{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "exa-mcp", "name": "Exa API + MCP", "vendor": "Exa", "vendorUrl": "https://exa.ai", "kind": "mcp", "category": "search", "summary": "Exa's REST API over its own web index, with the official MCP server in front of it.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/exa-mcp.json", "repo": "https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server", "license": "MIT", "transports": [ "stdio", "streamable-http", "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "exa-js" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "exa-py" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "exa-mcp-server" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "API key as `Authorization: Bearer` or `x-api-key` header, created at dashboard.exa.ai. POST /search and /contents also accept an x402 `PAYMENT-SIGNATURE` header instead of a key. MCP server: Anonymous use with rate limits; optional API key via ?exaApiKey=, Authorization: Bearer or x-api-key header; OAuth login at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "$10 free credit a month (resets on the 1st) plus a one-time $10 sign-up bonus, no card. Pay as you go per 1,000 requests, instant search $4, fast and auto $7, deep-lite and deep $12, deep-reasoning $15, each with up to 10 results and $1 per 1,000 extra results. Contents $1 per 1,000 pages per content type, answer $5 per 1,000, monitors $15 per 1,000. Agent API $0.012 to $1.00 a run by effort. Enterprise volume pricing by quote (https://exa.ai/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$0.007 / call", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "yes", "evidence": "Official 'Pay with x402' guide. POST /search and /contents accept x402 with USDC on Base (eip155:8453) or Solana. An unpaid POST /search returned 402 on 2026-09-30 (https://exa.ai/docs/integrations/payments/x402/quickstart.md)", "endpoints": [ { "url": "https://api.exa.ai/search", "priceUsd": 0.007, "network": "eip155:8453" }, { "url": "https://api.exa.ai/contents", "priceUsd": 0.001, "network": "eip155:8453" } ] }, "toolCount": 4, "popularity": { "githubStars": 4900, "npmWeekly": 1076635, "pypiWeekly": 1406207, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://exa.ai/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://exa.ai/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://exa.ai/docs/exa-spec.yaml", "registryName": "ai.exa/exa", "capabilities": [ "web.search", "web.fetch", "web.extract", "search.answer", "search.research", "search.news" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "local", "open-source", "x402", "freemium", "llms-txt", "no-card", "openapi", "python", "typescript", "enterprise", "webhooks", "mcp" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-01", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 66.1, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 163, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 460, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 96, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 90, "reliability": 67, "schema": 86, "security": 43, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -9, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-04-15. Exa's own fix (#292) says Agnost analytics on the hosted MCP captured headers, query parameters and full URLs from every request and sent them to api.agnost.ai, which leaked user API keys passed as `x-api-key` or `?exaApiKey=`. Fixed the same day, but disclosed only in the commit message, with no advisory or rotation notice that we found. Decayed for the fix, so -6 (https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server/commit/49797a5376217da506853b12163f21db9f9c95b8)", "2026-10-01. The MCP server calls Agnost's `trackMCP` on startup in both the hosted and the npm stdio builds, with no README mention and no opt-out. Inputs, outputs and errors are switched off, so the events are tool names and timings. -3 (https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server/blob/main/src/mcp-handler.ts)" ], "verdict": "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.", "bestFor": "Agents that search in natural language and want short highlights or page text in the same call, and for keyless or wallet-paid use.", "strengths": [ "x402 on /search and /contents in USDC on Base or Solana, so an agent can pay per call with no account", "Two default MCP tools with about 1,250 characters of descriptions, and every tool marked read-only and idempotent", "Keys can be minted by API with their own rate limit and budget", "Public OpenAPI, llms.txt, an error-codes page and current Python and TypeScript SDKs", "$10 of credit a month with no card" ], "weaknesses": [ "The hosted MCP leaked API keys to a third-party analytics endpoint from November 2025 to 15 April 2026, per Exa's own commits", "Agnost usage analytics in the MCP server with no disclosure or opt-out", "The privacy policy says query data trains Exa's models and gives no retention period", "No security.txt, no SECURITY.md and no prompt-injection guidance", "Agents API had 4 hours 56 minutes of elevated run failures on 21 to 22 September" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send the key as `x-api-key` or a Bearer header, never `?exaApiKey=` in the MCP URL", "Ask for highlights rather than full text, and cap `maxCharacters` on `web_fetch_exa`", "Request only the results you'll read. More than 10 costs extra, and x402 calls stop at 10", "On 429, honour `Retry-After`. The QPS limit is shared by every key on the team", "Add `?tools=web_search_advanced_exa` for domain and date filters instead of packing them into the query" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 4.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 66.