Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run
Mojeek Web Search API vs SearchAPI.io
SearchAPI.io scores 50.1 (D) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on agent ergonomics, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do web search. Mojeek Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $2.68 against $4 per 1,000 requests.
Best web search APIs for AI agents · All 308 search comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for Agents and products that want a second, independent index beside Google-derived results, or European data handling with no sub-processors.
Ahead on
- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 52
- Maintenance & community, 10 against 0
- Transparency & trust, 68 against 62
Also in its favour
- Cheaper for web search, $2.68 against $4 per 1,000 requests
Watch for
The API key is documented only as a URL query parameter, and rotating a key means emailing the API team
Best 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 45
- Schema & documentation, 59 against 29
- Security & auth, 28 against 15
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
Also in its favour
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card
Watch for
MCP loads one tool per engine with no toolsets
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Reliability SearchAPI.io +45
Mojeek Web Search API 45
Read with the hosted lines. status.mojeek.com is a Site24x7 StatusIQ page with Search, Website, Blog and Community components. It is drawn by script, so only its RSS feed could be read, which shows each component's current state (Search operational since 7 September 2026) and no incident entries (15 of 20). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits are published per plan, 5 a second and 100,000 a day on Startup, 10 a second and 400,000 a day on Business (15). Over the daily limit the JSON status reads 'ERROR: Daily Limit Reached'; no HTTP 429, Retry-After or backoff guidance was found (0). No SLA, and the API terms say the service is provided as is and may be interrupted without notice (0). Generally available, with only the lr parameter marked beta (10). 15 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 45.
SearchAPI.io 90
Honeybadger status page at status.searchapi.io with Landing Page and API components and monthly history (20). Re-read on 4 November 2026, it shows no incidents in September, October or November 2026, and its incident feed's newest entry is the 11 February 2026 partial outage, so the window from 6 August is clean (30). The hourly cap is published, 20 per cent of the plan's monthly searches in any hour (15). The OpenAPI file lists a 429 response with an error string, but no Retry-After or backoff guidance was found. The partial 5 is kept pending the founder's rule on in-between values (5). The terms of 11 April 2026 give a 99.9% SLA for all plans with a credit of 100% of the monthly price, and the pricing page lists it on every plan (10). GA (10). 20 + 30 + 15 + 5 + 10 + 10 = 90.
Schema & documentation SearchAPI.io +30
Mojeek Web Search API 29
No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract (0). No llms.txt (404) and no Markdown pages for agents (0). The parameters page states what each parameter does, with notes on when not to use reg and clufmt, but nothing on when another endpoint fits better (12 of 20). Every parameter has a type, defaults and valid ranges (tlen 0 to 127, dlen 0 to 511, rbb and lbb 1 to 100, up to 25 domains), though reg is called an enum without listing its values (11 of 15). One curl example and annotated JSON and XML response formats; errors appear only as a status string with one example (6 of 15). No API version, changelog or dated release notes, and the quickstart and the parameters page give different hosts (0). 0 + 0 + 12 + 11 + 6 + 0 = 29.
SearchAPI.io 59
OpenAPI 3.0 for the Google engine at /openapi/google.yaml with 25 typed parameters. We found no index of specs for the other engines, so 20 of 25. No llms.txt (404 on 4 November 2026) and no Markdown docs for agents (0). The API reference explains each parameter, and the MCP tool definitions aren't public (10). Enums for device, country, language, safe search and time period (14). Examples and a Postman collection, and the spec documents 400, 401, 403, 429 and 500 (12). /api/v1 in the path and no changelog anywhere we looked (3).
Agent ergonomics Mojeek Web Search API +14
Mojeek Web Search API 66
Responses can be sized with t (up to 10, 40 or 100 results by plan), tlen, dlen and opt-in date and size fields (22 of 25). s for paging, since and before, site, included and excluded domains, region and language boosting and safe search (20). Errors are a free-text status with no documented codes, which an agent can't branch on reliably (5 of 20). Searches only read, so a retry is safe, but no page says whether failed or empty requests are billed (12 of 20). Only q and api_key are required, with recommended values for the boosts. No official SDK in any language (7 of 15). 22 + 20 + 5 + 12 + 7 = 66.
SearchAPI.io 52
The MCP exposes over 100 tools, one or more per engine, with no toolsets or filtering documented (5). page, time_period, location, country, language and safe search. Google's num has been fixed at 10 since September 2025 (18). Status codes are documented, but not how to recover from each (12). Searches are reads, and only HTTP 200 responses are billed, so retries are cheap. MCP annotations aren't visible (10). Two required parameters, engine and q. No official SDKs (7).
Security & auth SearchAPI.io +13
Mojeek Web Search API 15
One key per account, documented only as the api_key query parameter, and rotation or revocation is by email to the API team (a staff reply of 22 October 2026 on the community forum asks for the key's last 8 digits). One all-powerful key (10) less 10 for the key in the URL (0). Search is read-only and there is nothing to write, but no scoped or restricted key (10 of 20). Results are third-party titles and snippets, with no prompt-injection guidance found (0). No audit log or per-call usage view was found in the docs; the FAQ mentions budget alerts on the account (0 of 15). security.txt names security@mojeek.com, with no Expires field. No bug bounty, disclosure policy, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 found; the API page claims compliance with European rules such as the EU Data Act without a certification (5 of 20). 0 + 10 + 0 + 0 + 5 = 15.
SearchAPI.io 28
API keys with a documented api_key query-string option, and OAuth with expiring, rotating tokens for the MCP. The MCP page, re-read on 4 November 2026, now tells clients to send the token in the X-MCP-Token header and not in a URL. The registry's ?token= reading came from a JSON API this run doesn't use and is struck. The api_key query option stays documented in the API reference. 20 less 10 (10). Every action is a read, and there are no tool subsets (15). Results are third-party snippets and scraped AI answers, with no injection guidance (0). No per-call audit log found. The privacy policy says account logins are logged by IP (0). The trust centre at security.searchapi.io answers robots.txt with an app page, so it was left unread on 4 November 2026. No certifications, bounty or security.txt (404 on 4 November 2026) found. The partial 3 is kept pending the founder's rule on in-between values (3).
Payments & pricing SearchAPI.io +10
Mojeek Web Search API 20
No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-request prices published without login, £2 and £3 per 1,000 requests (20). The FAQ says a free credit comes with the Startup plan, but a bank card is required to open an account (0). A person signs up in a browser and adds a card (0). 0 + 20 + 0 + 0 = 20.
SearchAPI.io 30
No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Monthly plans only, priced in public, from $40 for 10,000 searches to $5,000 for 5 million (10). 100 free requests with no card (20). A person has to sign up in a browser (0).
Maintenance & community Mojeek Web Search API +10
Mojeek Web Search API 10
Read for a closed service. No API changelog, release notes or dated API change were found, and the blog's posts since 2024 are about search in general, so the last change can't be dated (0). No dated changes in the 90 days from 8 August (0). A staff member answered API questions on the community forum within a day in December 2025 and October 2026, and support is by email; no public changelog (10 of 15). No official SDKs or MCP server (0). No public packages or CI to measure (0). 0 + 0 + 10 + 0 + 0 = 10.
SearchAPI.io 0
No changelog (/changelog answered 404 on 4 November 2026) and no dated API change found, so the last release can't be dated (0). No releases to count (0). No public issue tracker or changelog to judge replies by. A Discord server is linked from the footer and wasn't tested (0). The 15 for io.searchapi/mcp in the official MCP registry rested on a reading of the registry's JSON API, which this run doesn't use, and no ordinary registry page shows the entry, so the line falls to 0, as graphiti, linear-mcp and copilot-studio-mcp read it. No official SDKs were found; the footer links a GitHub organisation whose pages answered 403 (0, 15 before). No public packages or CI (0). 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 0.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Mojeek Web Search API | SearchAPI.io | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 45 | 90 | SearchAPI.io +45 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 29 | 59 | SearchAPI.io +30 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 66 | 52 | Mojeek Web Search API +14 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 15 | 28 | SearchAPI.io +13 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 20 | 30 | SearchAPI.io +10 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 10 | 0 | Mojeek Web Search API +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 68 | 62 | Mojeek Web Search API +6 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | F 36.4/100 | D 50.1/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Mojeek Web Search API | SearchAPI.io |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Mojeek Limited | SearchApi |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| Price for web search | $2.68 per 1,000 requests | $4 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | no |
| Tools exposed | 0 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| MCP registry | not listed | io.searchapi/mcp |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-04-11 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2022-02-02 | 2026-04-11 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |
How the scores have moved
Mojeek Web Search API
No score change since it was listed.
Verdicts
Mojeek Web Search API
Mojeek sells search over its own independent index at published per-request prices, with region, language, date and domain controls and storage rights on the Business plan. The key travels only in the URL, rotation is by email, a card is needed to start, and there is no OpenAPI, changelog, 429 handling or SLA.
SearchAPI.io
A 99.9% SLA in the terms on every plan, no status-page incidents since 11 February 2026, and over 150 engine endpoints behind one URL. The MCP loads one tool per engine with no toolsets, there is no changelog or official SDK, and every account starts with a browser signup.
Before you call either
Mojeek Web Search API
- Send
fmt=json, since the default response is XML - Read
response.statuson every call; a daily limit shows as 'ERROR: Daily Limit Reached' rather than an HTTP error - Set
lb,lbb,rbandrbbas the quickstart recommends, or results lean to no language or region - Keep the key out of logs and shared URLs, since it travels in the query string
- On the Startup plan, don't keep results for more than an hour
SearchAPI.io
- Send the key as
Authorization: Bearer, notapi_key=in the URL - Connect the MCP through OAuth or the
X-MCP-Tokenheader. Never put the token in the MCP URL - Call the REST API with
engine=when context is tight. The MCP loads one tool definition per engine - Page Google results with
page.numis fixed at 10 - Pace bursts. One hour can use at most 20 per cent of the plan's monthly searches
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Mojeek Web Search API or SearchAPI.io?
SearchAPI.io scores 50.1 (D) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on agent ergonomics, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.
Which is cheaper for web search, Mojeek Web Search API or SearchAPI.io?
Mojeek Web Search API, at $2.68 per 1,000 requests against $4 per 1,000 requests for SearchAPI.io. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.
Do Mojeek Web Search API and SearchAPI.io need an API key?
Mojeek Web Search API needs an API key. SearchAPI.io takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.
Can an agent call Mojeek Web Search API and SearchAPI.io without installing anything?
No hosted endpoint is listed for Mojeek Web Search API. SearchAPI.io has a hosted endpoint at https://www.searchapi.io/api/v1/search.
Other comparisons with Mojeek Web Search API or SearchAPI.io
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- Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs SearchAPI.io
- Arcmira vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Arcmira vs SearchAPI.io
- Grounding with Bing Search vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Grounding with Bing Search vs SearchAPI.io
- Brave Search API + MCP vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Brave Search API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io
- Cloudflare Web Search API vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Cloudflare Web Search API vs SearchAPI.io
- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Mojeek Web Search API
- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs SearchAPI.io
- Exa API + MCP vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Exa API + MCP vs SearchAPI.io
- Firecrawl MCP vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Firecrawl MCP vs SearchAPI.io
- Grep AI vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Grep AI vs SearchAPI.io
- Kagi Search API vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Kagi Search API vs SearchAPI.io
- Linkup vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Linkup vs SearchAPI.io
- Mojeek Web Search API vs NewsCatcher
- Mojeek Web Search API vs Parallel Search and Task APIs
- Mojeek Web Search API vs Perplexity Search API
- Mojeek Web Search API vs SerpApi
- Mojeek Web Search API vs Serper
- Mojeek Web Search API vs SERPHouse
- Mojeek Web Search API vs SerpKite
- Mojeek Web Search API vs SpecStream
- Mojeek Web Search API vs Tavily API + MCP
- Mojeek Web Search API vs TinyFish Search
- Mojeek Web Search API vs Valyu
- Mojeek Web Search API vs You.com APIs
- Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SearchAPI.io
- Perplexity Search API vs SearchAPI.io
- SearchAPI.io vs SerpApi
- SearchAPI.io vs Serper
- SearchAPI.io vs SERPHouse
- SearchAPI.io vs SerpKite
- SearchAPI.io vs SpecStream
- SearchAPI.io vs Tavily API + MCP
- SearchAPI.io vs TinyFish Search
- SearchAPI.io vs Valyu
- SearchAPI.io vs You.com APIs
- NewsCatcher vs SearchAPI.io
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/mojeek-vs-searchapi-io.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/mojeek.json·/api/v1/tools/searchapi-io.json - From a terminal
anchor compare mojeek searchapi-io(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "mojeek", "b": "searchapi-io"}at/mcp, no key