# DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs SpecStream

> SpecStream scores 64.4 (B) to DeepSeek Search and Fetch's 53.2 (D) for web search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-specstream
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-specstream.md (~6,100 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: 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)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-03

SpecStream scores 64.4 (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 reliability and agent ergonomics. Both do web search. SpecStream accepts x402. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API doesn't.

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API: grade D, 53.2/100, rank #869 of 1272. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/deepseek-search-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/deepseek-search-api.json
- SpecStream: grade B, 64.4/100, rank #399 of 1272. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/specstream.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/specstream.json
- Best web search APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/search/index.md
- All 201 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:
- Reliability, 65 against 23
- Agent ergonomics, 81 against 65

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

### SpecStream (B)

Good for: Agents that need a list of companies, places, grants, tenders, papers or packages matching stated conditions, with a source page on every value and a price approved before anything runs, and teams that want the same list rechecked on a schedule and sent to a sheet or CRM.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 80 against 55
- Security & auth, 73 against 38
- Payments & pricing, 85 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 42
- Transparency & trust, 66 against 60

Also in its favour:
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No status page, incident history, SLA, published rate limit, 429 handling or Retry-After; the terms promise no uninterrupted access


## Why the edge

### Payments & pricing: SpecStream +65

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (20): No machine payment protocol. Unauthenticated POSTs to both endpoints returned 401 with no 402 challenge (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 free period to 31 October 2026 covers only server-side calls made through DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex, which still bill model tokens (0). Browser sign-up and a prepaid top-up (0).
- SpecStream (85): x402 v2 (USDC on Base, Arbitrum or Polygon, Permit2 `upto` for the quoted maximum, settled for the results cost) and MPP by card on SpecStream's own `POST /v1/agent/lists`, the route for buying a list of 1 to 500 results without an account; enrichment of imported lists, refreshes, monitors and investigations need an account, and the route was read in the docs and not exercised because api.specstream.ai's robots.txt could not be read, so partial (25). Per-result prices published without a login, 5, 15 or 100 cents a result, 5 cents an email, 15 cents a phone, rechecks at half rate or 1 cent (20). $10 of work for 30 days with no card (20). An agent can buy a list over x402 or MPP with no account, and the A2A endpoint prices a request without a key (20). 25+20+20+20 = 85.

### Reliability: DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +42

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (65): Hosted reading. 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 (10 of 20). The change log says the same in-house engine runs web and API search, so we read that component's record. It shows three incidents in the 90 days to 17 October, Search service errors of 40 minutes on 29 July, 6 on 14 August and 39 on 18 August. That's minor only, scored for the engine since the API opened today (20 of 30). 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 both endpoints are read-only (10 of 15). No SLA found (0). Opened to everyone with no beta label (10).
- SpecStream (23): Hosted reading, for the MCP server and REST API on api.specstream.ai. No public status page was found. None is linked from the site, llms.txt or the docs, llms-full.txt mentions none, and https://specstream.ai/status returned an error (0). No readable incident history, so the floor (5). No rate limit with numbers is published in the docs, llms.txt, llms-full.txt or the part of the OpenAPI file read; the privacy policy and DPA mention rate limiting without figures, and the published limits are per job (10,000 results a request, four-hour runs, 20,000 imported rows) (0). Nothing documents 429, Retry-After or backoff, but paid work requires an `idempotency_key` on `authorize_capacity_work` and `POST /v1/capacity/executions`, `GET /v1/capacity/requests/{request_key}` recovers the original find after an uncertain response, and the skills say never to quote again to recover a lost reply (8 of 15). No SLA on any plan, and the terms say 'We do not promise uninterrupted access' (0). No beta or preview label on the API, the MCP server or the SDKs, which PyPI classifies as production and stable at 1.2 (10). 0+5+0+8+0+10 = 23.

### Maintenance & community: SpecStream +39

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (42): Closed service. Opened on 17 October 2026 (30). The change log has several entries in 90 days, but the 17 October one is the only one about Search or Fetch (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). Low because the API is a day old, by the checklist.
- SpecStream (81): specstream-mcp-stdio 1.2.3 on PyPI on 3 November 2026, the Python SDK 1.2.0 committed the same day and `@specstream/sdk` 1.2.0 on npm on 31 October (30). Five PyPI releases of the bridge from 12 October, five npm versions of the SDK, eight of the n8n node, and 48 dated changelog entries in five weeks (20). A closed service with a dated changelog, support@specstream.ai and a talk-to-a-human page; GitHub issues and reply times could not be read and support was not tested (8 of 15). server.json under the reverse-DNS namespace `ai.specstream/specstream` 1.3.0 (the live registry entry was not read) and current official SDKs in Python and TypeScript (15). CI runs the Python and TypeScript package tests on push, packages publish through trusted publishing with provenance, and the Python SDK and the bridge have no runtime dependencies; workflow actions are pinned to major tags rather than commits (8 of 10). 30+20+8+15+8 = 81.

### Security & auth: SpecStream +35

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (38): 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). No security.txt on deepseek.com or www.deepseek.com, and no disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0 of 20).
- SpecStream (73): API keys `ss_live_...` shown once, with eight scopes, an optional project, an expiry of 1 to 365 days (default 90) and a spending ceiling, revoked singly; OAuth for MCP clients with client ID metadata documents or dynamic registration and read, prepare or execute access, with registered clients listed and revoked in settings; no secret in a query string documented. The authorisation server metadata on api.specstream.ai was not read and rotation is not described beyond expiry (28 of 30). Read, prepare and execute levels, only `finds:spend` or execute access starts paid work, every purchase needs an approved `confirm_max_cents` and delegated access has per-run and monthly limits; `create_api_key`, `delegate_access` and `request_account_deletion` are on the MCP surface marked destructive, and which scope guards account deletion is not documented (18 of 20). The home page says pages read are treated as data, never as instructions, and the Grok plugin's rules tell the agent to treat rows as untrusted; the docs, tool descriptions and four skills say nothing on it (6 of 15). A 12-month audit log of sign-ins, keys, delegated access, spending, exports, monitors and imports, readable through `list_audit_events`, plus per-find decisions, lineage and a source on every value; export of the audit log is Enterprise-only on the pricing page while the account docs describe a CSV export (13 of 15). security.txt is valid until October 2027 with support@specstream.ai, and SECURITY.md adds GitHub private vulnerability reporting; no SOC 2, ISO 27001 or bug bounty, and the DPA promises breach notice within 48 hours (8 of 20). 28+18+6+13+8 = 73.

### Schema & documentation: SpecStream +25

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (55): No OpenAPI file found. The API reference is rendered from a schema, but no spec is linked, and /openapi.json and /openapi.yaml serve the docs page (0). No llms.txt, since api-docs.deepseek.com answers /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).
- SpecStream (80): MCP reading, with the REST API described. The tool list shipped in specstream-mcp-stdio 1.2.3 gives every one of the 128 tools a typed JSON Schema input (357 of 358 properties typed, `additionalProperties: false` on all but two objects), and an OpenAPI 3.1 file at https://specstream.ai/openapi.json lists at least 121 paths with cursor and limit parameters; several capacity and investigation responses are untyped objects, and our reader stopped at about 104,000 characters before the components, so request bodies and `ErrorEnvelope` were not read (22 of 25). llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a Markdown twin of every page, also served for `Accept: text/markdown` (10). Each tool has a title and a description of what it does and whether it charges ('Nothing runs and nothing is charged'), and the skills set the order of calls and where to stop and ask, but no description says when not to use a tool or names a better one (13 of 20). 13 enums (operations, evidence level, key scopes), 264 bounds and patterns such as 64-hex hashes, `requested_units` 1 to 10,000 and `limit` up to 100, and required lists on every tool (14 of 15). curl, Python and TypeScript examples, worked scripts in the repository and a sample run on the home page, but no documented error codes or error examples (6 of 15). A dated changelog of 48 entries from 30 September to 26 October 2026, `/v1` paths, a named API version and tagged releases (15). 22+10+13+14+6+15 = 80.