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 96, "maintenance": 88, "payments": 90, "reliability": 67, "schema": 86, "security": 43, "transparency": 44 }, "provenanceScore": 86 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -s -X POST https://api.exa.ai/search \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $EXA_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"query\":\"recent techniques for improving retrieval in RAG systems\",\"type\":\"auto\",\"contents\":{\"highlights\":true}}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "exa": { "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp" } } }, "x402": "curl -s https://api.exa.ai/search -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{\"query\":\"x402 facilitators\",\"numResults\":5}' -i\n# HTTP/1.1 402 Payment Required\n# PAYMENT-REQUIRED: \u003cbase64 JSON: accepts[{scheme:\"exact\",network:\"eip155:8453\",amount:\"7000\",asset:USDC,payTo:...}]\u003e\n# retry with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE: \u003cbase64 signed authorization\u003e" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/exa-mcp" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Search, fast and auto", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 7, "note": "up to 10 results" }, { "item": "Search, instant", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4 }, { "item": "Search, deep", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 12 }, { "item": "Contents", "unit": "1k-pages", "usd": 1, "note": "per content type" }, { "item": "Answer", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Exa Labs Inc.", "domain": "exa.ai", "domainRegistered": "2017-12-16", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://exa.ai/assets/Exa_Labs_Terms_of_Service.pdf", "privacy": "https://exa.ai/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.exa.ai", "changelog": "https://exa.ai/docs/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "score": 86 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.json", "live": { "slug": "exa-mcp", "probe": { "target": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp", "method": "mcp-initialize", "lastAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:29.123375656Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 166, "lastNote": "initialize answered", "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 99.27, "uptime30d": 99.66, "p50ms24h": 190, "p95ms24h": 279, "samples24h": 273, "samples30d": 2349, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-27", "probes": 132, "ok": 132 }, { "date": "2026-09-28", "probes": 285, "ok": 285 }, { "date": "2026-09-29", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 286, "ok": 286 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 266 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 270 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 21, "ok": 21 } ], "outages": [ { "start": "2026-10-04T18:58:14.45236595Z", "end": "2026-10-04T19:19:43.996268604Z", "note": "HTTP 503 server error" } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.exa.ai", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-06T01:25:57.834157154Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "ai.exa/exa", "version": "3.4.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-05T23:55:54.568086057Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "exa-js", "version": "2.25.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-05T16:52:06.98115748Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "exa-mcp-server", "version": "3.4.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-05T16:52:09.549193312Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "exa-py", "version": "2.25.0", "released": "2026-10-01", "seenAt": "2026-10-05T16:52:09.354259215Z" } ], "githubStars": 5078, "npmWeekly": 1168320, "pypiWeekly": 1617976, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://exa.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T15:16:24.580481628Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://exa.ai/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T15:19:00.661215184Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "exa.ai", "registered": "2017-12-16", "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/exa.ai", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:21.135051369Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://exa.ai/docs/changelog", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T15:56:51.970195202Z", "changedAt": "2026-09-28T13:07:17.414087539Z", "fingerprint": "a71308f03083" }, { "url": "https://exa.ai/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T15:56:54.140308667Z", "changedAt": "2026-09-29T13:08:44.895658486Z", "fingerprint": "8e3e8655bf54" }, { "url": "https://exa.ai/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T15:56:56.217794363Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:32:45.957716914Z", "fingerprint": "b413e075f978" } ], "mcpTools": { "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp", "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T22:30:51.361408039Z", "status": "ok", "protocol": "2025-11-25", "tools": [ { "name": "web_search_exa", "description": "Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content.\n\n Best for: Finding current information, news, facts, people, companies, or answering questions about any topic.\n Returns: Clean text content from top search results.\n\n Query tips:\n describe the ideal page, not keywords. \"blog post comparing React and Vue performance\" not \"React vs Vue\".\n Use category:people / category:company to search through Linkedin profiles / companies respectively.\n If highlights are insufficient, follow up with web_fetch_exa on the best URLs.", "inputSchema": { "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#", "additionalProperties": false, "properties": { "numResults": { "description": "Number of search results to return (default: 10).", "type": "number" }, "objective": { "description": "Goal for this search turn; say which documents should rank first, which should be excluded, and what specific facts or figures to pull from them.", "maxLength": 4096, "minLength": 1, "type": "string" }, "query": { "description": "Natural language search query. Should be a semantically rich description of the ideal page, not just keywords. Optionally include category:\u003ctype\u003e (company, people) to focus results — e.g. 'category:people John Doe software engineer'.", "minLength": 1, "type": "string" } }, "required": [ "query", "objective" ], "type": "object" }, "annotations": { "destructiveHint": false, "idempotentHint": true, "openWorldHint": true, "readOnlyHint": true } }, { "name": "web_fetch_exa", "description": "Read a webpage's full content as clean markdown. Use after web_search_exa when highlights are insufficient or to read any URL.\n\nBest for: Extracting full content from known URLs. Batch multiple URLs in one call.\nReturns: Clean text content and metadata from the page(s).", "inputSchema": { "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#", "additionalProperties": false, "properties": { "maxCharacters": { "description": "Maximum characters to extract per page (default: 3000)", "minimum": 1, "type": "number" }, "urls": { "description": "URLs to read. Batch multiple URLs in one call.", "items": { "type": "string" }, "type": "array" } }, "required": [ "urls" ], "type": "object" }, "annotations": { "destructiveHint": false, "idempotentHint": true, "openWorldHint": true, "readOnlyHint": true } } ], "schemaTokens": 593, "changedAt": "2026-09-28T21:55:38.894181746Z", "check": { "checker": "anchor-check/1.0", "totalTokens": 593, "counts": { "error": 0, "note": 1, "warn": 0 }, "findings": [ { "rule": "TC24", "severity": "note", "message": "2 of 2 tools have no outputSchema", "fix": "Declare outputSchema for tools that return structured data, and return structuredContent that matches it." } ] } }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:29.123375656Z" } }, "answer": "Exa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against SerpKite's 64.8 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SerpKite leads on transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "serpkite", "name": "SerpKite", "vendor": "SerpKite (Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite)", "vendorUrl": "https://serpkite.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "search", "summary": "Google SERP API for AI agents from SerpKite, a sole trader in Ontario. It returns live Google results and 10 other Google verticals as JSON or Markdown, fetches pages as Markdown, and runs a remote MCP server with 14 tools.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpkite", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpkite.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpkite.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpkite.json", "repo": "https://github.com/SerpKite/serpkite-mcp", "license": "Proprietary service under SerpKite's terms of service. The SDKs (TypeScript, Python, Go, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK) and the MCP connection repository on GitHub are MIT", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "serpkite" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "serpkite" }, { "registry": "go", "name": "github.com/serpkite/serpkite-go" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "API key (`skt_live_…`) as `Authorization: Bearer` on every REST call and on the remote MCP server. GET requests may also send it as the `?api_key=` query parameter. An account can hold many keys, each revocable and rotatable with an optional monthly credit limit, and keys are stored as SHA-256 hashes. No scopes. OAuth for the MCP server is listed as planned (https://serpkite.com/docs/api-keys, https://serpkite.com/docs/mcp).", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Prepaid credit packs that never expire. Starter $10 for 10,000 credits ($1.00 per 1,000), Growth $50 for 62,500 ($0.80), Pro $300 for 500,000 ($0.60), volume quotes from $0.18 per 1,000 at 25 million a month. One credit is one page of 10 results; `num=100` is 7 credits, autocomplete 0.5, batch and cache hits half price, `include_content` 1 per fetched page. Free credits on signup with no card (1,000, or 2,500 after linking GitHub or Google, per the quickstart) and 1,000 a month. Failed, empty and blocked requests are refunded. Paddle is the merchant of record (https://serpkite.com/pricing, checked 2026-10-05).", "priceSummary": "$1 / 1k req", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in llms.txt, the OpenAPI spec or the pricing page. Packs are bought through Paddle checkout (checked 2026-10-05).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 14, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 809, "pypiWeekly": 376, "asOf": "2026-10-05" }, "docsUrl": "https://serpkite.com/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://serpkite.