7 Differences Between Crunchbase API v4.0 and Older Versions

API v4.0 delivers tailored search and filtering capabilities, increased speed and reliability, and additional data in party with our CSV. As you take advantage of these enhancements, here are 7 key differences to note for a seamless experience:

1. Base URL Change: 
   • Base URL is now https://api.crunchbase.com/api/v4 instead of api.crunchbase.com/v3.1/.
2. HTTPS Requirement: 
   • Https is now required to be used to call our endpoints.
3. Deprecated Data Removal:
   • Data that was deprecated in the API v3.0 to API v3.1 migration will be completely removed from API v4.0. 
   • Since API v4.0 is a new design, we will no longer show relationships and fields that are tied to deprecated data.
   • Here are some examples:
     • “products” relationship
     • “customers” relationship
     • “memberships” relationship
     • “members” relationship
     • “videos” relationship
4. Collection Endpoints Replaced With Search Endpoints
   • Previously, the Collection endpoints (e.g. /organizations) could be used to retrieve the entire set and core properties of many entity types within Crunchbase. However, this method only returned 100 items per page, degraded in performance as the collection went deeper, didn’t allow search criteria to filter the results, and offered limited ways to sort the results.
   • In API v4.0, Search endpoints (e.g. /searches/organizations) allow you to do the same thing as Collection endpoints, but more. You can now get up to 1000 items per page and the performance remains consistent as you query further into the collection. You can also apply additional search criteria to narrow down your results (e.g. only Organizations in San Francisco) and sort the results with great greater flexibility (e.g. sorted organizations by their founded date in descending order)
   • Find more details in the Using the API page.
5. Entity Lookup Endpoints Available, But Changed
   • Entity Lookup endpoints are still available in API v4.0, but there are three differences:
     • There is a slight change to the URL of the endpoint: instead of /organization/{permalink}, the Entity Lookup URL is now /entities/organizations/{entity_id}
     • Both permalink and uuid can be used to query for an entity
     • The API request needs to specify the data fields and relationships that should be returned in the API response, which enables the return of only the data that you want and need. 
   • Find more details in the Using the API page.
6. Naming Changes from API v3.1
   • One of the benefits of API v4.0 is that it is powered by the same data platform that powers crunchbase.com and Crunchbase Pro, so any data points you see there will be available in API v4.0 (assuming you have the right access permission). 
   • However, that also means the name of entity type, relationship, and fields may be different from API v3.1.
7. Batch Endpoint Support
   • In API v4.0, there will no longer be support for a batch endpoint. 
   • Instead, we suggest using the Search API endpoint to retrieve data fields for multiple items from a collection (e.g. Organizations). If relationship information is needed, we suggest using the Entity Lookup endpoint to retrieve the information for each entity of interest.

To view specific examples of each difference and other helpful tips, view our API documentation here.