Category · 11 tools · 14 comparisons

Web search APIs for AI

Search and page-content APIs built to ground LLMs and AI agents in live web results.

Prices checked Nov 10, 2026 from each vendor's pricing page

Our ranked shortlist: the best web search apis for AI →

At a glance

Tools tracked: 11
Entry plans: $0.00–$833.33/mo
Typical entry plan: $25/mo
Free plan: 9 of 11
Cheapest paid: Linkup, $0.00/mo
Best value score: Tavily, 8/10

Every tool we cover

Tool	Score	From	Top listed plan	Free plan	Trial	Pages
TavilyTavily	7.6	$30/mo*	$30/mo	Yes	—	Review Pricing Alternatives
Brave Search APIBrave Search API	7.5	Free*	—	Yes	—	Review Pricing
FirecrawlFirecrawl	7.4	$16/mo	$599/mo	Yes	—	Review Pricing Alternatives
LinkupLinkup	7.3	$0.00/mo	—	Yes	—	Review
ExaExa	7.2	Free	—	Yes	—	Review Pricing Alternatives
Jina AIJina AI	7.2	Free*	—	Yes	—	Review Pricing
ParallelParallel	7.2	$833.33/mo	$833.33/mo	Yes	—	Review Pricing
YepAPIYepAPI	7.2	Custom*	—	No	Yes	Review
SerpApiSerpApi	7.2	$25/mo	$275/mo	Yes	—	Review Pricing Alternatives
SerperSerper	7.0	Free*	—	Yes	—	Review Pricing Alternatives
Perplexity Sonar APIPerplexity Sonar API	6.0	Custom*	—	No	—	Review

* Lower confidence: the vendor's pricing page couldn't be read directly or didn't list every price, so the figure was compiled from other public sources and may be incomplete. Check the vendor's page before you buy.

Head-to-head

SerpApivs

Serper

SerpApi vs Serper

SerpApi 35 tiedSerper 0

Exavs

Brave Search API

Exa vs Brave Search API

Exa 25 tiedBrave Search API 1

Exavs

Jina AI

Exa vs Jina AI

Exa 26 tiedJina AI 0

Brave Search APIvs

Jina AI

Brave Search API vs Jina AI

Brave Search API 15 tiedJina AI 2

YepAPIvs

SerpApi

YepAPI vs SerpApi

YepAPI 24 tiedSerpApi 2

YepAPIvs

Serper

YepAPI vs Serper

YepAPI 44 tiedSerper 0

YepAPIvs

Tavily

YepAPI vs Tavily

YepAPI 26 tiedTavily 0

YepAPIvs

Exa

YepAPI vs Exa

YepAPI 24 tiedExa 2

YepAPIvs

Brave Search API

YepAPI vs Brave Search API

YepAPI 34 tiedBrave Search API 1

YepAPIvs

Linkup

YepAPI vs Linkup

YepAPI 23 tiedLinkup 3

YepAPIvs

Jina AI

YepAPI vs Jina AI

YepAPI 44 tiedJina AI 0

YepAPIvs

Parallel

YepAPI vs Parallel

YepAPI 33 tiedParallel 2

YepAPIvs

Perplexity Sonar API

YepAPI vs Perplexity Sonar API

YepAPI 44 tiedPerplexity Sonar API 0

YepAPIvs

Firecrawl

YepAPI vs Firecrawl

YepAPI 22 tiedFirecrawl 4

Highest scored

Tavily

A straightforward hosted search and extraction layer, with credit costs and extraction speed to validate.

7.6/10

Brave Search API

A capable hosted search API for agents, with usage pricing and production details to verify.

7.5/10

Firecrawl

A capable API for turning live web pages into agent-ready data, with operational caveats to check before scaling.

7.4/10

Web search APIs for AI: quick answers

How much do web search apis for AI cost?

Paid plans for the 11 web search apis for AI we track start between $0.00 and $833.33 a month, and the typical entry plan is about $25 a month. 9 of them have a free plan. YepAPI and Perplexity Sonar API don't publish a starting price. Prices are the vendors' own, checked Nov 10, 2026; most quote the per-month price when billed annually.

Which web search apis for AI is the cheapest?

Linkup has the lowest paid entry plan at $0.00 a month, followed by Firecrawl at $16. If you can live with limits, Tavily, Brave Search API, Firecrawl and Linkup have a free plan.

Which web search apis for AI have a free plan?

Tavily, Brave Search API, Firecrawl, Linkup, Exa, Jina AI, Parallel, SerpApi and Serper have a free plan. YepAPI offers a free trial instead. Free plans are usually capped on usage, seats or features; each review lists the limits.

Which web search apis for AI scores highest in our reviews?

Tavily scores highest at 7.6/10. A straightforward hosted search and extraction layer, with credit costs and extraction speed to validate.