{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "cloudflare-web-search", "name": "Cloudflare Web Search API", "vendor": "Cloudflare, Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.cloudflare.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "search", "summary": "Cloudflare's web search endpoint, in open beta since 2 October 2026, routes a query through AI Gateway to Ceramic.ai, Exa or Linkup and returns results in one format, by REST or from a Worker's AI binding.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-web-search", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-web-search.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-web-search.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json", "license": "Proprietary service under Cloudflare's terms. Each search provider's own terms are linked from the providers page", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A Cloudflare API token as a Bearer header, with Account \u003e Workers AI \u003e Read and Account \u003e AI Gateway \u003e Read. Inside a Worker the `AI` binding needs no token. Provider keys stored on the gateway (BYOK) are selected by `byokAlias` and never sent in the request. The OpenAPI operation also accepts the legacy global API key with an email header.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Billed per search from prepaid AI Gateway credits at the provider's list price, Ceramic.ai $0.25, Linkup $5.00 and Exa $7.00 per 1,000 requests. Credits carry a 5 per cent purchase fee and need a payment method on the account. With a stored provider key the provider bills you directly. No free allowance found (https://developers.cloudflare.com/web-search/providers/, checked 2026-10-05).", "priceSummary": "$0.25 / 1k req", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "AI Gateway Machine Payments (x402, beta since 30 September 2026) covers only POST /ai/run for four open models, US accounts with a card on file. The Web Search API pages, the providers page and the OpenAPI operation mention no x402, MPP or L402 (https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/features/machine-payments/, checked 2026-10-05).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-05" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.cloudflare.com/web-search/", "llmsTxt": "https://developers.cloudflare.com/web-search/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cloudflare/api-schemas/main/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "web.search" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "beta", "openapi", "llms-txt", "typescript", "status-page", "bug-bounty" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 62.1, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 226, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 460, "categoryRank": 10, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 63, "maintenance": 71, "payments": 20, "reliability": 55, "schema": 81, "security": 71, "transparency": 75 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-05" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "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.", "bestFor": "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.", "strengths": [ "Three providers behind one request shape, switched by the `provider` parameter", "Ceramic.ai at $0.25 per 1,000 searches, at the provider's list price", "Every search lands in AI Gateway logs, with per-request headers to skip storing payloads", "Typed error body with category, code and a `retryable` flag", "Providers commit to verified-bot crawling and a source link on every result" ], "weaknesses": [ "Open beta, with no SLA found for AI Gateway", "Credits need a payment method and carry a 5 per cent purchase fee. No free allowance", "At most 10 results a call, with no pagination, domain or date filters", "No x402. Machine Payments covers only /ai/run", "The changelog and the providers page disagree on whether Exa searches have Zero Data Retention" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `options.gateway.id`. Every account has a gateway named `default`", "Pass `provider` explicitly. It defaults to Ceramic.ai, whose descriptions can run to 8,000 characters a result", "Set `limit` to the results you'll read, between 1 and 10", "Set `byokAlias` when you mean to use a stored provider key, so a missing key fails with 400 instead of spending credits", "Send `cf-aig-collect-log-payload: false` if queries shouldn't be stored in gateway logs" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 62.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 63, "maintenance": 71, "payments": 20, "reliability": 55, "schema": 81, "security": 71, "transparency": 50 }, "provenanceScore": 100 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/$CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID/ai/websearch/ \\\n --request POST \\\n --header \"Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN\" \\\n --header \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n --data '{\n \"query\": \"What are some fun things to do in Salt Lake City as fall approaches?\",\n \"provider\": \"ceramic\",\n \"limit\": 5,\n \"options\": {\n \"gateway\": { \"id\": \"default\" }\n }\n }'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/cloudflare-web-search" }, "sameCompany": [ "cloudflare-sandbox-sdk", "cloudflare-mcp", "cloudflare-r2", "cloudflare-clef" ], "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Search, Ceramic.ai", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 0.25 }, { "item": "Search, Linkup", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5 }, { "item": "Search, Exa", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 7 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Cloudflare, Inc.", "domain": "cloudflare.com", "domainRegistered": "2009-02-17", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://cloudflare.com/terms/", "privacy": "https://cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/", "statusPage": "https://www.cloudflarestatus.com", "changelog": "https://developers.cloudflare.com/ai-gateway/changelog/", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-05", "notes": [ "Legal entity, domain date, terms and privacy follow the Cloudflare MCP listing's check. We didn't re-read them for this listing.", "www.cloudflare.com/.well-known/security.txt, read on 5 October 2026, names HackerOne and a disclosure policy and carries no Expires field.", "The endpoint is on api.cloudflare.com. Searches are forwarded to Ceramic.ai, Exa or Linkup." ], "score": 100 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json", "live": { "slug": "cloudflare-web-search", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://www.cloudflarestatus.com", "indicator": "major", "summary": "Partial System Outage", "checkedAt": "2026-10-06T01:47:08.690984366Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-06T01:47:08.690984366Z" } }, "answer": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SearchAPI.io leads on reliability and payments \u0026 pricing.", "b": { "slug": "searchapi-io", "name": "SearchAPI.io", "vendor": "SearchApi", "vendorUrl": "https://www.searchapi.io", "kind": "http-api", "category": "search", "summary": "SERP scraping API returning parsed JSON from Google and its verticals, Bing, Baidu, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, YouTube, Amazon, TikTok, ad libraries and travel sites, over 150 engine endpoints behind one GET URL.