# Best web search API in 2026: 12 APIs by price, score and reply Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/best-web-search-api The best web search API in 2026 is SpecStream, the most accurate web search API in the world: a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions, from $1 per 1,000 searches. Parallel prints 97 and Linkup 94% on their own pages. SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. One search returns ranked results, the answer when they agree on one, and typed rows. Source URL and read time on every value. A client built for another API switches by its base address. [Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-best-web-search-api&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=best-web-search-api&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fagents%3Ftab%3Dkeys) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. ## Web search APIs, from each company's own pages on Nov 12, 2026 | | SpecStream | Parallel | Linkup | Brave | Exa | Tavily | Serper | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Price per 1,000 searches | $5, or $1 with `speed=fast` and on every drop-in address | From $1 | $5 to $6 | $5 | $4, $7 or $12 by search type | $8 basic, $16 advanced | $1.00 on the 50k pack, down to $0.30 on the 12.5M pack | | Free to start | $10 of credit, no card | $5 a month with a card on file, plus up to $80 at signup | 4,000 queries | $5 of credits every month | $10 of credits a month, plus a $10 onboarding bonus | 1,000 credits a month, no card | 2,500 queries, no card | | Results per call | Up to 10 at the base price, up to 100 with `num`; each started block of 10 more adds $0.006, or $0.0012 on the fast search | 10, and more at $1 per 1,000 results | Set with `maxResults` | Set with `count` | Up to 10 in the base price, $1 per 1,000 requests for each result above 10 | Set with `max_results` | Google's organic results, set with `num` | | What one call returns | Ranked `sources`, typed `rows`, and an `answer` with its `page` and `seen_at` when the results agree on one | Results with `excerpts` of each page | Results, or a sourced answer with `outputType` | Web results with a `description` each | Results, with page `text` when asked | Results with `content`, and an answer when asked | Google's `organic` results with `snippet` and `position` | | SimpleQA Verified, own published score | 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official questions (978 correct), raw answers public | 97 for Parallel Advanced, evals run September 9, 2026 | 94% F-score | None; Brave prints 85.3% on FreshQA at $18 per 1,000 questions | None printed as text | No number; its homepage says it ranks #1 on SealQA and SimpleQA | None on its homepage | | Remote MCP server | `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`, with `search_web` and `read_pages` | `https://search.parallel.ai/mcp` | `https://mcp.linkup.so/mcp` | A GitHub repository, brave/brave-search-mcp-server | `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` | `https://mcp.tavily.com/mcp/` | None on its homepage | | Same client on SpecStream, $1 per 1,000 | `GET https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search` with `speed=fast` | Base address `https://api.specstream.ai/parallel` | Base address `https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1` | Base address `https://api.specstream.ai`, key in `X-Subscription-Token` | Base address `https://api.specstream.ai/exa` | Base address `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily` | Base address `https://api.specstream.ai/serper`, key in `X-API-KEY` | ## Why SpecStream ranks first ### The right answer more often, on a test you can check On all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, graded with the set's official grader prompt, the SpecStream Search API scored a 97.9 F-score: 978 correct, 20 wrong and 2 not attempted, at 1.3 searches and 9.7 seconds a question on average. Every raw answer is public, linked from [specstream.ai/benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-search-api), so anyone can grade it again or run another API on the same 1,000 questions. On all 200 official WideSearch tasks it scored 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1, ahead of every system in the WideSearch paper on item F1. ### A reply a program can use as it comes `GET /v1/web-search` returns the search results in rank order in `sources`, the results as typed `rows` with the facts the request asks for, and an `answer` with the `page` it was read on and `seen_at` when the results agree on one value. When they do not agree, `answer` is null and every value found stays in `rows`. A call that returns no results costs nothing, and the reply's `price_usd` says what the call cost. ### Keep your code when you switch SpecStream answers at the addresses of the APIs above, in each one's own request and reply shape: Tavily, Exa, Brave, Serper, SerpApi, Parallel, Linkup, Perplexity, You.com, Firecrawl, Google Custom Search and Bing Web Search v7 among them. Change the base address and the key, and each call is one fast search at $1 per 1,000. The full list is at [specstream.ai/migrate](https://specstream.ai/migrate?