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# Linkup vs You.com in 2026: one key answers both calls

Compared on Nov 12, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/compare/linkup-vs-you-com

Linkup charges $0.005 a search at `standard` depth and $0.05 at `deep`. You.com charges $5.00 per 1,000 calls of up to 100 results. Both allow 10 searches a second, and each has its own request and JSON.

SpecStream answers both calls with one key. Change `https://api.linkup.so/v1` to `https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1` and `https://ydc-index.io` to `https://api.specstream.ai/you`. Your code keeps its body and its parser.

A search of up to 10 results costs $0.001 on either path, $1 per 1,000. SpecStream scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions and 64.0 item F1 on all 200 WideSearch tasks ([benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=linkup-vs-you-com)).

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

## SpecStream, Linkup and You.com side by side

| | SpecStream | Linkup | You.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| The call your code sends | Both, on one key. `POST https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1/search` in Linkup's JSON with the key as the Bearer token, and `POST https://api.specstream.ai/you/v1/search` in You.com's JSON with the key in `X-API-Key` | `POST https://api.linkup.so/v1/search` with `q`, `depth` and `outputType`, and a Linkup key as a Bearer token | `POST https://ydc-index.io/v1/search` with `query` and `count`, and a You.com key in `X-API-Key`. `GET /v1/search` still works and gets no new features |
| Price of a search | $0.001 for up to 10 results on either path: Linkup's `flash`, `fast` and `standard` with `searchResults`, and You.com's `/v1/search` with highlights. $0.005 at Linkup's `deep` or with `sourcedAnswer` | $0.005 at `flash`, `fast` or `standard` with raw results and $0.006 with a sourced answer. `deep` costs $0.05, or $0.055 with an answer | $5.00 per 1,000 calls of up to 100 results. One request is one billable call, whatever it returns |
| More results in one call | Up to 100 on either path. Each started block of 10 more results adds $0.0012: 40 results cost $0.0046 and 100 cost $0.0118 | The price depends on `depth` and `outputType`, not on the number of results | Up to 100 results in the same call at the same price |
| The text of each page | In the same search at no extra cost: You.com highlights, and Linkup's `standard` and `deep`. The Extract API reads any page at $0.80 per 1,000 pages | Fetch costs $0.001 a call in standard mode, up to $0.011 with a schema | Full page extraction costs $1.00 per 1,000 pages fetched live |
| Volume | No limit per key and no daily limit. Production answered 718 of 720 searches at up to 20 a second on November 9, 2026 | 10 queries a second per organization on Search and Fetch | 10 requests a second on `/v1/search` by default |
| Calls that fail | A busy call answers `429` in that API's own error form with `Retry-After`, and charges nothing. A call that returns no results costs nothing | No charge on an error or an empty result. An empty balance answers `429` | One request is one billable call, whatever it returns |
| Free to start | $10 of credit, no card, which covers 10,000 searches. Credit you buy never expires | $20 of credit at sign up with a professional email address, and eligible accounts are topped back up to $20 each month | $10 of free credit, which covers 2,000 searches |
| 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 | Research costs $0.25 to $2.50 a request | The Research API starts at $12 per 1,000 calls at `lite` |

## Why teams choosing between Linkup and You.com use SpecStream

### Keep both calls and change two lines

Your Linkup call and your You.com call keep their bodies, their headers and their parsers. Each one changes its address, and both carry the same key.

```
# Linkup: was https://api.linkup.so/v1/search
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q": "Who founded Mistral AI and when?", "depth": "fast", "outputType": "searchResults"}'

# You.com: was https://ydc-index.io/v1/search
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/you/v1/search \
  -H "X-API-Key: $SPECSTREAM_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "Who founded Mistral AI and when?", "count": 10}'
```

A team that has not chosen yet writes to either format and moves nothing later. The parameter by parameter tables are in the [Linkup migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/linkup?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=linkup-vs-you-com) and the [You.com migration guide](https://specstream.ai/migrate/you?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=linkup-vs-you-com).

