Comparison
Markbase vs MarkerAPI
Two APIs over the same public USPTO register. We build Markbase, so rather than ask you to trust us, every claim below is something you can check from curl in under a minute.
Last updated July 2026
Side by side
| Capability | Markbase | MarkerAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | USPTO, 14M+ records | USPTO |
| Typo-tolerant search | Yes — “gogle” finds GOOGLE | Exact / wildcard matching |
| Autocomplete endpoint | Yes, tuned for as-you-type | — |
| Clearance / similarity scoring | Yes, ranked with a risk level | — |
| Faceted aggregates | By class, status, country, year | — |
| Owner portfolio lookup | Yes | Yes |
| Expiration search | Via date filters | Dedicated endpoint |
| Try without signing up | Yes — no key required | Registration required |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly — $0 / $49 / $149 | Flat monthly tiers |
| OpenAPI spec | Yes, generate any client | — |
MarkerAPI's capabilities are taken from their public documentation. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we'll correct it — an inaccurate comparison isn't worth having.
Where MarkerAPI is the better pick
It's older, simpler, and has a dedicated expiration-search endpoint. If your product is “look up a mark by a field I already know” and you want the cheapest thing that does that, it's a reasonable choice and you should pick on price.
It also does one thing we don't package as its own endpoint: surfacing marks by upcoming renewal date. You can build that with our date filters, but it's an extra step.
Where the difference actually shows
The gap is search behaviour. Users misspell brand names constantly, and exact matching returns nothing for a typo:
curl "https://api.markbase.co/search?q=gogle"
And screening a proposed name is a single call that returns ranked conflicts with a risk level, rather than something you assemble yourself from raw lookups:
curl "https://api.markbase.co/clearance?mark=nikee&class=25"
If you're building a name generator, a registrar checkout flow, or an AI agent that has to decide whether a name is safe, that ranking is the product.
Check it yourself
Both of those run on the free tier with no key and no signup, so you can compare result quality against whatever you're using today before changing anything. That's the fastest honest test — run your ugliest real queries through both.
Start with a free API key
Try any endpoint from curl right now — then sign up free for a key, higher limits, and usage analytics.
Frequently asked questions
What does MarkerAPI do?
MarkerAPI is a long-running US-only trademark API offering lookups by trademark name, owner, serial number, description, and upcoming expiration date. It's a straightforward, affordable option for US trademark data.
How is Markbase different?
Both cover USPTO data. Markbase adds typo-tolerant fuzzy search, autocomplete tuned for as-you-type latency, similarity-scored clearance screening, faceted aggregates, and a keyless free tier you can call before signing up.
Can I try Markbase without signing up?
Yes — 1,000 requests a month with no API key at all, and 5,000 with a free account. You can verify search quality from curl before creating anything.
Which should I choose?
If you need simple US lookups by known fields, either works and you should pick on price. If your product needs search-as-you-type, fuzzy matching, or automated name screening, that's where Markbase is built differently.