Anime · head-to-head
AniList vs MyAnimeList
AniList's public GraphQL endpoint at graphql.anilist.co answers anime, manga, and character queries with no authentication at all — confirmed live with an unauthenticated POST that returned a normal GraphQL error payload alongside a wide-open Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * header. OAuth only comes into play for account-scoped actions like updating a user's list; browsing the catalog is free and unmetered beyond a per-minute rate limit.
MyAnimeList's official v2 REST API was reconfirmed live at api.myanimelist.net/v2 — an unauthenticated request returned a 403 from the real gateway rather than a network error, and a preflight OPTIONS carried no Access-Control-Allow-Origin header, so cors is corrected to no. It requires a registered OAuth 2 client, the same one the community 'Official MAL API' club (the entry's stored url) walks new developers through, and remains completely free to use.
| AniList | MyAnimeList | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | OAuth | OAuth |
| Pricing | free | free |
| Formats | JSON | JSON |
| CORS | yes | no |
| HTTPS | Yes | Yes |
AniList supports CORS, while MyAnimeList doesn't — pick AniList for direct browser calls.