REST Countries vs The Guardian
Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.
REST Countries vs The Guardian: common questions
Which is more reliable, REST Countries or The Guardian?
On our scheduled checks, REST Countries leads on measured uptime — REST Countries at 100% versus The Guardian at 50.6% 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, REST Countries or The Guardian?
REST Countries has the lower median latency in our checks — REST Countries responds in 275 ms versus The Guardian at 517 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 REST Countries and The Guardian need an API key?
REST Countries needs no key, while The Guardian requires a free API key. If you want to start calling without signup, reach for REST Countries first.
Can I call REST Countries and The Guardian from the browser?
Only REST Countries is browser-friendly — it returns CORS headers over HTTPS. The Guardian needs a server-side call or proxy, so factor that into which one fits a front-end project.
Are REST Countries and The Guardian free for commercial use?
REST Countries allows commercial use on its free tier, and The Guardian 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.