Linkup alternatives in 2026
Finished rows from one request, at 5¢ to $1 a row.
Linkup sells web search to AI teams by the call: $0.005 to $0.055 a search, $0.001 to $0.011 a page fetch and $0.25 to $2.50 a research run. A call returns ranked sources, a sourced answer or one JSON object. Its row product, Extract, is in closed beta and starts from one URL you supply.
SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. Your product or agent asks in plain words and gets every match on the live web as structured rows that meet every condition it sent, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row under a maximum you approve. The SpecStream Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches and scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions.
New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.
SpecStream and Linkup side by side
| SpecStream | Linkup | |
|---|---|---|
| What you send | A question or a request in everyday words, in any language, up to 2,000 characters. For a full dataset, the data you want with the conditions every row must meet | A natural-language query with a depth (flash, fast, standard or deep) and an outputType. Fetch takes a URL, and Extract takes a seed URL with a description of the rows |
| What you get back | The answer with the page it was read from and its read time, or structured rows, one record per company, person, place or filing, with facts from many sites joined. Source URL and read time on every value | Ranked sources with snippets, a sourced answer, or one JSON object that matches your schema, per call |
| Price of a search | $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results. Up to 100 results for one search, set with num, and page (1 to 10) continues the same ranked list | $0.005 a search for raw results at flash, fast or standard depth, and $0.006 for a sourced answer or structured output. Deep costs $0.05 or $0.055 a search, which is $50 or $55 per 1,000 |
| Search accuracy | 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct). 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. Scores and method on the benchmarks page | Its docs give Search a 94% F-score on Verified SimpleQA, ranked among web search APIs that answer in under a second |
| Reading a page you choose | Extract API: $0.80 per 1,000 pages, up to 20 URLs a call, web pages, PDF, Word and Excel. A page with no text is not charged | Fetch: $0.001 a call, $0.005 with JavaScript rendering, and $0.005 or $0.01 in pro mode. A schema adds $0.001, so 1,000 pages cost $1 to $11 |
| A full dataset | Deep Search: one request returns every match on the live web as rows that meet every condition you wrote. A run keeps working until it reaches the count, up to four hours on the largest lists | Extract, in closed beta: rows from one seed URL, delivered as an NDJSON file behind a download link valid for 24 hours. Most tasks cost $2 to $10, and submitting one needs a $10 balance |
| A research run | Priced by the row it delivers: 5¢, 15¢ or $1 by how much the row needs, plus 5¢ for an email and 15¢ for a phone. The searches and pages behind a row are not billed | Research: $0.25, $0.50, $1.50 or $2.50 a call by reasoning depth, taking 2 to 20 minutes, for one sourced answer or report |
| Data already held | Public databases read every morning at specstream.ai/data: 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. Ask for your own cut of any of them | Its search index, read per call. Licensed publisher sources are open to authorized organizations |
| A list you already have | Import a CSV, Excel file, Google Sheet or Airtable base of up to 20,000 rows. SpecStream fills in or checks each row and matches it to one identity, with any namesakes shown alongside their evidence. Import is free. A row that matches pays its rate, and a row that does not costs 5¢ | Tasks runs search, fetch and research calls as a batch, at most 100 a submission, each billed as the direct call. Your code joins the answers back to the list |
| The cost cap before a run | The most the whole job can cost, quoted before it starts. Nothing runs until you approve it, and there are no automatic overages | A fixed price per call. The cost of a dataset is the number of calls your code makes |
| What failed or empty work costs | Nothing. A row left out, a retry and a run that finds nothing are not charged | No credit is subtracted when a call errors or finds nothing relevant. An empty balance returns 429 |
| 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 rerun is a new call at the same price. Its endpoints are Search, Fetch, Research, Tasks and Extract |
| MCP and API | MCP server, REST API, Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and A2A. An agent can buy one request with no account, by card or in USDC | MCP server, REST API, Python and TypeScript SDKs and a CLI. A request with no account is paid in USDC on Base, with a $0.01 minimum |
| Where the data goes | Google Sheets, Excel, Airtable, Notion, monday.com, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Attio, Slack, Teams, Zapier, Make, n8n and signed webhooks | API responses. Its Zapier, Make, n8n, Clay and Google Sheets integrations run searches from those tools |
Why Linkup buyers move to SpecStream
One request returns the rows
A Linkup search returns sources, an answer or one JSON object, and your code turns many calls into a table. On SpecStream your product or agent writes the job once, for any kind of record: companies, people, places, filings, tenders or papers. SpecStream reads the request back as parts you can edit, 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 result that fails one of your conditions is not delivered and not billed.
The Search API scores 97.9 on SimpleQA Verified
The SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, 978 of them correct, in our run of November 8, 2026. On all 200 official WideSearch tasks it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1, and the Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Every score and its method are on the benchmarks page. Linkup's docs give its Search a 94% F-score on Verified SimpleQA. A SpecStream search costs $0.005, the price of Linkup's raw results, and the reply carries the answer with its page and read time, rows with a source on each value, and every result read.
