Head to head · Web search · October 2026 research run
Mojeek Web Search API vs Tavily API + MCP
Tavily API + MCP scores 77.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on transparency & trust. Both do web search. Mojeek Web Search API is cheaper for web search, $2.68 against $7.50 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
- Transparency & trust, 68 against 62
Also in its favour
- Cheaper for web search, $2.68 against $7.50 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 An agent that needs search plus page text in one call and has no account yet.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 90 against 45
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 29
- Agent ergonomics, 81 against 66
- Security & auth, 52 against 15
- Payments & pricing, 75 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 85 against 10
Also in its favour
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Runs on your own machine
- Free to start without a card
- Open source
Watch for
x402 covers advanced search only, not extract, map, crawl or research
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.
Maintenance & community Tavily API + MCP +75
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.
Tavily API + MCP 85
@tavily/core 0.7.14 on npm, published on 6 October 2026, and tavily-python bumped to 0.8.5 in the repository the same day (PyPI's pages and release feed returned nothing to us on 1 November, so its publication there is unchecked). No newer SDK release by 1 November, so this line drops to 20 after 5 November unless one lands (30). The tavily-mcp npm release is older, 0.2.22 on 5 August 2026. Version 0.2.23 was committed on 16 September and still isn't on npm on 1 November, though the MCP repository had dependency bumps on 15 and 26 October and new descriptions on 27 October. Eight @tavily/core releases on npm since 5 August, tavily-python version bumps in its repository, tavily-mcp 0.2.22, and August and October changelog entries in the last 90 days (20). Maintainers merge pull requests and dependency fixes within days. Ten issues were open on tavily-mcp on 4 October, the oldest from 14 July 2026, including OAuth failures (#203, #220), empty extracts on single-page sites (#204) and a missing isError on a 401 (#211), per the 4 October check, not re-read on 1 November (GitHub answered 403) (15). Listed in the official MCP registry as io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp, though the entry is still at 0.2.15 from 26 January 2026 on 1 November (15). The MCP repo has no CI workflows and no git tags, though it has a test file and regular security bumps. tavily-python runs tests in CI (5).
Schema & documentation Tavily API + MCP +61
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.
Tavily API + MCP 90
Public OpenAPI at docs.tavily.com, and typed JSON Schema on every MCP tool (25). llms.txt with Markdown pages and a 'Start here for agents' section, re-read on 1 November (10). Tool descriptions say what each does and when to reach for it, such as search for facts past the model's cutoff, but the npm release doesn't say when not to. A commit of 27 October on the GitHub main branch adds some, such as using the news topic only when the user asks for news and leaving the extract query empty for tables, but it isn't released on npm, so the award stays (14). Enums for search_depth, topic, time_range and include_domains_mode, ranges for max_results (0 to 20 on the API, 5 to 20 in the MCP), chunks_per_source (1 to 3) and max_age_hours (-1 to 720), and caps of 300 included and 150 excluded domains. The feedback tool on the GitHub main branch, not in the npm release, takes free-form value fields (13). Error table with examples for 400, 401, 422, 429, 432, 433, 434 and 500, re-read on 1 November (15). Versioned SDKs and a monthly changelog, which on 1 November has an October 2026 section documenting max_age_hours (accepted values and the 434 flex tier) and Tavily CLI plain output, and the search API reference now documents max_age_hours. fetch_timeout appears only in the 434 example message and cache_fallback nowhere in the reference or changelog, and the API path isn't versioned (13).
Payments & pricing Tavily API + MCP +55
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.
Tavily API + MCP 75
Official x402 at x402.tavily.com sells advanced search only, $0.01 in USDC on Base. An unpaid POST to /search returned 402 on 1 November with an x402 version 2 envelope offering the exact scheme on eip155:8453 for 10000 units (0.01 USDC), and a second agent-pay option on aws:base for 0.016, described as advanced mode. Extract, map, crawl and research aren't sold over x402 (15). Credit costs per endpoint and $0.008 a credit pay as you go, published without a login and unchanged on 1 November (20). 1,000 free credits a month, no card, re-read on 1 November (20). Keyless search and extract with the X-Tavily-Access-Mode: keyless header, plus the x402 route, so an agent needs no human signup (20).
