TMDB (The Movie Database) vs TVmaze
Category: Entertainment · Updated August 2026
TVmaze has a more generous free tier (No key, ~20 calls per 10 seconds, no credit card) and requires no API key, making it the easier choice for getting started. Both show similar reliability — TMDB (The Movie Database) at 100% uptime and TVmaze at 100% uptime over 30 days. Pick TVmaze for hobby projects; consider TMDB (The Movie Database) if you need its specific feature set.
Side-by-side comparison
TMDB (The Movie Database)
The de-facto free movie and TV database. Covers 900,000+ titles with cast, crew, artwork, ratings, and translations in 39 languages. Became the default for hobby projects because IMDb never opened a public API — it only sells bulk datasets.
| Status | 🟢 Online |
| 30-day uptime | 100% |
| Response time | 29 ms |
| Free tier | Free key, unlimited for non-commercial use; commercial needs a license |
| Auth | API key |
| Tier score | 0.7 — free key, no card |
TVmaze
TV show and episode database with air dates, cast, and full episode lists. No key at all for the public endpoints, which makes it the fastest way to prototype a TV-tracking app.
| Status | 🟢 Online |
| 30-day uptime | 100% |
| Response time | 338 ms |
| Free tier | No key, ~20 calls per 10 seconds, no credit card |
| Auth | No key required |
| Tier score | 1.0 — no friction |
Which to choose?
- Pick TMDB (The Movie Database) if…its feature set (Free key, unlimited for non-commercial use; commercial needs a license) fits your request volume and you're comfortable with a free API key.
- Pick TVmaze if…you want zero friction — no account, no key, just call the endpoint. Also good if entertainment data without signup is a hard requirement.
- Use both if…one goes down — they serve the same entertainment use case from different data sources, so you can implement a quick fallback.
Or use these alternatives
Other top-ranked Entertainment APIs you might consider:
- Rick and Morty API — 🟢 Online · 10,000 req/day, no key, no credit card
- xkcd — 🟢 Online · Unlimited, no key, no credit card
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TMDB (The Movie Database) or TVmaze more reliable?
Both TMDB (The Movie Database) and TVmaze show identical 30-day uptime (100%) in our monitoring. Either is a safe choice from a reliability standpoint.
Which one has a more generous free tier — TMDB (The Movie Database) or TVmaze?
TVmaze has a more generous free tier. Its plan offers No key, ~20 calls per 10 seconds, no credit card vs TMDB (The Movie Database)'s Free key, unlimited for non-commercial use; commercial needs a license. TVmaze also requires no API key at all, making onboarding instant.
Can I use TMDB (The Movie Database) and TVmaze together?
Yes, and it's straightforward. TVmaze needs no key, while TMDB (The Movie Database) needs a free registration. You can use one as primary and the other as fallback without significant complexity.
What's the cheapest paid alternative if both TMDB (The Movie Database) and TVmaze fail?
If you need a paid fallback, JustWatch API is one of the more affordable options (commercial licensing only). You can find the full list of paid alternatives on each API's detail page. Paid tiers typically offer SLA guarantees, higher rate limits, and dedicated support.
See full profiles: TMDB (The Movie Database) · TVmaze · All Entertainment APIs