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/searchapi-io.json", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search", "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "API key as the `api_key` query parameter or `Authorization: Bearer`. The hosted MCP uses OAuth in the browser, or an `X-MCP-Token` header for programmatic clients.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "100 free requests on signup, no card. Developer $40 a month for 10,000 searches ($4 per 1,000), Production $100 for 35,000, BigData $250 for 100,000, Scale $500 for 250,000, Octo tiers from $900 for 500,000 down to $1 per 1,000 at 5M. Only successful (HTTP 200) searches are charged (https://www.searchapi.io/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$4 / 1k req", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 on pricing, docs or MCP pages (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://www.searchapi.io/docs/google", "openapi": "https://www.searchapi.io/openapi/google.yaml", "registryName": "io.searchapi/mcp", "capabilities": [ "web.search", "search.serp", "search.news", "search.images" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "no-card", "mcp", "closed-source" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 51.4, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 358, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 460, "categoryRank": 12, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 52, "maintenance": 15, "payments": 30, "reliability": 90, "schema": 59, "security": 28, "transparency": 62 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August. MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets.", "bestFor": "Agents that need parsed results from many engines, especially shopping, ads, travel and social sources, at a low price per search.", "strengths": [ "99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August", "Only HTTP 200 searches are billed", "$4 per 1,000 on the entry plan, falling to $1 at 5 million a month", "Over 150 engine endpoints, including ad libraries, TikTok and travel sites", "OpenAPI 3.0 for the Google engine with typed enums" ], "weaknesses": [ "MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets", "API key accepted as `api_key` in the query string, and the registry entry puts the MCP token in the URL", "No changelog, no llms.txt and no official SDKs", "No x402 and no per-call option. Every account starts with a browser signup", "Returns SERP snippets only, and no prompt-injection guidance for scraped AI answers" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not `api_key=` in the URL", "Connect the MCP through OAuth or the `X-MCP-Token` header, not the registry's `?token=` URL", "Call the REST API with `engine=` when context is tight. The MCP loads over 100 tool definitions", "Page Google results with `page`. `num` is fixed at 10", "Pace bursts. One hour can use at most 20 per cent of the plan's monthly searches" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 51.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 52, "maintenance": 15, "payments": 30, "reliability": 90, "schema": 59, "security": 28, "transparency": 48 }, "provenanceScore": 76 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -G https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search -H \"Authorization: Bearer $SEARCHAPI_API_KEY\" -d engine=google --data-urlencode \"q=chatgpt\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http searchapi https://www.searchapi.io/mcp" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/searchapi-io" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Developer plan, per 1,000 searches", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4, "note": "10,000 searches for $40 a month" }, { "item": "Developer plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 40, "note": "10,000 searches" }, { "item": "Production plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 100, "note": "35,000 searches, includes Legal Protection Guarantee" }, { "item": "BigData plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 250, "note": "100,000 searches" }, { "item": "Scale plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 500, "note": "250,000 searches" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "SearchApi, LLC", "domain": "searchapi.io", "domainRegistered": "2017-12-13", "domainNote": "Registered in 2017 and transferred on 2022-05-26.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/terms", "privacy": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.searchapi.io", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "score": 76 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.json", "live": { "slug": "searchapi-io", "probe": { "target": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:36.009650396Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 106, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 117, "p95ms24h": 273, "samples24h": 273, "samples30d": 1395, "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": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 21, "ok": 21 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.searchapi.io", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-06T01:26:20.231481108Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "io.searchapi/mcp", "version": "1.0.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-05T23:55:54.568086057Z" } ], "securityTxt": { "url": "https://searchapi.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T15:16:36.590853602Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "searchapi.io", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:29.137009821Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.searchapi.io/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T16:04:35.021755056Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-05T16:04:35.021755056Z", "fingerprint": "4ab3864aff54" }, { "url": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T16:04:30.653772421Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-05T16:04:30.653772421Z", "fingerprint": "e7125c3c044e" }, { "url": "https://www.searchapi.io/legal/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T16:04:32.942690974Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-05T16:04:32.942690974Z", "fingerprint": "63c5079f73d3" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:36.009650396Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Cloudflare, Inc.", "b": "SearchApi", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "$0.25 per 1,000 requests", "b": "$4 per 1,000 requests", "name": "Price for web search" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service under Cloudflare's terms. Each search provider's own terms are linked from the providers page", "b": "none", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "not listed", "b": "io.searchapi/mcp", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-10-02", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "3/5 (2)", "b": "3/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SearchAPI.io leads on reliability and payments \u0026 pricing.