NewsAPI.org is a broad, all-industry news API with a free plan that explicitly cannot be used in production. Scoopkit is built only for AI industry news, and its free plan can be used in production from the start.
Both prices below are current as of 2026-08-28, checked directly against each vendor's pricing page.
Facts
| NewsAPI.org | Scoopkit | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 100 req/day | 100 req/day |
| Free tier, production use | Not allowed | Allowed |
| Cheapest paid plan | $449/mo, 250,000 req/mo | $49/mo, 10,000 req/day |
| Returns | Raw articles | Deduplicated events |
| Coverage | All industries | AI industry only |
| History on paid plan | 5 years | 12 months |
The real restriction, in NewsAPI.org's own words
NewsAPI.org's pricing page states the Developer plan "may be used for development and testing in a development environment only, and cannot be used in a staging or production environment." That's not a rate limit you can work around. It's a licensing restriction on the free tier itself.
To use NewsAPI.org in anything a real user touches, the entry price is $449 a month for the Business plan.
Articles vs. events
NewsAPI.org returns articles. If 3 outlets cover the same AI announcement, a NewsAPI.org query returns 3 separate results for it. Scoopkit merges that same coverage into one event before it ever reaches a query, using the process described in how Scoopkit deduplicates AI news headlines.
That difference matters most at volume. A feed pulling AI industry news from NewsAPI.org across dozens of sources accumulates duplicate coverage fast, and deduplicating it is left entirely to whoever's building on top of the API.
Choose one of these if
- NewsAPI.org, if your product needs news across every industry, not just AI, and $449/mo or more for production access fits your budget.
- Scoopkit, if you specifically need AI industry news, want it already deduplicated into structured events, and want a free tier you can actually ship with. Get a free key.
FAQ
Can I use NewsAPI.org's free plan in production?
No. Their pricing page states the Developer plan is for development and testing only.
Does Scoopkit have the same restriction?
No. Scoopkit's free tier, 100 requests a day, has no production restriction.
Does NewsAPI.org deduplicate coverage of the same story?
Not by default. It returns matching articles as separate results; deduplication is left to the caller.