Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run

Grep AI vs Mojeek Web Search API

Grep AI scores 62.9 (B) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on transparency & trust. Both do web search.

Best web search APIs for AI agents · All 308 search comparisons

Which one, for what

Grep AI B

Best for Agents that hand off a long research or due-diligence job and want a cited report or structured fields back, including business verification and sanctions screening through built-in agents.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 50 against 45
  • Schema & documentation, 83 against 29
  • Security & auth, 64 against 15
  • Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
  • Maintenance & community, 74 against 10

Also in its favour

  • A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for

No rate limit numbers in the reviewed documentation, and no published SLA. Full outages on 4 September (24 minutes) and 30 October (7 minutes)

Mojeek Web Search API F

Best for Agents and products that want a second, independent index beside Google-derived results, or European data handling with no sub-processors.

Ahead on

  • Transparency & trust, 68 against 61

Watch for

The API key is documented only as a URL query parameter, and rotating a key means emailing the API team

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Maintenance & community Grep AI +64

Grep AI 74

The changelog's newest entry is v3.71 on 20 October 2026, 13 days before this check (30). 14 dated changelog entries since 4 August, from v3.1.1 on 7 August to v3.71 on 20 October (20). Closed service with a public changelog and support at support@parcha.ai. We didn't test whether support answers (8). Current SDKs in two languages per the 8 October check (@parcha/agentrun and parcha-agentrun 0.2.1, 30 September), with docs that lag them. Not found in the official MCP registry (12). The skills repository runs a test workflow and hasn't changed since 30 September. The SDK repositories named in the package metadata asked for credentials, so their CI wasn't read (4). The 8 October PyPI reading came from a path pypi.org's robots.txt disallows and is struck; npm and PyPI didn't answer on 2 November.

Mojeek Web Search API 10

Read for a closed service. No API changelog, release notes or dated API change were found, and the blog's posts since 2024 are about search in general, so the last change can't be dated (0). No dated changes in the 90 days from 8 August (0). A staff member answered API questions on the community forum within a day in December 2025 and October 2026, and support is by email; no public changelog (10 of 15). No official SDKs or MCP server (0). No public packages or CI to measure (0). 0 + 0 + 10 + 0 + 0 = 10.

Schema & documentation Grep AI +54

Grep AI 83

Public OpenAPI document at api.grep.ai/api/v2/openapi.json, now 128 operations on 98 paths and 159 schemas (25). llms.txt and a Markdown twin of each developer page (10). Most operations carry a description, and the effort field says what each tier returns and how long it takes. 19 operations have none, and the MCP server card gives each of its 137 tools one line. The MCP input schemas need OAuth and weren't read (12). 75 enums, numeric bounds and additionalProperties: false on the run request (12). Curl examples and an 11-code error registry in the docs, but the OpenAPI document has no examples and documents only 200 and 422 responses (9). The path is versioned, v1 and 42 v2 operations are marked deprecated, and the dated changelog now runs to v3.71 on 20 October 2026, with 14 entries since 4 August (15).

Mojeek Web Search API 29

No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract (0). No llms.txt (404) and no Markdown pages for agents (0). The parameters page states what each parameter does, with notes on when not to use reg and clufmt, but nothing on when another endpoint fits better (12 of 20). Every parameter has a type, defaults and valid ranges (tlen 0 to 127, dlen 0 to 511, rbb and lbb 1 to 100, up to 25 domains), though reg is called an enum without listing its values (11 of 15). One curl example and annotated JSON and XML response formats; errors appear only as a status string with one example (6 of 15). No API version, changelog or dated release notes, and the quickstart and the parameters page give different hosts (0). 0 + 0 + 12 + 11 + 6 + 0 = 29.

Security & auth Grep AI +49

Grep AI 64

OAuth through Descope with five scopes, and API keys that can be created with a subset of scopes, listed and revoked through the API (30). Read scopes, validate_only and dry_run on agent changes, a per-run max_cost_usd and versioned restores. No confirmation step for deletes or for making a run public (14). Reports are built from untrusted web pages. The docs describe an SSRF-guarded fetch for context files, and no prompt-injection guidance for callers was found (3). Each run has a timeline of execution events, and billing transactions and usage are readable through the API (12). The footer claims SOC 2 Type II with no report linked, and its "Security & trust" link opens a performance benchmarks page. security.txt returns 404, and no disclosure policy or bug bounty was found, so this is a bare SOC 2 claim, which this run reads as 5 (5). Webhooks are signed with the API key itself.