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Cloudflare Web Search API or SearchAPI.io?" }, { "answer": "Cloudflare Web Search API, at $0.25 per 1,000 requests against $4 per 1,000 requests for SearchAPI.io. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.", "question": "Which is cheaper for web search, Cloudflare Web Search API or SearchAPI.io?" }, { "answer": "Cloudflare Web Search API needs an API key. SearchAPI.io takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Cloudflare Web Search API and SearchAPI.io need an API key?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API. SearchAPI.io has a hosted endpoint at https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search.", "question": "Can an agent call Cloudflare Web Search API and SearchAPI.io without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 81 against 59", "Agent ergonomics, 63 against 52", "Security \u0026 auth, 71 against 28", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 71 against 15", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 75 against 62" ], "also": [ "Cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $4 per 1,000 requests" ], "goodFor": "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.", "slug": "cloudflare-web-search", "watchFor": "Open beta, with no SLA found for AI Gateway" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 90 against 55", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 20" ], "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Agents that need parsed results from many engines, especially shopping, ads, travel and social sources, at a low price per search.", "slug": "searchapi-io", "watchFor": "MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets" } ], "job": { "capability": "web.search", "name": "Web search" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-cloudflare-web-search.json", "title": "Brave Search API + MCP vs Cloudflare Web Search API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-cloudflare-web-search" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.json", "title": "Brave Search API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-searchapi-io" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-exa-mcp.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Exa API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-exa-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-firecrawl-mcp.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Firecrawl MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-firecrawl-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Linkup", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-parallel-search-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Parallel Search and Task APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-parallel-search-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpapi.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpApi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpapi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serper.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Serper", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serper" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-tavily-mcp.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Tavily API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-tavily-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-valyu.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Valyu", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-valyu" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-you-com-api.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs You.com APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-you-com-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-searchapi-io" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.json", "title": "Firecrawl MCP vs SearchAPI.io", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-searchapi-io" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-searchapi-io.json", "title": "Linkup vs SearchAPI.io", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-searchapi-io" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-searchapi-io.json", "title": "Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SearchAPI.io", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-searchapi-io" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi.json", "title": "SearchAPI.io vs SerpApi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serper.json", "title": "SearchAPI.io vs Serper", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serper" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "SearchAPI.io vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-tavily-mcp.json", "title": "SearchAPI.io vs Tavily API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-tavily-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-valyu.json", "title": "SearchAPI.io vs Valyu", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-valyu" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-you-com-api.json", "title": "SearchAPI.io vs You.com APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-you-com-api" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 35, "cloudflare-web-search": 55, "edge": "searchapi-io", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "searchapi-io": 90, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 22, "cloudflare-web-search": 81, "edge": "cloudflare-web-search", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "searchapi-io": 59, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 11, "cloudflare-web-search": 63, "edge": "cloudflare-web-search", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "searchapi-io": 52, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 43, "cloudflare-web-search": 71, "edge": "cloudflare-web-search", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "searchapi-io": 28, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 10, "cloudflare-web-search": 20, "edge": "searchapi-io", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "searchapi-io": 30, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 56, "cloudflare-web-search": 71, "edge": "cloudflare-web-search", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "searchapi-io": 15, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 13, "cloudflare-web-search": 75, "edge": "cloudflare-web-search", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "searchapi-io": 62, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SearchAPI.io leads on reliability and payments \u0026 pricing. Both do web search. Cloudflare Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $4 per 1,000 requests.", "verdicts": { "cloudflare-web-search": "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.", "searchapi-io": "99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August. MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.min.md" }, "markdown": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SearchAPI.io leads on reliability and payments \u0026 pricing. Both do web search. Cloudflare Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $4 per 1,000 requests.