Cloudflare Web Search API vs Tavily API + MCP

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.

Tavily API + MCP

Keyless search and extract, plus a free 1,000 credits a month with no card. x402 covers advanced search only, not extract, map, crawl or research.

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

Tavily API + MCP

1. Try X-Tavily-Access-Mode: keyless first for search and extract. Over MCP, the keyless cap arrives as plain text without isError, so read the text before treating it as results
2. Send the key in Authorization: Bearer, not ?tavilyApiKey= in the MCP URL
3. On 429, wait for Retry-After. A 432 or 433 means a spend limit, and retrying won't help
4. Run /map before /crawl to bound the crawl, since crawl is billed as map plus extract
5. Research is async and runs 4 to 250 credits. Create the task, then poll /research/{request_id}