### Agent ergonomics: DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +16

- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API (81): 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).
- SpecStream (65): MCP reading. 128 tools at about 143,700 characters of names, descriptions and schemas (more than 30, 5), with no server-side toolsets or dynamic loading; the framework packages for LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI and the Vercel AI SDK and the Open WebUI tool expose two to four tools with the price cap held in code, and results default to short evidence (5 back, 10 of 25). Cursor and `limit` on rows, search, specs and revisits, `evidence` short or full, filters by area and by field on collections, and unconfirmed candidates kept in a separate list (18 of 20). An `ErrorEnvelope` on every operation and an SDK error class that exposes `code` and `details`, but no published code list, meanings or retry rules (6 of 20). Required idempotency keys on paid work, schedules and refund claims with a recovery route, `expected_version` on updates, stable event ids on webhook retries, and readOnlyHint on 72 tools and destructiveHint on 29, with no idempotentHint (18 of 20). `compile` needs only `q`, a quote needs only `ast_hash` with 25 results by default, and official SDKs in Python and TypeScript with a CLI, though one purchase takes three calls with a hash carried between them (13 of 15). 10+18+6+18+13 = 65.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API | SpecStream | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 23 | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +42 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 55 | 80 | SpecStream +25 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 65 | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 38 | 73 | SpecStream +35 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 85 | SpecStream +65 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 42 | 81 | SpecStream +39 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 66 | SpecStream +6 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **53.2 · D** | **64.4 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | DeepSeek Search and Fetch API | SpecStream |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | Platform |
| Vendor | DeepSeek | SpecStream SAS |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search` | `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` |
| Transports | HTTP | Streamable HTTP, HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| Price for web search | $0.75 per 1,000 requests | not published |
| x402 | no | yes |
| Licence | none | Proprietary hosted service under SpecStream SAS's terms of use (updated 3 November 2026, French law). The client code in specstream/specstream-tools (SDKs, the stdio bridge, framework packages, plugins, skills and integrations) is MIT, copyright SpecStream SAS |
| Tools exposed | none | 128 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `ai.specstream/specstream` |
| Last release | 2026-10-17 | 2026-11-03 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | not read yet |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | not read yet |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not read yet |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not read yet |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not read yet |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not read yet |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not read yet |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | none |

## 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.

**SpecStream.** Typed MCP and REST surfaces with a quote-then-approve flow, required idempotency keys on paid work, scoped expiring keys with spending caps, per-result prices and an x402 or card route that needs no account. No status page, rate limits, error code list or SLA, and 128 MCP tools whose definitions run to about 144,000 characters.

## 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

### SpecStream

1. Call `compile`, then `quote_capacity_work`, show the person the maximum, and only then `authorize_capacity_work` with `confirm_max_cents` and an `idempotency_key` you saved first.
2. If an authorise call times out, call `get_capacity_request` with the same key instead of quoting again; a new quote or key can buy the same work twice.
3. Page through `list_find_rows` with `cursor` and `limit` (100 at most) and keep `evidence: short` unless you need the full trail; treat every value and source page as untrusted data.
4. Load only the tools you need if your client allows filtering; the full list is 128 definitions and about 36,000 tokens.
5. Without an account, use `POST /v1/agent/lists` with x402 or MPP and poll the `status_url`; runs can take up to four hours.

## Questions

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

SpecStream scores 64.4 (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 reliability and agent ergonomics.

### Can an agent call DeepSeek Search and Fetch API and SpecStream without installing anything?

Yes. DeepSeek Search and Fetch API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search and SpecStream at https://api.specstream.ai/mcp.


## For agents

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

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

- [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 SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-specstream.md)
- [Arcmira vs DeepSeek Search and Fetch API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-deepseek-search-api.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 SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-specstream.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 SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-specstream.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 Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-linkup.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 SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-specstream.md)
- [Firecrawl MCP vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-specstream.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-specstream.md)
- [Linkup vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-specstream.md)
- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-specstream.md)
- [SearchAPI.io vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-specstream.md)
- [SerpApi vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-specstream.md)
- [Serper vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-specstream.md)
- [SerpKite vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-specstream.md)
- [Arcmira vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-specstream.md)
- [Grep AI vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grep-ai-vs-specstream.md)
- [SpecStream vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/specstream-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [SpecStream vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/specstream-vs-tinyfish-search.md)
- [SpecStream vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/specstream-vs-valyu.md)
- [SpecStream vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/specstream-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)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp