<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/brave-search-mcp -->
# Brave Search MCP server: setup, tools, price and a hosted option

Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/brave-search-mcp

Brave's official MCP server, `@brave/brave-search-mcp-server`, runs on your machine through `npx` or Docker and needs a `BRAVE_API_KEY`. Its searches bill the Brave Search API: $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits a month.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. Its hosted MCP server, `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`, gives your agent the most accurate web search API in the world from $1 per 1,000 searches, with nothing to install and $10 of free credit.

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

## SpecStream and the two Brave Search MCP servers, side by side

| | SpecStream | Brave Search MCP server (official) | server-brave-search (archived) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install line or address | `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` over Streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key | `npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server`, or the `mcp/brave-search` Docker image. STDIO by default, HTTP with `--transport http` | `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search`, the server older guides show |
| Key and account | A free account, no card. A client that signs in with OAuth opens the browser once, and no key sits in a file | A Brave Search API account and `BRAVE_API_KEY`, or a key file in `BRAVE_API_KEY_FILE` | `BRAVE_API_KEY` |
| Where it runs | On SpecStream's servers. Nothing runs on your machine | On your machine or your server. In HTTP mode it binds `127.0.0.1:8080`, and its README says the HTTP endpoint is unauthenticated | On your machine. The repository is archived and no longer maintained, and npm marks the package no longer supported |
| Tools your agent gets | `search_web`, `read_pages`, and Deep Search through `compile`, `quote_capacity_work` and `authorize_capacity_work` | `brave_web_search`, `brave_local_search`, `brave_video_search`, `brave_image_search`, `brave_news_search`, `brave_summarizer`, `brave_place_search` and `brave_llm_context` | `brave_web_search` and `brave_local_search` |
| Results per search | 1 to 100 with `num`, and `page` continues the same ranked list for up to 10 pages | `count` 1 to 20 on web search, 10 by default, and `offset` up to 9 | Brave's web search, through the same Brave key |
| What a search costs | $5 per 1,000 searches with the answer and its page, $1 per 1,000 with `speed=fast`. $10 of credit to start, no card | Brave's API price: $5 per 1,000 requests on the Search plan, with $5 in free credits every month. Answers costs $4 per 1,000 requests plus $5 per million tokens | Brave's API price. Its README names a free tier of 2,000 queries a month; Brave's pricing page today shows $5 in free credits a month |
| Reading whole pages | `read_pages` reads up to 20 URLs a call, PDF, Word and Excel included, as Markdown, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages. A page with no text is not charged | `brave_llm_context` returns text Brave extracted for the query, 512 to 8,192 tokens per URL | No page reading tool |
| From a question to a dataset | Deep Search: every match as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with the most a run can cost quoted before it starts | Up to 20 web results a call | Up to 20 web results a call |

## Why agents search through SpecStream's MCP server

### One line in Claude Code, nothing to run

Run this and sign in to SpecStream when the browser opens. There is no Node.js, no Docker image and no Brave key to keep in a config file:

```
claude mcp add --transport http specstream https://api.specstream.ai/mcp
```

Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT and the other clients take the same address. The [MCP client guides](https://specstream.ai/docs/mcp/clients?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=brave-search-mcp) show where each one keeps it.

### Brave's server calls Brave and nothing else

The official server builds every request on `https://api.search.brave.com`, written into its source, and has no setting for another address. Moving your agent's search means moving the MCP server, and SpecStream's is hosted.

Code of your own that calls Brave's API moves with one line: SpecStream answers `GET /res/v1/web/search` at `https://api.specstream.ai`, in Brave's JSON, at $1 per 1,000 searches. See the [Brave migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/brave?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=brave-search-mcp).

### The most accurate web search API in the world, as one tool call

`search_web` runs SpecStream's Search API. It scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct), and 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. The Extract API behind `read_pages` scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. The scores and the method are on the [benchmarks page](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=brave-search-mcp).

A results list hands your agent links to open. The default search hands it the `answer`, with the page it was read from and the read time, when the results agree on a value, and `null` when they do not.

### Whole pages, PDFs included

`brave_llm_context` returns the passages Brave chose for the query. `read_pages` reads the pages your agent names, up to 20 a call, PDF, Word and Excel files included, and returns each page's main text as Markdown with its title, at $0.80 per 1,000 pages.

### Your agent asks for data and gets rows

When the job is a list, the same connection runs Deep Search. `compile` reads the request into conditions and facts you can edit, `quote_capacity_work` prices it, and `authorize_capacity_work` runs it under the maximum you approve. Rows cost 5¢, 15¢ or $1 each. Source URL and read time on every value, and a run that finds nothing costs nothing.