### What each path reads and returns

On `/linkup/v1/search`, by `POST` or `GET`, `q`, `depth`, `maxResults` from 1 to 100, `includeDomains`, `excludeDomains`, `fromDate` and `toDate` work as on Linkup. `outputType` takes `searchResults`, which returns `results[]` with `type`, `name`, `url` and `content`, and `sourcedAnswer`, which returns `answer` and `sources[]`. `structured` gets `400` with the reason. In `linkup-sdk`, set `base_url` to `https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1`.

On `/you/v1/search`, by `GET` or `POST`, `query`, `count` from 1 to 100, `offset` from 0 to 9, `freshness`, `include_domains` and `exclude_domains` work as on You.com, and both domain lists together get `422`, as on You.com. The reply has `results.web[]` with `url`, `title`, `description`, `snippets` and `page_age` when the page has a date, and `metadata`. `extraction` with `extraction_mode` `highlights` adds `contents.highlights` at no extra cost. `results.news` and `results.knowledge` are not returned. In the `youdotcom` Python SDK, pass `server_url="https://api.specstream.ai/you"` to `you.search`.

### $1 per 1,000 searches, page text included

Linkup prices a search by depth and output, from $0.005 to $0.055. You.com charges $0.005 a call for up to 100 results, and page text read live adds $1.00 per 1,000 pages. On SpecStream a search of up to 10 results is $0.001 on either path, highlights and page text included. Up to 40 results a call, SpecStream costs less than You.com: 40 results are $0.0046. There is no monthly plan, a top up never expires, and a call stopped by a `429` charges nothing.

### 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. Linkup reports a 94% F-score on the same benchmark. On WideSearch SpecStream scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks, and the Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. The scores and the method are at [specstream.ai/benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=linkup-vs-you-com).

### About one second a search, read live

Every search reads the live web at the moment of the call. On November 9, 2026 production took 1 to 20 fast searches a second and answered 718 of 720: the median was 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, and the 95th percentile stayed between 1.09 and 1.73 s. There is no limit per key and no daily limit.

### Zero retention on any key

Set `zero_retention` when you create a key, or later. A search made with that key keeps no request text and no answer after the reply. The charge keeps the account, the key, the request ID, the price and the time.

```
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "production", "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"], "spend_cap_cents": 500000, "zero_retention": true}'
```

### Search, pages, crawls and rows on the same key

The same key reads up to 20 pages a call with the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=linkup-vs-you-com) at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and a page with no text is not charged. It runs [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=linkup-vs-you-com), which returns every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row. 10,000 rows with 5 facts each cost $500, and the most a run can cost is approved before it starts.

## Other search APIs for AI agents

### Tavily

Search in credits at $0.008 a credit pay as you go, 1 credit for a basic search and 2 for an advanced one, with 1,000 free credits every month. SpecStream answers Tavily's `POST /search` at `https://api.specstream.ai/tavily`, in Tavily's JSON, at $0.001 a search.

### Parallel

Search at $1 per 1,000 requests in `turbo` and `fast` and $5 in `basic` and `advanced`, with 600 requests a minute. SpecStream answers Parallel's `POST /v1/search` at `https://api.specstream.ai/parallel`, in Parallel's JSON, with no limit per key.

### Exa

Search on its own index at $4 per 1,000 requests on `lite` and $7 on `auto`, for up to 10 results. SpecStream answers Exa's `POST /search` at `https://api.specstream.ai/exa`, in Exa's JSON, at $0.001 a search.

### Brave Search API

Results from Brave's own index at $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits every month. SpecStream answers Brave's `GET /res/v1/web/search` at `https://api.specstream.ai`, at $1 per 1,000 searches.

## How to run your Linkup and You.com calls on SpecStream

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 10,000 searches.

