# Kagi Search API vs Linkup

> Linkup scores 68.9 (B) to Kagi Search's 48.7 (D) for web search. Linkup is cheaper for web search, $5 against $12 per 1,000 requests. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup.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

Linkup scores 68.9 (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. Linkup is cheaper for web search, $5 against $12 per 1,000 requests. Linkup accepts x402. Kagi Search API doesn't.

- 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
- Linkup: grade B, 68.9/100, rank #201 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/linkup.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

### 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 32
- Transparency & trust, 69 against 61

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

### Linkup (B)

Good for: Agents that want a cited answer or schema-shaped output from one search call at a fixed price, and for European buyers who want a French vendor with zero retention on request.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 8
- Schema & documentation, 88 against 71
- Payments & pricing, 80 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 83 against 41

Also in its favour:
- Cheaper for web search, $5 against $12 per 1,000 requests
- An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account

Watch for: 429 covers both exhausted credit and rate limiting, with no `Retry-After`


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kagi Search API | Linkup | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 8 | 70 | Linkup +62 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 88 | Linkup +17 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 76 | Linkup +1 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 32 | Kagi Search API +32 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 80 | Linkup +60 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 41 | 83 | Linkup +42 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 61 | Kagi Search API +8 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **48.7 · D** | **68.9 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kagi Search API | Linkup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kagi | Linkup |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` | `https://api.linkup.so/v1/search` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| Price for web search | $12 per 1,000 requests | $5 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | yes, from $0.01/call |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Kagi API Terms of Service. The MCP server is MIT and the OpenAPI file states Apache-2.0 | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 4 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `so.linkup.mcp/linkup-mcp-server` |
| Last release | 2026-08-21 | 2026-09-30 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-22 | 2025-08-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2025-04-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 535 stars | 29 stars, 54k npm/wk, 84k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 4/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**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.

**Linkup.** Per-call prices from $0.005, and no credit taken for errors, missing parameters or empty results. 429 covers both exhausted credit and rate limiting, with no `Retry-After`.

## Before you call either

### 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

### Linkup

1. On 429, check the credit balance before backing off. The same code means out of credit
2. Pass `reasoningDepth: "S"` to research unless you need more. The MCP default is L at $1.50
3. Start with `depth=fast` and `outputType=searchResults`. Deep costs $0.05, ten times as much
4. Send the key as an `Authorization: Bearer` header, not `?apiKey=` or a command-line argument
5. Poll `linkup-get-research` with the task id. Research runs take minutes

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kagi Search API or Linkup?

Linkup scores 68.9 (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, Kagi Search API or Linkup?

Linkup, at $5 per 1,000 requests against $12 per 1,000 requests for Kagi Search API. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

### Do Kagi Search API and Linkup need an API key?

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

### Can an agent call Kagi Search API and Linkup without installing anything?

Yes. Kagi Search API has a hosted endpoint at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search and Linkup at https://api.linkup.so/v1/search.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Kagi Search API or Linkup

- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-linkup.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-linkup.md)
- [Exa API + MCP vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Exa API + MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-linkup.md)
- [Firecrawl MCP vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Firecrawl MCP vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-linkup.md)
- [Grep AI vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grep-ai-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-parallel-search-api.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-searchapi-io.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serpapi.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serper.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serpkite.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-tinyfish-search.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-valyu.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-you-com-api.md)
- [Linkup vs Parallel Search and Task APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-parallel-search-api.md)
- [Linkup vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-searchapi-io.md)
- [Linkup vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpapi.md)
- [Linkup vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serper.md)
- [Linkup vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpkite.md)
- [Linkup vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [Linkup vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-tinyfish-search.md)
- [Linkup vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-valyu.md)
- [Linkup vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-you-com-api.md)
- [Fetch (MCP reference server) vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Fetch (MCP reference server) vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-linkup.md)
- [Grep AI vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grep-ai-vs-linkup.md)