DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Perplexity Search API

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.

Perplexity Search API 82

Read as a closed service with official SDKs and an open-source MCP server. perplexityai 0.46.1 on PyPI on 23 October 2026 and the MCP server's last commit on 21 October, with changelog entries into November 2026 (30). In the 90 days from 8 August, perplexityai 0.43.7 to 0.46.1 (six releases from 2 October), MCP server 1.2.1 (27 August) and 1.3.0 (25 September, Fast Search on perplexity_search), and Fast Search itself in September (20). A changelog with several entries a month, a community forum with a bug-report category, a GitHub discussion repository and api@perplexity.ai. MCP issue reply times weren't read (10 of 15). The MCP server is in the official registry under the domain-verified ai.perplexity namespace, and the Python and TypeScript SDKs are current (15). The MCP repository runs tests in CI and validates its plugin manifests. Its 1.4.0, prepared on 16 October, is not on npm, which still serves 1.3.0, and the registry's latest entry is 1.2.1 of 27 August (7 of 10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 15 + 7 = 82.

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.

Perplexity Search API 89

OpenAPI 3.1.0 at docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json describes POST /search with typed request and response schemas, listed in llms.txt (25). llms.txt indexes every page, each with a Markdown twin (10). The overview says what a result holds, that snippets can be empty, when to use the Search API instead of the Agent API, and that it takes queries not URLs and does not re-fetch pages (19 of 20). search_type is an enum, max_results, max_tokens and max_tokens_per_page carry minimum and maximum, country and language codes carry lengths, and query is a string or an array. The recency filter is an enum in the docs, and date filters are MM/DD/YYYY strings (14 of 15). Python, TypeScript and cURL examples with a recorded response. The spec documents only 200 and 422 for /search, and status codes are listed on the SDK error-handling page and the rate-limit page rather than for Search (11 of 15). A public changelog with several entries a month, dated by month only, and an unversioned /search path (10 of 15). 25 + 10 + 19 + 14 + 11 + 10 = 89.

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.

Perplexity Search API 56

Project API keys, shown once, revocable, and generated and revoked through two documented endpoints with a rotation guide. No per-key scopes or spending limits were found. The hosted MCP server also takes Sign in with Perplexity (OAuth). Keys go in the Authorization header only (22 of 30, as on the Decisions API listing). Search only reads, and MCP clients can disable tools, but any key reaches every API on the account, including the Agent API's sandbox and MCP tools (8 of 20). Snippets are third-party page text, and no guidance on treating them as untrusted was found in the docs, the MCP server or its SECURITY.md (0 of 15). Responses carry a request id, and the console shows usage by key. The Audit API covers enterprise organisations' web app events with its own keys, not API calls (8 of 15). security.txt valid until 31 December 2027 linking a security page, a SOC 2 Type II report, a 2025 HIPAA gap assessment and a CAIQlite listed on the trust centre, and a SECURITY.md on the MCP server that takes private reports through GitHub advisories or security@perplexity.ai. The trust centre is drawn by script and wasn't read (18 of 20). 22 + 8 + 0 + 8 + 18 = 56.

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.

Perplexity Search API 80

Graded on the hosted lines, for POST /search and the hosted MCP server. status.perplexity.com, on incident.io since 10 September 2026, has an API component with an RSS feed and a JSON summary. There is no separate Search component (20). In the 90 days from 8 August the feed lists 'Investigating API issue' on 13 August, resolved with no detail, a usage-based billing issue on 3 September, and on 9 October elevated errors on the website, app and Computer, where the API 'remained operational throughout'. Minor only, with the caveat that history before the migration may be incomplete (20). The Search API is limited to 50 query units a second with a burst of 50 on every tier, and the other APIs publish QPS and token limits per tier (15). 429 carries Retry-After and an error.type, the SDKs retry 429 and 5xx twice honouring Retry-After, the Search best-practices page shows backoff, and failed or rate-limited searches are not billed. Searches have no side effects (15). The FAQ says Perplexity does not guarantee uptime, failure frequency or recovery time, and the terms carry no SLA (0). No beta label on the Search API, launched on 25 September 2025 (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 80.

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.

Perplexity Search API 66

Closed service under terms naming Perplexity AI, Inc. and California law. The MCP server is MIT and the SDKs Apache-2.0 (18 of 30). The terms and DPA say Customer Content and personal data don't train Perplexity's models, the DPA deletes personal data within 30 days of the service ending, and the Privacy and Security page says retention varies by API and zero data retention is not the default. The DPA also says Perplexity Search may follow different data terms, which weren't found, and no retention period for search queries is stated (15 of 30). Sonar Chat Completions support ended on 27 September 2026 with a migration guide and requests reformulated rather than refused, and sonar-reasoning was removed on 15 December 2025 with a named replacement. Notices are dated by month and there is no standing notice period beyond the terms' 30 days for termination (10 of 20). A sub-processor list on the trust centre, which is drawn by script and wasn't read, ten business days' notice of new non-model subprocessors, and SCCs for EU and UK transfers. No data location is stated (8 of 20). 18 + 15 + 10 + 8 = 51.

DeepSeek Search and Fetch API 20

Per the 17 October check, not re-read on 4 November (terms pause). No machine payment protocol in the guide, the API reference or the pricing page (0). $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests for each endpoint, published without a login on the guide and the pricing page (20). No free tier for direct calls. The stated free period for server-side calls made through DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex ended at 16:00 UTC on 31 October 2026, and it never covered direct calls (0). Browser sign-up and a prepaid top-up (0). 0 + 20 + 0 + 0 = 20.

Perplexity Search API 25

No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, pricing page, OpenAPI or llms.txt (0). $5 per 1,000 successful requests, $1 with Fast Search, published without a login, with failed and rate-limited requests not billed (20). Usage is prepaid with a card on the billing page, and no free allowance was found. The console playground needs no key but is a page for a person, not an API allowance (0). A person signs up in the console. The Stripe Projects route provisions a project, key and credits from a terminal, but needs a person's Stripe account with a payment method and a $10 minimum purchase (5 of 20, as on the Decisions API listing). 0 + 20 + 0 + 5 = 25.