## Other Brave Search MCP alternatives

### SpecStream

The live web data engine for teams and agents. One hosted MCP server for search from $1 per 1,000, page reading at $0.80 per 1,000 and every match as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with $10 of credit to start.

### You.com MCP

A hosted server with 100 Web Search queries a day free, with no key and no account. Past that, calls cost the API rate: $5 per 1,000. SpecStream's search through its own You.com address costs $1 per 1,000.

### Exa MCP

Hosted at `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp`, with search and fetch at a free rate limit and no key. Past it, search costs from $4 per 1,000 requests. SpecStream's fast search costs $1 per 1,000.

### Tavily MCP

Hosted at `https://mcp.tavily.com/mcp/`, with 1,000 free credits a month on a free key and $0.008 a credit after that, 1 credit a basic search. SpecStream answers Tavily's own call at `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily` for $0.001 a search.

### DuckDuckGo MCP

Community servers that run on your machine with no key, at 30 searches a minute by default. See [DuckDuckGo MCP servers](https://specstream.ai/duckduckgo-mcp?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=brave-search-mcp) for their install lines and limits.

## How to move from the Brave Search MCP server to SpecStream

1. Sign up at specstream.ai. The account starts with $10 of credit, no card.

2. In Claude Code, remove the Brave server and add SpecStream, then sign in when the browser opens. Use the name your Brave server has in `claude mcp list`:

```
claude mcp remove brave-search
claude mcp add --transport http specstream https://api.specstream.ai/mcp
```

3. In Claude Desktop, delete the `brave-search` entry from `claude_desktop_config.json` and add `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` as a custom connector.

4. In VS Code, replace the `brave-search` server in `.vscode/mcp.json` with this. VS Code asks for the key once and keeps it out of the file:

```
{
  "inputs": [
    { "type": "promptString", "id": "specstream-key", "description": "SpecStream API key", "password": true }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "specstream": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.specstream.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:specstream-key}" }
    }
  }
}
```

5. In Cursor, create a key under Agents & API in the workspace, put it in `SPECSTREAM_API_KEY`, and replace the Brave entry in `mcp.json` with this:

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "specstream": {
      "url": "https://api.specstream.ai/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:SPECSTREAM_API_KEY}" }
    }
  }
}
```

6. Your agent calls `search_web` where it called `brave_web_search` or `brave_news_search`, and `read_pages` where it called `brave_llm_context`.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is there an official Brave Search MCP server?

Yes: `@brave/brave-search-mcp-server`, published by Brave under the MIT License on GitHub as brave/brave-search-mcp-server. The older `@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search` is archived, and npm marks it no longer supported.

### How do I install the Brave Search MCP server?

Add it to your client's config with `npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server` and your key in `BRAVE_API_KEY`, or run the `mcp/brave-search` Docker image. It talks over STDIO by default; `--transport http` serves it at `http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp`.

### Does the Brave Search MCP server need an API key?

Yes. It stops at start without `BRAVE_API_KEY` or `BRAVE_API_KEY_FILE`, and the key comes from a Brave Search API account. SpecStream's hosted server needs a free account, and a client that signs in with OAuth needs no key.

### Is the Brave Search MCP server free?

The server is free software under the MIT License. Each search bills the Brave Search API at $5 per 1,000 requests, and Brave includes $5 in free credits every month, about 1,000 searches. The 2,000 free queries a month in older guides come from the archived server's README.

### Can the Brave Search MCP server use another search API?

No. Its source builds every request on `https://api.search.brave.com`, with no setting for another address. To change provider, change the MCP server: SpecStream's is one line, `claude mcp add --transport http specstream https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`.

### What does SpecStream's MCP search cost?

$1 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results with `speed=fast`, $5 per 1,000 with the answer and its page, and $0.80 per 1,000 pages read. New accounts get $10 of credit with no card.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each install line, tool name, limit and price comes from the project's own README or source, or the company's own page, read on Nov 12, 2026.

- [Brave Search MCP server README](https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Brave Search MCP server source, BraveAPI/index.ts](https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server/blob/main/src/BraveAPI/index.ts), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Archived server-brave-search README](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived/tree/main/src/brave-search), read Nov 12, 2026
- [server-brave-search on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 12, 2026
- [You.com pricing](https://you.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Exa MCP](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Tavily MCP](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/mcp), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Tavily pricing](https://www.tavily.com/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [duckduckgo-mcp-server README](https://github.com/nickclyde/duckduckgo-mcp-server), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 12, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 12, 2026