# Kagi Search API vs SERPHouse

> Kagi Search scores 56.1 (C) to SERPHouse's 42.4 (E) for web search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serphouse
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serphouse.md (~5,500 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Kagi Search API scores 56.1 (C) on agent readiness against SERPHouse's 42.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. SERPHouse leads on payments & pricing. Both do web search.

- Kagi Search API: grade C, 56.1/100, rank #846 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kagi-search.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kagi-search.json
- SERPHouse: grade E, 42.4/100, rank #1283 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serphouse.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serphouse.json
- Best web search APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/search/index.md
- All 326 search comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/search/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Kagi Search API (C)

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 66
- Agent ergonomics, 75 against 64
- Security & auth, 64 against 11
- Maintenance & community, 41 against 23
- Transparency & trust, 74 against 50

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

### SERPHouse (E)

Good for: Low-cost Google, Bing and Yahoo result parsing for SEO and rank tracking, with many Google verticals.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: The hosted MCP server takes the API key only in its URL path, and the REST API also accepts `api_token` in the query string


## Why the edge

### Security & auth: Kagi Search API +53

- Kagi Search API (64): Several named keys an account, each limited to chosen products and optionally to IP addresses or ranges, revoked by deleting. The v1 key travels only in the `Authorization` header. No expiry or OAuth (27). The API only reads. Per-key product limits and a spending cap in USD narrow what a leaked key can do (16). Search and Extract return third-party page text, and we found no prompt-injection guidance in the reference, the docs or the MCP README (2). The portal shows use count and last-used time per key and requests and cost per day per API, and every response carries a trace ID. No per-call log (7). security.txt with a contact, a bug bounty with a safe harbour policy, and an independent audit by Illumant cited on the security page, whose date we did not read. No SOC 2 or ISO 27001 statement found. security.txt re-read on 4 November (12). 27 + 16 + 2 + 7 + 12 = 64.
- SERPHouse (11): One key per account, one account per user, no scopes or rotation found (10). The REST API documents `api_token` in the query string and the hosted MCP server takes the key only in its URL path, less 10 (0 of 30). Searches only read, with no read-only or restricted key (8 of 20). Results are third-party snippets and AI Overview text, with no prompt-injection guidance (0). An account tool shows plan and credit usage; no per-call log was found (3 of 15). No security.txt (404), disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0 of 20). 0 + 8 + 0 + 3 + 0 = 11.

### Transparency & trust: Kagi Search API +24

- Kagi Search API (74): Closed service with clear API terms dated 22 September 2026. The MCP server is MIT and the OpenAPI file states Apache-2.0 (18). The privacy policy's API section agrees with the API terms. Queries are not stored against the account, load balancer and VM logs are kept 7 days and sampled Sentry errors 90 days. The Data Processing Addendum both documents cite is not yet published (23). v0 is marked deprecated with no end date, and the terms promise reasonable notice of breaking changes only where practicable (5). The privacy page names the payment processors and Sentry, the FAQ names GCP as the hosting provider and the docs name search sources, but there is no subprocessor list and no data locations (8). 18 + 23 + 5 + 8 = 54.
- SERPHouse (50): Closed service under terms naming Patoliya Infotech LLP in India, and the MCP server is MIT (18 of 30). The terms give retention periods (JSON results up to 6 months, HTML up to 1 month, search history indefinitely) and say personal data sits on DigitalOcean in India, and they advise EEA users not to use the service. The privacy policy is generic and neither document carries a date (15 of 30). No deprecation policy, and the terms allow products to be discontinued without notice (0 of 20). DigitalOcean in India named for account data; no sub-processor list (6 of 20). 18 + 15 + 0 + 6 = 39.

### Payments & pricing: SERPHouse +20

- Kagi Search API (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). $12 per 1,000 searches and $4 per 1,000 extracted pages, published without a login, unchanged on 4 November (20). No free tier or trial for the API. The quick start asks for a payment method, and the $5 credit of 21 May 2026 was a one-off for subscribers (0). A person signs up in a browser and creates the key in the portal (0). 0 + 20 + 0 + 0 = 20.
- SERPHouse (40): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-1,000 prices for SERP, autocomplete and top-100 requests published without login (20). Free trial of 4,000 credits for 7 days, 'No Credit Card Required' (20). A person signs up in a browser and confirms an email (0). 0 + 20 + 20 + 0 = 40.

### Maintenance & community: Kagi Search API +18

- Kagi Search API (41): The last dated API change is the Extract API fix in the changelog post of 21 August 2026, 75 days before this check. The posts of 10 September and 16 October carry no API item (20). That is the only dated API entry in the 90 days from 6 August (0). The MCP server's repository gained commits on 27 and 28 October 2026 (compact JSON results, `readOnlyHint`, per-page extraction errors) and a version bump to 1.1.0 with no tag, so no release is shown; PyPI didn't resolve for us. A public changelog that credits user reports, developers@kagi.com, a Discord `#api` forum and GitHub discussions. We could not read the issue list, since the GitHub API answered 403 (9). Four generated clients last synced on 26 May 2026, Python tagged only as 1.0.0rc3, TypeScript not on npm on 9 October, and `kagimcp` tagged last as v0.1.5 (8 April 2026). We did not look the server up in the MCP registry (8). The Python client has a generated CI workflow and the MCP server has a lock file but no CI workflow (4). 20 + 0 + 9 + 8 + 4 = 41.
- SERPHouse (23): Read for a closed service, with its repositories read as code. No changelog or dated API change was found. The newest release is MCP server 1.1.0 on 6 July 2026, 123 days before 6 November, and the last commit in its repository was on 22 July (10). No release or dated change in the 90 days from 8 August; the about page's 2026 entry (Forums, Place Details and Scraper APIs) is undated (0). No changelog; support by email. Issues weren't read, since the GitHub API refused us for its rate limit (5 of 25). Not in the official MCP registry, though the repository's server.json names io.github.SERPHouse/serphouse-mcp. Node.js SDK last changed 24 June 2026, PHP SDK 10 May 2024, and no Python SDK repository was found under the SERPHouse organisation (5 of 15). The MCP repository has an npm publish workflow and no tests (3 of 10). 10 + 0 + 5 + 5 + 3 = 23.

### Agent ergonomics: Kagi Search API +11

- Kagi Search API (75): `limit` caps results, extraction of page text is opt-in, snippet length follows an account setting, and an experimental Markdown response format exists. The MCP server has two tools (22). `page` 1 to 10, `limit` 1 to 1,024, lens and `filters` for domains, keywords, file type, dates and region (20). Errors return a namespaced `code`, a message, the field `location` and a trace ID, but no code catalogue is published and the linked error pages are not live (12). Both operations are read-only, so a retry is safe, though the docs do not say so and failed-call billing is stated only for extraction. The released MCP server sets no read-only annotations. A commit of 27 October adds `readOnlyHint` to its source with an untagged 1.1.0 version bump, not yet shown as released (10). Only `query` is required and defaults are stated. Generated clients exist for Python, TypeScript, Go and Rust, installable from GitHub. `@kagi/api` returned 404 on npm on 9 October (11). 22 + 20 + 12 + 10 + 11 = 75.
- SERPHouse (64): 23 MCP tools with no toolsets or filtering (15 of 25). `num_result`, `max_pages`, paging, device, location, language, date and video filters (16 of 20). Status codes are tabulated, but a 200 can also mean an error and the body carries only 'Please try again' (10 of 20). Searches only read and failed requests aren't charged, but the MCP tools carry no readOnlyHint or other annotations (10 of 20). `serphouse_search` needs only `q` and defaults to the US; most other tools need `loc` or `loc_id`. Official Node.js, PHP and Python SDKs are documented (13 of 15). 15 + 16 + 10 + 10 + 13 = 64.