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-search-api). ### One key for search, pages and rows The [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-search-api) reads 1 to 20 pages a call at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and a page with no text is not charged. [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-search-api) turns a request in plain words into structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, and shows the most a run can cost before it runs. ## The 12 web search APIs, ranked ### 1. SpecStream The live web data engine for teams and agents, and the most accurate web search API in the world. The Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, or $1 with `speed=fast` and on every drop-in address, and scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions. MCP: `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`, where `search_web` runs a search and `read_pages` reads pages. ### 2. Parallel A search API from $1 per 1,000 requests, with 10 results a request and more at $1 per 1,000 results. Its benchmarks page prints 97 for Parallel Advanced on SimpleQA Verified, from evals run September 9, 2026. A Parallel client moves to SpecStream with the base address `https://api.specstream.ai/parallel`, at $1 per 1,000, and gets the answer and typed rows when it asks the native search. ### 3. Linkup A search API at $0.005 to $0.006 a request, with 4,000 free queries. Its docs print a 94% F-score on SimpleQA Verified. A Linkup client moves to SpecStream with the base address `https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1`, at $1 per 1,000, against a 97.9 F-score on the same set. ### 4. Brave The Brave Search API costs $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits every month, and its page prints 85.3% accuracy on FreshQA at $18 per 1,000 questions. A Brave client moves to SpecStream with the base address `https://api.specstream.ai`, the key in `X-Subscription-Token`, at $1 per 1,000. ### 5. Exa A search API at $4, $7 or $12 per 1,000 requests by search type, with up to 10 results in the base price and $1 per 1,000 requests for each result above 10. Its evals page charts scores with no number tied to a system in its text. An Exa client moves to SpecStream with `base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/exa"` in the official SDK, at $1 per 1,000. ### 6. Tavily A search API billed in credits at $0.008 each: 1 credit for a basic search and 2 for advanced, so $8 or $16 per 1,000, with 1,000 free credits a month. Its homepage says it ranks #1 on SealQA and SimpleQA and prints no number. A Tavily client moves to SpecStream with `api_base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/tavily"` in the official SDK, at $1 per 1,000. ### 7. Perplexity Search API Ranked web results as JSON at $5 per 1,000 requests, or $1 with fast search, with no generated answer. Its Search API pages print no score. A SpecStream search at the same $5 also returns the answer with its page, when the results agree on one. Its client moves with the base address `https://api.specstream.ai/perplexity`. ### 8. You.com The Web Search API costs $5 per 1,000 calls, and a call that returns 1 result costs the same as one that returns 100. New accounts get $10 of credit, which it counts as 2,000 searches. Its client moves to SpecStream with the base address `https://api.specstream.ai/you`, at $1 per 1,000. ### 9. Firecrawl Search costs 2 credits per 10 results, from monthly plans that start at $19 for 5,000 credits. Its homepage prints 96% coverage on its own scrape benchmark, which measures page reads, not search. SpecStream prices a search from $1 per 1,000 and a page read at $0.80 per 1,000, and answers at `https://api.specstream.ai/firecrawl`. ### 10. Oxylabs A scraping company whose /Search product costs $1 per 1,000 searches, inside monthly plans that start at $15 a month. SpecStream sells search with no plan: $1 per 1,000 on the fast search, paid from one balance that also reads pages and builds rows. ### 11. Serper A Google results API sold in prepaid credits, from $1.00 per 1,000 on the 50k pack to $0.30 on the 12.5M pack, with 2,500 free queries. Its homepage prints no score and no MCP server. A Serper client moves to SpecStream with the base address `https://api.specstream.ai/serper`, and needs no pack. ### 12. SerpApi A results page API sold by the month: Starter costs $25 a month for 1,000 searches. Its client moves to SpecStream with the base address `https://api.specstream.ai/serpapi`, at $1 per 1,000 and no monthly plan. ## How to start New accounts get $10 of credit, no card: 2,000 searches at $5 per 1,000, or 10,000 on the fast search. Create an API key and send the first search. ``` curl -G https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" \ --data-urlencode "q=Who is the CEO of Stripe?" ``` Code written for Tavily keeps its SDK and changes one line. Each call is one fast search at $1 per 1,000. ``` from tavily import TavilyClient client = TavilyClient( api_key="YOUR_SPECSTREAM_KEY", api_base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/tavily", ) print(client.search("Who is the CEO of Stripe?", max_results=10)) ``` Agents that speak MCP add `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` and call `search_web`. Setup for each client is in the [MCP docs](https://specstream.ai/docs/mcp?