{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "serpapi",
      "name": "SerpApi",
      "vendor": "SerpApi",
      "vendorUrl": "https://serpapi.com",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "search",
      "summary": "Scrapes live results pages from Google, Bing, Baidu, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Amazon, YouTube and about 20 other engines and returns them as parsed JSON or markdown.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpapi.json",
      "transports": [
        "http",
        "streamable-http",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://serpapi.com/search",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "serpapi"
        },
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "serpapi"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "API key as the `api_key` query parameter on every request. The hosted MCP takes `Authorization: Bearer \u003ckey\u003e` or the key in the URL path (`/\u003ckey\u003e/mcp`) for clients that can't set headers.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "Free plan 250 searches a month (50 an hour). Starter $25 a month for 1,000 searches, Developer $75 for 5,000, Production $150 for 15,000, Big Data $275 for 30,000, Searcher $725 for 100,000, then Cloud tiers from $3,750 for 1M. Only successful searches count, cached and failed ones are free, and a response with 100 results is still one search. Ludicrous Speed doubles the price, Ludicrous Speed Max quadruples it (https://serpapi.com/pricing).",
      "priceSummary": "$25 / 1k req",
      "where": "both",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402 in llms.txt, pricing or integrations pages (checked 2026-09-30).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": 3,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": 175,
        "npmWeekly": 168618,
        "pypiWeekly": 104227,
        "asOf": "2026-09-30"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://serpapi.com/search-api",
      "llmsTxt": "https://serpapi.com/llms.txt",
      "registryName": "io.github.serpapi/serpapi-mcp",
      "capabilities": [
        "web.search",
        "search.serp",
        "search.news",
        "search.images"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "freemium",
        "mcp",
        "llms-txt",
        "python",
        "typescript",
        "closed-source"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-09-22",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 62.6,
        "grade": "B",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 216,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 452,
        "categoryRank": 8,
        "methodology": "0.3",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 88,
          "maintenance": 82,
          "payments": 30,
          "reliability": 60,
          "schema": 67,
          "security": 40,
          "transparency": 85
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "Over 100 engines behind one GET URL, with `json_restrictor` field selection and `output=md`. 25 incidents on the status feed from July to 1 October 2026, including an outage across all APIs on 10 September.",
        "strengths": [
          "Over 100 engines behind one GET URL, with `json_restrictor` field selection and `output=md`",
          "Failed, errored and cached searches aren't billed, and the cache lasts 1 hour",
          "Terms promise a 99.95% SLA on all plans",
          "SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 listed on the security page, 31-day data retention stated twice",
          "Hosted MCP server in the official registry, with read-only tool annotations"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "25 incidents on the status feed from July to 1 October 2026, including an outage across all APIs on 10 September",
          "REST auth is the `api_key` query parameter, with no header option documented",
          "No OpenAPI spec, and the MCP `search` tool takes a free-form `params` object",
          "Monthly plans only, from $25 for 1,000 searches, with no pay-per-call or machine payment",
          "No prompt-injection guidance for the snippets it returns"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Use the MCP with `Authorization: Bearer`, not the key-in-path URL the README leads with",
          "Read `serpapi://engines/\u003cengine\u003e` before calling a new engine, since `params` isn't typed",
          "Add `json_restrictor` or `output=md` to cut tokens, and `mode: compact` on the MCP",
          "A 429 means either the hourly limit or an empty balance. Check the account before retrying",
          "Repeat a search within the hour and the cached copy is free. Set `no_cache=true` only when freshness matters"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 2,
        "avgRating": 3.5,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "B",
            "methodology": "0.3",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 62.6
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 88,
          "maintenance": 82,
          "payments": 30,
          "reliability": 60,
          "schema": 67,
          "security": 40,
          "transparency": 70
        },
        "provenanceScore": 100
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl -G https://serpapi.com/search --data-urlencode \"q=coffee\" -d engine=google -d api_key=$SERPAPI_API_KEY",
        "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http serpapi https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp --header \"Authorization: Bearer $SERPAPI_API_KEY\"",
        "config": {
          "mcpServers": {
            "serpapi": {
              "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer ${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"
              },
              "type": "http",