### Schema & documentation: Kagi Search API +5

- Kagi Search API (71): Public OpenAPI 3.0 file at kagi.com/api/docs/_spec/openapi.yaml, linked as 'OpenAPI Spec' from the API overview page (25). No llms.txt on kagi.com or help.kagi.com, both 404. The docs' Markdown source is in a public GitHub repository, which is not the same as serving it to agents (0). Parameter descriptions say what each does and which option wins when lens, filters and query operators overlap, and the MCP tool says when to pick each workflow (14). Enums for `workflow`, `format`, `time_relative` and rule kinds, ranges on `page`, `limit`, `timeout` and `extract.count`, and one required field. Result `props` and `meta` are open objects (13). Three request examples with full responses and one 401 example. The error envelope is typed, but there is no list of error codes, and the file says its error documentation URLs return 404 for now (9). The path carries `/v1` and v0 is documented as legacy. The changelog is product-wide, with API items on 21 May, 16 June and 21 August 2026 and none in the 10 September or 16 October posts (10). 25 + 0 + 14 + 13 + 9 + 10 = 71.
- SERPHouse (66): No OpenAPI or similar contract for the REST API. The MCP server's tools carry typed Zod schemas, published in the source and a static server card (18 of 25). llms.txt at the site and the docs, and every docs page as Markdown (10). MCP tool descriptions say which tool to use for what, such as `serphouse_google_web` when device or `num_result` is needed, while the docs pages lead with marketing lines such as 'Unlock captivating Google video content' (12 of 20). Enums for device, SERP type, engine and video duration, defaults and 37 described parameters (11 of 15). A status code table and request examples per engine, with a generic error body (12 of 15). No changelog or API versioning; only the MCP server has tags (3 of 15). 18 + 10 + 12 + 11 + 12 + 3 = 66.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kagi Search API | SERPHouse | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 43 | 40 | Kagi Search API +3 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 66 | Kagi Search API +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 64 | Kagi Search API +11 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 11 | Kagi Search API +53 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | SERPHouse +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 41 | 23 | Kagi Search API +18 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 50 | Kagi Search API +24 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **56.1 · C** | **42.4 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kagi Search API | SERPHouse |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kagi | Patoliya Infotech LLP |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` | `https://mcp.serphouse.com/YOUR_API_KEY/mcp` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Paid |
| Price for web search | $12 per 1,000 requests | not published |
| 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 |
| Tools exposed | none | 23 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-08-21 | 2026-07-06 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-22 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no date given |
| 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 |

## How the scores have moved

### Kagi Search API

- +7.4 on 4 November 2026 (D to C): new evidence
- no change on 27 October 2026: checklist

### SERPHouse

No score change since it was listed.

## 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 is still a public preview, with no published rate limits and no free allowance, and the terms forbid storing results. Its status page logged only regional incidents since August.

**SERPHouse.** SERPHouse returns parsed Google, Bing and Yahoo results at published prices from $0.62 per 1,000 requests, with a 23-tool MCP server and a 4,000-credit trial without a card. The hosted MCP puts the key in its URL, there is no status page, changelog or security contact, and the terms keep search history indefinitely.

## 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. Check status.kagi.com for regional incidents

### SERPHouse

1. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not as `api_token` in the URL
2. Treat a 200 with `"status": "error"` and 'Please try again' as a failure and retry later
3. Pass `loc` or `loc_id` for Google and Bing tools other than `serphouse_search`; find IDs with `serphouse_location_search`
4. Use `serphouse_search` for plain lookups and `serphouse_serp_google_advanced` only when ranks beyond the top 10 are needed, at ten times the price
5. Keep under 60 requests a minute on self-serve plans

## Questions

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

Kagi Search API scores 56.1 (C) on agent readiness against SERPHouse's 42.4 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. SERPHouse leads on payments & pricing.

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

Both need an API key.

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

Yes. Kagi Search API has a hosted endpoint at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search and SERPHouse at https://mcp.serphouse.com/YOUR_API_KEY/mcp.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Kagi Search API or SERPHouse

- [Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Arcmira vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Grounding with Bing Search vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bing-grounding-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Grounding with Bing Search vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bing-grounding-vs-serphouse.md)
- [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 SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serphouse.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 SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-serphouse.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Exa API + MCP vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Exa API + MCP vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Firecrawl MCP vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Grep AI vs Kagi Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grep-ai-vs-kagi-search.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs Linkup](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-linkup.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs Mojeek Web Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-mojeek.md)
- [Kagi Search API vs NewsCatcher](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-newscatcher.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 Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-perplexity-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 SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-specstream.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 SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Mojeek Web Search API vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mojeek-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Perplexity Search API vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-serphouse.md)
- [SearchAPI.io vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serphouse.md)
- [SerpApi vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Serper vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-serphouse.md)
- [SERPHouse vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serphouse-vs-specstream.md)
- [SERPHouse vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serphouse-vs-tavily-mcp.md)
- [SERPHouse vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serphouse-vs-tinyfish-search.md)
- [SERPHouse vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serphouse-vs-valyu.md)
- [SERPHouse vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serphouse-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 SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-serphouse.md)
- [NewsCatcher vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/newscatcher-vs-serphouse.md)
- [Liner Search MCP vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/liner-mcp-vs-serphouse.md)
- [SERPHouse vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serphouse-vs-serpkite.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp