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# Web search tool pricing in 2026: SpecStream $5 per 1,000, any model

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/web-search-tool-pricing

On Nov 10, 2026, the model vendors' web search tools cost $10 per 1,000 calls on OpenAI and Claude, $14 on Gemini 3 grounding and Grounding with Bing, and $5 on xAI. OpenAI, Claude and xAI bill tokens on top.

SpecStream's Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results, bills no tokens and returns the results themselves to your code. Give it to any model as a function tool, or connect `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. Its Search API scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions (978 correct). New accounts get $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches.

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

## Web search tool pricing side by side

| | SpecStream | OpenAI web search | Claude web search tool | Gemini grounding with Google Search | Grounding with Bing Search | xAI web search |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per 1,000 | $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results. Each started block of 10 more results adds $0.006, up to 100 results | $10 per 1,000 calls. $25 per 1,000 calls for web search preview on other models | $10 per 1,000 searches | $14 per 1,000 search requests on Gemini 3 and newer. $35 per 1,000 grounded prompts on Gemini 2.5 | $14 per 1,000 transactions | $5 per 1,000 calls |
| What else is billed | Nothing. SpecStream bills no tokens, and `price_usd` in each reply is what the call cost | Search content tokens at the model's rates on the $10 rows. Free on the $25 preview | Standard token costs for the content the search brings back. The results count as input tokens again in later turns | Gemini 3 and newer bill each search query the model decides to run. Gemini 2.5 bills per prompt | Transactions are counted by the number of tool calls per run | Token usage. xAI prices server-side tools on token usage and tool calls |
| What comes back to your code | `answer` with its `value`, the `page` it was read on and its read time, `rows` with the facts the request asks for, and `sources` in rank order with `title`, `url`, `site` and `snippet` | The model's text with `url_citation` annotations: the URL, title and location of each cited source | Each result's `url`, `title` and `page_age`. The page content is `encrypted_content`, passed back in later turns. Citations carry up to 150 characters of cited text | A final response grounded in the search results, with inline annotations holding the citations, and the search queries and suggestions | The model response with its citations. The tool output does not reach developers or end users | Grok's reply, with its citations in `response.citations` |
| Works with which models | Any model, or code with no model. A REST call, a function tool, or the `search_web` tool on the MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` | OpenAI models, inside a response | Claude, on the Claude API | Gemini, on the Gemini API | Agents in Azure AI Foundry Agent Service. Not all models support it | Grok, on the xAI API |
| Free allowance and printed limits | $10 of credit, no card: 2,000 searches. `num` from 1 to 100 results and `page` from 1 to 10. A busy call answers `503` with `Retry-After` and is not charged | Up to 100 allowed domains or up to 100 blocked domains | Each search counts as one use, however many results it returns. A search that fails with an error is not billed | Gemini 3 and newer: 5,000 search requests a month free, and a default limit of 1,500 a day per project on the paid tier. Gemini 2.5: 1,500 a day free | 150 transactions a second and 1 million a day | Up to 5 allowed domains or up to 5 excluded domains |
| 100,000 searches | $500, with no tokens | $1,000, plus search content tokens | $1,000, plus token costs | $1,330 on Gemini 3 and newer, after the 5,000 free | $1,400 | $500, plus tokens |
| Published 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 at [specstream.ai/benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing) | No accuracy score on its pricing page | No accuracy score on its pricing page | No accuracy score on its pricing page | No accuracy score on its pricing page | No accuracy score on its pricing page |

## Why teams pick SpecStream for their agent's web search

### One call for every model

A built-in search tool runs inside its vendor's API. The SpecStream Search API is a plain REST call, so the same search, price and reply serve GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok or an open model, and changing models leaves your search code as it is.

```
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?"
```

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

const { answer, sources, price_usd } = reply.data;
```

Return `data.answer` and `data.sources` to your model as the tool result. Agents that speak MCP add `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` and call the `search_web` tool.

### What 100,000 searches cost

100,000 searches cost $500 on SpecStream, with no tokens. The same volume costs $500 plus tokens on xAI, $1,000 plus tokens on OpenAI and on Claude, $1,330 on Gemini 3 grounding after the 5,000 free a month, and $1,400 on Grounding with Bing. Each SpecStream reply carries `price_usd`, and the account's request log and usage totals show every call and its price.

### Results your code reads

The built-in tools hand their results to the model. Grounding with Bing returns none of its tool output to developers, and Claude's page content comes back encrypted. A SpecStream search returns JSON your code reads without a model in between: `answer` with the page it was read on and its read time, `rows` with the facts the request asks for, and `sources` in rank order, each marked `cited` when a value comes from it. Add `passages=true` and each source carries up to about 3,500 characters of its page.

### 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. The scores and the method are at [specstream.ai/benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing).

### Busy calls cost nothing

When search is busy, `/v1/web-search` answers `503` with a `Retry-After` header and charges nothing, and the Python and TypeScript SDKs send it again once by themselves when the wait is 10 seconds or less. Your code decides how many searches run, and each one costs $0.005.

### Search, pages and rows on one key

The same balance pays for the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages and for Deep Search, which takes a request in plain words and returns every match on the live web as structured rows at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, under a maximum you approve before it runs. Search APIs priced by the call are on [web search API pricing](https://specstream.ai/web-search-api-pricing?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing).

## Each web search tool, and SpecStream

### SpecStream

The live web data engine for teams and agents. The Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches, bills no tokens, works with any model 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.

### OpenAI web search

$10 per 1,000 calls plus search content tokens at the model's rates, or $25 per 1,000 for web search preview on other models, inside an OpenAI response. SpecStream gives OpenAI models the same search at $5 per 1,000 with no tokens. [SpecStream as an OpenAI web search alternative](https://specstream.ai/alternatives/openai-web-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing).

### Claude web search tool

$10 per 1,000 searches on the Claude API, plus standard token costs for the content it brings back. SpecStream gives Claude the results at $5 per 1,000 as a client tool or through Anthropic's MCP connector. [SpecStream as a Claude web search tool alternative](https://specstream.ai/alternatives/claude-web-search-tool?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing).

### Gemini grounding with Google Search

$14 per 1,000 search requests after 5,000 free a month on Gemini 3 and newer, and $35 per 1,000 grounded prompts after 1,500 free a day on Gemini 2.5. SpecStream returns the ranked results to your code at $5 per 1,000. [SpecStream as a Grounding with Google Search alternative](https://specstream.ai/grounding-with-google-search-alternative?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing).

### Grounding with Bing Search

$14 per 1,000 transactions in Azure AI Foundry Agent Service, up to 150 a second and 1 million a day, and the tool output stays with the agent. SpecStream returns the results to your code at $5 per 1,000. [SpecStream as a Grounding with Bing Search alternative](https://specstream.ai/grounding-with-bing-search-alternative?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing).

### xAI web search

$5 per 1,000 calls of `web_search` on the xAI API, with token usage billed on top and Grok deciding how many searches run. SpecStream costs the same $5 per 1,000 with no tokens, and returns the results to Grok or any other model. [SpecStream as an xAI web search tool alternative](https://specstream.ai/alternatives/xai-web-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing).

## How to give your model SpecStream search

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace, with the `finds:spend` scope and a spending limit. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches.

2. Run one search to see the reply.

```
import os, requests

reply = requests.get(
    "https://api.specstream.ai/v1/web-search",
    params={"q": "Who is the CEO of Mistral AI?"},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SPECSTREAM_API_KEY']}"},
).json()["data"]

print(reply["answer"], reply["price_usd"])
```

3. Remove the vendor's built-in search tool from your request and define a function tool whose handler makes this call. Agents that speak MCP add `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp` and call `search_web` instead.

4. Return `data.answer` and `data.sources` as the tool result, trimmed to the fields your model needs. The [framework docs](https://specstream.ai/docs/frameworks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-tool-pricing) cover the OpenAI API, LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI and the Vercel AI SDK.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does the OpenAI web search tool cost?

$10 per 1,000 calls plus search content tokens at the model's rates. Web search preview on other models costs $25 per 1,000 calls, with its search content tokens free.

### How much does Claude web search cost?

$10 per 1,000 searches on the Claude API, plus standard token costs for the content it brings back. A search that fails with an error is not billed.

### How much does Grounding with Google Search cost on Gemini?

$14 per 1,000 search requests on Gemini 3 and newer, after 5,000 free a month shared across those models. On Gemini 2.5 it is $35 per 1,000 grounded prompts after 1,500 free a day.

### How much does Grounding with Bing Search cost?

$14 per 1,000 transactions, up to 150 a second and 1 million a day. Transactions are counted by the number of tool calls per run.

### What is the lowest priced web search tool for an LLM?

$5 per 1,000, on SpecStream and on xAI. SpecStream bills no tokens on top, works with any model, and scores a 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions.

### Is there a web search API that works with any model?

Yes. The SpecStream Search API costs $5 per 1,000 searches and works with any model, through `GET /v1/web-search` or the `search_web` tool on the MCP server at `https://api.specstream.ai/mcp`.

### Does SpecStream bill tokens?

No. A search of up to 10 results costs $0.005, each started block of 10 more results adds $0.006, and the reply's `price_usd` is what the call cost.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each vendor figure comes from that company's own pricing page or docs.

- [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
- [OpenAI API pricing](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [OpenAI web search guide](https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/tools-web-search), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Claude API pricing](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Claude web search tool](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/tool-use/web-search-tool), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Gemini API pricing](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Gemini grounding with Google Search](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/google-search), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Grounding with Bing pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/grounding-pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Grounding with Bing Search tools](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/agents/how-to/tools/bing-tools), read Nov 10, 2026
- [xAI pricing](https://docs.x.ai/developers/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [xAI web search tool](https://docs.x.ai/developers/tools/web-search), read Nov 10, 2026