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://serpkite.com/openapi/serp-api.yaml", "registryName": "io.github.SerpKite/serpkite", "capabilities": [ "web.search", "search.serp", "search.news", "search.images", "web.fetch", "web.extract", "web.crawl" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "no-card", "free-tier", "closed-source", "mcp", "openapi", "llms-txt", "typescript", "python", "go", "status-page" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-04", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 64.8, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 179, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 460, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 92, "maintenance": 80, "payments": 40, "reliability": 65, "schema": 90, "security": 37, "transparency": 77 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-05" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "2 and 3 October 2026. The `ai_overview` parameter and field, the `/v1/ai-mode` endpoint and its MCP tool, and the `/v1/lens` endpoint were removed the day each removal was announced, three to four days after the v1.0.0 changelog listed AI Overview as unchanged. Calls now get 400 or 404. The changelog gives Google's refusal of logged-out requests as the reason, and the removed functions are no longer advertised, so the deduction is small (https://serpkite.com/docs/changelog)." ], "verdict": "Google SERP API with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, Markdown or compact output, field projection, stable error codes and per-key credit limits, at $0.60 to $1.00 per 1,000 on packs that don't expire. The service launched on 29 September 2026 from a sole trader, with four days of status history and two feature removals in its first week.", "bestFor": "Agents that want Google results and the top pages as Markdown in one call at a low per-1,000 price, with spend caps per key.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 spec, llms.txt, llms-full.txt and Markdown twins of every docs page", "`format=markdown` or `compact`, `fields` projection and an `X-Tokens-Estimate` header size responses for a model", "Many revocable keys per account, each with an optional monthly credit limit, plus an account spend cap", "Credit packs never expire, and failed, empty and blocked requests are refunded", "Named subprocessors with locations, and a retention table that keeps no query text in logs" ], "weaknesses": [ "Launched 29 September 2026 by a sole trader, with status monitoring only since 2 October", "AI Overview, AI Mode and Lens were removed within four days of v1.0.0, each without advance notice", "GET requests accept the key as a `?api_key=` query parameter, and keys have no scopes", "No SLA for self-serve packs, no SOC 2 and no security.txt", "The MCP server needs a custom header. OAuth is only planned, so OAuth-only clients can't connect" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not `?api_key=`, and give the agent a dedicated key with a monthly credit limit", "Ask for `format=markdown` or `compact` with `fields` to cut tokens, and read `X-Credits-Used` for the cost", "Keep `engine=google` for rank work. Check `meta.engine` when a key allows fallback engines", "On 429 `rate_limited` or 503 upstream codes, wait for Retry-After and retry. `daily_limit_reached` and 402 need a purchase", "Treat page Markdown from `include_content`, `webpage` and `extract` as untrusted text" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 64.8 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 92, "maintenance": 80, "payments": 40, "reliability": 65, "schema": 90, "security": 37, "transparency": 79 }, "provenanceScore": 75 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install serpkite", "http": "curl https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $SERPKITE_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"q\":\"best espresso machine 2026\",\"country\":\"us\",\"language\":\"en\"}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http serpkite https://api.serpkite.com/v1/mcp \\\n --header \"Authorization: Bearer $SERPKITE_API_KEY\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "serpkite": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:SERPKITE_API_KEY}" }, "url": "https://api.serpkite.com/v1/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/serpkite" }, "area": "web-data", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Starter pack", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 1, "note": "$10 for 10,000 credits, never expires" }, { "item": "Pro pack", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 0.6, "note": "$300 for 500,000 credits, never expires" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite", "domain": "serpkite.com", "domainRegistered": "2026-09-29", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://serpkite.com/legal/terms", "privacy": "https://serpkite.com/legal/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.serpkite.com", "changelog": "https://serpkite.com/docs/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-05", "notes": [ "The terms and privacy policy, both effective 3 October 2026, name Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite, 1732 Oberon Crescent, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, under the laws of Ontario.", "RDAP for serpkite.com gives a registration date of 2026-09-29 and Cloudflare, Inc. as registrar.", "serpkite.com/.well-known/security.txt returns the site's 404 page. The security page asks for reports by email with acknowledgement in 2 business days and says there's no paid bug bounty.", "The MCP registry entry uses the GitHub namespace io.github.SerpKite, not a domain-verified one. The repository's two commits are by the GitHub user nolikzero, and the SDK repositories are committed by serpkite-bot \u003csupport@serpkite.com\u003e.", "The subprocessor page lists Polar as merchant of record for earlier orders, which suggests sales before the domain's registration date. We couldn't establish where." ], "score": 75 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpkite.json", "live": { "slug": "serpkite", "probe": { "target": "https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:36.116160558Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 108, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 137, "p95ms24h": 537, "samples24h": 19, "samples30d": 19, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 19, "ok": 19 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.serpkite.