Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Mojeek Web Search API

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API scores 55.5 (C) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on transparency & trust. Both do web search. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API is cheaper for web search, $0.75 against $2.68 per 1,000 requests.

Best web search APIs for AI agents · All 308 search comparisons

Which one, for what

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API C

Best 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

  • Reliability, 72 against 45
  • Schema & documentation, 55 against 29
  • Agent ergonomics, 81 against 66
  • Security & auth, 43 against 15
  • Maintenance & community, 42 against 10

Also in its favour

  • Cheaper for web search, $0.75 against $2.68 per 1,000 requests
  • A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for

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

Mojeek Web Search API F

Best for Agents and products that want a second, independent index beside Google-derived results, or European data handling with no sub-processors.

Ahead on

  • Transparency & trust, 68 against 60

Watch for

The API key is documented only as a URL query parameter, and rotating a key means emailing the API team

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Maintenance & community DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +32

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API 42

Closed service, per the 17 October check, not re-read on 4 November (terms pause). Opened on 17 October 2026, 18 days before this check (30). The change log's 17 October entry is the only dated one about Search or Fetch in the 90 days from 6 August (0 of 20). Dated change log, api-service@deepseek.com and a Discord server, not tested for replies (12 of 15). No official SDK (0 of 15). No SDK or package to assess (0 of 10). 30 + 0 + 12 + 0 + 0 = 42.

Mojeek Web Search API 10

Read for a closed service. No API changelog, release notes or dated API change were found, and the blog's posts since 2024 are about search in general, so the last change can't be dated (0). No dated changes in the 90 days from 8 August (0). A staff member answered API questions on the community forum within a day in December 2025 and October 2026, and support is by email; no public changelog (10 of 15). No official SDKs or MCP server (0). No public packages or CI to measure (0). 0 + 0 + 10 + 0 + 0 = 10.

Security & auth DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +28

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API 43

Per the 17 October check, not re-read on 4 November (terms pause). The ordinary DeepSeek bearer key, revocable, with no scopes, so a key used for search can also spend on models. No secret in a URL (20 of 30). Both endpoints only read, so there's nothing destructive to approve, but no search-only key (15 of 20). Results and fetched pages are untrusted web text. The change log says the engine filters 'SEO spam, GEO manipulation, and low-quality AIGC', with no technical detail and no prompt-injection guidance (3 of 15). No per-call log or audit log found in the docs. The platform console wasn't readable (0 of 15). Security programme 5 of 20 (was 0). The www.deepseek.com footer carries a Report Security Issue address, security@deepseek.com, per the 21 October reading used for DeepSeek's open-weight listings; no security.txt (404 on 17 October), disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found. 20 + 15 + 3 + 0 + 5 = 43.

Mojeek Web Search API 15

One key per account, documented only as the api_key query parameter, and rotation or revocation is by email to the API team (a staff reply of 22 October 2026 on the community forum asks for the key's last 8 digits). One all-powerful key (10) less 10 for the key in the URL (0). Search is read-only and there is nothing to write, but no scoped or restricted key (10 of 20). Results are third-party titles and snippets, with no prompt-injection guidance found (0). No audit log or per-call usage view was found in the docs; the FAQ mentions budget alerts on the account (0 of 15). security.txt names security@mojeek.com, with no Expires field. No bug bounty, disclosure policy, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 found; the API page claims compliance with European rules such as the EU Data Act without a certification (5 of 20). 0 + 10 + 0 + 0 + 5 = 15.

