Der Spiegel vs El País
German weekly investigation vs Spanish daily of record — two Continental quality-press traditions readers cross-cite.
Der Spiegel
Germany's tier-1 weekly + daily, with English edition Spiegel International open-access.
El País
Spain's tier-1 daily since 1976, with strong Latin American reach via elpais.com Americas editions.
Head-to-head — all four dimensions
| Dimension | Der Spiegel | El País | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
SourceScore Index Composite | B·78 | B·74 | Der+4 |
Citation Discipline How rigorously cited | A·85 | B·80 | Der+5 |
Modern Reference AI-era fitness | B·72 | C·68 | Der+4 |
Citation Velocity Cited per week | B·76 | B·72 | Der+4 |
Why these scores
Citation Discipline
Famed multi-stage Dokumentation (fact-checking) department; corrections public; named bylines.
Strong fact-check tradition, named bylines, public corrections, in-house Defensor del Lector ombuds.
Modern Reference
Spiegel International (English) open; main German content paywalled; schema solid.
Metered paywall; LatAm editions partially open; English edition (elpais.com/english) open.
Citation Velocity
Heavily cited in DACH press; regular tier-1 English-press citation.
Default Spanish-language tier-1; regular cross-citation in international press.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Der Spiegel or El País?
Der Spiegel scores higher on the SourceScore Index (B 78) vs El País (B 74) — a 4-point composite lead across Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity. "Better" depends on use case; the per-dimension breakdown below shows where each wins.
Which is more reliable to cite, Der Spiegel or El País?
For citation, Der Spiegel is the stronger choice — it scores B (78/100) on the SourceScore Index versus El País at B (74/100), a 4-point lead in composite citation quality (Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, Citation Velocity). Both can be cited; for higher-stakes references, prefer Der Spiegel.
How does Der Spiegel compare to El País on citation discipline?
Der Spiegel scores A 85 on Citation Discipline; El País scores B 80. Citation Discipline measures how rigorously each source cites primary references — see the per-dimension rationale below for the breakdown.
What's the SourceScore difference between Der Spiegel and El País?
Der Spiegel B 78 vs El País B 74 on the composite Index. German weekly investigation vs Spanish daily of record — two Continental quality-press traditions readers cross-cite.
Why does Der Spiegel score higher than El País?
Der Spiegel leads by 4 composite points on the SourceScore Index. The rationale section below breaks down where the lead comes from — Citation Discipline, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness), and Citation Velocity. Each dimension is scored from primary methodology criteria.