# Cloudflare Web Search API vs DeepSeek Search and Fetch API

> Cloudflare Web Search scores 61.9 (C) to DeepSeek Search and Fetch's 53.2 (D) for web search. Cloudflare Web Search is cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $0.75 per 1,000 requests. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-deepseek-search-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-deepseek-search-api.md (~3,150 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-deepseek-search-api.min.md (~830 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-deepseek-search-api.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 required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.
- Updated: 2026-10-17

Cloudflare Web Search API scores 61.9 (C) on agent readiness against DeepSeek Search and Fetch API's 53.2 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API leads on reliability and agent ergonomics. Both do web search. Cloudflare Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $0.75 per 1,000 requests.

- Cloudflare Web Search API: grade C, 61.9/100, rank #503 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-web-search.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json
- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API: grade D, 53.2/100, rank #795 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-search-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-search-api.json
- Best web search APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/search/index.md
- All 163 search comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/search/index.md

## Which one, for what

### 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:
- Schema & documentation, 81 against 55
- Security & auth, 71 against 38
- Maintenance & community, 71 against 42
- Transparency & trust, 73 against 60

Also in its favour:
- Cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $0.75 per 1,000 requests

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

### DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (D)

Good for: Cheap per-request web search with model-ready summaries and an authority signal, plus page fetching, for agents already on a DeepSeek key and comfortable with data held in the PRC.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 65 against 55
- Agent ergonomics, 81 against 63

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for: Opened on 17 October 2026, with no service record of its own and no component for it on the status page


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cloudflare Web Search API | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 65 | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +10 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 55 | Cloudflare Web Search API +26 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 81 | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +18 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 38 | Cloudflare Web Search API +33 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 20 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 42 | Cloudflare Web Search API +29 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 73 | 60 | Cloudflare Web Search API +13 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **61.9 · C** | **53.2 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cloudflare Web Search API | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Cloudflare, Inc. | DeepSeek |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| Price for web search | $0.25 per 1,000 requests | $0.75 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Cloudflare's terms. Each search provider's own terms are linked from the providers page | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-02 | 2026-10-17 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-09-12 | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 3/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**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.

**DeepSeek Search and Fetch API.** Search returns up to 50 results with a model-length summary, an authority tier and optional full text, and only successful non-empty calls are billed, at $0.75 per 1,000. It opened on 17 October 2026, with 5 requests a second per account, no OpenAPI file, no free tier, and data held in the PRC under a policy that permits training.

## Before you call either

### 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

### DeepSeek Search and Fetch API

1. Keep `query` to 128 characters and put filters in it as operators, such as `site:github.com lang:en after:2026-01-01`
2. Leave `need_content` false and read `summary` first, then call Fetch on the URLs you keep
3. Stay under 5 requests a second per account across all keys. On 408, 429 or 5xx wait and retry, since no Retry-After is documented
4. Don't retry a Fetch 403 or 404 unchanged. The page is blocked by policy, unreachable or has no Markdown
5. Don't send private queries or an end user's IP in `localization`. Data is stored in the PRC

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Cloudflare Web Search API or DeepSeek Search and Fetch API?

Cloudflare Web Search API scores 61.9 (C) on agent readiness against DeepSeek Search and Fetch API's 53.2 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API leads on reliability and agent ergonomics.

### Which is cheaper for web search, Cloudflare Web Search API or DeepSeek Search and Fetch API?

Cloudflare Web Search API, at $0.25 per 1,000 requests against $0.75 per 1,000 requests for DeepSeek Search and Fetch API. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

### Do Cloudflare Web Search API and DeepSeek Search and Fetch API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

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

No hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Cloudflare Web Search API or DeepSeek Search and Fetch API

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

---

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