              "url": "https://mcp.serpapi.com/mcp"
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/serpapi"
      },
      "area": "web-data",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Starter plan, per 1,000 searches",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 25,
          "note": "1,000 searches for $25 a month"
        },
        {
          "item": "Starter plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 25,
          "note": "1,000 searches"
        },
        {
          "item": "Developer plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 75,
          "note": "5,000 searches"
        },
        {
          "item": "Production plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 150,
          "note": "15,000 searches, includes Legal Shield"
        },
        {
          "item": "Big Data plan",
          "unit": "month",
          "usd": 275,
          "note": "30,000 searches"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "SerpApi, LLC",
        "domain": "serpapi.com",
        "domainRegistered": "2016-07-27",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://serpapi.com/legal",
        "privacy": "https://serpapi.com/legal",
        "statusPage": "https://status.serpapi.com",
        "changelog": "https://serpapi.com/release-notes",
        "securityTxt": "valid",
        "checked": "2026-09-30",
        "notes": [
          "Terms and privacy policy share one page. The entity is a Texas LLC at 1632 S 1st St, Austin"
        ],
        "score": 100
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "serpapi",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://serpapi.com/search",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-05T02:30:02.476478947Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 401,
          "lastMs": 115,
          "lastNote": "asks for credentials",
          "authRequired": true,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 122,
          "p95ms24h": 161,
          "samples24h": 273,
          "samples30d": 1131,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-09-30",
              "probes": 35,
              "ok": 35
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-01",
              "probes": 276,
              "ok": 276
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-02",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-03",
              "probes": 271,
              "ok": 271
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-04",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 272
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-05",
              "probes": 29,
              "ok": 29
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.serpapi.com",
          "indicator": "minor",
          "summary": "Partially Degraded Service",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T02:29:12.850360063Z"
        },
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "mcp-registry",
            "name": "io.github.serpapi/serpapi-mcp",
            "version": "2.0.0",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T23:42:40.113054682Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "serpapi",
            "version": "2.2.1",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:39:46.767306834Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "pypi",
            "name": "serpapi",
            "version": "1.1.2",
            "released": "2026-09-22",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:39:47.563060356Z"
          }
        ],
        "npmWeekly": 179483,
        "pypiWeekly": 98760,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://serpapi.com/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "valid",
          "expires": "2027-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:16:05.776295986Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://serpapi.com/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:18:13.725747382Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "serpapi.com",
          "registered": "2016-07-27",
          "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/serpapi.com",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:07:58.738158184Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://serpapi.com/release-notes",
            "kind": "changelog",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:46.72146268Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:46.72146268Z",
            "fingerprint": "c2f31ad37222"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://serpapi.com/pricing",
            "kind": "pricing",
            "status": 304,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:44.749973052Z",
            "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "fingerprint": "30dfa765089d"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://serpapi.com/legal",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:42.707883837Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-04T15:47:42.707883837Z",
            "fingerprint": "60e86363a7be"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T02:30:02.476478947Z"
      }
    },
    "b": {
      "slug": "you-com-api",
      "name": "You.com APIs",
      "vendor": "You.com",
      "vendorUrl": "https://you.com",
      "kind": "http-api",
      "category": "search",
      "summary": "Web Search, Contents, Answer, Research and Finance Research APIs, plus a hosted MCP server with six tools.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/you-com-api.json",
      "transports": [
        "http",
        "streamable-http",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://api.you.com/v1/search",
      "packages": [
        {
          "registry": "pypi",
          "name": "youdotcom"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@youdotcom-oss/sdk"
