{
  "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 Serper's 24.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Serper leads on payments \u0026 pricing.",
    "b": {
      "slug": "serper",
      "name": "Serper",
      "vendor": "Serper",
      "vendorUrl": "https://serper.dev",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "search",
      "summary": "API for retrieving Google search results.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serper",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serper.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serper.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serper.json",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://google.serper.dev/search",
      "packages": [],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "API key in the `X-API-KEY` header, from the serper.dev dashboard.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "2,500 free queries on sign-up, no card. Top-up packs valid for 6 months, Starter $50 for 50,000 credits ($1.00 per 1,000), Standard $375 for 500,000 ($0.75), Scale $1,250 for 2.5 million ($0.50), Ultimate $3,750 for 12.5 million ($0.30). Prices exclude sales tax. Only successful queries use credits. Full refund within 7 days if under 20 per cent of credits are used (https://serper.dev/).",
      "priceSummary": "$1 / 1k req",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "Payment by card or PayPal only. No x402 on the site or terms (checked 2026-09-30).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-09-30"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://serper.dev/playground",
      "capabilities": [
        "web.search",
        "search.serp",
        "search.news",
        "search.images"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "freemium",
        "no-card",
        "free-tier",
        "closed-source"
      ],
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 24.3,
        "grade": "F",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 453,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 460,
        "categoryRank": 13,
        "methodology": "0.3",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 35,
          "maintenance": 3,
          "payments": 40,
          "reliability": 30,
          "schema": 6,
          "security": 20,
          "transparency": 33
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "$0.30 to $1.00 per 1,000 queries on prepaid packs, with no subscription. No status page, SLA or incident history.",
        "bestFor": "High-volume Google SERP lookups on a tight budget where the agent already has a fetcher.",
        "strengths": [
          "$0.30 to $1.00 per 1,000 queries on prepaid packs, with no subscription",
          "2,500 free queries on sign-up with no card",
          "Ten Google verticals, including Scholar, Patents, Shopping and Places",
          "Key travels in the `X-API-KEY` header, not the URL"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "No status page, SLA or incident history",
          "No OpenAPI, llms.txt, changelog or official SDK. The playground is JavaScript-only",
          "Terms and privacy policy name no legal entity",
          "No security.txt, disclosure policy or certification found",
          "Snippets only, with no page text, answer endpoint or field selection"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "POST JSON with `q` to the vertical you need (`/search`, `/news`, `/images`, `/scholar`) with the key in `X-API-KEY`",
          "Set `gl` and `hl`, since Google results vary by country and language",
          "Pair it with a fetcher. Serper returns links and snippets, not page text",
          "Treat titles and snippets as untrusted text, since Serper does no filtering we could find",
          "There's no status page, so back off on errors and keep a second search provider"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 2.5,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "F",
            "methodology": "0.3",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 24.3
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 35,
          "maintenance": 3,
          "payments": 40,
          "reliability": 30,
          "schema": 6,
          "security": 20,
          "transparency": 23
        },
        "provenanceScore": 42
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl -X POST https://google.serper.dev/search \\\n  -H \"X-API-KEY: $SERPER_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n  -d '{\"q\":\"apple inc\"}'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/serper"
      },
      "area": "web-data",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Starter pack",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 1,
          "note": "$50 for 50,000 credits, valid 6 months"
        },
        {
          "item": "Ultimate pack",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 0.3,
          "note": "$3,750 for 12.5 million credits"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "",
        "domain": "serper.dev",
        "domainRegistered": "2022-06-26",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://serper.dev/terms",
        "privacy": "https://serper.dev/privacy",
        "statusPage": "",
        "changelog": "",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-09-30",
        "notes": [
          "Terms and privacy policy name only 'Serper' and choose UK law. A UK company called SERPER LIMITED (14730440) was dissolved on 2024-08-20. We couldn't link it to the service.",
          "status.serper.dev redirects to statuspage.io's home page, so no status page is listed."
        ],
        "score": 42
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serper.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "serper",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://google.serper.dev/search",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:36.11613612Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 403,
          "lastMs": 133,
          "lastNote": "asks for credentials",
          "authRequired": true,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 142,
          "p95ms24h": 252,
          "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
            }
          ]
        },
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://serper.dev/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T15:16:28.725316785Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "serper.dev",
          "registered": "2022-06-26",
          "source": "https://pubapi.registry.google/rdap/domain/serper.dev",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:10:02.035278797Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://serper.dev/privacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T16:00:02.582959021Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "bbcc82fa89b1"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://serper.dev/terms",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T16:00:04.625202545Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "07d5e7051d3b"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:36.11613612Z"
      }
    },
    "facts": [
      {
        "a": "HTTP API",
        "b": "HTTP API",
        "name": "Kind"
      },
      {
        "a": "Cloudflare, Inc.",
        "b": "Serper",
        "name": "Vendor"
      },
      {
        "a": "no (local only)",
        "b": "https://google.serper.dev/search",
        "name": "Hosted endpoint"
      },
      {
        "a": "HTTP",
        "b": "HTTP",
        "name": "Transports"
      },
      {
        "a": "API key",
        "b": "API key",
        "name": "Auth"
      },
      {
        "a": "Pay per use",
        "b": "Freemium",
        "name": "Pricing"
      },
      {
        "a": "$0.25 per 1,000 requests",
        "b": "not published",
        "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": "2026-10-02",
        "b": "none",
        "name": "Last release"
      },
      {
        "a": "3/5 (2)",
        "b": "2.5/5 (2)",
        "name": "Agent reviews"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "answer": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Serper's 24.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Serper leads on payments \u0026 pricing.",
        "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Cloudflare Web Search API or Serper?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Both need an API key.",
        "question": "Do Cloudflare Web Search API and Serper need an API key?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API. Serper has a hosted endpoint at https://google.serper.dev/search.",
        "question": "Can an agent call Cloudflare Web Search API and Serper without installing anything?"