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-06T01:26:20.370042831Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-06T01:46:36.116160558Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "MCP server", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Exa", "b": "SerpKite (Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp", "b": "https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "stdio, Streamable HTTP, HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "$4 per 1,000 requests", "b": "not published", "name": "Price for web search" }, { "a": "yes, from $0.007/call", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Proprietary service under SerpKite's terms of service. The SDKs (TypeScript, Python, Go, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK) and the MCP connection repository on GitHub are MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "4", "b": "14", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "ai.exa/exa", "b": "io.github.SerpKite/serpkite", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-10-01", "b": "2026-10-04", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "4.9k stars, 1.1M npm/wk, 1.4M PyPI/wk", "b": "809 npm/wk, 376 PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "4.5/5 (2)", "b": "3.5/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Exa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against SerpKite's 64.8 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SerpKite leads on transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Exa API + MCP or SerpKite?" }, { "answer": "Exa API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. SerpKite needs an API key. An agent can also pay Exa API + MCP per call over x402, with no account.", "question": "Do Exa API + MCP and SerpKite need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Exa API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp and SerpKite at https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search.", "question": "Can an agent call Exa API + MCP and SerpKite without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "Exa API + MCP is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for SerpKite.", "question": "Are Exa API + MCP and SerpKite open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 43 against 37", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 90 against 40", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 88 against 80" ], "also": [ "An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account", "Runs on your own machine", "Open source", "Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 4.5 against 3.5 out of 5" ], "goodFor": "Agents that search in natural language and want short highlights or page text in the same call, and for keyless or wallet-paid use.", "slug": "exa-mcp", "watchFor": "The hosted MCP leaked API keys to a third-party analytics endpoint from November 2025 to 15 April 2026, per Exa's own commits" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 65" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Agents that want Google results and the top pages as Markdown in one call at a low per-1,000 price, with spend caps per key.", "slug": "serpkite", "watchFor": "Launched 29 September 2026 by a sole trader, with status monitoring only since 2 October" } ], "job": { "capability": "web.search", "name": "Web search" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-exa-mcp.json", "title": "Brave Search API + MCP vs Exa API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-exa-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Brave Search API + MCP vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-exa-mcp.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs Exa API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-exa-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-firecrawl-mcp.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs Firecrawl MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-firecrawl-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs Linkup", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-parallel-search-api.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs Parallel Search and Task APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-parallel-search-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-searchapi-io" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpapi.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs SerpApi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpapi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serper.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs Serper", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serper" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-tavily-mcp.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs Tavily API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-tavily-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-valyu.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs Valyu", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-valyu" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-you-com-api.