# Exa API + MCP vs Linkup (slim)

> Linkup has a score of 69.1 (B) against Exa API + MCP's 66.1 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 20 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup.md (~1,650 tokens) · this version ~330 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-04

Linkup has a score of 69.1 (B) against Exa API + MCP's 66.1 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is agent ergonomics, 20 points.

- Exa API + MCP: B 66.1, rank #163 of 452 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.min.md
- Linkup: B 69.1, rank #116 of 452 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.min.md
- Pick Exa API + MCP for agent ergonomics (+20), security & auth (+11), payments & pricing (+10), maintenance & community (+5). Pick Linkup for nothing in particular.

| Category | Exa API + MCP | Linkup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 67 | 70 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 86 | 88 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 96 | 76 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 43 | 32 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 90 | 80 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 88 | 83 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 65 | 64 |