AskNews vs ContextWire
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. AskNews starts at $7.99/mo and ContextWire starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
At a glance
Best for
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Live and historical news search
- DeepNews research agent
- Scheduled alerts
- Web, Reddit and X search
- SDKs and MCP server
- CLI
- Multi-engine web search
- Full page reading
- LLM answer extraction
- Academic paper search
- MCP server
- API playground
| Feature | AskNews | ContextWire |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Licensed news API and research agent that gives LLMs cited context | Search and answer API that gives AI apps sourced facts from 100+ engines |
| Category | Research & search | Research & search |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $7.99/mo | See pricing page |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | AskNews | ContextWire |
| Based in | – | – |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
|
Pricing compared
AskNews starts at $7.99/mo and ContextWire starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
5 plans
Pay as you go
Free
- 25 credits included
- Pay for extra usage
- No initial top-up
Pro
$7.99/mo
- 500 credits per month
- 2M bonus tokens
- 20% cheaper recharges
Spelunker
$250/mo
- 20,000 credits per month
- Double rate limit
- X, charts and web search tools
Analyst
$1000/mo
- 110,000 credits
- 4x rate limit
- Reddit search tool
Enterprise
Contact sales
- Commercial licensing
- SLAs and custom deployment
Prices in USD, checked Oct 29, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
AskNews
- Licensed news sources
- Many integration options
- Cheap personal plan
- Credit and token billing is complex
- Some sources only on pricier plans
- Professional tier costs $1,000 a month
ContextWire
- 1,000 free queries a month
- Sources returned with every answer
- Ready-made MCP integration
- Paid plan details not shown in the evidence
- Relies on free-tier models for extraction
- Small provider with little track record
Which one should you choose?
Choose AskNews if you want:
- Licensed news sources
- Many integration options
- Cheap personal plan
Watch out: credit and token billing is complex.
Choose ContextWire if you want:
- 1,000 free queries a month
- Sources returned with every answer
- Ready-made MCP integration
Watch out: paid plan details not shown in the evidence.
AskNews vs ContextWire FAQ
What is the difference between AskNews and ContextWire?
AskNews: Licensed news API and research agent that gives LLMs cited context. ContextWire: Search and answer API that gives AI apps sourced facts from 100+ engines. Both are research & search tools.
Is AskNews or ContextWire cheaper?
AskNews starts at $7.99/mo and ContextWire starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do AskNews and ContextWire have free plans?
AskNews: Yes. ContextWire: Yes.
Who makes AskNews?
AskNews is made by AskNews.
Who makes ContextWire?
ContextWire is made by ContextWire.
Which should I choose, AskNews or ContextWire?
Choose AskNews if you value licensed news sources and many integration options. Choose ContextWire if you value 1,000 free queries a month and sources returned with every answer.