url metadata api comparison

MetaScrape vs LinkPreview

LinkPreview returns title, description, image, and URL — four fields and nothing more. MetaScrape returns OG tags, Twitter Cards, favicons, canonical URLs, language detection, and JSON-LD structured data, all at the same price point.

FeatureMetaScrapeLinkPreview
Page titleYesYes
Page descriptionYesYes
Preview image URLYesYes
Canonical URLYesNo
OG tags (type, site_name, locale)YesNo
Twitter Card tagsYesNo
Favicon extractionYesNo
Language detectionYesNo
JSON-LD structured dataYesNo
Node.js + Python SDKsYesNo official SDKs
Available on RapidAPIYesYes
Free tier100 req/mo60 req/hr
Entry paid plan$9/mo (1K req)$9/mo (480 req/hr)
Mid-tier plan$29/mo (10K req)$19/mo (3K req/hr)
High-volume plan$79/mo (100K req)Custom

Pricing comparison

MetaScrape
  • Free $0 — 100 req/mo
  • Hobby $9/mo — 1,000 req
  • Growth $29/mo — 10,000 req
  • Business $79/mo — 100,000 req
LinkPreview
  • Free $0 — 60 req/hr
  • Starter $9/mo — 480 req/hr
  • Pro $19/mo — 3,000 req/hr
  • Enterprise Custom pricing

Pricing verified February 2026. Check vendor sites for current rates.

Why choose MetaScrape

Far more than 4 fields

LinkPreview's response is minimal by design: title, description, image, and URL. That is enough for the most basic link card. But real applications need more — Twitter Cards for correct rendering on X/Twitter, favicons for the site icon, canonical URLs for deduplication, language codes for internationalized feeds, and JSON-LD for structured data enrichment. MetaScrape returns all of it in one call, at the same entry price.

Predictable monthly pricing

LinkPreview's limits are expressed in requests per hour, which makes budgeting unpredictable for batch or burst workloads. MetaScrape uses a simple monthly request quota — 1,000, 10,000, or 100,000 per month — so you know exactly what you are getting and what you are paying. No surprises at billing time.

Official SDKs included

MetaScrape ships official Node.js and Python SDKs — zero dependencies, typed responses, full API coverage. LinkPreview offers no official client libraries, so you write and maintain your own wrapper. With MetaScrape, you are extracting metadata in under five lines of code from day one.

Everything in one response

LinkPreview returns four fields. MetaScrape returns the complete metadata picture. Here is what you get from a single MetaScrape call — the fields LinkPreview omits are marked:

MetaScrape — one call
const res = await fetch(
  'https://api.shanecode.org/v1/extract' +
  '?url=https://github.com',
  { headers: { 'X-API-Key': 'msk_your_key' } }
);
const { data } = await res.json();

data.title        // "GitHub: Let's build from here"
data.description  // "GitHub is where over 100M..."
data.og.image     // "https://..."        ← LinkPreview ✓
data.favicon      // "https://..."        ← LinkPreview ✗
data.twitter.card // "summary_large_image" ← LinkPreview ✗
data.language     // "en"                ← LinkPreview ✗
data.structured_data // [...]            ← LinkPreview ✗
JSON response
{
  "data": {
    "url": "https://github.com",
    "domain": "github.com",
    "title": "GitHub: Let's build from here",
    "description": "GitHub is where over 100...",
    "canonical_url": "https://github.com",
    "favicon": "https://github.com/favicon.ico",
    "language": "en",
    "og": { "title": "...", "image": "...",
            "type": "website" },
    "twitter": { "card": "summary_large_image",
                 "site": "@github" },
    "structured_data": [...],
    "response_time_ms": 245
  }
}

When LinkPreview might work for you

LinkPreview is a straightforward, lightweight API. It may be the right fit in these narrow cases:

  • Your only requirement is a title, description, and preview image — nothing else
  • You have no need for Twitter Card rendering, favicons, language codes, or JSON-LD
  • You are already integrated and the four-field response covers your use case entirely

If you are starting a new integration, or if your link previews need to render correctly across platforms and look complete in your UI, MetaScrape gives you everything LinkPreview gives you — plus Twitter Cards, favicons, language, canonical URLs, and JSON-LD — at the same entry price.

The bottom line

LinkPreview is a minimal API that returns four fields — useful for the simplest of link cards, but thin for production applications. MetaScrape returns the full metadata layer: OG tags, Twitter Cards, favicons, canonical URLs, language detection, and JSON-LD structured data. At the entry tier, both products cost $9/mo. The difference is what you get for that price. MetaScrape gives you everything a production link preview needs, with official SDKs and a free tier to start with. API key in 30 seconds, no credit card required.

Start free — no credit card required

Free tier: 100 requests/month. Hobby plan from $9/mo.