DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Linkup

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API

Search returns up to 50 results with a model-length summary, an authority tier and optional full text, and only successful non-empty calls are billed, at $0.75 per 1,000. It opened on 17 October 2026, with 5 requests a second per account, no OpenAPI file, no free tier, and data held in the PRC under a policy that permits training.

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.

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API

1. Keep query to 128 characters and put filters in it as operators, such as site:github.com lang:en after:2026-01-01
2. Leave need_content false and read summary first, then call Fetch on the URLs you keep
3. Stay under 5 requests a second per account across all keys. On 408, 429 or 5xx wait and retry, since no Retry-After is documented
4. Don't retry a Fetch 403 or 404 unchanged. The page is blocked by policy, unreachable or has no Markdown
5. Don't send private queries or an end user's IP in localization. Data is stored in the PRC

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