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs You.com APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-you-com-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Firecrawl MCP vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Linkup vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "SearchAPI.io vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "SerpApi vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Serper vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-serpkite" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-tavily-mcp.json", "title": "SerpKite vs Tavily API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-tavily-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-valyu.json", "title": "SerpKite vs Valyu", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-valyu" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-you-com-api.json", "title": "SerpKite vs You.com APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-you-com-api" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-fetch-reference-server.json", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs Fetch (MCP reference server)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-fetch-reference-server" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-serpkite.json", "title": "Fetch (MCP reference server) vs SerpKite", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-serpkite" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 2, "edge": "exa-mcp", "exa-mcp": 67, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "serpkite": 65, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 4, "edge": "serpkite", "exa-mcp": 86, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "serpkite": 90, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 4, "edge": "exa-mcp", "exa-mcp": 96, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "serpkite": 92, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 6, "edge": "exa-mcp", "exa-mcp": 43, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "serpkite": 37, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 50, "edge": "exa-mcp", "exa-mcp": 90, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "serpkite": 40, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 8, "edge": "exa-mcp", "exa-mcp": 88, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "serpkite": 80, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 12, "edge": "serpkite", "exa-mcp": 65, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "serpkite": 77, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Exa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against SerpKite's 64.8 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SerpKite leads on transparency \u0026 trust. Both do web search. Exa API + MCP accepts x402. SerpKite doesn't.", "verdicts": { "exa-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.", "serpkite": "Google SERP API with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, Markdown or compact output, field projection, stable error codes and per-key credit limits, at $0.60 to $1.00 per 1,000 on packs that don't expire. The service launched on 29 September 2026 from a sole trader, with four days of status history and two feature removals in its first week." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite.min.md" }, "markdown": "Exa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against SerpKite's 64.8 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SerpKite leads on transparency \u0026 trust. Both do web search. Exa API + MCP accepts x402. SerpKite doesn't.\n\n- Exa API + MCP: grade B, 66.1/100, rank #163 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/exa-mcp.json\n- SerpKite: grade B, 64.8/100, rank #179 of 460. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpkite.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpkite.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Exa API + MCP (B)\n\nGood 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.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 43 against 37\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 90 against 40\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 88 against 80\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account\n- Runs on your own machine\n- Open source\n- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 4.5 against 3.5 out of 5\n\nWatch 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\n\n### SerpKite (B)\n\nGood for: Agents that want Google results and the top pages as Markdown in one call at a low per-1,000 price, with spend caps per key.\n\nAhead on:\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 65\n\nWatch for: Launched 29 September 2026 by a sole trader, with status monitoring only since 2 October\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Exa API + MCP | SerpKite | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 67 | 65 | Exa API + MCP +2 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 86 | 90 | SerpKite +4 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 96 | 92 | Exa API + MCP +4 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 37 | Exa API + MCP +6 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 90 | 40 | Exa API + MCP +50 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 88 | 80 | Exa API + MCP +8 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 77 | SerpKite +12 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -9 | -3 | |\n| **Total** | | **66.1 · B** | **64.8 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Exa API + MCP | SerpKite |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Exa | SerpKite (Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite) |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` | `https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search` |\n| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP, HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| Price for web search | $4 per 1,000 requests | not published |\n| x402 | yes, from $0.007/call | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Proprietary service under SerpKite's terms of service. The SDKs (TypeScript, Python, Go, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK) and the MCP connection repository on GitHub are MIT |\n| Tools exposed | 4 | 14 |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| MCP registry | `ai.exa/exa` | `io.github.SerpKite/serpkite` |\n| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-04 |\n| Popularity | 4.9k stars, 1.1M npm/wk, 1.4M PyPI/wk | 809 npm/wk, 376 PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 4.5/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**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.