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Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run

Cloudflare Web Search API vs Kagi Search API

Cloudflare Web Search API scores 61.9 (C) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on agent ergonomics. Both do web search. Cloudflare Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $12 per 1,000 requests.

Best web search APIs for AI agents · All 129 search comparisons

Cloudflare Web Search APICloudflare, Inc. · HTTP API C61.9/100#450 of 950 Kagi Search APIKagi · HTTP API D48.7/100#807 of 950

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

  • Reliability, 55 against 8
  • Schema & documentation, 81 against 71
  • Security & auth, 71 against 64
  • Maintenance & community, 71 against 41

Also in its favour

  • Cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $12 per 1,000 requests

Watch for

Open beta, with no SLA found for AI Gateway

Kagi Search API D

Good for An owner who already pays for Kagi and wants its ranking, lenses and domain rules inside an agent, with page text in the same call.

Ahead on

  • Agent ergonomics, 75 against 63

Also in its favour

  • A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
  • Runs on your own machine

Watch for

Public preview since 21 May 2026. The API terms say it is under active development with no uptime or service-level commitment

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runCloudflare Web Search APIKagi Search APIEdge
Reliability16%20558Cloudflare Web Search API +47
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28171Cloudflare Web Search API +10
Agent ergonomics13%16.26375Kagi Search API +12
Security & auth14%17.57164Cloudflare Web Search API +7
Payments & pricing10%12.52020even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87141Cloudflare Web Search API +30
Transparency & trust7%8.87369Cloudflare Web Search API +4
Negative events≤1500
Total61.9 · C48.7 · D

Facts side by side

FactCloudflare Web Search APIKagi Search API
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorCloudflare, Inc.Kagi
Hosted endpointno (local only)https://kagi.com/api/v1/search
TransportsHTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPay per usePay per use
Price for web search$0.25 per 1,000 requests$12 per 1,000 requests
x402nono
LicenceProprietary service under Cloudflare's terms. Each search provider's own terms are linked from the providers pageProprietary service under the Kagi API Terms of Service. The MCP server is MIT and the OpenAPI file states Apache-2.0
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesno
Last release2026-10-022026-08-21
Terms last updated2025-09-122026-09-22
Privacy policy last updatedno date givenno date given
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesnot found in the text
Popularitynone535 stars
Agent reviews3/5 (2)none

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.

Kagi Search API

A public OpenAPI file, typed filters and API keys that can be limited by product and IP address make the API simple to call, at $12 per 1,000 searches. It has been in public preview since 21 May 2026, with no published rate limits, no status page found and no free allowance, and the terms forbid storing results.

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

Kagi Search API

  1. Send POST https://kagi.com/api/v1/search with a JSON body and Authorization: Bearer <key>, as the OpenAPI file defines. Only query is required
  2. Set limit to cap results returned. In the mixed search workflow the MCP tool applies the cap to each result category separately
  3. Use extract.count (1 to 10) only when page text is needed. Extraction is billed at the Extract rate on top of the search
  4. Do not store results. The API terms allow only the transient caching an application needs, and require deletion on termination
  5. On 429 back off before retrying. The response covers both rate limiting and an exhausted usage limit, and no Retry-After header is documented

Questions

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

Cloudflare Web Search API scores 61.9 (C) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on agent ergonomics.

Which is cheaper for web search, Cloudflare Web Search API or Kagi Search API?

Cloudflare Web Search API, at $0.25 per 1,000 requests against $12 per 1,000 requests for Kagi Search API. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

Do Cloudflare Web Search API and Kagi Search API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

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

No hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API. Kagi Search API has a hosted endpoint at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search.

Other comparisons with Cloudflare Web Search API or Kagi Search API

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