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# Jina Search alternatives in 2026: answers with page text for $0.005

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/alternatives/jina-search

Jina Search bills in tokens, and every request costs at least 10,000. A call to `s.jina.ai` returns the top five results with their page text, and a new key's 10M free tokens cover at most 1,000 searches.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. One call returns the answer with its page, up to 100 ranked sources and an excerpt of each page. It scores 97.9 on SimpleQA Verified, at $5 per 1,000 searches.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-jina-search&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=jina-search&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Djina-search) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches.

## SpecStream and Jina Search side by side

| | SpecStream | Jina Search |
|---|---|---|
| What you change | One line. `https://api.specstream.ai/jina-search` in place of `https://s.jina.ai/`, and a SpecStream key as a Bearer token. The request and the reply keep their shape | `GET /` with a Jina key as the Bearer token |
| What you send | A question in everyday words, in any language, up to 2,000 characters: `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search?q=<the question>` with your key as a Bearer token | `GET https://s.jina.ai/YOUR_SEARCH_QUERY`, or `POST /search` on `https://api.jina.ai` with `q` and optional `gl`, `hl`, `location`, `num` and `page`. A valid API key in the Authorization header |
| What comes back | `answer` with the value, the page it was read on and the time it was read. `rows` with each result and the facts the request asks for. `sources` in rank order, each with its `url`, `title`, `snippet` and `published` date | Results with `title`, `description`, `url`, `content`, `publishedTime`, `links`, `images` and `metadata`, inside a `code`, `status` and `data` envelope |
| Results in one call | 1 to 100 results in one search, set with `num`, and `page` (1 to 10) continues the same ranked list. Up to 10 results cost $0.005, and each started block of 10 more adds $0.006 | The top five results |
| The text of the pages | Add `passages=true` to the search and each source carries an excerpt of its page, up to about 3,500 characters. The Extract API returns the main text of up to 20 pages or documents (PDF, Word, Excel) a call, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages | Each result carries its page as LLM friendly text in `content` |
| Price | $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, the same rate on every plan. `num=100` costs $0.059 a call | Billed by tokens processed. Every request costs a fixed number of tokens, starting from 10,000 |
| Free to start | $10 of credit, no card. That is 2,000 searches, or up to 200 rows at 5¢ | 10M free tokens with every new API key, which is at most 1,000 searches at 10,000 tokens each |
| Other search APIs on the same key | Calls written for Tavily, Exa, Serper, Brave, Bing v7, Google Custom Search, Firecrawl and SearXNG are answered in their own JSON at `api.specstream.ai`. Change the base address and the key | The `s.jina.ai` search and the `r.jina.ai` reader |
| Every match as structured rows | Deep Search: a request in plain words returns every match on the live web as rows that meet each condition you wrote, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The most a run can cost is quoted before it starts, and nothing runs until you approve it | Five results with page text per call |
| Data already held | Public databases read every morning at [specstream.ai/data](https://specstream.ai/data?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=jina-search): every company that filed a Form D since 2023 with its filing history, nearly 2 million US nonprofits, every US bank failure since 1934, federal rules, open federal contracts and grants, and local businesses. Signals such as funding rounds, new executives and layoffs at [specstream.ai/signals](https://specstream.ai/signals?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=jina-search) | No database of records. Each call searches the web and reads the top results |
| Reruns and change labels | Hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching. A changed or new row costs half its rate, an unchanged row 1¢ | Each call is a new search, billed in tokens again |
| Where the data goes | Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable, Notion, monday.com, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Attio, Slack, Teams, Zapier, Make, n8n and signed webhooks. Agents use the MCP server, the REST API, the Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A | A JSON response to the code that called the API |

## Why teams move from Jina Search to SpecStream

### The answer and the evidence in one call

Jina Search returns five pages of text, and your model reads them all to find the fact, paying in tokens for every page. A SpecStream search returns the value with the page it was read on and the time it was read, then the sources in rank order.

```
curl -G https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "q=Who is the CEO of Mistral AI" \
  -d num=10 -d passages=true
```

With `passages=true`, each of the first `num` sources carries the part of its page closest to the question, up to about 3,500 characters, in the page's order. Your prompt gets the evidence and leaves out the rest of the page. A search of up to 10 results costs $0.005, whatever the length of the pages.