Reliability DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +27

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API 72

Hosted reading. DeepSeek's Terms of Use bar capturing or copying content of the Services with robots, spiders or other automatic setups, so no DeepSeek page beyond the terms was requested on 4 November and every line is per the 17 October check, not re-read on 4 November. status.deepseek.com, run on Flashduty, has component history, but the endpoints have no component of their own; the nearest is Search Service, grouped under Chat Service. This run gives 15 for a vendor status page with no component for the product (was 10). The recorded history holds Search service errors of 6 minutes on 14 August and 39 on 18 August inside the 90 days from 6 August (the 29 July one has left the window), minor only; the window after 17 October is unread, so the line keeps its recorded 20. Per-account limits of 5 requests a second for each endpoint (15). The guide says to wait and retry on 408, 429 and 5xx, with no Retry-After or backoff schedule, and documents both endpoints as read-only and safe to retry, which this run reads as safe-retry guidance without idempotency keys, 12 (was 10). No SLA found (0). Opened to everyone with no beta label (10). 15 + 20 + 15 + 12 + 0 + 10 = 72.

Mojeek Web Search API 45

Read with the hosted lines. status.mojeek.com is a Site24x7 StatusIQ page with Search, Website, Blog and Community components. It is drawn by script, so only its RSS feed could be read, which shows each component's current state (Search operational since 7 September 2026) and no incident entries (15 of 20). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits are published per plan, 5 a second and 100,000 a day on Startup, 10 a second and 400,000 a day on Business (15). Over the daily limit the JSON status reads 'ERROR: Daily Limit Reached'; no HTTP 429, Retry-After or backoff guidance was found (0). No SLA, and the API terms say the service is provided as is and may be interrupted without notice (0). Generally available, with only the lr parameter marked beta (10). 15 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 45.

Schema & documentation DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +26

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API 55

Per the 17 October check, not re-read on 4 November (terms pause). No OpenAPI file found. The API reference is rendered from a schema, but no spec is linked, and /openapi.json and /openapi.yaml on the docs host serve the docs page (0). No llms.txt, since api-docs.deepseek.com answered /llms.txt with HTML (0). The guide says what each endpoint is for and which result field suits a UI or a model, and gives the score thresholds for quality and authority, but not when to use Search content against a Fetch (14 of 20). Types, required fields, defaults and limits on every field, such as query 1 to 128 characters and count 1 to 50. Filters live inside the free-text query (13 of 15). curl and Python examples, an error body and a table of ten status codes with retry guidance. The reference shows only the 200 response (13 of 15). Dated change log and a /v1 path (15). 0 + 0 + 14 + 13 + 13 + 15 = 55.

Mojeek Web Search API 29

No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract (0). No llms.txt (404) and no Markdown pages for agents (0). The parameters page states what each parameter does, with notes on when not to use reg and clufmt, but nothing on when another endpoint fits better (12 of 20). Every parameter has a type, defaults and valid ranges (tlen 0 to 127, dlen 0 to 511, rbb and lbb 1 to 100, up to 25 domains), though reg is called an enum without listing its values (11 of 15). One curl example and annotated JSON and XML response formats; errors appear only as a status string with one example (6 of 15). No API version, changelog or dated release notes, and the quickstart and the parameters page give different hosts (0). 0 + 0 + 12 + 11 + 6 + 0 = 29.

Agent ergonomics DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +15

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API 81

Per the 17 October check, not re-read on 4 November (terms pause). Responses can be sized with count and need_content, off by default, and each result carries both a short snippet and a 600 to 800 character summary. No field selection, and full content has no length cap stated (20 of 25). Site, language, date and phrase filters, up to 50 results, no pagination (15 of 20). Ten documented codes with what to do, 402 for an empty balance and 404 for an unfetchable page. param is always null and code repeats the type (17 of 20). Both endpoints are documented as read-only and safe to retry, and failed or empty calls aren't billed (20). Only query or url is required. No official SDKs, the docs use raw HTTP and Python requests (9 of 15). 20 + 15 + 17 + 20 + 9 = 81.

Mojeek Web Search API 66

Responses can be sized with t (up to 10, 40 or 100 results by plan), tlen, dlen and opt-in date and size fields (22 of 25). s for paging, since and before, site, included and excluded domains, region and language boosting and safe search (20). Errors are a free-text status with no documented codes, which an agent can't branch on reliably (5 of 20). Searches only read, so a retry is safe, but no page says whether failed or empty requests are billed (12 of 20). Only q and api_key are required, with recommended values for the boosts. No official SDK in any language (7 of 15). 22 + 20 + 5 + 12 + 7 = 66.

Transparency & trust Mojeek Web Search API +8

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API 60

Per the 17 October check for the privacy policy, not re-read on 4 November (terms pause). Closed service with published terms under PRC law, which assign Outputs to the customer; the Open Platform terms (released 22 April, effective 29 April 2026) and the Terms of Use (last update 27 March 2026) were re-read on 4 November (15). The privacy policy of 10 February 2026 says personal data trains models unless you opt out by email and gives no retention period. It also says search runs on 'third-party APIs' that receive input keywords, which disagrees with the in-house engine described on 17 October, and nothing covers fetched URLs (5 of 30). No deprecation policy, and the only dated notice is the end of free server-side calls on 31 October (5 of 20). Data location disclosed as the PRC, third parties named only by category (10 of 20). 15 + 5 + 5 + 10 = 35.

Mojeek Web Search API 68

Closed service with API terms naming Mojeek Limited under English law (15 of 30). The API page states 90-day retention, zero retention on request, no sub-processors and that Mojeek is the processor and the customer the controller, while the API terms say both parties are independent controllers under GDPR, and the privacy policy of 2 February 2022 covers only the website (12 of 30). The terms promise 30 days' notice of material changes and of price changes, but there is no deprecation policy or dated notices (5 of 20). The API page says there are no sub-processors and infrastructure is owned and run in Europe, in a UK data centre per the about page (18 of 20). 15 + 12 + 5 + 18 = 50.

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runDeepSeek Search and Fetch APIMojeek Web Search APIEdge
Reliability16%207245DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +27
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.25529DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +26
Agent ergonomics13%16.28166DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +15
Security & auth14%17.54315DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +28
Payments & pricing10%12.52020even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.84210DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +32
Transparency & trust7%8.86068Mojeek Web Search API +8
Negative events≤1500
TotalC 55.5/100F 36.4/100

Facts side by side

FactDeepSeek Search and Fetch APIMojeek Web Search API
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorDeepSeekMojeek Limited
Hosted endpointhttps://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/searchno (local only)
TransportsHTTP
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingPay per usePay per use
Price for web search$0.75 per 1,000 requests$2.68 per 1,000 requests
x402nono
Tools exposednone0
Read-only variant documentedyesno
llms.txtnono
Last release2026-10-17none
Terms last updatedcouldn't be readno date given
Privacy policy last updatedcouldn't be read2022-02-02
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be readyes
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be readnot found in the text
Agent reviews3/5 (4)none

How the scores have moved

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.

Mojeek Web Search API

Mojeek sells search over its own independent index at published per-request prices, with region, language, date and domain controls and storage rights on the Business plan. The key travels only in the URL, rotation is by email, a card is needed to start, and there is no OpenAPI, changelog, 429 handling or SLA.

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

Mojeek Web Search API

  1. Send fmt=json, since the default response is XML
  2. Read response.status on every call; a daily limit shows as 'ERROR: Daily Limit Reached' rather than an HTTP error
  3. Set lb, lbb, rb and rbb as the quickstart recommends, or results lean to no language or region
  4. Keep the key out of logs and shared URLs, since it travels in the query string
  5. On the Startup plan, don't keep results for more than an hour

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, DeepSeek Search and Fetch API or Mojeek Web Search API?

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API scores 55.5 (C) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on transparency & trust.

Which is cheaper for web search, DeepSeek Search and Fetch API or Mojeek Web Search API?

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API, at $0.75 per 1,000 requests against $2.68 per 1,000 requests for Mojeek Web Search API. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

Do DeepSeek Search and Fetch API and Mojeek Web Search API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

Can an agent call DeepSeek Search and Fetch API and Mojeek Web Search API without installing anything?

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search. No hosted endpoint is listed for Mojeek Web Search API.

Other comparisons with DeepSeek Search and Fetch API or Mojeek Web Search API

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