# Arcmira vs Exa API + MCP

> Exa scores 66.1 (B) to Arcmira's 64.2 (B) for research search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-exa-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-exa-mcp.md (~3,050 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-exa-mcp.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-exa-mcp.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

Exa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against Arcmira's 64.2 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Arcmira leads on security & auth. Both do research search. Exa API + MCP accepts x402. Arcmira doesn't.

- 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
- Exa API + MCP: grade B, 66.1/100, rank #346 of 1227. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/exa-mcp.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:
- Security & auth, 61 against 43

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

### Exa API + MCP (B)

Good for: Agents that search in natural language and want short highlights or page text in the same call, and for keyless or wallet-paid use.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 67 against 40
- Agent ergonomics, 96 against 91
- Payments & pricing, 90 against 55

Also in its favour:
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- Runs on your own machine
- Open source

Watch for: The hosted MCP leaked API keys to a third-party analytics endpoint from November 2025 to 15 April 2026, per Exa's own commits


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Arcmira | Exa API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 67 | Exa API + MCP +27 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 86 | Arcmira +1 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 91 | 96 | Exa API + MCP +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 61 | 43 | Arcmira +18 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 55 | 90 | Exa API + MCP +35 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 88 | Exa API + MCP +4 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 64 | Exa API + MCP +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | -9 | |
| **Total** | | **64.2 · B** | **66.1 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Arcmira | Exa API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | Arcmira, Inc. | Exa |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.arcmira.com/mcp` | `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP, HTTP | stdio, Streamable HTTP, HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | yes, from $0.007/call |
| 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 | MIT |
| Tools exposed | 4 | 4 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.arcmira/arcmira` | `ai.exa/exa` |
| Last release | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-19 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-13 |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-02 | 2026-06-29 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes |  |
| Popularity | 78 stars | 4.9k stars, 1.1M npm/wk, 1.4M PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 4.5/5 (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.

**Exa API + MCP.** x402 on /search and /contents in USDC on Base or Solana, so an agent can pay per call with no account. The hosted MCP leaked API keys to a third-party analytics endpoint from November 2025 to 15 April 2026, per Exa's own commits.

## 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.

### Exa API + MCP

1. Send the key as `x-api-key` or a Bearer header, never `?exaApiKey=` in the MCP URL
2. Ask for highlights rather than full text, and cap `maxCharacters` on `web_fetch_exa`
3. Request only the results you'll read. More than 10 costs extra, and x402 calls stop at 10
4. On 429, honour `Retry-After`. The QPS limit is shared by every key on the team
5. Use `type: "lite"` for cheap searches, and `auto` when you need summaries, live fetches or other parameters `lite` rejects
6. Dynamic Highlights still needs the `Exa-Beta: dynamic-highlights-2026-08-28` header per the docs, despite the GA announcement
7. Set `budget.maxCostDollars` on `agent_run`, which a keyed MCP connection may now expose by default

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Arcmira or Exa API + MCP?

Exa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against Arcmira's 64.2 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Arcmira leads on security & auth.

### Do Arcmira and Exa API + MCP need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in. An agent can also pay Exa API + MCP per call over x402, with no account.

### Can an agent call Arcmira and Exa API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Arcmira has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.arcmira.com/mcp and Exa API + MCP at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp.

### Are Arcmira and Exa API + MCP open source?

No open-source release is listed for Arcmira. Exa API + MCP is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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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