### A price per search, known before the call

Jina bills tokens processed, with a fixed cost of at least 10,000 tokens a request. SpecStream bills the search: $0.005 for up to 10 results and $0.006 for each started block of 10 more, so `num=100` costs $0.059. The reply's `price_usd` says what the call cost, and the Extract API reads up to 20 pages a call at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, a page with no text not charged.

### The most accurate web search API in the world

The SpecStream Search API scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, with 978 correct. On WideSearch it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks, 100 in English and 100 in Chinese, in our run of November 8, 2026. The scores and the method are at [specstream.ai/benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=jina-search).

### Fast at 1 search a second and at 20

The fast search, which every drop-in route uses, was measured on production on November 9, 2026: a median of 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, with the 95th percentile between 1.09 and 1.73 s. It answered 718 of 720 calls. One account can send up to 8,800 fast searches a minute, and a call over that gets a `503` with `Retry-After` and is not charged.

### Your other search code keeps working

If your agent also calls another search API, point it at SpecStream by changing the base address and the key. The reply keeps that API's JSON, so the parser stays as it is.

```
https://api.tavily.com       ->  https://api.specstream.ai/tavily
https://api.exa.ai           ->  https://api.specstream.ai/exa
https://google.serper.dev    ->  https://api.specstream.ai/serper
https://api.search.brave.com ->  https://api.specstream.ai
https://api.firecrawl.dev    ->  https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl
```

Each call is one web search at $0.005 for up to 10 results, on the same key, limits and history as `GET /v1/web-search`.

### One request returns the whole dataset

With a results API, a dataset is a loop your team writes: many queries, a read of every link, a check of every result and a join into one record. On SpecStream you write the request once, for companies, places, filings, tenders or products. SpecStream reads it back as the conditions every row must meet and the facts to bring back, then searches the live web, reads each page and joins what it finds into one record per match. A row with up to 5 facts costs 5¢, so 10,000 rows cost $500, and the searches and pages behind them are not billed.

### Keys with their own limits and zero retention

Each API key carries its own limits: total, per run and monthly, and the operations it allows. Set `zero_retention` on a key and a search made with it keeps no request text and no answer after the reply. Every other charged search stays in the account's history at `GET /v1/web-search/answers`, with its answer and the pages it came from, and reading the history costs nothing.

## Other Jina Search alternatives

### SpecStream

The live web data engine for teams and agents. Its Search API returns the answer with its page and an excerpt of each source for $5 per 1,000 searches, and scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions. The Extract API costs $0.80 per 1,000 pages. Deep Search returns every match as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row.

### Tavily

A search API for agents, billed in credits at $0.008 each pay as you go, with 1,000 free credits a month. A basic search costs 1 credit and an advanced search 2. SpecStream answers Tavily's call too, at `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily/search`, for $0.005 a search.

### Exa

A search API with its own index. Search costs $4 per 1,000 requests on lite and $7 on auto, and the base price covers the first 10 results. The free tier gives $10 in credits a month. SpecStream answers Exa's call too, at `https://api.specstream.ai/exa/search`, for $5 per 1,000 searches.

### Serper

A Google results API sold as prepaid credits, from $1.00 per 1,000 queries on the 50k pack to $0.30 on the 12.5M pack, with 2,500 free queries. Credits are valid for 6 months. SpecStream answers Serper's own call at `https://api.specstream.ai/serper/search` in Serper's JSON, and a top-up never expires.

### SerpApi

A results page API for Google and other search engines, sold month to month. The Starter plan costs $25 a month for 1,000 searches and the Developer plan $75 a month for 5,000. Cached, errored and failed searches are not counted. SpecStream returns the answer and the pages it came from in one call, at $5 per 1,000 searches on every plan.