2. Point each client at its SpecStream path. Linkup's call sends the key as the Bearer token, and You.com's call sends it in `X-API-Key`. In Python:

```
import requests

KEY = SPECSTREAM_KEY
QUESTION = "Who founded Mistral AI and when?"

# Linkup's call, was https://api.linkup.so/v1/search
linkup = requests.post(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1/search",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}"},
    json={"q": QUESTION, "depth": "fast", "outputType": "searchResults", "maxResults": 10},
    timeout=60,
).json()
for result in linkup["results"]:
    print(result["name"], result["url"])

# You.com's call, was https://ydc-index.io/v1/search
you = requests.post(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/you/v1/search",
    headers={"X-API-Key": KEY},
    json={"query": QUESTION, "count": 10},
    timeout=30,
).json()
for result in you["results"]["web"]:
    print(result["title"], result["url"])
```

3. In JavaScript:

```
const key = process.env.SPECSTREAM_KEY;
const question = "Who founded Mistral AI and when?";

// Linkup's call, was https://api.linkup.so/v1/search
const linkup = await fetch("https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1/search", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${key}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({ q: question, depth: "fast", outputType: "searchResults" }),
}).then((r) => r.json());

// You.com's call, was https://ydc-index.io/v1/search
const you = await fetch("https://api.specstream.ai/you/v1/search", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "X-API-Key": key, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({ query: question, count: 10 }),
}).then((r) => r.json());

for (const result of linkup.results) console.log(result.name, result.url);
for (const result of you.results.web) console.log(result.title, result.url);
```

4. Leave the rest. Each call is billed as one search from $0.001 for up to 10 results, and the reply's `specstream.price_usd` says what it cost. On a `429` with `Retry-After`, wait those seconds and send the call again; nothing was charged.

When your agent needs every match in place of a results page, write the request in plain words. SpecStream reads it back as the conditions every row must meet and the facts to bring back, quotes the most it can cost, and delivers the rows after you approve.

[Companies that name Linkup as a subprocessor](https://specstream.ai/data/subprocessors/vendor/linkup) on their own published list, each with the page and the day we read it.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Linkup better than You.com?

For an agent that needs search it can trust, SpecStream answers both Linkup's and You.com's call with one key at $0.001 a search of up to 10 results. It scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions, where Linkup reports 94%, and a team keeps whichever format it already wrote.

### Linkup vs You.com pricing: what does each cost?

Linkup costs $0.005 a search at `standard` depth with raw results and $0.05 at `deep`. You.com costs $5.00 per 1,000 calls of up to 100 results, plus $1.00 per 1,000 pages of full page text read live. SpecStream costs $0.001 a search of up to 10 results on either path, page text included.

### Which one has a free plan?

Linkup credits $20 at sign up with a professional email address and tops eligible accounts back up to $20 each month. You.com gives $10 of free credit, which covers 2,000 searches. SpecStream gives $10 of credit with no card, which covers 10,000 searches, and credit you buy never expires.

### Can I use both Linkup and You.com?

Yes, with one key: SpecStream answers Linkup's call at `https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1` and You.com's at `https://api.specstream.ai/you`, each in its own JSON. One balance, one request log and one spending limit cover both.

### Do the Linkup and You.com SDKs work with SpecStream?

Yes: `linkup-sdk` takes `base_url="https://api.specstream.ai/linkup/v1"`, and the `youdotcom` Python SDK takes `server_url="https://api.specstream.ai/you"` on each search call, with the SpecStream key in place of theirs. The calls and the replies stay as they are.

### How many searches a second can I run?

SpecStream has no limit per key and no daily limit, and it answered 718 of 720 searches at up to 20 a second on November 9, 2026. Linkup allows 10 queries a second per organization, and You.com 10 requests a second on `/v1/search` by default.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each figure for Linkup, You.com and the other APIs comes from that company's own page.

- [Linkup pricing](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Linkup authentication](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/authentication.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Linkup rate limits](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/rate-limits.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Linkup Research](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/research/overview), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Linkup introduction](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/get-started/introduction), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Linkup billing](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [You.com billing](https://you.com/docs/administration/billing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [You.com plans](https://you.com/plans?hsLang=en), read Nov 12, 2026
- [You.com rate limits](https://you.com/docs/rate-limits.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [You.com Search API reference](https://docs.you.com/api-reference/search/v1-search.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [You.com Search API schema](https://you.com/docs/openapi/web-search.json), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Tavily API credits](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Parallel search modes](https://docs.parallel.ai/search/modes.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Parallel rate limits](https://docs.parallel.ai/getting-started/rate-limits.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Exa pricing](https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing.md), read Nov 12, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read 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