        },
        {
          "registry": "npm",
          "name": "@youdotcom-oss/mcp"
        }
      ],
      "auth": "mixed",
      "authNotes": "API key in the `X-API-Key` header (env `YDC_API_KEY`). The hosted MCP also takes a Bearer key or OAuth 2.1, and `?profile=free` needs no key. Web Search and Finance Research take x402 (`PAYMENT-SIGNATURE`) or MPP (`Authorization: Payment`) instead of a key.",
      "pricing": "freemium",
      "pricingNotes": "$100 free credit for new accounts, no card, then prepaid credits. Web Search $5 per 1,000 calls (up to 100 results a call), live page extraction $1 per 1,000 pages, Contents $1 per 1,000 pages, Answer $5 per 1,000. Research per 1,000 by effort, lite $12, standard $50, deep $100, exhaustive $450, frontier $1,200. Finance Research $110 (deep) or $500 (exhaustive) per 1,000. x402 prices match credit prices, MPP rounds Web Search up to $0.01 (https://you.com/docs/administration/billing).",
      "priceSummary": "$5 / 1k req",
      "where": "both",
      "x402": {
        "level": "partial",
        "evidence": "Official docs. GET /v1/search, /v1/agents/search and POST /v1/finance_research accept x402 in USDC on Base or Solana, and MPP in USDC on Tempo. An unpaid GET https://api.you.com/v1/search returned 402 with both PAYMENT-REQUIRED and WWW-Authenticate Payment headers on 2026-09-30. Contents, Answer and Research need a key (https://you.com/docs/administration/machine-payments.md)",
        "endpoints": [
          {
            "url": "https://api.you.com/v1/search",
            "priceUsd": 0.005,
            "network": "eip155:8453"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://api.you.com/v1/finance_research",
            "priceUsd": 0.11,
            "network": "eip155:8453"
          }
        ]
      },
      "toolCount": 6,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": 4419,
        "pypiWeekly": 91673,
        "asOf": "2026-09-30"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://you.com/docs/welcome",
      "llmsTxt": "https://you.com/docs/llms.txt",
      "openapi": "https://you.com/docs/openapi.json",
      "registryName": "io.github.youdotcom-oss/mcp",
      "capabilities": [
        "web.search",
        "web.fetch",
        "web.extract",
        "search.answer",
        "search.research",
        "search.news"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "hosted",
        "freemium",
        "no-card",
        "free-tier",
        "mcp",
        "x402",
        "llms-txt",
        "openapi",
        "python",
        "typescript",
        "async-jobs",
        "enterprise"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-09-22",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 76.9,
        "grade": "BB",
        "agentReady": true,
        "rank": 24,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 452,
        "categoryRank": 2,
        "methodology": "0.3",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 84,
          "maintenance": 82,
          "payments": 88,
          "reliability": 85,
          "schema": 82,
          "security": 53,
          "transparency": 63
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-01"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "x402 and MPP on Web Search and Finance Research, with no account needed. Two API hosts. Answer and Research return 'Missing Authentication Token' on ydc-index.io.",
        "strengths": [
          "x402 and MPP on Web Search and Finance Research, with no account needed",
          "$100 free credit with no card, plus a keyless MCP profile for search (100 queries a day)",
          "Public OpenAPI, llms.txt and an error reference with guidance per code",
          "429 carries Retry-After, with documented backoff and rate-limit headers",
          "MCP tool allow-lists through `?tools=` or `X-Allowed-Tools`"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "Two API hosts. Answer and Research return 'Missing Authentication Token' on ydc-index.io",
          "No public changelog or deprecation notices",
          "Zero Data Retention only for Web Search and Answer, and only on enterprise agreements",
          "No prompt-injection guidance for the page text Search and Contents return",
          "Research runs cost $12 to $1,200 per 1,000 depending on effort"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "For unattended runs call GET https://api.you.com/v1/search, handle the 402 and pay with x402. It's half the MPP price for search",
          "Use `https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free` to try search with no key (100 queries a day)",
          "Send Answer, Research and Finance Research to api.you.com. On ydc-index.io they fail with 'Missing Authentication Token'",
          "Pass `?tools=` with only the tools you need to keep the MCP tool list short",
          "On 429, wait for `Retry-After` and watch `X-RateLimit-Remaining` before the next burst"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 8,
        "avgRating": 3.8,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "BB",
            "methodology": "0.3",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 76.9
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 84,
          "maintenance": 82,
          "payments": 88,
          "reliability": 85,
          "schema": 82,
          "security": 53,
          "transparency": 45
        },
        "provenanceScore": 80
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl -X POST https://ydc-index.io/v1/search \\\n  -H \"X-API-Key: $YDC_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n  -d '{\"query\":\"latest AI news\",\"count\":5}'",
        "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http you-com https://api.you.com/mcp --header \"Authorization: Bearer ${YDC_API_KEY}\"",