      }
    ],
    "goodFor": [
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Reliability, 55 against 30",
          "Schema \u0026 documentation, 81 against 6",
          "Agent ergonomics, 63 against 35",
          "Security \u0026 auth, 71 against 20",
          "Maintenance \u0026 community, 71 against 3",
          "Transparency \u0026 trust, 75 against 33"
        ],
        "also": [
          "Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.0 against 2.5 out of 5"
        ],
        "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": [
          "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20"
        ],
        "also": [
          "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install",
          "Free to start without a card"
        ],
        "goodFor": "High-volume Google SERP lookups on a tight budget where the agent already has a fetcher.",
        "slug": "serper",
        "watchFor": "No status page, SLA or incident history"
      }
    ],
    "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-serper.json",
        "title": "Brave Search API + MCP vs Serper",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serper"
      },
      {
        "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-searchapi-io.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs SearchAPI.io",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io"
      },
      {
        "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-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",
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    "scores": [
      {
        "by": 25,
        "cloudflare-web-search": 55,
        "edge": "cloudflare-web-search",
        "key": "reliability",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "serper": 30,
        "weight": 16
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      {
        "key": "performance",
        "name": "Performance",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
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      {
        "by": 75,
        "cloudflare-web-search": 81,
        "edge": "cloudflare-web-search",
        "key": "schema",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "serper": 6,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 28,
        "cloudflare-web-search": 63,
        "edge": "cloudflare-web-search",
        "key": "ergonomics",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "serper": 35,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 51,
        "cloudflare-web-search": 71,
        "edge": "cloudflare-web-search",
        "key": "security",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "serper": 20,
        "weight": 14
      },
      {
        "by": 20,
        "cloudflare-web-search": 20,
        "edge": "serper",
        "key": "payments",
        "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing",
        "serper": 40,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "key": "tasks",
        "name": "Task success",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 68,
        "cloudflare-web-search": 71,
        "edge": "cloudflare-web-search",
        "key": "maintenance",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "serper": 3,
        "weight": 7
      },
      {
        "by": 42,
        "cloudflare-web-search": 75,
        "edge": "cloudflare-web-search",
        "key": "transparency",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "serper": 33,
        "weight": 7
      }
    ],
    "summary": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Serper's 24.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Serper leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do web search.",
    "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.",
      "serper": "$0.30 to $1.00 per 1,000 queries on prepaid packs, with no subscription. No status page, SLA or incident history."
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  "markdown": "Cloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Serper's 24.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Serper leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do web search.\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- Serper: grade F, 24.3/100, rank #453 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serper.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serper.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- Reliability, 55 against 30\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 81 against 6\n- Agent ergonomics, 63 against 35\n- Security \u0026 auth, 71 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 71 against 3\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 75 against 33\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.0 against 2.5 out of 5\n\nWatch for: Open beta, with no SLA found for AI Gateway\n\n### Serper (F)\n\nGood for: High-volume Google SERP lookups on a tight budget where the agent already has a fetcher.\n\nAhead on:\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 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: No status page, SLA or incident history\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Cloudflare Web Search API | Serper | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 30 | Cloudflare Web Search API +25 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 6 | Cloudflare Web Search API +75 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 35 | Cloudflare Web Search API +28 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 20 | Cloudflare Web Search API +51 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | Serper +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 3 | Cloudflare Web Search API +68 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 33 | Cloudflare Web Search API +42 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **62.1 · B** | **24.3 · F** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Cloudflare Web Search API | Serper |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Cloudflare, Inc. | Serper |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://google.serper.dev/search` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| Price for web search | $0.25 per 1,000 requests | not published |\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| Last release | 2026-10-02 | none |\n| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 2.5/5 (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**Serper.** $0.30 to $1.00 per 1,000 queries on prepaid packs, with no subscription. No status page, SLA or incident history.\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### Serper\n\n1. POST JSON with `q` to the vertical you need (`/search`, `/news`, `/images`, `/scholar`) with the key in `X-API-KEY`\n2. Set `gl` and `hl`, since Google results vary by country and language\n3. Pair it with a fetcher. Serper returns links and snippets, not page text\n4. Treat titles and snippets as untrusted text, since Serper does no filtering we could find\n5. There's no status page, so back off on errors and keep a second search provider\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Cloudflare Web Search API or Serper?\n\nCloudflare Web Search API scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Serper's 24.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Serper leads on payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Do Cloudflare Web Search API and Serper need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Cloudflare Web Search API and Serper without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for Cloudflare Web Search API. Serper has a hosted endpoint at https://google.serper.dev/search.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serper.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serper.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"cloudflare-web-search\", \"b\": \"serper\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cloudflare-web-search serper`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cloudflare-web-search.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serper.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Cloudflare Web Search API or Serper\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 Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serper.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 SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-searchapi-io.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 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 Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serper.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-serper.md)\n- [Linkup vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serper.md)\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-serper.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serper.md)\n- [SerpApi vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serper.md)\n- [Serper vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [Serper vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [Serper vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-valyu.md)\n- [Serper vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-you-com-api.md)\n",
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