Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run
Kagi Search API vs Parallel Search and Task APIs
Parallel Search and Task APIs scores 74 (BB) 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. Both do web search. Parallel Search and Task APIs is cheaper for web search, $1 against $12 per 1,000 requests.
Best web search APIs for AI agents · All 129 search comparisons
Which one, for what
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 45
Also in its favour
- Runs on your own machine
Watch for
Public preview since 21 May 2026. The API terms say it is under active development with no uptime or service-level commitment
Parallel Search and Task APIs BB
Good for Agents that mix quick search with long research or enrichment jobs and want one vendor and one bill.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 75 against 8
- Schema & documentation, 94 against 71
- Agent ergonomics, 81 against 75
- Payments & pricing, 75 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 41
Also in its favour
- Cheaper for web search, $1 against $12 per 1,000 requests
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
Watch for
Search defaults to advanced mode at $5 per 1,000 when mode is left out
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Kagi Search API | Parallel Search and Task APIs | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 8 | 75 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +67 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 71 | 94 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +23 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 75 | 81 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +6 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 64 | 45 | Kagi Search API +19 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 20 | 75 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +55 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 41 | 87 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +46 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 69 | 65 | Kagi Search API +4 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 48.7 · D | 74 · BB |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Kagi Search API | Parallel Search and Task APIs |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kagi | Parallel Web Systems |
| Hosted endpoint | https://kagi.com/api/v1/search | https://api.parallel.ai/v1/search |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| Price for web search | $12 per 1,000 requests | $1 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | payer tooling only |
| 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 | 6 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | ai.parallel/search-mcp |
| Last release | 2026-08-21 | 2026-09-29 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-22 | 2026-08-11 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-08-11 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| 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 | 28 stars, 250k npm/wk, 994k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.6/5 (8) |
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.
Parallel Search and Task APIs
Fast-mode search at $1 per 1,000 with 10 excerpted results, and Extract at $1 per 1,000 URLs. Search defaults to advanced mode at $5 per 1,000 when mode is left out.
Before you call either
Kagi Search API
- Send
POST https://kagi.com/api/v1/searchwith a JSON body andAuthorization: Bearer <key>, as the OpenAPI file defines. Onlyqueryis required - Set
limitto cap results returned. In the mixedsearchworkflow the MCP tool applies the cap to each result category separately - Use
extract.count(1 to 10) only when page text is needed. Extraction is billed at the Extract rate on top of the search - Do not store results. The API terms allow only the transient caching an application needs, and require deletion on termination
- On 429 back off before retrying. The response covers both rate limiting and an exhausted usage limit, and no
Retry-Afterheader is documented
Parallel Search and Task APIs
- Pass
mode: "fast"on every search. Without it you pay the advanced rate - Create Task runs with
max_retries=0and check for an existing run before retrying - Give an
objectiveplus two or three shortsearch_queries. That's what ranks the excerpts - On 402, check available balance rather than total. Running tasks reserve credit
- Prefer natural-language source guidance to domain filters. The docs say filters can cut result quality
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Kagi Search API or Parallel Search and Task APIs?
Parallel Search and Task APIs scores 74 (BB) 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.
Which is cheaper for web search, Kagi Search API or Parallel Search and Task APIs?
Parallel Search and Task APIs, at $1 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 Parallel Search and Task APIs need an API key?
Kagi Search API needs an API key. Parallel Search and Task APIs takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.
Can an agent call Kagi Search API and Parallel Search and Task APIs without installing anything?
Yes. Kagi Search API has a hosted endpoint at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search and Parallel Search and Task APIs at https://api.parallel.ai/v1/search.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/kagi-search-vs-parallel-search-api.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/kagi-search.json·/api/v1/tools/parallel-search-api.json - From a terminal
anchor compare kagi-search parallel-search-api(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "kagi-search", "b": "parallel-search-api"}at/mcp, no key