gnews api 402 payment required plan error

GNews API 402 payment required plan error

TL;DR

A 402 from GNews means the request needs a paid plan feature, usually more results, a wider date range, or higher quota than the current tier allows. This is billing, not a bug, so no retry or header fixes it. Either upgrade the plan, shrink the request to fit the current tier, or move that query to a source whose free tier covers it.

The error

HTTP 402 Payment Required
{"errors": ["Your current plan does not include this feature."]}

When this helps

• GNews calls return 402 payment required
• a news pipeline needs features beyond the free tier
• deciding between upgrading and re-sourcing
• routing queries across news providers by tier

When it doesn't

• the error is 429; that is quota, not plan
• you want the paid feature without paying; that is not available
• the key is invalid; that returns 401, not 402

Works with

GNews API v4 as of 2026. Plan features are provider-side.

Steps

1. Identify which feature tripped the paywall

K="apikey"
curl -s "https://gnews.io/api/v4/search?q=[topic]&lang=en&${K}=${GNEWS_KEY}" -o gnews.json -w "HTTP %{http_code}\n"
python3 -c "import json; print(json.load(open("gnews.json")))"

Expected: The 402 body naming the missing feature. Date-range search and large page sizes are the usual paywalled features.

2. Shrink the request to fit the current tier

K="apikey"
curl -s "https://gnews.io/api/v4/top-headlines?lang=en&${K}=${GNEWS_KEY}" -o gnews2.json -w "HTTP %{http_code}\n"
python3 -c "import json; d=json.load(open("gnews2.json")); print("articles:", d.get("totalArticles"))"

Expected: HTTP 200. Top-headlines and simple search usually fit free tiers; the paywalled features are the advanced ones.

3. Check usage against the plan dashboard

import requests, os
r = requests.get("https://gnews.io/api/v4/usage", params={"apikey": os.environ["GNEWS_KEY"]}, timeout=20)
print(r.status_code)
print(str(r.json())[:200])

Expected: Usage numbers if the provider exposes them. Knowing the burn rate tells you whether to optimize or upgrade.

4. Route paywalled queries to a fitting source

import json
routing = {"simple_search": "gnews free tier", "historical_search": "licensed news api", "top_headlines": "gnews free tier"}
open("news_routing.json", "w").write(json.dumps(routing, indent=2))
print("paywalled query types routed to a licensed source")

Expected: A routing table. Queries that need paid features go to the paid source; simple queries stay on the free tier.

Other ways people phrase this

gnews 402 plan error

Billing-gated features. Shrink the request or upgrade; there is no technical workaround.

gnews free tier limit search

Free tiers cover basic search and headlines. Historical and bulk queries need paid tiers.

payment required news api

The general case. Match the query to a tier that includes it.

Why it happens

GNews tiers features by plan: free covers basic search while date ranges, large result sets, and high quotas are paid. A 402 is the billing gate, not a malfunction. Code cannot negotiate the tier; the request must fit the plan or the plan must change.

Edge cases

• Plan changes can take minutes to propagate; wait before retesting after an upgrade.
• Caching paywalled responses aggressively stretches a paid tier further.
• Some providers offer academic or startup plans; ask before paying list price.
• Track which query types need paid features so the routing table stays accurate.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_2EFSs8IxeEbqAA4SouV-QQ