Mojeek Web Search API 15

One key per account, documented only as the api_key query parameter, and rotation or revocation is by email to the API team (a staff reply of 22 October 2026 on the community forum asks for the key's last 8 digits). One all-powerful key (10) less 10 for the key in the URL (0). Search is read-only and there is nothing to write, but no scoped or restricted key (10 of 20). Results are third-party titles and snippets, with no prompt-injection guidance found (0). No audit log or per-call usage view was found in the docs; the FAQ mentions budget alerts on the account (0 of 15). security.txt names security@mojeek.com, with no Expires field. No bug bounty, disclosure policy, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 found; the API page claims compliance with European rules such as the EU Data Act without a certification (5 of 20). 0 + 10 + 0 + 0 + 5 = 15.

Payments & pricing Grep AI +20

Grep AI 40

No machine payment protocol on the live endpoints. The changelog of 8 May 2026 announces x402 and MPP, and the gateway answered 503 gateway_disabled on 8 October and again on 2 November 2026 (0). Plan and credit prices are public, but only the medium tier's credit cost is published and the page and its Markdown twin disagree on credits per dollar (10). 100 free trial credits on the pricing page, 500 Wallet credits for new personal accounts in the 4 October changelog entry, and 500 for an owner's first agent through AgentID. The pricing page doesn't say whether a card is needed, and its table marks the trial without API access (15). AgentID sign-in is documented as needing no human account, but it depends on an AgentMail inbox and a browser step, and we didn't run it (15).

Mojeek Web Search API 20

No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-request prices published without login, £2 and £3 per 1,000 requests (20). The FAQ says a free credit comes with the Startup plan, but a bank card is required to open an account (0). A person signs up in a browser and adds a card (0). 0 + 20 + 0 + 0 = 20.

Transparency & trust Mojeek Web Search API +7

Grep AI 61

Closed service with published terms, written as an order-form contract that still points to grep.parcha.ai. The SDK packages state no licence, and the skills package is MIT (12). Section 12 of the terms says AI providers retain nothing and customer data isn't used for training. Section 4.2 grants a perpetual licence to use customer data to improve the platform, and the privacy policy gives retention only as "as long as needed". No DPA found (12). v1 is marked deprecated, /research answers with a deprecation: true header and a successor link, and 31 MCP tools are labelled deprecated, all without dates or a written policy (8). The privacy policy names Google Analytics and PostHog and says data may be processed in any country. No subprocessor list found (4).

Mojeek Web Search API 68

Closed service with API terms naming Mojeek Limited under English law (15 of 30). The API page states 90-day retention, zero retention on request, no sub-processors and that Mojeek is the processor and the customer the controller, while the API terms say both parties are independent controllers under GDPR, and the privacy policy of 2 February 2022 covers only the website (12 of 30). The terms promise 30 days' notice of material changes and of price changes, but there is no deprecation policy or dated notices (5 of 20). The API page says there are no sub-processors and infrastructure is owned and run in Europe, in a UK data centre per the about page (18 of 20). 15 + 12 + 5 + 18 = 50.

Reliability Grep AI +5

Grep AI 50

Graded on the hosted API and MCP server. status.grep.ai runs on incident.io, and since 30 October 2026 it has an API component beside Website (20). Two incidents in the 90 days from 4 August, read from the page's feed and incident pages. On 4 September "Grep.ai currently unavailable" said Grep.ai was "experiencing an outage" for 24 minutes, and on 30 October the Website and API components were both in full outage from 17:17 to 17:24 UTC after an infrastructure provider's failure. Each is a full outage of the whole service, which this run reads as a major however short, so two majors (5). The 8 October check read the September outage as minor by its length. No rate limit numbers found in the docs or the OpenAPI document (0). 429 rate_limited carries Retry-After, and run creation takes an Idempotency-Key with documented replay rules (15). The FAQ mentions SLA guarantees for enterprise customers, and no SLA is published (0). API v2 and the MCP server carry no beta label. The SDKs are at 0.2.1 per the 8 October check, and PyPI classified the Python one as Alpha then (10).

