# DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Linkup

> Linkup scores 68.9 (B) to DeepSeek Search and Fetch's 53.2 (D) for web search. DeepSeek Search and Fetch is cheaper for web search, $0.75 against $5 per 1,000 requests. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-linkup
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-linkup.md (~3,050 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-linkup.min.md (~880 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-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
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.
- Updated: 2026-10-17

Linkup scores 68.9 (B) on agent readiness against DeepSeek Search and Fetch API's 53.2 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth. Both do web search. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API is cheaper for web search, $0.75 against $5 per 1,000 requests. Linkup accepts x402. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API doesn't.

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API: grade D, 53.2/100, rank #795 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-search-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-search-api.json
- Linkup: grade B, 68.9/100, rank #219 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/linkup.json
- Best web search APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/search/index.md
- All 163 search comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/search/index.md

## Which one, for what

### DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (D)

Good for: Cheap per-request web search with model-ready summaries and an authority signal, plus page fetching, for agents already on a DeepSeek key and comfortable with data held in the PRC.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 81 against 76
- Security & auth, 38 against 32

Also in its favour:
- Cheaper for web search, $0.75 against $5 per 1,000 requests

Watch for: Opened on 17 October 2026, with no service record of its own and no component for it on the status page

### 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 65
- Schema & documentation, 88 against 55
- Payments & pricing, 80 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 83 against 42

Also in its favour:
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- 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 | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API | Linkup | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 70 | Linkup +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 55 | 88 | Linkup +33 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 76 | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 38 | 32 | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +6 |
| 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) | 42 | 83 | Linkup +41 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 61 | Linkup +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **53.2 · D** | **68.9 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API | Linkup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | DeepSeek | Linkup |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search` | `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 | $0.75 per 1,000 requests | $5 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | yes, from $0.01/call |
| Tools exposed | none | 4 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `so.linkup.mcp/linkup-mcp-server` |
| Last release | 2026-10-17 | 2026-09-30 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2025-08-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2025-04-01 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 29 stars, 54k npm/wk, 84k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | 4/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**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`.

## Before you call either

### 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

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, DeepSeek Search and Fetch API or Linkup?

Linkup scores 68.9 (B) on agent readiness against DeepSeek Search and Fetch API's 53.2 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API leads on agent ergonomics and security & auth.

### Which is cheaper for web search, DeepSeek Search and Fetch API or Linkup?

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API, at $0.75 per 1,000 requests against $5 per 1,000 requests for Linkup. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

### Do DeepSeek Search and Fetch API and Linkup need an API key?

DeepSeek Search and Fetch 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 DeepSeek Search and Fetch API and Linkup without installing anything?

Yes. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search and Linkup at https://api.linkup.so/v1/search.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with DeepSeek Search and Fetch API or Linkup

- [Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs DeepSeek Search and Fetch API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-deepseek-search-api.md)
- [Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-linkup.md)
- [Brave Search API + MCP vs DeepSeek Search and Fetch API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-deepseek-search-api.md)
- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs DeepSeek Search and Fetch API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-deepseek-search-api.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Exa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-exa-mcp.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Firecrawl MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-firecrawl-mcp.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Grep AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-grep-ai.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-parallel-search-api.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-searchapi-io.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-serpapi.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-serper.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-serpkite.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-tinyfish-search.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-valyu.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-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)
- [Kagi Search API vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-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 TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-tinyfish-search.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)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Fetch (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-fetch-reference-server.md)
- [Fetch (MCP reference server) vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-linkup.md)
- [Grep AI vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grep-ai-vs-linkup.md)

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