        "config": {
          "mcpServers": {
            "you-com": {
              "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer ${YDC_API_KEY}"
              },
              "url": "https://api.you.com/mcp"
            }
          }
        },
        "x402": "curl -si 'https://api.you.com/v1/search?query=test'\n# HTTP/2 402 with PAYMENT-REQUIRED (x402, 5000 base units of USDC) and WWW-Authenticate: Payment (MPP on Tempo)\n# retry with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE: \u003cbase64 signed authorization\u003e"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/you-com-api"
      },
      "area": "web-data",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Web Search",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 5,
          "note": "up to 100 results a call"
        },
        {
          "item": "Contents",
          "unit": "1k-pages",
          "usd": 1
        },
        {
          "item": "Answer",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 5
        },
        {
          "item": "Research, standard effort",
          "unit": "1k-requests",
          "usd": 50
        },
        {
          "item": "Web Search over x402",
          "unit": "call",
          "usd": 0.005,
          "note": "MPP charges $0.01"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "SuSea, Inc., d/b/a you.com",
        "domain": "you.com",
        "domainRegistered": "1998-11-25",
        "domainNote": "you.com was registered in 1998, long before the company launched.",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://you.com/terms",
        "privacy": "https://you.com/privacy",
        "statusPage": "https://status.you.com",
        "changelog": "",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-01",
        "notes": [
          "Web Search and Contents are documented on ydc-index.io, a separate domain. api.you.com also serves /v1/search.",
          "status.you.com is a Rootly page with Search/Index, Live News and AI Search components. It returned 403 on 30 September and loaded on 1 October.",
          "trust.you.com links a vulnerability disclosure page and a subprocessor list, but renders only with JavaScript."
        ],
        "score": 80
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "you-com-api",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://api.you.com/v1/search",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-10-05T02:30:05.414652479Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 402,
          "lastMs": 825,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 99.27,
          "uptime30d": 99.82,
          "p50ms24h": 806,
          "p95ms24h": 3998,
          "samples24h": 273,
          "samples30d": 1131,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-09-30",
              "probes": 35,
              "ok": 35
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-01",
              "probes": 276,
              "ok": 276
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-02",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-03",
              "probes": 271,
              "ok": 271
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-04",
              "probes": 272,
              "ok": 270
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-05",
              "probes": 29,
              "ok": 29
            }
          ]
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://status.you.com",
          "indicator": "unknown",
          "summary": "no machine-readable status found",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:40:34.73831686Z"
        },
        "versions": [
          {
            "registry": "mcp-registry",
            "name": "io.github.youdotcom-oss/mcp",
            "version": "4.0.3",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T23:42:40.113054682Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "@youdotcom-oss/mcp",
            "version": "4.0.3",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:44:32.728399136Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "npm",
            "name": "@youdotcom-oss/sdk",
            "version": "0.13.1",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:44:31.782719214Z"
          },
          {
            "registry": "pypi",
            "name": "youdotcom",
            "version": "3.5.0",
            "released": "2026-09-22",
            "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:44:31.595022024Z"
          }
        ],
        "npmWeekly": 5016,
        "pypiWeekly": 114022,
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://you.com/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:15:39.421151299Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://you.com/docs/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:18:22.755690727Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "you.com",
          "registered": "1998-11-25",
          "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/you.com",
          "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:10:43.715973858Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://you.com/privacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:53:04.964952624Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:29:08.544804959Z",
            "fingerprint": "b84ad4cf0729"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://you.com/terms",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:53:07.180454259Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:29:11.109355049Z",
            "fingerprint": "662298a7f244"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T02:30:05.414652479Z"
      }
    },
    "summary": "You.com APIs has a score of 76.9 (BB) against SerpApi's 62.6 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is payments \u0026 pricing, 58 points."
  },
  "kind": "anchor.page",
  "links": {
    "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json",
    "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-you-com-api",
    "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-you-com-api.json",
    "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt",
    "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-you-com-api.md",
    "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-you-com-api.min.md"
  },
  "markdown": "You.com APIs has a score of 76.9 (BB) against SerpApi's 62.6 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is payments \u0026 pricing, 58 points.\n\n- SerpApi: grade B, 62.6/100, rank #216 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/serpapi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/serpapi.json\n- You.com APIs: grade BB, 76.9/100, rank #24 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/you-com-api.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\nPick SerpApi for transparency \u0026 trust (+22).\n\nPick You.com APIs for reliability (+25), schema \u0026 documentation (+15), security \u0026 auth (+13), payments \u0026 pricing (+58).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | SerpApi | You.com APIs | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 85 | You.com APIs +25 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 82 | You.com APIs +15 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 88 | 84 | SerpApi +4 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 40 | 53 | You.com APIs +13 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 88 | You.com APIs +58 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 82 | even |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 63 | SerpApi +22 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **62.6 · B** | **76.9 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | SerpApi | You.com APIs |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | SerpApi | You.com |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://serpapi.com/search` | `https://api.you.com/v1/search` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |\n| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | payer tooling only |\n| Licence | none | none |\n| Tools exposed | 3 | 6 |\n| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |\n| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| MCP registry | `io.github.serpapi/serpapi-mcp` | `io.github.youdotcom-oss/mcp` |\n| Last release | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-22 |\n| Popularity | 175 stars, 169k npm/wk, 104k PyPI/wk | 4.4k npm/wk, 92k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 3.8/5 (8) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**SerpApi.** Over 100 engines behind one GET URL, with `json_restrictor` field selection and `output=md`. 25 incidents on the status feed from July to 1 October 2026, including an outage across all APIs on 10 September.\n\n**You.com APIs.** x402 and MPP on Web Search and Finance Research, with no account needed. Two API hosts. Answer and Research return 'Missing Authentication Token' on ydc-index.io.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### SerpApi\n\n1. Use the MCP with `Authorization: Bearer`, not the key-in-path URL the README leads with\n2. Read `serpapi://engines/\u003cengine\u003e` before calling a new engine, since `params` isn't typed\n3. Add `json_restrictor` or `output=md` to cut tokens, and `mode: compact` on the MCP\n4. A 429 means either the hourly limit or an empty balance. Check the account before retrying\n5. Repeat a search within the hour and the cached copy is free. Set `no_cache=true` only when freshness matters\n\n### You.com APIs\n\n1. For unattended runs call GET https://api.you.com/v1/search, handle the 402 and pay with x402. It's half the MPP price for search\n2. Use `https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free` to try search with no key (100 queries a day)\n3. Send Answer, Research and Finance Research to api.you.com. On ydc-index.io they fail with 'Missing Authentication Token'\n4. Pass `?tools=` with only the tools you need to keep the MCP tool list short\n5. On 429, wait for `Retry-After` and watch `X-RateLimit-Remaining` before the next burst\n\n## Other comparisons with SerpApi or You.com APIs\n\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Exa API + MCP vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Linkup vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Linkup vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-serpapi.md)\n- [SearchAPI.io vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/searchapi-io-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [SerpApi vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-serper.md)\n- [SerpApi vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-tavily-mcp.md)\n- [SerpApi vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-valyu.md)\n- [Serper vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serper-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Tavily API + MCP vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tavily-mcp-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Valyu vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/valyu-vs-you-com-api.md)\n- [Fetch (MCP reference server) vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fetch-reference-server-vs-you-com-api.md)\n",
  "meta": {
    "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)",
    "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/",
    "generatedAt": "2026-10-05",
    "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
    "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/",
    "methodology": "0.3",
    "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json",
    "preview": false,
    "run": "2026-10-01",
    "runLabel": "October 2026 research run"
  },
  "page": {
    "breadcrumbs": [
      {
        "name": "Home",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/"
      },
      {
        "name": "Compare",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/"
      },
      {
        "name": "SerpApi vs You.com APIs",
        "url": ""
      }
    ],
    "description": "You.com APIs has a score of 76.9 (BB) against SerpApi's 62.6 (B). Both do web search. The largest gap is payments \u0026 pricing, 58 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.",
    "facts": [
      "SerpApi B 62.6",
      "You.com APIs BB 76.9",
      "scores"
    ],
    "h1": "SerpApi vs You.com APIs",
    "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-serpapi-vs-you-com-api.png",
    "path": "/compare/serpapi-vs-you-com-api",
    "published": "2026-10-01",
    "section": "tools",
    "title": "SerpApi vs You.com APIs for AI agents, B 62.6 vs BB 76.9",
    "toc": null,
    "updated": "2026-10-05",
    "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/serpapi-vs-you-com-api"
  },
  "tokens": {
    "markdown": 1650,
    "slim": 330
  },
  "version": 1
}