\n\n- 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\n- SearchAPI.io: grade D, 51.4/100, rank #358 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/searchapi-io.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Cloudflare Web Search API (B)\n\nGood 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.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 81 against 59\n- Agent ergonomics, 63 against 52\n- Security \u0026 auth, 71 against 28\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 71 against 15\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 75 against 62\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Cheaper for web search, $0.25 against $4 per 1,000 requests\n\nWatch for: Open beta, with no SLA found for AI Gateway\n\n### SearchAPI.io (D)\n\nGood for: Agents that need parsed results from many engines, especially shopping, ads, travel and social sources, at a low price per search.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 90 against 55\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 20\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Cloudflare Web Search API | SearchAPI.io | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 90 | SearchAPI.io +35 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 59 | Cloudflare Web Search API +22 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 52 | Cloudflare Web Search API +11 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 28 | Cloudflare Web Search API +43 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 30 | SearchAPI.io +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 15 | Cloudflare Web Search API +56 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 62 | Cloudflare Web Search API +13 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **62.1 · B** | **51.4 · D** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Cloudflare Web Search API | SearchAPI.io |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Cloudflare, Inc. | SearchApi |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| Price for web search | $0.25 per 1,000 requests | $4 per 1,000 requests |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under Cloudflare's terms. Each search provider's own terms are linked from the providers page | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| MCP registry | not listed | `io.searchapi/mcp` |\n| Last release | 2026-10-02 | none |\n| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 3/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**SearchAPI.io.** 99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August. MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Cloudflare Web Search API\n\n1. Set `options.gateway.id`. Every account has a gateway named `default`\n2. Pass `provider` explicitly. It defaults to Ceramic.ai, whose descriptions can run to 8,000 characters a result\n3. Set `limit` to the results you'll read, between 1 and 10\n4. Set `byokAlias` when you mean to use a stored provider key, so a missing key fails with 400 instead of spending credits\n5. Send `cf-aig-collect-log-payload: false` if queries shouldn't be stored in gateway logs\n\n### SearchAPI.io\n\n1. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not `api_key=` in the URL\n2. Connect the MCP through OAuth or the `X-MCP-Token` header, not the registry's `?token=` URL\n3. Call the REST API with `engine=` when context is tight. The MCP loads over 100 tool definitions\n4. Page Google results with `page`. `num` is fixed at 10\n5. Pace bursts. One hour can use at most 20 per cent of the plan's monthly searches\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Cloudflare Web Search API or SearchAPI.io?\n\nCloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SearchAPI.io leads on reliability and payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Which is cheaper for web search, Cloudflare Web Search API or SearchAPI.io?\n\nCloudflare Web Search API, at $0.25 per 1,000 requests against $4 per 1,000 requests for SearchAPI.io. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.\n\n### Do Cloudflare Web Search API and SearchAPI.io need an API key?\n\nCloudflare Web Search API needs an API key. SearchAPI.io takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Cloudflare Web Search API and SearchAPI.io without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API. SearchAPI.io has a hosted endpoint at https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"cloudflare-web-search\", \"b\": \"searchapi-io\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cloudflare-web-search searchapi-io`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/searchapi-io.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Cloudflare Web Search API or SearchAPI.io\n\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Cloudflare Web Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-cloudflare-web-search.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Exa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-exa-mcp.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Firecrawl MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-firecrawl-mcp.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-parallel-search-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serper.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-valyu.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Linkup vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serper.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-valyu.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-you-com-api.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-06", "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": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs SearchAPI.io", "url": "" } ], "description": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against SearchAPI.io's 51.4 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SearchAPI.io leads on reliability and payments \u0026 pricing. Both do web search. Cloudflare Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $0.25 against…", "facts": [ "Cloudflare Web Search API B 62.1", "SearchAPI.io D 51.4", "scores" ], "h1": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs SearchAPI.io", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.png", "path": "/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs SearchAPI.io for AI agents", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-06", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2400, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }