# Kagi Search API vs Linkup (slim)

> 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.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup.md (~2,750 tokens) · this version ~780 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.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: D 48.7, rank #807 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kagi-search.min.md
- Linkup: B 68.9, rank #201 of 950 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.min.md
- Kagi Search API, 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.
- Linkup, 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 Cheaper for web search, $5 against $12 per 1,000 requests; An agent can pay per call over x402, with no account.

| Category | Kagi Search API | Linkup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 8 | 70 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 71 | 88 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 75 | 76 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 64 | 32 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 20 | 80 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 41 | 83 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 69 | 61 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Kagi Search API | Linkup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Kagi | Linkup |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` | `https://api.linkup.so/v1/search` |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Popularity | 535 stars | 29 stars, 54k npm/wk, 84k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 4/5 (2) |