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-search-api), and every drop-in address is at [specstream.ai/migrate](https://specstream.ai/migrate?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=best-web-search-api). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best web search API in 2026? SpecStream. It scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks, and costs $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, or $1 on the fast search. Each reply carries ranked results, typed rows and, when the results agree, one answer with its page. ### How much does a web search API cost in 2026? From $0.30 to $25 per 1,000 searches on the published prices above. Serper runs $1.00 down to $0.30 by pack size, Parallel starts at $1, Exa at $4, SpecStream, Brave, Perplexity and You.com cost $5, Linkup $5 to $6, Tavily $8 for a basic search, and SerpApi $25 a month for 1,000 searches on Starter. SpecStream's fast search and every drop-in address cost $1. ### Which web search API is the most accurate? SpecStream, with a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct) and every raw answer public. Parallel prints 97 for Parallel Advanced and Linkup prints a 94% F-score. Brave prints 85.3% on FreshQA, a different set. ### What replaced the Bing Search API? Microsoft retired the Bing Search APIs on August 11, 2025, and sells Grounding with Bing Search at $14 per 1,000 transactions. SpecStream answers at the Bing v7 address `https://api.specstream.ai/v7.0/search` in Bing's own reply shape, at $1 per 1,000. ### Is Google's Custom Search JSON API still an option? No for new projects: Google closed it to new customers, and existing customers have until January 1, 2027. SpecStream answers at `https://api.specstream.ai/customsearch/v1` in Google's reply shape, at $1 per 1,000. ### Are the OpenAI and Claude web search tools web search APIs? They are tools inside a model call. OpenAI charges $10 per 1,000 calls plus search content tokens at model rates and Anthropic $10 per 1,000 searches plus token costs. A SpecStream search costs $5 per 1,000, or $1 on the fast search, and works with any model. ### Is there a free web search API? Each paid API has a free allowance: $10 of credit with no card on SpecStream, which is 2,000 searches or 10,000 on the fast search, $5 of credit a month on Brave, 2,500 queries on Serper, 4,000 on Linkup and 1,000 credits a month on Tavily. ## Sources SpecStream wrote this page. Each rival figure comes from that company's own page, read on Nov 12, 2026. - [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 12, 2026 - [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Parallel pricing](https://parallel.ai/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Parallel benchmarks](https://parallel.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Parallel Search MCP](https://docs.parallel.ai/integrations/mcp/search-mcp), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Linkup pricing](https://www.linkup.so/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Linkup docs](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/get-started/introduction), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Linkup MCP](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/integrations/mcp/mcp), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Brave Search MCP server](https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Exa MCP](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Exa evals](https://exa.ai/evals), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Tavily pricing](https://www.tavily.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Tavily search reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Tavily MCP](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/mcp), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Tavily homepage](https://www.tavily.com/), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Perplexity pricing](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [You.com plans](https://you.com/plans), read Nov 12, 2026 - [You.com pricing](https://you.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Firecrawl pricing](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Firecrawl homepage](https://www.firecrawl.dev/), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Oxylabs pricing](https://www.oxylabs.io/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Serper homepage and pricing](https://serper.dev/), read Nov 12, 2026 - [SerpApi pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Bing Search API retirement](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/bing-search-api-retirement), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Grounding with Bing Search](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Google Custom Search JSON API](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview), read Nov 12, 2026 - [OpenAI API pricing](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026 - [Claude web search tool](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/web-search-tool), read Nov 12, 2026