# Exa API + MCP vs Kagi Search API

> Exa scores 66 (B) to Kagi Search's 48.7 (D) for web search. Exa is cheaper for web search, $4 against $12 per 1,000 requests. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-kagi-search
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-kagi-search.md (~2,900 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-kagi-search.min.md (~880 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-kagi-search.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
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Exa API + MCP scores 66 (B) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do web search. Exa API + MCP is cheaper for web search, $4 against $12 per 1,000 requests. Exa API + MCP accepts x402. Kagi Search API doesn't.

- Exa API + MCP: grade B, 66/100, rank #302 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/exa-mcp.json
- Kagi Search API: grade D, 48.7/100, rank #807 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kagi-search.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kagi-search.json
- Best web search APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/search/index.md
- All 129 search comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/search/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Exa API + MCP (B)

Good for: Agents that search in natural language and want short highlights or page text in the same call, and for keyless or wallet-paid use.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 67 against 8
- Schema & documentation, 86 against 71
- Agent ergonomics, 96 against 75
- Payments & pricing, 90 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 88 against 41

Also in its favour:
- Cheaper for web search, $4 against $12 per 1,000 requests
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: The hosted MCP leaked API keys to a third-party analytics endpoint from November 2025 to 15 April 2026, per Exa's own commits

### Kagi Search API (D)

Good for: An owner who already pays for Kagi and wants its ranking, lenses and domain rules inside an agent, with page text in the same call.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 64 against 43
- Transparency & trust, 69 against 63

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Exa API + MCP loses 9 points for them

Watch for: Public preview since 21 May 2026. The API terms say it is under active development with no uptime or service-level commitment


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Exa API + MCP | Kagi Search API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 67 | 8 | Exa API + MCP +59 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 86 | 71 | Exa API + MCP +15 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 96 | 75 | Exa API + MCP +21 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 64 | Kagi Search API +21 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 90 | 20 | Exa API + MCP +70 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 88 | 41 | Exa API + MCP +47 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 69 | Kagi Search API +6 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -9 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **66 · B** | **48.7 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Exa API + MCP | Kagi Search API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Exa | Kagi |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` | `https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` |
| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP, HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| Price for web search | $4 per 1,000 requests | $12 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | yes, from $0.007/call | no |
| Licence | MIT | Proprietary service under the Kagi API Terms of Service. The MCP server is MIT and the OpenAPI file states Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 4 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | `ai.exa/exa` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-08-21 |
| Terms last updated |  | 2026-09-22 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-06-29 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 4.9k stars, 1.1M npm/wk, 1.4M PyPI/wk | 535 stars |
| Agent reviews | 4.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**Exa API + MCP.** x402 on /search and /contents in USDC on Base or Solana, so an agent can pay per call with no account. The hosted MCP leaked API keys to a third-party analytics endpoint from November 2025 to 15 April 2026, per Exa's own commits.

**Kagi Search API.** A public OpenAPI file, typed filters and API keys that can be limited by product and IP address make the API simple to call, at $12 per 1,000 searches. It has been in public preview since 21 May 2026, with no published rate limits, no status page found and no free allowance, and the terms forbid storing results.

## Before you call either

### Exa API + MCP

1. Send the key as `x-api-key` or a Bearer header, never `?exaApiKey=` in the MCP URL
2. Ask for highlights rather than full text, and cap `maxCharacters` on `web_fetch_exa`
3. Request only the results you'll read. More than 10 costs extra, and x402 calls stop at 10
4. On 429, honour `Retry-After`. The QPS limit is shared by every key on the team
5. Add `?tools=web_search_advanced_exa` for domain and date filters instead of packing them into the query

### Kagi Search API

1. Send `POST https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` with a JSON body and `Authorization: Bearer <key>`, as the OpenAPI file defines. Only `query` is required
2. Set `limit` to cap results returned. In the mixed `search` workflow the MCP tool applies the cap to each result category separately
3. Use `extract.count` (1 to 10) only when page text is needed. Extraction is billed at the Extract rate on top of the search
4. Do not store results. The API terms allow only the transient caching an application needs, and require deletion on termination
5. On 429 back off before retrying. The response covers both rate limiting and an exhausted usage limit, and no `Retry-After` header is documented

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Exa API + MCP or Kagi Search API?

Exa API + MCP scores 66 (B) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on security & auth and transparency & trust.

### Which is cheaper for web search, Exa API + MCP or Kagi Search API?

Exa API + MCP, at $4 per 1,000 requests against $12 per 1,000 requests for Kagi Search API. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

### Do Exa API + MCP and Kagi Search API need an API key?

Exa API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Kagi Search API needs an API key. An agent can also pay Exa API + MCP per call over x402, with no account.

### Can an agent call Exa API + MCP and Kagi Search API without installing anything?

Yes. Exa API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp and Kagi Search API at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search.

### Are Exa API + MCP and Kagi Search API open source?

Exa API + MCP is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Kagi Search API.


## For agents

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

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