# Kagi Search API vs Tavily API + MCP

> Tavily scores 76.8 (BB) to Kagi Search's 48.7 (D) for web search. Tavily is cheaper for web search, $7.50 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-tavily-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-tavily-mcp.md (~2,900 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-tavily-mcp.min.md (~830 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-tavily-mcp.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

Tavily API + MCP scores 76.8 (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 and transparency & trust. Both do web search. Tavily API + MCP is cheaper for web search, $7.50 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
- Tavily API + MCP: grade BB, 76.8/100, rank #26 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tavily-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tavily-mcp.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 52
- Transparency & trust, 69 against 60

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

### Tavily API + MCP (BB)

Good for: An agent that needs search plus page text in one call and has no account yet.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 90 against 8
- Schema & documentation, 89 against 71
- Agent ergonomics, 81 against 75
- Payments & pricing, 75 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 85 against 41

Also in its favour:
- Cheaper for web search, $7.50 against $12 per 1,000 requests
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: x402 covers advanced search only, not extract, map, crawl or research


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kagi Search API | Tavily API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 8 | 90 | Tavily API + MCP +82 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 89 | Tavily API + MCP +18 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 81 | Tavily API + MCP +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 52 | Kagi Search API +12 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 75 | Tavily API + MCP +55 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 41 | 85 | Tavily API + MCP +44 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 60 | Kagi Search API +9 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **48.7 · D** | **76.8 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kagi Search API | Tavily API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |
| Vendor | Kagi | Tavily |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://kagi.com/api/v1/search` | `https://mcp.tavily.com/mcp/?tavilyApiKey=<key>` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | stdio, Streamable HTTP, HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| Price for web search | $12 per 1,000 requests | $7.50 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 | MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 5 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-08-21 | 2026-09-18 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-22 | 2026-05-04 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2025-11-24 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 535 stars | 2.4k stars, 452k npm/wk, 1.6M 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.

**Tavily API + MCP.** Keyless search and extract, plus a free 1,000 credits a month with no card. x402 covers advanced search only, not extract, map, crawl or research.

## 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

### Tavily API + MCP

1. Try `X-Tavily-Access-Mode: keyless` first for search and extract. Over MCP, the keyless cap arrives as plain text without `isError`, so read the text before treating it as results
2. Send the key in `Authorization: Bearer`, not `?tavilyApiKey=` in the MCP URL
3. On 429, wait for `Retry-After`. A 432 or 433 means a spend limit, and retrying won't help
4. Run /map before /crawl to bound the crawl, since crawl is billed as map plus extract
5. Research is async and runs 4 to 250 credits. Create the task, then poll /research/{request_id}

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kagi Search API or Tavily API + MCP?

Tavily API + MCP scores 76.8 (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 and transparency & trust.

### Which is cheaper for web search, Kagi Search API or Tavily API + MCP?

Tavily API + MCP, at $7.50 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 Tavily API + MCP need an API key?

Kagi Search API needs an API key. Tavily API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Kagi Search API and Tavily API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Kagi Search API has a hosted endpoint at https://kagi.com/api/v1/search and Tavily API + MCP at https://mcp.tavily.com/mcp/?tavilyApiKey=<key>.

### Are Kagi Search API and Tavily API + MCP open source?

No open-source release is listed for Kagi Search API. Tavily API + MCP is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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