-party pricing is current. They also differ on entry price ($25/mo vs $9/mo (third-party listing)) and typical uses (AI & LLM apps, Media monitoring vs News & content apps).
Verify all details directly with each API before making a decision.