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Fanart.tv vs MusicBrainz

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

APIFanart.tvREACHABLE100MusicBrainzHEALTHY82
Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d100%90.2%
Uptime · 30d100%86.7%
P50 · ms464660
P95 · ms7944770
AuthapiKeynone
CORSyesyes
HTTPSyesyes
Card requirednono
Commercial useunclearyes
Data licenseFanart.tv terms — user-contributed artCore data CC0; some supplementary data CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Free tierFree personal API keyFree — no key required
Rate limitUnpublished~1 request/second per IP; descriptive User-Agent required
In directory since2026-07-052026-07-05
operationalpartialdownno data

Fanart.tv vs MusicBrainz: common questions

Which is more reliable, Fanart.tv or MusicBrainz?

On our scheduled checks, Fanart.tv leads on measured uptime — Fanart.tv at 100% versus MusicBrainz at 90.2% over 90 days. These are our own probe results, not provider claims; the uptime bars above show the day-by-day record for both.

Which is faster, Fanart.tv or MusicBrainz?

Fanart.tv has the lower median latency in our checks — Fanart.tv responds in 464 ms versus MusicBrainz at 660 ms (P50). Tail latency (P95) is in the table above; for most workloads the median is the number that shapes how the API feels.

Do Fanart.tv and MusicBrainz need an API key?

MusicBrainz needs no key, while Fanart.tv requires a free API key. If you want to start calling without signup, reach for MusicBrainz first.

Can I call Fanart.tv and MusicBrainz from the browser?

Yes — both Fanart.tv and MusicBrainz send CORS headers over HTTPS, so front-end code can fetch either directly with no backend proxy. That makes them easy to swap in a client-side app while you compare responses.

Are Fanart.tv and MusicBrainz free for commercial use?

Fanart.tv has unclear commercial terms, and MusicBrainz allows commercial use on its free tier. 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.