Google Books API vs Open Library API

Two free Books APIs compared on access, reliability and developer ratings, using data from our daily health checks.

The verdict

Choose Google Books API if you want faster responses.
Choose Open Library API if you want to start without an API key.

Side by side

	Google Books API	Open Library API
What it does	Learn to use the Google Books API so your app can search text and retrieve book information.	Books, book covers and related data.
Provider	Google Books APIs	Open Library
API key	OAuth	Not needed
HTTPS	Yes	Yes
CORS (browser calls)	Unknown	No
Status today	Online · 564 ms	Online · 1547 ms
Uptime (30 days)	Up	Up
Developer rating	Not rated yet	Not rated yet
Price	Free / free tier	Free / free tier

Google Books docs ↗Open Library docs ↗

Google Books API

Learn to use the Google Books API so your app can search text and retrieve book information.

Strengths

HTTPS

Ratings, reviews and FAQ →

Open Library API

Books, book covers and related data.

Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.

Strengths

No API key needed
Returns JSON at its URL
HTTPS

Ratings, reviews and FAQ →

How to choose between them

Prototyping or a tutorial? Pick the one that needs no API key.
Calling from a web page? You need CORS. Otherwise route requests through your own server or a serverless function.
Going to production? Favour HTTPS, a strong uptime record and a provider with clear rate limits and terms. Check each API's docs before you commit.
Still unsure? Both are free to try: send one request to each and compare the data you get back.

Google Books vs Open Library FAQ

Which needs an API key, Google Books API or Open Library API?

Google Books API requires an API key; Open Library API doesn't, so Open Library API is quicker to try.

More comparisons

Google Books API alternatives · Open Library API alternatives · best Books APIs