# Cloudflare Web Search API vs Linkup

> Linkup scores 69.1 (B) on agent readiness against Cloudflare Web Search API's 62.1 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cloudflare Web Search API leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do web search. Cloudflare Web Search API is cheaper for web search…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.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
- Updated: 2026-10-06

Linkup scores 69.1 (B) on agent readiness against Cloudflare Web Search API's 62.1 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cloudflare Web Search API leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do web search. Cloudflare Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $5 per 1,000 requests. Linkup accepts x402. Cloudflare Web Search API doesn't.

- Cloudflare Web Search API: grade B, 62.1/100, rank #226 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-web-search.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json
- Linkup: grade B, 69.1/100, rank #115 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/linkup.json

## Which one, for what

### Cloudflare Web Search API (B)

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:
- Security & auth, 71 against 32
- Transparency & trust, 75 against 64

Also in its favour:
- Cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $5 per 1,000 requests

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

### Linkup (B)

Good for: Agents that want a cited answer or schema-shaped output from one search call at a fixed price, and for European buyers who want a French vendor with zero retention on request.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 55
- Schema & documentation, 88 against 81
- Agent ergonomics, 76 against 63
- Payments & pricing, 80 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 83 against 71

Also in its favour:
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Runs on your own machine
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 4.0 against 3.0 out of 5

Watch for: 429 covers both exhausted credit and rate limiting, with no `Retry-After`


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cloudflare Web Search API | Linkup | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 70 | Linkup +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 88 | Linkup +7 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 76 | Linkup +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 32 | Cloudflare Web Search API +39 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 80 | Linkup +60 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 83 | Linkup +12 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 64 | Cloudflare Web Search API +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **62.1 · B** | **69.1 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cloudflare Web Search API | Linkup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Cloudflare, Inc. | Linkup |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.linkup.so/v1/search` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| Price for web search | $0.25 per 1,000 requests | $5 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | yes, from $0.01/call |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Cloudflare's terms. Each search provider's own terms are linked from the providers page | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 4 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `so.linkup.mcp/linkup-mcp-server` |
| Last release | 2026-10-02 | 2026-09-30 |
| Popularity | none | 29 stars, 54k npm/wk, 84k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 4/5 (2) |

## 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.

**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`.

## 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

### Linkup

1. On 429, check the credit balance before backing off. The same code means out of credit
2. Pass `reasoningDepth: "S"` to research unless you need more. The MCP default is L at $1.50
3. Start with `depth=fast` and `outputType=searchResults`. Deep costs $0.05, ten times as much
4. Send the key as an `Authorization: Bearer` header, not `?apiKey=` or a command-line argument
5. Poll `linkup-get-research` with the task id. Research runs take minutes

## Questions

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

Linkup scores 69.1 (B) on agent readiness against Cloudflare Web Search API's 62.1 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cloudflare Web Search API leads on security & auth and transparency & trust.

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

Cloudflare Web Search API, at $0.25 per 1,000 requests against $5 per 1,000 requests for Linkup. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

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

Cloudflare Web Search API needs an API key. Linkup takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. An agent can also pay Linkup per call over x402, with no account.

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

No hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API. Linkup has a hosted endpoint at https://api.linkup.so/v1/search.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Cloudflare Web Search API or Linkup

- [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 Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup.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 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 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)
- [Exa API + MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup.md)
- [Firecrawl MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-linkup.md)
- [Linkup vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-parallel-search-api.md)
- [Linkup vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-searchapi-io.md)
- [Linkup vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpapi.md)
- [Linkup vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serper.md)
- [Linkup vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpkite.md)
- [Linkup vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [Linkup vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-valyu.md)
- [Linkup vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-you-com-api.md)
- [Fetch (MCP reference server) vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-linkup.md)