Free knowledge and reference APIs

15 of 15 returned the expected data at the last check, all without a key. Encyclopedia summaries, books, poems, word tools, translation, quotes and community news.

15 APIs · no key · HTTPS

Build snapshot, not live. One verifier run on Oct 3, 2026, 09:00 UTC, from the machine that built this site. How we check

Wayback Machine AvailabilityWorking
The closest archived snapshot of a URL in the Internet Archive.
archive.orgRuns in the browser670 msup 1 of 1 day
Nobel Prize APIWorking
Nobel laureates and prizes since 1901.
api.nobelprize.orgRuns in the browser46 msup 1 of 1 day
Wikipedia REST APIWorking
Page summaries, thumbnails and related pages from Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.orgRuns in the browser347 msup 1 of 1 day
WikidataWorking
Search and read structured facts about entities.
www.wikidata.orgRuns in the browser414 msup 1 of 1 day
Wikimedia PageviewsWorking
Daily and monthly page-view counts for Wikimedia project pages.
wikimedia.orgRuns in the browser167 msup 1 of 1 day
Open LibraryWorking
Search books, authors and editions; covers and reading data.
openlibrary.orgRuns in the browser680 msup 1 of 1 day
GutendexWorking
Metadata of Project Gutenberg ebooks with download links.
gutendex.comRuns in the browser172 msup 1 of 1 day
PoetryDBWorking
Poems by title, author or line, with full text.
poetrydb.orgRuns in the browser618 msup 1 of 1 day
DatamuseWorking
Words that rhyme with, mean like or follow another word.
api.datamuse.comRuns in the browser247 msup 1 of 1 day
MyMemory TranslationWorking
Machine and memory-based translation between language pairs.
api.mymemory.translated.netRuns in the browser1597 msup 1 of 1 day
bible-api.comWorking
Bible verses and passages by reference in several translations.
bible-api.comRuns in the browser416 msup 1 of 1 day
ZenQuotesWorking
A random inspirational quote with its author.
zenquotes.ioServer only354 msup 1 of 1 day
Hacker News APIWorking
Stories, comments and users of Hacker News, by item id.
hacker-news.firebaseio.comRuns in the browser459 msup 1 of 1 day
DEV Community APIWorking
Published articles, tags and users from dev.to.
dev.toRuns in the browser48 msup 1 of 1 day
Stack Exchange APIWorking
Questions, answers, tags and site statistics from Stack Overflow and sister sites.
api.stackexchange.comRuns in the browser363 msup 1 of 1 day

Before you pick one

Content from Wikipedia and Open Library carries its own licence. Keep the attribution when you display it.

Open an API’s page to see the exact request we send, the answer it gave, and how many of the last 30 days it was up. If it is marked CORS you can run the request from the page itself.

Questions

Which free knowledge and reference APIs need no key?

All 15 listed here: Wayback Machine Availability, Nobel Prize API, Wikipedia REST API, Wikidata, Wikimedia Pageviews, Open Library, Gutendex, PoetryDB and 7 more. Each answered our verifier without a key or account.

Which knowledge and reference APIs can I call from the browser?

In the Oct 3, 2026 run, 14 of 15 sent CORS headers: Wayback Machine Availability, Nobel Prize API, Wikipedia REST API, Wikidata, Wikimedia Pageviews, Open Library, Gutendex, PoetryDB and 6 more. Call the rest (ZenQuotes) from a server.

Which one answered fastest?

Nobel Prize API, in 46 ms, in the Oct 3, 2026 run from our build machine. Latency depends on where you call from, so treat it as a rough guide.

Sections

Categories