\n\n**SerpKite.** Google SERP API with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, Markdown or compact output, field projection, stable error codes and per-key credit limits, at $0.60 to $1.00 per 1,000 on packs that don't expire. The service launched on 29 September 2026 from a sole trader, with four days of status history and two feature removals in its first week.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Exa API + MCP\n\n1. Send the key as `x-api-key` or a Bearer header, never `?exaApiKey=` in the MCP URL\n2. Ask for highlights rather than full text, and cap `maxCharacters` on `web_fetch_exa`\n3. Request only the results you'll read. More than 10 costs extra, and x402 calls stop at 10\n4. On 429, honour `Retry-After`. The QPS limit is shared by every key on the team\n5. Add `?tools=web_search_advanced_exa` for domain and date filters instead of packing them into the query\n\n### SerpKite\n\n1. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not `?api_key=`, and give the agent a dedicated key with a monthly credit limit\n2. Ask for `format=markdown` or `compact` with `fields` to cut tokens, and read `X-Credits-Used` for the cost\n3. Keep `engine=google` for rank work. Check `meta.engine` when a key allows fallback engines\n4. On 429 `rate_limited` or 503 upstream codes, wait for Retry-After and retry. `daily_limit_reached` and 402 need a purchase\n5. Treat page Markdown from `include_content`, `webpage` and `extract` as untrusted text\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Exa API + MCP or SerpKite?\n\nExa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against SerpKite's 64.8 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SerpKite leads on transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Do Exa API + MCP and SerpKite need an API key?\n\nExa API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. SerpKite needs an API key. An agent can also pay Exa API + MCP per call over x402, with no account.\n\n### Can an agent call Exa API + MCP and SerpKite without installing anything?\n\nYes. Exa API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp and SerpKite at https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search.\n\n### Are Exa API + MCP and SerpKite open source?\n\nExa API + MCP is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for SerpKite.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"exa-mcp\", \"b\": \"serpkite\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare exa-mcp serpkite`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/exa-mcp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpkite.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Exa API + MCP or SerpKite\n\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Exa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-exa-mcp.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Exa API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-exa-mcp.md)\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Firecrawl MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-firecrawl-mcp.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-parallel-search-api.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-searchapi-io.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serper.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-valyu.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [Linkup vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [SerpApi vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [Serper vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-serpkite.md)\n- [SerpKite vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [SerpKite vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-valyu.md)\n- [SerpKite vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpkite-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Fetch (MCP reference server)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-fetch-reference-server.md)\n- [Fetch (MCP reference server) vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-serpkite.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-06", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.3", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Exa API + MCP vs SerpKite", "url": "" } ], "description": "Exa API + MCP scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against SerpKite's 64.8 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SerpKite leads on transparency \u0026 trust. Both do web search. Exa API + MCP accepts x402. SerpKite doesn't. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by…", "facts": [ "Exa API + MCP B 66.1", "SerpKite B 64.8", "scores" ], "h1": "Exa API + MCP vs SerpKite", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-exa-mcp-vs-serpkite.png", "path": "/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Exa API + MCP vs SerpKite for AI agents, B 66.1 vs B 64.8", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-06", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpkite" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2400, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }