Is Deezer API Free? What Developers Need to Know in 2025

If you're planning to build a music-based web or mobile app, you've likely come across the Deezer API. It's well-documented, fairly flexible, and covers everything from artist data to track previews and user playlists. But one common question pops up over and over again: Is Deezer API free?

The short answer? Yes, the Deezer API is free to use—but with important conditions and technical limitations you need to be aware of before you start building a commercial product.

In this guide, we'll break down exactly how Deezer’s API works, what it gives you access to, where the restrictions lie, and how it compares to Spotify or Apple Music in terms of developer flexibility.

What Is the Deezer API?

The Deezer API is a REST-based interface that lets you query Deezer’s music catalog and access user-related data. With it, developers can:

• Fetch artist, album, and track metadata

• Search by keywords, genres, moods, or charts

• Get public playlists, radios, and recommendations

• Access 30-second track previews

• Authenticate users and access their Deezer libraries (with OAuth)

It's often used for building music discovery apps, recommendation engines, or adding contextual music data to blogs, games, and media platforms.

So, Is Deezer API Free?

Yes, the Deezer API is 100% free for developers to use, provided you follow their public Developer Terms of Service.

There are no sign-up fees, no monthly charges, and no enforced quotas for most basic use cases. You don’t even need to apply for special access keys to start using public endpoints—Deezer’s API is open by default.

However, here’s the fine print you need to understand:

? What You Can Do for Free

1. Use public endpoints without authentication
   Example: Fetch artist metadata, top tracks, or album info.

2. Embed Deezer widgets and players
   Deezer offers an embeddable player and widgets to stream previews or redirect to full tracks within their ecosystem.

3. Access up to 30-second track previews
   Great for non-commercial prototypes, music visualizers, or discovery apps.

4. Use OAuth to connect to user accounts
   You can allow users to log in with Deezer and access their personal playlists, liked songs, and listening history.

?? What’s Not Included in the Free API Access

1. Full track streaming is not allowed
   Deezer does not provide full-length streaming through the API, even with authentication. You’ll only get 30-second MP3 previews unless you're using an official widget or Deezer app integration.

2. Commercial streaming rights are not included
   Just like Spotify and Apple Music, Deezer doesn’t grant licenses to use its music catalog for commercial broadcast or redistribution. The API is meant to complement Deezer's service, not replace it.

3. Rate limits are undocumented but enforced
   While Deezer doesn’t publicly publish its API call limits, some developers report soft caps (e.g., 3,000–5,000 daily calls per IP). Heavy use might require rate management or reaching out to Deezer’s developer team.

4. No access to lyrics, stems, or lossless files
   The API gives access to MP3 previews and metadata only—not full audio files, stems, or synced lyrics.

How to Start Using the Deezer API

Getting started is refreshingly simple:

1. Visit https://developers.deezer.com/api

2. Browse public endpoints like:

• /artist/{id}

• /album/{id}

• /search?q=

• /chart

3. No key required for public data

4. For user-related features, implement OAuth2:

• Redirect users to Deezer’s login page

• Use the returned access token to query /user/me, /user/me/playlists, etc.

Real Use Cases of Deezer API (Free Tier)

1. Music Discovery Tools
Build a frontend that recommends songs by mood or genre, using /search and /radio.

2. Artist Showcase Pages
Pull discography, top tracks, and album covers for any artist to create a portfolio-style site.

3. Smart Playlist Curators
Authenticate users with OAuth and offer playlist creation tools that push music to their Deezer account.

4. Audio Visualizers
Pair 30-second previews with dynamic waveform or particle animations—great for marketing, promotions, or portfolio projects.

5. Music Search Plugins
Create a blog plugin that fetches and displays related Deezer tracks for any article.

Deezer API vs Spotify API: Which Is More Developer-Friendly?

Conclusion: Is Deezer API Free, and Should You Use It?

Yes, the Deezer API is free, lightweight, and easy to integrate—even for beginners. If you’re looking to build a data-driven music app that doesn’t require full streaming functionality, Deezer is a smart starting point.

It’s ideal for:

• Prototypes

• Public dashboards

• Educational tools

• Lightweight integrations

• Previews and music discovery

But if you’re building a commercial product that depends on full music playback, audio personalization, or in-app streaming, you’ll need to either work with Deezer’s partner programs or look to services like Spotify’s Playback SDK or royalty-free music APIs (like Epidemic Sound or Jamendo).

FAQs: Is Deezer API Free?

Q1: Do I need an API key to use Deezer API?
No. For public data, Deezer’s API is open and does not require a key. For user-based data, OAuth is required.

Q2: Can I stream full songs using the Deezer API?
No. The API only provides 30-second previews. Full streaming is only available via official Deezer widgets or their native app.

Q3: Is there a limit to how many API calls I can make?
There’s no official documentation on rate limits, but heavy usage may trigger throttling. Most developers report no issues under moderate loads.

Q4: Can I use Deezer API in a commercial app?
Yes, for non-streaming use cases like metadata access or playlist tools. You cannot rebroadcast music or offer full-track playback.

Q5: How does Deezer API compare to other music APIs?
It’s one of the easiest to start with due to no auth requirement for public data. However, it’s limited to previews, unlike Spotify or YouTube APIs.

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