# Kagi Search API vs SearchAPI.io

> SearchAPI.io scores 51.2 (D) to Kagi Search's 48.7 (D) for web search. SearchAPI.io is cheaper for web search, $4 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-searchapi-io
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-searchapi-io.md (~2,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-searchapi-io.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-searchapi-io.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

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.

- 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
- SearchAPI.io: grade D, 51.2/100, rank #754 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/searchapi-io.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/searchapi-io.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:
- 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

| Category | Weight | Kagi Search API | SearchAPI.io | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 8 | 90 | SearchAPI.io +82 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 59 | Kagi Search API +12 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 52 | Kagi Search API +23 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 28 | Kagi Search API +36 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 30 | SearchAPI.io +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 41 | 15 | Kagi Search API +26 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 60 | Kagi Search API +9 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **48.7 · D** | **51.2 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kagi Search API | SearchAPI.io |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kagi | SearchApi |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` | `https://www.searchapi.io/api/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 | $4 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Kagi API Terms of Service. The MCP server is MIT and the OpenAPI file states Apache-2.0 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.searchapi/mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-08-21 | none |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-22 | 2026-04-11 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-04-11 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 535 stars | none |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (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.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Kagi Search API or SearchAPI.io

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