## How to switch from Jina Search

Change one line. `https://api.specstream.ai/jina-search` answers the call your code sends to `https://s.jina.ai/` today, in the same JSON, so your parser stays as it is. Send a SpecStream key as a Bearer token. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches.

```
# Before
curl -G "https://s.jina.ai/" --data-urlencode "q=$QUERY" -H "Authorization: Bearer $VENDOR_API_KEY" -H "Accept: application/json"

# After
curl -G "https://api.specstream.ai/jina-search" --data-urlencode "q=$QUERY" -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Accept: application/json"
```

`q`, `X-Respond-With`, `count`, `num`, `page`, `site`, `X-Site` and `Accept` work as before, and the reply keeps `data[]` with `title`, `url`, `description` and `content`. A call of up to 10 results is one search at $0.005. Every parameter and reply field is in the [Jina Search migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/jina-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=jina-search).

Your code can also call SpecStream's own Search API, at the same price. The steps:

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches. Give the key a spending limit, and set `zero_retention` on it if your product must keep no query text.

2. Replace the call to `https://s.jina.ai/` or `https://api.jina.ai/search` with `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search`, the question in `q`, `num` for how many results, `passages=true` for the page text, and the key as a Bearer token.

```
import requests

reply = requests.get(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {SPECSTREAM_KEY}"},
    params={"q": "Who is the CEO of Mistral AI", "num": 10, "passages": "true"},
).json()["data"]

print(reply["answer"])  # value, page and seen_at, or None
for source in reply["sources"]:
    print(source["url"], source["title"], source.get("excerpt") or source["snippet"])
```

3. Read `data.answer` for the value and the page it came from, and `data.sources` for the pages in rank order. In JavaScript the same call is one `fetch`.

```
const params = new URLSearchParams({ q: "Who is the CEO of Mistral AI", num: "10", passages: "true" });
const { data } = await fetch(`https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search?${params}`, {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.SPECSTREAM_API_KEY}` },
}).then((r) => r.json());

console.log(data.answer, data.sources.map((s) => s.url));
```

4. Connect an agent through the MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`. Its `search_web` tool runs the same search for $0.005, from the same balance and inside the limits of its key.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does Jina Search cost?

Every request costs at least 10,000 tokens, and Jina bills by tokens processed. A new API key comes with 10M free tokens, which is at most 1,000 searches. SpecStream costs $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, and new accounts get $10 of credit, which covers 2,000.

### How do I migrate from Jina Search to SpecStream?

Change one line: send the call to `https://api.specstream.ai/jina-search` in place of `https://s.jina.ai/`, with a SpecStream key as a Bearer token. The request and the reply keep their shape, and each call of up to 10 results costs $0.005.

### What is the best Jina Search alternative?

SpecStream, at $5 per 1,000 searches. One call returns the answer with the page it was read on, up to 100 ranked sources and an excerpt of each page, and the Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions.

### How many results does s.jina.ai return?

The top five, each with its URL and its page as text. A SpecStream search returns 1 to 100 sources, set with `num`, and `page` continues the same ranked list up to page 10.

### How accurate is the SpecStream Search API?

It scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, with 978 correct, and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. The scores and the method are on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=jina-search) page.

### Does SpecStream have an API?

Yes, three. The Search API is `GET /v1/web-search` at $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results. The Extract API is `POST /v1/extract` at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. Deep Search takes a request in plain words and returns structured rows. Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A cover the same calls.

### Does SpecStream have an MCP server?

Yes, at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` over Streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key. The `search_web` tool runs a search for $0.005, and connecting an agent is free on every plan. The agent spends from the same balance as your team, inside the limits you set on its key.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each rival figure comes from that company's own page.

- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream data](https://specstream.ai/data), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream signals](https://specstream.ai/signals), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Jina Reader and search](https://jina.ai/reader), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Jina search endpoint](https://s.jina.ai/), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Jina API specification](https://docs.jina.ai/openapi.json), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Tavily credits and pricing](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits.md), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing.md), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Serper homepage, pricing and questions](https://serper.dev/), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SerpApi pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing), read Nov 9, 2026