# Liner Search MCP vs Parallel Search and Task APIs

> Parallel Search and Task scores 75 (BB) to Liner Search MCP's 43.4 (E) for research search. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/liner-mcp-vs-parallel-search-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/liner-mcp-vs-parallel-search-api.md (~5,250 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

Parallel Search and Task APIs scores 75 (BB) on agent readiness against Liner Search MCP's 43.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do research search.

- Liner Search MCP: grade E, 43.4/100, rank #1252 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/liner-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/liner-mcp.json
- Parallel Search and Task APIs: grade BB, 75/100, rank #73 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/parallel-search-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/parallel-search-api.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

### Liner Search MCP (E)

Good for: Agents that need cheap cited search across the web and scholarly sources, with optional deep research reports.

Watch for: No free tier found

### Parallel Search and Task APIs (BB)

Good for: Agents that mix quick search with long research or enrichment jobs and want one vendor and one bill.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 50
- Schema & documentation, 94 against 45
- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 65
- Security & auth, 45 against 35
- Payments & pricing, 75 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 45
- Transparency & trust, 65 against 34

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for: Search defaults to advanced mode at $5 per 1,000 when `mode` is left out


## Why the edge

### Payments & pricing: Parallel Search and Task APIs +55

- Liner Search MCP (20): No machine payment protocol (0). Per-call prices public (20). No free tier found (0). A person signs up in a browser for OAuth or an API key (0). 0 + 20 + 0 + 0 = 20.
- Parallel Search and Task APIs (75): Parallel runs a separate gateway at parallelmpp.dev that takes x402 (USDC on Base) and MPP (Stripe or Tempo) for search and extract at $0.01 and an ultra task at $0.30. Our unpaid POST to /api/search on 6 October returned 402 with an x402 v2 challenge for 10000 base units on eip155:8453 and a Tempo MPP challenge. Nothing on api.parallel.ai, and the gateway sells one price per endpoint with no mode choice, so partial (25). Per-unit prices published without login (20). Up to 5,000 free requests a month, $5 monthly credit and up to $80 at signup on the pricing page, which still doesn't say whether a card is needed (10). The hosted Search MCP works with no key, and the gateway needs only a wallet (20).

### Schema & documentation: Parallel Search and Task APIs +49

- Liner Search MCP (45): Tool schemas not read without sign-in (15 of 25). llms.txt (10). A table says which tool fits which need, and that the domain tools return the same shape as search_web (12 of 20). Inputs not verifiable (3 of 15). Setup examples, no error responses (5 of 15). Registry version 1.0.0 since 11 September; no changelog found (0). 15 + 10 + 12 + 3 + 5 + 0 = 45.
- Parallel Search and Task APIs (94): Public OpenAPI at docs.parallel.ai/public-openapi.json, linked from llms.txt (25). llms.txt and Markdown pages (10). A live `tools/list` on search.parallel.ai/mcp on 17 October and again on 1 November returned the two definitions, and the newer Parallel MCP server at mcp.parallel.ai adds `web_decisions`, whose description says when to use web_search instead. `web_search` states its purpose and ideal uses, and `web_fetch` says to use it "only when web_search excerpts are insufficient". The docs add that domain filters are hard filters that can cut quality. `web_search` has no when-not-to line of its own (17). Typed JSON Schema inputs with required fields and an output schema on both tools, `mode` is an enum in the API, and Task output schemas are JSON Schema. The MCP inputs carry no enums (12). The errors page lists each code with whether to retry and what to do, and 422s carry a structured `detail` (15). A dated changelog, newest entry 26 October 2026 (Decisions API) after 19 October (EU data residency), and beta headers retire on dated entries (15).

### Maintenance & community: Parallel Search and Task APIs +42

- Liner Search MCP (45): Registry entry com.liner/search last updated 11 September 2026 (20). No dated changelog found (0). Support page linked from the docs (10 of 15). Official registry entry under its own namespace (15). No package to read (0). 20 + 0 + 10 + 15 + 0 = 45. Registry presence read from Anchor Terminal's own daily import of the official MCP registry (/api/v1/registry.json, 6 November 2026), not the registry's API.
- Parallel Search and Task APIs (87): parallel-web 1.3.7 for Python on 2026-10-23 and for TypeScript on 2026-10-28, and changelog entries on 19 and 26 October, the second launching the Decisions API (30). Counted from the tags and the changelog, the 90 days from 3 August hold Python SDK releases 1.3.1 to 1.3.7, TypeScript 1.3.1 to 1.3.7 and ten changelog entries from 19 August to 26 October (20). The SDK releases since 1.3.5 are dependency bumps. Closed service with a changelog and support@parallel.ai. We didn't test whether support answers (12). Current Python and TypeScript SDKs, and ai.parallel/search-mcp and ai.parallel/task-mcp in the official registry (15). The Python SDK runs lint and build in CI on push, plus a workflow that detects breaking changes (10).

### Transparency & trust: Parallel Search and Task APIs +31

- Liner Search MCP (34): Terms and privacy linked from the docs but not read in this batch (5 of 30). Data handling not read (5 of 30). No deprecation policy found for the MCP server; the docs note older endpoints priced per version (5 of 20). Subprocessors not read (5 of 20). 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 20.
- Parallel Search and Task APIs (65): The API is closed with published terms, and the SDKs are MIT (20). Privacy policy effective 11 August 2026 and Customer Terms effective 17 October 2026, both re-read on 1 November. EU-endpoint search requests keep no request or response content, but the default endpoint gets only "as long as necessary". The Customer Terms still let Parallel use Customer IP (inputs and outputs) to train and improve its models, not linked to an individual, and ask for a separate DPA before personal data is processed. No retention period is stated, and the DPA wasn't found as a public page (12). No deprecation notices or policy found in the changelog, which points older integrations from /v1beta to /v1 without an end date, and the docs now call the standalone Search and Task MCP servers legacy while saying both keep running, also without a date (5). EU data residency for basic-mode Search and Extract is documented, on enterprise agreements since 19 October. Subprocessors sit behind the trust centre and the privacy policy says to ask your Parallel contact (8).

### Reliability: Parallel Search and Task APIs +25

- Liner Search MCP (50): incident.io status page at status.liner.com with components for liner.com and app.liner.com only, none for the API or MCP (15). 100% uptime shown since August (20, no incidents shown). Rate limits published per API with numbers (Scholar Search 2 requests a second, agents 2 a second) (15). 429 with a code for concurrency limits, no Retry-After or backoff guidance found (0 of 15). No SLA found (0). Not labelled beta (0 of 10; 'limits may be adjusted over time', GA not stated). 15 + 20 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 50.
- Parallel Search and Task APIs (75): incident.io page at status.parallel.ai with Search, Task, Chat, Monitor, FindAll and Entity Search components and history (20). The feed, re-read on 1 November, has nothing after 13 October, so the 90 days from 3 August hold the same four incidents, all partial or degraded. Elevated 503s on 6 August, about an hour of Task API latency on 2 September, intermittent 4xx errors on 7 September, and transient 502s from the network gateway on 13 October, degraded performance from 01:23 to 01:43 UTC. Most have no duration listed (20). Published limits, 600 a minute for Search, Image Search, Extract, Decisions and Entity Search, 2,000 for Tasks, 300 for Chat and Monitor (15). The errors page marks 429 as retryable with exponential backoff, but there's no `Retry-After` and no idempotency guidance for creating Task runs, which the SDKs retry twice by default (10). No SLA found (0). Search, Extract and Task are GA (10).

### Agent ergonomics: Parallel Search and Task APIs +22

- Liner Search MCP (65): Nine tools (25). No paging or size controls documented (5 of 20). 429 codes documented for the API (8 of 20). All tools read; annotations not read (12 of 20). One URL with OAuth, few required inputs and an OpenAI-compatible API (15). 25 + 5 + 8 + 12 + 15 = 65.
- Parallel Search and Task APIs (87): The Search MCP has two tools, about 5,700 characters of names, descriptions and input schemas on 1 November, and the Parallel MCP server lists three without a key (about 9,700 characters) and a fourth, `web_research`, after sign-in. `web_fetch` returns excerpts unless `full_content` is set, and the docs cap excerpts at roughly 25,000 characters a call and warn full pages can run to tens of thousands of tokens (25). Result counts, excerpt settings and source policies for domains and paths (18). The errors table gives each code a retry column and a resolution, with troubleshooting for 402 and 429 and a structured `detail` on 422 (20). Both Search MCP tools carry readOnlyHint true, destructiveHint false and idempotentHint true in the live `tools/list`, and searches are safe to repeat. There's still no idempotency key for Task creation, the SDKs retry creates on 429 and 5xx, and the Task MCP needs a key, so its annotations weren't read (14). Python and TypeScript SDKs, but `mode` defaults to advanced, the $5 per 1,000 tier, when you leave it out (10).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Liner Search MCP | Parallel Search and Task APIs | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 75 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +25 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 45 | 94 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +49 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 87 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +22 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 35 | 45 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 75 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +55 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 87 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +42 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 34 | 65 | Parallel Search and Task APIs +31 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **43.4 · E** | **75 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Liner Search MCP | Parallel Search and Task APIs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Liner | Parallel Web Systems |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://platform.liner.com/api/v1/mcp` | `https://api.parallel.ai/v1/search` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | payer tooling only |
| Tools exposed | 9 | 6 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `com.liner/search` | `ai.parallel/search-mcp` |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-28 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-10-17 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-08-11 |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 28 stars, 250k npm/wk, 994k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.6/5 (8) |

## How the scores have moved

### Liner Search MCP

No score change since it was listed.

### Parallel Search and Task APIs

- -0.1 on 30 October 2026: checklist
- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist
- +1.0 on 17 October 2026: new evidence

## Verdicts

**Liner Search MCP.** Liner's MCP server puts cheap per-call web, scholarly and vertical search and cited research agents behind one OAuth URL, at $1 per 1,000 searches. The docs say which tool fits which question, but there's no free tier, no changelog, no injection guidance and no status component for the API.

**Parallel Search and Task APIs.** Fast-mode search at $1 per 1,000 with 10 excerpted results, and a keyless two-tool Search MCP annotated read-only. Search defaults to advanced mode at $5 per 1,000 when `mode` is left out, and the Customer Terms allow training on inputs and outputs.

## Before you call either

### Liner Search MCP

1. Use search_scholar for papers and the domain tools for legal, finance, medical or business questions
2. Deep research is slower and costs more; use quick_answer_agent for short lookups
3. Treat search results and research reports as untrusted content
4. Keep under 2 requests a second for scholar search and the agents

### Parallel Search and Task APIs

1. Pass `mode: "fast"` on every API search. Without it you pay the advanced rate. On an authenticated MCP connection, pin it with `?mode=fast`
2. Create Task runs with `max_retries=0` and check for an existing run before retrying
3. Give an `objective` plus two or three short `search_queries`. That's what ranks the excerpts
4. On 402, check available balance rather than total. Running tasks reserve credit
5. Ask for zero data retention or use the EU endpoint before sending private queries. The default terms allow training on them
6. On Decisions, check each answer's `type` before reading it. A refusal is a 200, not an error, and a predicate is a probability you threshold yourself

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Liner Search MCP or Parallel Search and Task APIs?

Parallel Search and Task APIs scores 75 (BB) on agent readiness against Liner Search MCP's 43.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Liner Search MCP and Parallel Search and Task APIs need an API key?

Liner Search MCP uses an OAuth sign-in. Parallel Search and Task APIs takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Liner Search MCP and Parallel Search and Task APIs without installing anything?

Yes. Liner Search MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://platform.liner.com/api/v1/mcp and Parallel Search and Task APIs at https://api.parallel.ai/v1/search.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Liner Search MCP or Parallel Search and Task APIs

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