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Chronicling America vs Photon API

Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.

APIChronicling AmericaNEW—Photon APINEW—
Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d—%—%
Uptime · 30d—%—%
P50 · ms——
P95 · ms——
Authnonenone
CORSnoyes
HTTPSyesyes
Card requirednono
Commercial useyesunclear
Data licensePublic domain / no known copyright (Library of Congress)Unverified
Free tierFree — public-domain collection dataFree — limits not published
Rate limitLoC throttles heavy crawling (see LoC API policy)Unpublished
In directory since2026-07-052026-07-05
operationalpartialdownno data

Chronicling America vs Photon API: common questions

Which is more reliable, Chronicling America or Photon API?

On our scheduled checks, Photon API leads on measured uptime — Chronicling America at —% versus Photon API at —% over 90 days. These are our own probe results, not provider claims; the uptime bars above show the day-by-day record for both.

Do Chronicling America and Photon API need an API key?

Neither needs a paid key — Chronicling America is callable with no signup, and Photon API is callable with no signup. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.

Can I call Chronicling America and Photon API from the browser?

Only Photon API is browser-friendly — it returns CORS headers over HTTPS. Chronicling America needs a server-side call or proxy, so factor that into which one fits a front-end project.

Are Chronicling America and Photon API free for commercial use?

Chronicling America allows commercial use on its free tier, and Photon API has unclear commercial terms. We track service terms and the data license as separate fields — see the Commercial use and Data license rows above, and confirm both before shipping either in a paid product.