A row costs what one deep search costs
A Linkup deep search costs $0.05 and returns one response. A SpecStream row costs 5¢ and is a finished record with up to 5 facts. A row with up to 15 facts and one set of related records costs 15¢, and a deep row with no limit costs $1. At 5¢ a row, 10,000 rows cost $500, and the searches and pages behind them cost nothing.
Your agent spends inside a maximum you approve
On Linkup, the cost of a dataset is the number of calls an agent makes. SpecStream quotes the most the whole job can cost, good for 30 minutes, and nothing runs until that maximum is approved. The charge never goes past it, and whatever the run does not use goes back to your balance. Each API key has its own limits: total, per run and monthly.
Rows stay up to date and land in your tools
Save the request and it reruns hourly to yearly. Each row comes back labeled changed, unchanged or no longer matching. A changed or new row costs half its rate and an unchanged row costs 1¢, so rechecking 1,000 rows that did not change costs $10. New matches and changes arrive in Slack, email, a sheet, a CRM or a signed webhook, or in your agent through the MCP server. Rows you already own are never charged again.
Other Linkup alternatives
SpecStream
The live web data engine for teams and agents. The Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches and scores 97.9 F-score on SimpleQA Verified, the Extract API costs $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and Deep Search returns every match as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a delivered row. New accounts get $10 of credit, no card.
Exa
A search API with its own index. Search starts at $4 per 1,000 requests, and a request returns links with text. On SpecStream one request covers the search, the reading and the record, and you pay for the rows delivered.
Tavily
A search API for agents, billed in credits at $0.008 each pay as you go. Requests stop when the month's credits run out. SpecStream names the most a job can cost before it starts, and the charge never goes past it.
Brave Search API
Web search from Brave's own index at $5 per 1,000 requests, and its Answers plan at $4 per 1,000 requests. A request returns ranked results. A SpecStream search costs the same $5 per 1,000 and returns the answer with the page it was read from, plus rows with a source on each value.
How SpecStream scores
The same numbers as the benchmarks page, from the official tasks and scorers.
| SpecStream |  Parallel |  Exa |  Tavily |  Perplexity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web researchWideSearch, GPT-5.6 Luna | 60.9 | 45.5 | 53.0 | 47.9 | 47.0 |
| Factual accuracySimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Luna | 96 | 94 | 91 | 94 | 94 |
| Factual accuracySimpleQA Verified, GPT-5.6 Sol | 99 | 97 | 91 | 92 | 95 |
How to switch from Linkup
Point your search calls at GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search?q=<the question> with your key as a Bearer token. Each call of up to 10 results costs $0.005. Sign up and you get $10 of credit, no card, which is 2,000 searches or up to 200 rows at 5¢ a row.
For a dataset, send the request in plain words in place of the searches, fetches and research calls your code chains today. This call spends nothing: the 402 reply shows how SpecStream read the request, the columns and the most it can cost.
curl -i https://api.specstream.ai/v1/agent/lists \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"request": "B2B software companies in France that are hiring a head of sales this month, with the job post, the CEO and a work email", "count": 25}'Approve that maximum by card through Stripe's Link agent wallet, or in USDC on Base, Arbitrum or Polygon, and you pay for the rows found. On an account, your agent uses the MCP server at https://api.specstream.ai/mcp and your team uses the workspace, from the same balance.
Frequently asked questions
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How much does Linkup cost?
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How accurate is the SpecStream Search API?
Does SpecStream have an API?
How is SpecStream different from Linkup Research?
Does SpecStream have an MCP server?
https://api.specstream.ai/mcp over Streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key, and a search through it costs $0.005. Connecting an agent is free on every plan, and it 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 pricingspecstream.ai/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026
- SpecStream for agentsspecstream.ai/agents.md, read Nov 9, 2026
- SpecStream benchmarksspecstream.ai/benchmarks, read Nov 9, 2026
- SpecStream dataspecstream.ai/data, read Nov 9, 2026
- SpecStream signalsspecstream.ai/signals, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup pricinglinkup.so/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup docs, pricingdocs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup docs, introductiondocs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/get-started/introduction, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup docs, Search overviewdocs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/search/overview, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup docs, Research overviewdocs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/research/overview, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup docs, Extract overviewdocs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/extract/overview, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup docs, Tasks overviewdocs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/tasks/overview, read Nov 9, 2026
- Linkup docs indexdocs.linkup.so/llms.txt, read Nov 9, 2026
- Exa pricingexa.ai/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026
- Tavily pricingtavily.com/pricing, read Nov 9, 2026
- Brave Search APIbrave.com/search/api/, read Nov 9, 2026