# Kagi Search API vs SerpKite

> SerpKite scores 64.8 (B) to Kagi Search's 48.7 (D) for web search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serpkite
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serpkite.md (~2,800 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serpkite.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-serpkite.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

SerpKite scores 64.8 (B) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on security & auth. Both do web search.

- 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
- SerpKite: grade B, 64.8/100, rank #337 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpkite.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpkite.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:
- Security & auth, 64 against 37

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine
- No incidents deducted, where SerpKite loses 3 points for them

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

### SerpKite (B)

Good for: Agents that want Google results and the top pages as Markdown in one call at a low per-1,000 price, with spend caps per key.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 65 against 8
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 71
- Agent ergonomics, 92 against 75
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 80 against 41
- Transparency & trust, 77 against 69

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

Watch for: Launched 29 September 2026 by a sole trader, with status monitoring only since 2 October


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kagi Search API | SerpKite | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 8 | 65 | SerpKite +57 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 90 | SerpKite +19 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 92 | SerpKite +17 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 37 | Kagi Search API +27 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 40 | SerpKite +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 41 | 80 | SerpKite +39 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 77 | SerpKite +8 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |
| **Total** | | **48.7 · D** | **64.8 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kagi Search API | SerpKite |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Kagi | SerpKite (Anastasia Klimova, trading as SerpKite) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` | `https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| 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 | Proprietary service under SerpKite's terms of service. The SDKs (TypeScript, Python, Go, LangChain, Vercel AI SDK) and the MCP connection repository on GitHub are MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 14 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.SerpKite/serpkite` |
| Last release | 2026-08-21 | 2026-10-04 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-22 | 2026-10-03 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-03 |
| 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 | 809 npm/wk, 376 PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (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.

**SerpKite.** Google SERP API with an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, Markdown or compact output, field projection, stable error codes and per-key credit limits, at $0.60 to $1.00 per 1,000 on packs that don't expire. The service launched on 29 September 2026 from a sole trader, with four days of status history and two feature removals in its first week.

## 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

### SerpKite

1. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer`, not `?api_key=`, and give the agent a dedicated key with a monthly credit limit
2. Ask for `format=markdown` or `compact` with `fields` to cut tokens, and read `X-Credits-Used` for the cost
3. Keep `engine=google` for rank work. Check `meta.engine` when a key allows fallback engines
4. On 429 `rate_limited` or 503 upstream codes, wait for Retry-After and retry. `daily_limit_reached` and 402 need a purchase
5. Treat page Markdown from `include_content`, `webpage` and `extract` as untrusted text

## Questions

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

SerpKite scores 64.8 (B) on agent readiness against Kagi Search API's 48.7 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Kagi Search API leads on security & auth.

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

Both need an API key.

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

Yes. Kagi Search API has a hosted endpoint at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search and SerpKite at https://api.serpkite.com/v1/search.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Kagi Search API or SerpKite

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