Reliability Tavily API + MCP +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.
Tavily API + MCP 90
incident.io status page at status.tavily.com with separate API, MCP and website components (20). One incident in the 90 days from 3 August, website degraded performance on 17 September 2026, and none since per the status feed re-read on 1 November. The API and MCP showed 100% per the 1 October check (30). Published limits, re-read on 1 November, 100 requests a minute on development keys and 1,000 on production, crawl 100 and research 20 task creations on both (15). 429 carries Retry-After and the docs say to use that value and the status code rather than parse the message. Since October a 434 tells non-paying plans that live fetching with max_age_hours is refused under load, with the advice to retry or omit it (15). The pricing page lists 'Enterprise-grade support and SLAs' for the custom Enterprise plan but publishes no SLA terms, per the 17 October check, and none were found in the docs index or terms (0). GA (10).
Security & auth Tavily API + MCP +37
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.
Tavily API + MCP 52
Revocable keys, separate development and production keys, and the Logs API filters by key, so several keys per account work. The hosted MCP adds OAuth but maps it to one dashboard key with no scopes (22). The MCP README and docs still lead with ?tavilyApiKey= in the URL on 1 November (minus 10). The five tools in the npm release all read. The GitHub main branch adds tavily_feedback, which posts scores to Tavily, the hosted server's tool list is unknown, and there's no read-only toolset (10). The home page says requests pass through 'security, privacy, and content validation layers that block PII leakage, prompt injection, and malicious sources'. That's a claim with no technical detail in the docs, plus a safe_search flag for adult content, per the 1 October check (7). The Logs API (filter by key and endpoint since August 2026) and include_usage give per-call visibility (13). SOC 2 and ISO 27001 named on the privacy page, per the 4 October check, and the MCP repo patches vulnerable dependencies about monthly (seven updates on 26 October). The trust centre is JavaScript-only for us (per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November), www.tavily.com/.well-known/security.txt returned 404 on 1 November, and no bug bounty found (10).
Agent ergonomics Tavily API + MCP +15
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.
Tavily API + MCP 81
Five tools in the published tavily-mcp 0.2.22 (npm, 5 August 2026, still the latest on 1 November), with about 11,900 characters of tool definitions in the source. The unreleased 0.2.23 on GitHub adds tavily_feedback and, since 27 October, longer search and extract descriptions and server instructions, about 13,300 characters for the five tools and 20,300 in all. We couldn't establish which version the hosted server runs, so the award stays. No tool filter found. Raw content, images and answers are opt-in, which keeps API responses small (18). max_results, domain include and exclude lists, time_range, start and end dates, country, and crawl depth, breadth and limit (20). 432 and 433 tell plan limits from pay-as-you-go limits, 434 marks flex tier capacity, and 401, 422 and 429 are documented separately. Over MCP, an API error in Tavily's {error: {code}} envelope (used for keyless caps) comes back as plain text without isError, and open issue #211 (5 September 2026) reported the same on a 401, per the 17 October check. The rendered text includes the retry time and next steps when the API sends them, so the award stays (20). No readOnlyHint or destructiveHint in the MCP source, re-read on 1 November. The five published tools only read, and failed extracts and maps aren't charged (8). Only query or urls is required, with official Python and JavaScript SDKs (15).
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Mojeek Web Search API | Tavily API + MCP | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 45 | 90 | Tavily API + MCP +45 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 29 | 90 | Tavily API + MCP +61 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 66 | 81 | Tavily API + MCP +15 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 15 | 52 | Tavily API + MCP +37 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 20 | 75 | Tavily API + MCP +55 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 10 | 85 | Tavily API + MCP +75 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 68 | 62 | Mojeek Web Search API +6 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | F 36.4/100 | BB 77.1/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Mojeek Web Search API | Tavily API + MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | MCP server |
| Vendor | Mojeek Limited | Tavily |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | https://mcp.tavily.com/mcp/?tavilyApiKey=<key> |
| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP, HTTP | |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| Price for web search | $2.68 per 1,000 requests | $7.50 per 1,000 requests |
| x402 | no | payer tooling only |
| Licence | none | MIT |
| Tools exposed | 0 | 5 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-06 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-05-04 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2022-02-02 | 2025-11-24 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | none | 2.4k stars, 452k npm/wk, 1.6M PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.6/5 (8) |
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.
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, and the npm MCP release has trailed the GitHub source since August.
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
Tavily API + MCP
- Try
X-Tavily-Access-Mode: keylessfirst for search and extract. Over MCP, the keyless cap arrives as plain text withoutisError, so read the text before treating it as results - Send the key in
Authorization: Bearer, not?tavilyApiKey=in the MCP URL - On 429, wait for
Retry-After. A 432 or 433 means a spend limit, and retrying won't help. A 434 on a free plan means retry shortly or dropmax_age_hours - Run /map before /crawl to bound the crawl, since crawl is billed as map plus extract
- Research is async and runs 4 to 250 credits. Create the task, then poll /research/{request_id}
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Mojeek Web Search API or Tavily API + MCP?
Tavily API + MCP scores 77.1 (BB) on agent readiness against Mojeek Web Search API's 36.4 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Mojeek Web Search API leads on transparency & trust.
Which is cheaper for web search, Mojeek Web Search API or Tavily API + MCP?
Mojeek Web Search API, at $2.68 per 1,000 requests against $7.50 per 1,000 requests for Tavily API + MCP. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.
Do Mojeek Web Search API and Tavily API + MCP need an API key?
Mojeek Web Search API needs an API key. Tavily API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.
Can an agent call Mojeek Web Search API and Tavily API + MCP without installing anything?
No hosted endpoint is listed for Mojeek Web Search API. Tavily API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.tavily.com/mcp/?tavilyApiKey=<key>.
Are Mojeek Web Search API and Tavily API + MCP open source?
No open-source release is listed for Mojeek Web Search API. Tavily API + MCP is open source (MIT).
Other comparisons with Mojeek Web Search API or Tavily API + MCP
- Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs Tavily API + MCP
- Arcmira vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Grounding with Bing Search vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Grounding with Bing Search vs Tavily API + MCP
- Brave Search API + MCP vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Brave Search API + MCP vs Tavily API + MCP
- Cloudflare Web Search API vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Cloudflare Web Search API vs Tavily API + MCP
- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Mojeek Web Search API
- DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Tavily API + MCP
- Exa API + MCP vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Exa API + MCP vs Tavily API + MCP
- Firecrawl MCP vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Firecrawl MCP vs Tavily API + MCP
- Grep AI vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Kagi Search API vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Kagi Search API vs Tavily API + MCP
- Linkup vs Mojeek Web Search API
- Linkup vs Tavily API + MCP
- 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 SearchAPI.io
- 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 TinyFish Search
- Mojeek Web Search API vs Valyu
- Mojeek Web Search API vs You.com APIs
- Parallel Search and Task APIs vs Tavily API + MCP
- Perplexity Search API vs Tavily API + MCP
- SearchAPI.io vs Tavily API + MCP
- SerpApi vs Tavily API + MCP
- Serper vs Tavily API + MCP
- SERPHouse vs Tavily API + MCP
- SerpKite vs Tavily API + MCP
- Tavily API + MCP vs TinyFish Search
- Tavily API + MCP vs Valyu
- Tavily API + MCP vs You.com APIs
- Arcmira vs Tavily API + MCP
- Grep AI vs Tavily API + MCP
- SpecStream vs Tavily API + MCP
- Fetch (MCP reference server) vs Tavily API + MCP
- NewsCatcher vs Tavily API + MCP
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/mojeek-vs-tavily-mcp.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/mojeek.json·/api/v1/tools/tavily-mcp.json - From a terminal
anchor compare mojeek tavily-mcp(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "mojeek", "b": "tavily-mcp"}at/mcp, no key