# Arcmira vs Cloudflare Web Search API

> Arcmira scores 64.2 (B) to Cloudflare Web Search's 61.9 (C) for web search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-cloudflare-web-search
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-cloudflare-web-search.md (~3,200 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-cloudflare-web-search.min.md (~880 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-cloudflare-web-search.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-30

Arcmira scores 64.2 (B) on agent readiness against Cloudflare Web Search API's 61.9 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Cloudflare Web Search API leads on reliability, security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do web search.

- Arcmira: grade B, 64.2/100, rank #420 of 1227. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/arcmira.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/arcmira.json
- Cloudflare Web Search API: grade C, 61.9/100, rank #526 of 1227. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-web-search.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json
- Best web search APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/search/index.md
- All 182 search comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/search/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Arcmira (B)

Good for: Agents answering what was said on YouTube shows and podcasts, who was mentioned or appeared where, which brands sponsor a show and how a name's mentions are trending, with timestamped source links, through one connection on a free monthly allowance.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 87 against 81
- Agent ergonomics, 91 against 63
- Payments & pricing, 55 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 84 against 71

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No status page, incident history or SLA was found; the terms disclaim uninterrupted service and Enterprise lists priority support without an uptime commitment

### Cloudflare Web Search API (C)

Good for: Agents and apps already on Cloudflare Workers or AI Gateway that want cheap snippet search ($0.25 per 1,000 with Ceramic.ai) on the same bill and logs as their inference.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 55 against 40
- Security & auth, 71 against 61
- Transparency & trust, 73 against 61

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Arcmira loses 3 points for them

Watch for: Open beta, with no SLA found for AI Gateway


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Arcmira | Cloudflare Web Search API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 55 | Cloudflare Web Search API +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 81 | Arcmira +6 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 91 | 63 | Arcmira +28 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 61 | 71 | Cloudflare Web Search API +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 55 | 20 | Arcmira +35 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 71 | Arcmira +13 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 73 | Cloudflare Web Search API +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **64.2 · B** | **61.9 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Arcmira | Cloudflare Web Search API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Arcmira, Inc. | Cloudflare, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.arcmira.com/mcp` | no (local only) |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP, HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| Price for web search | $0.001 per credit | $0.25 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Arcmira's Terms of Service. The MCP server's source is public under an all-rights-reserved notice; the Claude Code plugin, the arcmira TypeScript SDK and CLI and the Python SDK are Apache-2.0, and the Famous rankings are CC BY 4.0 | Proprietary service under Cloudflare's terms. Each search provider's own terms are linked from the providers page |
| Tools exposed | 4 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.arcmira/arcmira` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-02 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-13 | 2025-09-12 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-02 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 78 stars | none |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Arcmira.** Four code-mode tools over a documented v1 API, OAuth 2.1 with four scopes, a read-only sign-up key from two API calls and no card, and a 1,000-credit free month. No status page, SLA or security.txt, breaking v1 changes shipped in October with same-day notice, the server is at 0.10.7, and the index covers the shows Arcmira transcribes.

**Cloudflare Web Search API.** One endpoint that sends a search to Ceramic.ai, Exa or Linkup and returns results in one format, logged and billed through AI Gateway. Ceramic.ai costs $0.25 per 1,000 searches. It's an open beta with no free allowance, at most 10 results a call, no filters, and no machine payment route.

## Before you call either

### Arcmira

1. Call `arcmira_describe` once per session and write one program per question for `arcmira_execute_read`; return only the fields the answer needs, since output is cut at 12,000 characters and 3,000 per string.
2. Resolve names with `arcmira.resolve` (free) before any `about`, `by`, `entity_ids` or `channel` filter; a name in a filter fails with `id_required`. Plain keyword search needs no resolver call.
3. Check `arcmira.status()` or GET /v1/me for the plan, scopes and `usage.credits.available` before metered reads; on Free, media newer than 30 days and pages past the first fail with `freshness_requires_paid` and `pagination_gated`.
4. A Premium read of an untranscribed video starts a transcription that uses credits (300 per started 15 minutes) and may return `pending`; read the same video again later, which is never charged twice, and send `retry: true` only when the user asks.
5. Over HTTP send `Authorization: Bearer arc_sk_...`, an `Idempotency-Key` on every POST and PATCH, honour `Retry-After` on 429, and switch on `error.code`, following `unlock.url` on 402 and 403 rather than re-authenticating.
6. Use `arcmira_execute_write` only after listing the user's monitors; it creates, follows and pauses but never deletes, and a connection made before server 0.9.0 answers `insufficient_scope` until reconnected.

### Cloudflare Web Search API

1. Set `options.gateway.id`. Every account has a gateway named `default`
2. Pass `provider` explicitly. It defaults to Ceramic.ai, whose descriptions can run to 8,000 characters a result
3. Set `limit` to the results you'll read, between 1 and 10
4. Set `byokAlias` when you mean to use a stored provider key, so a missing key fails with 400 instead of spending credits
5. Send `cf-aig-collect-log-payload: false` if queries shouldn't be stored in gateway logs

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Arcmira or Cloudflare Web Search API?

Arcmira scores 64.2 (B) on agent readiness against Cloudflare Web Search API's 61.9 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Cloudflare Web Search API leads on reliability, security & auth and transparency & trust.

### Do Arcmira and Cloudflare Web Search API need an API key?

Arcmira takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Cloudflare Web Search API needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Arcmira and Cloudflare Web Search API without installing anything?

Arcmira has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.arcmira.com/mcp. No hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-cloudflare-web-search.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-cloudflare-web-search.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "arcmira", "b": "cloudflare-web-search"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare arcmira cloudflare-web-search`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/arcmira.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json

## Other comparisons with Arcmira or Cloudflare Web Search API

- [Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs Arcmira](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-arcmira.md)
- [Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs Cloudflare Web Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-cloudflare-web-search.md)
- [Arcmira vs Brave Search API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-brave-search-mcp.md)
- [Arcmira vs DeepSeek Search and Fetch API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-deepseek-search-api.md)
- [Arcmira vs Firecrawl MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-firecrawl-mcp.md)
- [Arcmira vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Arcmira vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-searchapi-io.md)
- [Arcmira vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-serpapi.md)
- [Arcmira vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-serper.md)
- [Arcmira vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-serpkite.md)
- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Cloudflare Web Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-cloudflare-web-search.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs DeepSeek Search and Fetch API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-deepseek-search-api.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Exa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-exa-mcp.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Firecrawl MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-firecrawl-mcp.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Grep AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-grep-ai.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-parallel-search-api.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpapi.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serper.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpkite.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-tinyfish-search.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-valyu.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-you-com-api.md)
- [Arcmira vs Exa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-exa-mcp.md)
- [Arcmira vs Grep AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-grep-ai.md)
- [Arcmira vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-linkup.md)
- [Arcmira vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-parallel-search-api.md)
- [Arcmira vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [Arcmira vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-tinyfish-search.md)
- [Arcmira vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-valyu.md)
- [Arcmira vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-you-com-api.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp