{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "brave-search-mcp", "name": "Brave Search API + MCP", "vendor": "Brave", "vendorUrl": "https://brave.com/search/api/", "kind": "http-api", "category": "search", "summary": "REST API over Brave's independent index with web, news, image, video and local search, an LLM Context endpoint with pre-extracted page content and an Answers endpoint with citations.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/brave-search-mcp", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/brave-search-mcp.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/brave-search-mcp.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/brave-search-mcp.json", "repo": "https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server", "license": "MIT", "transports": [ "stdio", "streamable-http", "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "mcp/brave-search" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "API key in the `X-Subscription-Token` header. The x402 proxy at search.agent.s.brave.app takes a signed payment instead of a key. An `Api-Version` header pins dated response versions. MCP server: BRAVE_API_KEY (or BRAVE_API_KEY_FILE) environment variable.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Search plan $5 per 1,000 requests with $5 free credit a month, 50 QPS. Answers plan $4 per 1,000 requests plus $5 per million tokens, $5 free credit a month, 2 QPS. A card is required for the free credit. Storing results needs an Enterprise plan with storage rights. Enterprise custom (https://brave.com/search/api/).", "priceSummary": "$5 / 1k req", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "partial", "evidence": "Brave's docs link a pay-per-request proxy at search.agent.s.brave.app. Web, LLM Context, news, video, image and local paths cost $0.005 in USDC on Base. Answers, Suggest and Spellcheck aren't sold. An unpaid web search returned 402 with a PAYMENT-REQUIRED header on 2026-09-30 (https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/guides/agent-payments)", "endpoints": [ { "url": "https://search.agent.s.brave.app/res/v1/web/search", "priceUsd": 0.005, "network": "eip155:8453" }, { "url": "https://search.agent.s.brave.app/res/v1/llm/context", "priceUsd": 0.005, "network": "eip155:8453" } ] }, "toolCount": 8, "popularity": { "githubStars": 1400, "npmWeekly": 22398, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation", "llmsTxt": "https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/llms.txt", "registryName": "io.github.brave/brave-search-mcp-server", "capabilities": [ "web.search", "web.extract", "search.answer", "search.news", "search.images" ], "tags": [ "official", "local", "open-source", "usage-priced", "hosted", "card-required", "x402", "llms-txt", "enterprise", "mcp" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-17", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 68.1, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 132, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 452, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 72, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 70, "reliability": 55, "schema": 72, "security": 58, "transparency": 82 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "x402 proxy sells web, LLM Context, news, video, image and local search at $0.005 a call, and a failed search isn't charged. The status page marks the Search API \"not monitored\" and shows no incident history.", "strengths": [ "x402 proxy sells web, LLM Context, news, video, image and local search at $0.005 a call, and a failed search isn't charged", "$5 per 1,000 searches at 50 QPS on the self-serve Search plan", "SOC 2 Type II, a HackerOne bounty and a valid security.txt", "Dated response versions through the `Api-Version` header", "MIT MCP server with five releases since July, tests in CI and a GitHub-verified registry entry" ], "weaknesses": [ "The status page marks the Search API \"not monitored\" and shows no incident history", "A card is required even for the $5 monthly credit", "No public OpenAPI for the keyed API and no API changelog", "No SLA on self-serve plans, and Answers is limited to 2 QPS", "No prompt-injection guidance, though LLM Context returns raw page text" ], "agentNotes": [ "Call /res/v1/llm/context when you need page text rather than links. It saves a separate fetch", "Treat \"No web results found\" from the MCP server as an empty result, not an outage", "On 429, wait for `X-RateLimit-Reset` seconds. There's no `Retry-After` header", "Skip `brave_summarizer`. The Summarizer is deprecated and the x402 proxy doesn't sell it", "Pin `Api-Version` to a date, since requests without it get the latest version" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 68.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 72, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 70, "reliability": 55, "schema": 72, "security": 58, "transparency": 63 }, "provenanceScore": 100 }, "connect": { "http": "curl \"https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search?q=brave+search\u0026count=5\" \\\n -H \"Accept: application/json\" -H \"X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add brave-search -e BRAVE_API_KEY=${BRAVE_API_KEY} -- npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server", "config": { "mcpServers": { "brave-search": { "args": [ "-y", "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "${BRAVE_API_KEY}" } } } }, "x402": "purl --max-amount 5000 'https://search.agent.s.brave.app/res/v1/web/search?q=rust'\n# unpaid requests get HTTP 402 with a PAYMENT-REQUIRED header, USDC on eip155:8453" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/brave-search-mcp" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Search plan", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5 }, { "item": "Answers plan", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4, "note": "plus $5 per million tokens" }, { "item": "x402 search, per call", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.005, "note": "USDC on Base, no account" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Brave Software, Inc.", "domain": "brave.com", "domainRegistered": "1995-09-18", "domainNote": "brave.com was registered in 1995, before Brave bought it.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.brave.app", "changelog": "https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server/releases", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-01", "notes": [ "The x402 proxy runs on search.agent.s.brave.app, not brave.com. Brave's API docs link it as official.", "status.brave.app lists the Brave Search API but marks it \"not monitored\" and shows no incident history. The API docs keep a separate status log whose last entry is 27 March 2025 (https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/resources/status-updates/)." ], "score": 100 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/brave-search-mcp.json", "live": { "slug": "brave-search-mcp", "probe": { "target": "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-04T23:48:05.752231641Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 422, "lastMs": 392, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 395, "p95ms24h": 420, "samples24h": 272, "samples30d": 1100, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 270, "ok": 270 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.brave.app", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:39:52.323054222Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "brave/brave-search-mcp-server", "version": "v2.1.4", "released": "2026-09-17", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:22:44.217062681Z" }, { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "io.github.brave/brave-search-mcp-server", "version": "2.1.3", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T23:42:40.113054682Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server", "version": "2.1.4", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:22:43.730484655Z" } ], "githubStars": 1484, "npmWeekly": 30874, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://brave.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:15:38.826160997Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:17:21.910433141Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "brave.com", "registered": "1995-09-18", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/brave.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:28.958526087Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:41:09.246937639Z", "changedAt": "2026-09-30T13:09:37.196019706Z", "fingerprint": "8c41a50b5a60" }, { "url": "https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:41:11.393064605Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "e74eb26bd7c7" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-04T23:48:05.752231641Z" } }, "b": { "slug": "linkup", "name": "Linkup", "vendor": "Linkup", "vendorUrl": "https://www.linkup.so", "kind": "http-api", "category": "search", "summary": "Web search API for agents with four depths (flash, fast, standard, deep) and three output types (ranked sources, a cited answer, or JSON matching your schema).", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/linkup.json", "repo": "https://github.com/LinkupPlatform/linkup-mcp-server", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.linkup.so/v1/search", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "linkup-sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "linkup-sdk" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "linkup-mcp-server" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Bearer API key. x402 (USDC on Base) works without any key on `/v1/search` and `/v1/fetch`. The hosted MCP takes the key as a Bearer header or, in the documented one-click configs, as `?apiKey=` in the URL.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Accounts opened with a work email get $20 of credit, topped back up to $20 each month (about 4,000 standard searches). Search $0.005 per call for flash, fast or standard with sources, $0.006 with a sourced answer or structured output, deep $0.05 or $0.055. Fetch $0.001 to $0.011 by mode and JavaScript rendering. Research $0.25 (S) to $2.50 (XL). Errors and empty results aren't charged. x402 is a flat $0.01 a request (https://www.linkup.so/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$0.01 / call", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "yes", "evidence": "Docs list x402 on /v1/search and /v1/fetch at a flat $0.01 a request in USDC on Base with no account. An unauthenticated POST to /v1/search returned 402 with a payment-required header for 10000 base units on eip155:8453 (checked 2026-09-30) (https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/x402).", "endpoints": [ { "url": "https://api.linkup.so/v1/search", "priceUsd": 0.01, "network": "eip155:8453" }, { "url": "https://api.linkup.so/v1/fetch", "priceUsd": 0.01, "network": "eip155:8453" } ] }, "toolCount": 4, "popularity": { "githubStars": 29, "npmWeekly": 53872, "pypiWeekly": 84459, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.linkup.so", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.linkup.so/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://api.linkup.so/v1/openapi.json", "registryName": "so.linkup.mcp/linkup-mcp-server", "capabilities": [ "web.search", "web.fetch", "search.answer", "search.research", "web.extract", "search.images" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "x402", "python", "typescript", "async-jobs" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-30", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 69.1, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 116, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 452, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 76, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 80, "reliability": 70, "schema": 88, "security": 32, "transparency": 64 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Per-call prices from $0.005, and no credit taken for errors, missing parameters or empty results. 429 covers both exhausted credit and rate limiting, with no `Retry-After`.", "strengths": [ "Per-call prices from $0.005, and no credit taken for errors, missing parameters or empty results", "x402 on /v1/search and /v1/fetch at $0.01 with no account", "Sources, a sourced answer or structured JSON from the same search call", "Errors page with a recommended action for every status code", "SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 claimed, and zero data retention available on request" ], "weaknesses": [ "429 covers both exhausted credit and rate limiting, with no `Retry-After`", "MCP configs document `?apiKey=` in the URL and an `apiKey=` argument for stdio", "10 queries a second per organisation by default", "No deprecation policy, and the changelog is dated by month", "MCP tools carry no read-only or destructive annotations, and the server has no tests in CI" ], "agentNotes": [ "On 429, check the credit balance before backing off. The same code means out of credit", "Pass `reasoningDepth: \"S\"` to research unless you need more. The MCP default is L at $1.50", "Start with `depth=fast` and `outputType=searchResults`. Deep costs $0.05, ten times as much", "Send the key as an `Authorization: Bearer` header, not `?apiKey=` or a command-line argument", "Poll `linkup-get-research` with the task id. Research runs take minutes" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 4, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 69.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 76, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 80, "reliability": 70, "schema": 88, "security": 32, "transparency": 45 }, "provenanceScore": 82 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -G https://api.linkup.so/v1/search -H \"Authorization: Bearer $LINKUP_API_KEY\" \\\n --data-urlencode \"q=What is Microsoft's 2024 revenue?\" -d depth=standard -d outputType=sourcedAnswer", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http linkup https://mcp.linkup.so/mcp --header \"Authorization: Bearer $LINKUP_API_KEY\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "linkup": { "args": [ "-y", "linkup-mcp-server" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "LINKUP_API_KEY": "${LINKUP_API_KEY}" } } } }, "x402": "curl -i -X POST https://api.linkup.so/v1/search -H 'content-type: application/json' \\\n -d '{\"q\":\"test\",\"depth\":\"standard\",\"outputType\":\"searchResults\"}'\n# 402 -\u003e sign USDC transfer (eip155:8453) -\u003e resend with payment-signature header" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/linkup" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Search, standard depth, sources", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5, "note": "$0.005 a call, $0.006 with sourcedAnswer or structured" }, { "item": "Search, deep depth", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 50 }, { "item": "Fetch, standard without JS", "unit": "1k-pages", "usd": 1 }, { "item": "Research, reasoning depth S", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.25, "note": "M $0.50, L $1.50, XL $2.50" }, { "item": "x402 request", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.01, "note": "search or fetch, USDC on Base" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Linkup Technologies SAS", "domain": "linkup.so", "domainRegistered": "2024-04-30", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.linkup.so/terms-of-use", "privacy": "https://www.linkup.so/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.linkup.so", "changelog": "https://docs.linkup.so/pages/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "notes": [ "Registration date from rdap.nic.so. The registry also records a re-registration on 2025-04-01" ], "score": 82 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.json", "live": { "slug": "linkup", "probe": { "target": "https://api.linkup.so/v1/search", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-04T23:48:10.982789745Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 43, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 50, "p95ms24h": 81, "samples24h": 272, "samples30d": 1100, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 270, "ok": 270 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.linkup.so", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:40:13.127201435Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "LinkupPlatform/linkup-mcp-server", "version": "v3.4.0", "released": "2026-09-15", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:31:46.56202787Z" }, { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "so.linkup.mcp/linkup-mcp-server", "version": "0.0.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T23:42:40.113054682Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "linkup-mcp-server", "version": "3.4.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:31:46.358106164Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "linkup-sdk", "version": "3.7.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:31:44.355996077Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "linkup-sdk", "version": "0.23.1", "released": "2026-09-30", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:31:45.211309076Z" } ], "githubStars": 29, "npmWeekly": 62596, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://linkup.so/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:15:48.662075959Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.linkup.so/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:17:56.865940508Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "linkup.so", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:09:23.917123353Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.linkup.so/pages/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:43:44.512346595Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "67bf8956a956" }, { "url": "https://www.linkup.so/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:51:00.766733074Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:38:53.686360467Z", "fingerprint": "190e16c16e4d" }, { "url": "https://www.linkup.so/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:51:02.942242379Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:38:55.83913627Z", "fingerprint": "7c5016bc9dd8" }, { "url": "https://www.linkup.so/terms-of-use", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:51:05.121198112Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:38:58.282868656Z", "fingerprint": "785d2335f5ea" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-04T23:48:10.982789745Z" } }, "summary": "Linkup has a score of 69.1 (B) against Brave Search API + MCP's 68.1 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is security \u0026 auth, 26 points. Linkup accepts x402. Brave Search API + MCP doesn't." }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup.min.md" }, "markdown": "Linkup has a score of 69.1 (B) against Brave Search API + MCP's 68.1 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is security \u0026 auth, 26 points. Linkup accepts x402. Brave Search API + MCP doesn't.\n\n- Brave Search API + MCP: grade B, 68.1/100, rank #132 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/brave-search-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/brave-search-mcp.json\n- Linkup: grade B, 69.1/100, rank #116 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/linkup.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\nPick Brave Search API + MCP for security \u0026 auth (+26), transparency \u0026 trust (+18).\n\nPick Linkup for reliability (+15), schema \u0026 documentation (+16), payments \u0026 pricing (+10).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Brave Search API + MCP | Linkup | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 70 | Linkup +15 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 88 | Linkup +16 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 76 | Linkup +4 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 58 | 32 | Brave Search API + MCP +26 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 70 | 80 | Linkup +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 83 | Brave Search API + MCP +4 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 64 | Brave Search API + MCP +18 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **68.1 · B** | **69.1 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Brave Search API + MCP | Linkup |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Brave | Linkup |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search` | `https://api.linkup.so/v1/search` |\n| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP, HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| x402 | payer tooling only | yes, from $0.01/call |\n| Licence | MIT | none |\n| Tools exposed | 8 | 4 |\n| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |\n| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| MCP registry | `io.github.brave/brave-search-mcp-server` | `so.linkup.mcp/linkup-mcp-server` |\n| Last release | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-30 |\n| Popularity | 1.4k stars, 22k npm/wk | 29 stars, 54k npm/wk, 84k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 4/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Brave Search API + MCP.** x402 proxy sells web, LLM Context, news, video, image and local search at $0.005 a call, and a failed search isn't charged. The status page marks the Search API \"not monitored\" and shows no incident history.\n\n**Linkup.** Per-call prices from $0.005, and no credit taken for errors, missing parameters or empty results. 429 covers both exhausted credit and rate limiting, with no `Retry-After`.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Brave Search API + MCP\n\n1. Call /res/v1/llm/context when you need page text rather than links. It saves a separate fetch\n2. Treat \"No web results found\" from the MCP server as an empty result, not an outage\n3. On 429, wait for `X-RateLimit-Reset` seconds. There's no `Retry-After` header\n4. Skip `brave_summarizer`. The Summarizer is deprecated and the x402 proxy doesn't sell it\n5. Pin `Api-Version` to a date, since requests without it get the latest version\n\n### Linkup\n\n1. On 429, check the credit balance before backing off. The same code means out of credit\n2. Pass `reasoningDepth: \"S\"` to research unless you need more. The MCP default is L at $1.50\n3. Start with `depth=fast` and `outputType=searchResults`. Deep costs $0.05, ten times as much\n4. Send the key as an `Authorization: Bearer` header, not `?apiKey=` or a command-line argument\n5. Poll `linkup-get-research` with the task id. Research runs take minutes\n\n## Other comparisons with Brave Search API + MCP or Linkup\n\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Exa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-exa-mcp.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Firecrawl MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-firecrawl-mcp.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-parallel-search-api.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serper.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-valyu.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-linkup.md)\n- [Linkup vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-parallel-search-api.md)\n- [Linkup vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Linkup vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Linkup vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serper.md)\n- [Linkup vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [Linkup vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-valyu.md)\n- [Linkup vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Fetch (MCP reference server) vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-linkup.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-04", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.3", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Brave Search API + MCP vs Linkup", "url": "" } ], "description": "Linkup has a score of 69.1 (B) against Brave Search API + MCP's 68.1 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is security \u0026 auth, 26 points. Linkup accepts x402. Brave Search API + MCP doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Brave Search API + MCP B 68.1", "Linkup B 69.1", "scores" ], "h1": "Brave Search API + MCP vs Linkup", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup.png", "path": "/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Brave Search API + MCP vs Linkup for AI agents, B 68.1 vs B 69.1", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-04", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 1700, "slim": 330 }, "version": 1 }