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Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run

Kagi Search API vs SearchAPI.io

SearchAPI.io scores 51.2 (D) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics, security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do web search. SearchAPI.io is cheaper for web search, $4 against $12 per 1,000 requests.

Best web search APIs for AI agents · All 129 search comparisons

Kagi Search APIKagi · HTTP API D48.7/100#807 of 950 SearchAPI.ioSearchApi · HTTP API D51.2/100#754 of 950

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

  • Schema & documentation, 71 against 59
  • Agent ergonomics, 75 against 52
  • Security & auth, 64 against 28
  • Maintenance & community, 41 against 15
  • Transparency & trust, 69 against 60

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

SearchAPI.io D

Good for Agents that need parsed results from many engines, especially shopping, ads, travel and social sources, at a low price per search.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 90 against 8
  • Payments & pricing, 30 against 20

Also in its favour

  • Cheaper for web search, $4 against $12 per 1,000 requests
  • Free to start without a card

Watch for

MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runKagi Search APISearchAPI.ioEdge
Reliability16%20890SearchAPI.io +82
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.27159Kagi Search API +12
Agent ergonomics13%16.27552Kagi Search API +23
Security & auth14%17.56428Kagi Search API +36
Payments & pricing10%12.52030SearchAPI.io +10
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.84115Kagi Search API +26
Transparency & trust7%8.86960Kagi Search API +9
Negative events≤1500
Total48.7 · D51.2 · D

Facts side by side

FactKagi Search APISearchAPI.io
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorKagiSearchApi
Hosted endpointhttps://kagi.com/api/v1/searchhttps://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search
TransportsHTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdioHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthAPI keyOAuth or key
PricingPay per useFreemium
Price for web search$12 per 1,000 requests$4 per 1,000 requests
x402nono
LicenceProprietary service under the Kagi API Terms of Service. The MCP server is MIT and the OpenAPI file states Apache-2.0none
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtnono
MCP registrynot listedio.searchapi/mcp
Last release2026-08-21none
Terms last updated2026-09-222026-04-11
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-04-11
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesnot 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
Popularity535 starsnone
Agent reviewsnone3/5 (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.

SearchAPI.io

99.9% SLA on every plan and no incidents on the status page since August. MCP exposes over 100 tools with no toolsets.

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

SearchAPI.io

  1. Send the key as Authorization: Bearer, not api_key= in the URL
  2. Connect the MCP through OAuth or the X-MCP-Token header, not the registry's ?token= URL
  3. Call the REST API with engine= when context is tight. The MCP loads over 100 tool definitions
  4. Page Google results with page. num is fixed at 10
  5. Pace bursts. One hour can use at most 20 per cent of the plan's monthly searches

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Kagi Search API or SearchAPI.io?

SearchAPI.io scores 51.2 (D) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on schema & documentation, agent ergonomics, security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.

Which is cheaper for web search, Kagi Search API or SearchAPI.io?

SearchAPI.io, at $4 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 SearchAPI.io need an API key?

Kagi Search API needs an API key. SearchAPI.io takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call Kagi Search API and SearchAPI.io without installing anything?

Yes. Kagi Search API has a hosted endpoint at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search and SearchAPI.io at https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search.

Other comparisons with Kagi Search API or SearchAPI.io

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