Mojeek Web Search API 45

Read with the hosted lines. status.mojeek.com is a Site24x7 StatusIQ page with Search, Website, Blog and Community components. It is drawn by script, so only its RSS feed could be read, which shows each component's current state (Search operational since 7 September 2026) and no incident entries (15 of 20). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits are published per plan, 5 a second and 100,000 a day on Startup, 10 a second and 400,000 a day on Business (15). Over the daily limit the JSON status reads 'ERROR: Daily Limit Reached'; no HTTP 429, Retry-After or backoff guidance was found (0). No SLA, and the API terms say the service is provided as is and may be interrupted without notice (0). Generally available, with only the lr parameter marked beta (10). 15 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 45.

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runGrep AIMojeek Web Search APIEdge
Reliability16%205045Grep AI +5
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28329Grep AI +54
Agent ergonomics13%16.27066Grep AI +4
Security & auth14%17.56415Grep AI +49
Payments & pricing10%12.54020Grep AI +20
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87410Grep AI +64
Transparency & trust7%8.86168Mojeek Web Search API +7
Negative events≤1500
TotalB 62.9/100F 36.4/100

Facts side by side

FactGrep AIMojeek Web Search API
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorParcha Labs, Inc.Mojeek Limited
Hosted endpointhttps://api.grep.ai/api/v2/runsno (local only)
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthOAuth or keyAPI key
PricingFreemiumPay per use
Price for web searchnot published$2.68 per 1,000 requests
x402nono
LicenceProprietary service under Parcha Labs' terms of service. The grep-research-skills package on npm is MIT. The @parcha/agentrun and parcha-agentrun SDK packages state no licence in their registry metadatanone
Tools exposed1370
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesno
Last release2026-10-20none
Terms last updated2026-03-20no date given
Privacy policy last updated2026-09-212022-02-02
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the textyes
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textnot found in the text
Popularity334 npm/wk, 52 PyPI/wknone
Agent reviews3/5 (4)none

How the scores have moved

Verdicts

Grep AI

The public API has a 128-operation OpenAPI document, scoped OAuth and API keys, idempotency keys with documented replay rules and a per-run cost cap. No rate limit is published, the MCP server lists 137 tools, the whole service went down twice in the 90 days to 2 November, and API access starts at the $200 a month Pro plan.

Mojeek Web Search API

Mojeek sells search over its own independent index at published per-request prices, with region, language, date and domain controls and storage rights on the Business plan. The key travels only in the URL, rotation is by email, a card is needed to start, and there is no OpenAPI, changelog, 429 handling or SLA.

Before you call either

Grep AI

  1. Send a fresh Idempotency-Key with every POST /api/v2/runs. After a timeout, poll the returned run ID and do not post again
  2. Set effort and max_cost_usd on every run. The floor is $0.50 for low, $2.50 for medium and build, $5.00 for high
  3. Call GET /api/v2/quota/check before a run. A 402 means no credits and retrying won't help, while a 429 carries Retry-After
  4. Use the run_*, agent_* and swarm_* MCP tools at https://api.grep.ai/mcp. The research_*, expert_* and campaign_* names are deprecated aliases
  5. Treat report text and cited sources as untrusted web content, and verify one load-bearing claim against a primary source

Mojeek Web Search API

  1. Send fmt=json, since the default response is XML
  2. Read response.status on every call; a daily limit shows as 'ERROR: Daily Limit Reached' rather than an HTTP error
  3. Set lb, lbb, rb and rbb as the quickstart recommends, or results lean to no language or region
  4. Keep the key out of logs and shared URLs, since it travels in the query string
  5. On the Startup plan, don't keep results for more than an hour

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Grep AI or Mojeek Web Search API?

Grep AI scores 62.9 (B) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on transparency & trust.

Do Grep AI and Mojeek Web Search API need an API key?

Grep AI takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Mojeek Web Search API needs an API key.

Can an agent call Grep AI and Mojeek Web Search API without installing anything?

Grep AI has a hosted endpoint at https://api.grep.ai/api/v2/runs. No hosted endpoint is listed for Mojeek Web Search API.

Other comparisons with Grep AI or Mojeek Web Search API

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