Dictionaries · head-to-head
Oxford vs Wiktionary
Oxford Dictionaries API (Oxford Languages) exposes definitions, translations, and lexical metadata sourced from Oxford University Press's own databases across dozens of languages, authenticated with an app ID/key pair from its developer portal. New accounts start on a free Sandbox tier that emulates the live API for evaluation before moving to paid production plans, with custom Enterprise licensing available from an annual per-language fee.
Wiktionary exposes its full multilingual dictionary — definitions, etymologies, pronunciations, and translations spanning thousands of languages — through the same MediaWiki Action API that powers Wikipedia, with no key required for read access. Cross-origin browser requests need the documented origin=* query parameter rather than a bare Origin header, since that's what actually unlocks the API's CORS headers.
| Oxford | Wiktionary | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | API Key | None |
| Pricing | freemium | free |
| Formats | JSON | JSON, XML |
| CORS | no | yes |
| HTTPS | Yes | Yes |
Wiktionary needs no API key, while Oxford requires API Key — pick Wiktionary to start without signup.