<!-- twin of https://specstream.ai/web-search/n8n -->
# Web search in n8n: set the SearXNG credential's API URL to SpecStream

Compared on Nov 10, 2026. The page: https://specstream.ai/web-search/n8n

n8n's SearXNG tool gives an AI Agent node web search, and its credential has one field, API URL. Set it to SpecStream's address and the agent searches the whole live web. Our test on November 9, 2026 passed n8n with only that field changed.

API URL: `https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<key>`, with your SpecStream key in place of `<key>`. n8n adds `/search` itself and sends the query, and SpecStream answers in SearXNG's JSON.

It is the most accurate web search API in the world: 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 SimpleQA Verified questions, at $5 per 1,000 searches. New accounts get $10 of credit, which covers 2,000 searches.

[Get an API key](https://specstream.ai/signup?src=alternatives-web-search-n8n&utm_source=alternatives-md&utm_campaign=web-search-n8n&returnTo=%2Fworkspace%2Fsearch%3Froute%3Dsearxng) New accounts get $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches.

## SpecStream next to the search options n8n users price, from each company's own pages and n8n's source on Nov 10, 2026

| | SpecStream | Brave Search API | SerpApi | Google Custom Search JSON API |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In n8n today | The SearXNG credential, API URL `https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<key>`. The SearXNG tool then works in any AI Agent node | The Brave Search credential: one field, API Key, checked against `https://api.search.brave.com` | The SerpApi credential: an API key, checked against `https://serpapi.com` | Closed to new customers. Existing customers have until January 1, 2027 |
| Price per 1,000 searches | $5, with up to 10 results a search | $5 per 1,000 requests | Starter is $25 a month for 1,000 searches | $5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free queries a day, for existing customers |
| Free to start | $10 of credit, no card. It covers 2,000 searches | $5 in free credits every month | 250 searches a month | 100 queries a day |
| What is billed | Each search of up to 10 results, at $0.005. A call stopped by a `429` charges nothing | Each request | Successful searches. Cached, errored and failed searches are not counted | Its terms say you may be charged for each successful request |
| Results per call | 10 a SearXNG page, and up to 100 for one search on `GET /v1/web-search` with `num` | Up to 20, and 20 by default | A response with 100 results counts as 1 search, and so does an empty one | 1 to 10, and never more than 100 for a query |
| How much it takes | Up to 8,800 searches a minute on one account. A call over that gets a `429` with `Retry-After` and is not charged | Up to 50 queries per second | 200 successful searches an hour on Starter | 10,000 queries a day |

## Why n8n builders set SpecStream as their agent's search

### The setting is one field

In n8n, add the SearXNG tool to your AI Agent node, create a SearXNG credential, and fill API URL. The credential has no key field, so the key goes in the address as its path part.

```
Credential: SearXNG
  API URL   https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<key>
```

n8n strips a trailing slash, adds `/search`, and sends `q`, `format=json`, `pageno` and `safesearch`, with `language` when you set it. SpecStream answers with `results[]`, each with `title`, `url` and `content`, the shape the tool formats for the agent.

### Check the address before you save it

This is the call n8n's SearXNG tool sends. Run it with your key and you see what your agent will read.

```
curl -X POST "https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/$SPECSTREAM_KEY/search?q=open+source+vector+databases&format=json&pageno=1" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"
```

### $5 per 1,000 searches, with nothing to subscribe to

Each search the agent makes is one search of up to 10 results at $0.005, taken from your balance. No monthly plan is needed and there is no daily limit, a top-up never expires, and a call stopped by a `429` charges nothing. An agent that searches 300 times a day costs $1.50 a day.

### The most accurate web search API in the world

On SimpleQA Verified the SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official questions, 978 of them correct. On WideSearch it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks. The Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Every score and its method is on the [benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-n8n) page.

### About one second a search, inside n8n's 15 second timeout

The SearXNG route runs on the fast search. On November 9, 2026 production took 1, 5, 10 and 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. n8n's SearXNG tool waits 15 seconds before it gives up.

### You decide what is kept, on each key

Create a key with `zero_retention` and a search made with it keeps no request text and no answer after the reply: not in the history, not in a log line. `spend_cap_cents` is the most the key can spend, so an agent in a loop stops at the cap you set.

```
curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "n8n", "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"], "spend_cap_cents": 500000, "zero_retention": true}'
```

### Search, pages and rows on one key

The same key reads up to 20 pages or documents a call with the [Extract API](https://specstream.ai/extract-api?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-n8n) at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and runs [Deep Search](https://specstream.ai/deep-search?utm_source=alternatives&utm_campaign=web-search-n8n): a request in plain words returns every match on the live web as rows, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with the most a run can cost quoted before it starts. A saved request reruns on a schedule and sends its rows to n8n, Zapier, Make or a signed webhook.

## Other web search options in n8n

### Brave Search API

A search API on Brave's own index at $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits every month and up to 50 queries per second. n8n's Brave Search credential takes only a key. On SpecStream the same $5 per 1,000 searches the whole live web, set in the SearXNG credential.

### SerpApi

Search engine result pages as JSON, sold by monthly plan: Starter is $25 a month for 1,000 searches, with 200 successful searches an hour, and the free plan has 250 searches a month. On SpecStream $25 pays for 5,000 searches, and a top-up never expires.

### Google Custom Search JSON API

$5 per 1,000 queries after 100 free a day, up to 10,000 a day, for existing customers only: Google closed it to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027. SpecStream costs the same $5 per 1,000, takes new accounts today, and has no daily limit.

### SearXNG on your own server

n8n's SearXNG tool is built for an instance you run and keep up yourself. SpecStream answers the same tool at the same field, with no server to run, and scores 97.9 F-score on SimpleQA Verified.

## How to set SpecStream as web search in n8n

1. Create a key under Agents & API in the workspace. A new account gets $10 of credit, no card, which covers 2,000 searches.

2. Check the key with the call n8n will make.

```
const key = "YOUR_SPECSTREAM_KEY";
const url = `https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/${key}/search?` +
  new URLSearchParams({ q: "open source vector databases", format: "json", pageno: "1" });

const reply = await fetch(url, { method: "POST", headers: { Accept: "application/json" } }).then((r) => r.json());
for (const result of reply.results) console.log(result.title, result.url, result.content);
```

3. In your workflow, open the AI Agent node, add the SearXNG tool, and create a new SearXNG credential. Set API URL to `https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<key>` and save.

4. Run the workflow. Each search the agent makes is billed as one search on your key, inside the spending limit the key carries.

When a workflow needs a whole dataset in place of a results page, write the request in plain words. SpecStream reads it back as the conditions every row must meet, quotes the most it can cost, and delivers the rows after you approve.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I add web search to an n8n AI agent?

Add the SearXNG tool to the AI Agent node and set its credential's API URL to `https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<key>`. Our test on November 9, 2026 passed n8n with only that field changed, and each search costs $0.005.

### Do I need to host SearXNG to use the n8n SearXNG tool?

No. With API URL set to SpecStream's address, SpecStream answers the tool in SearXNG's JSON, at a median of 0.82 s a search on production.

### Where does the API key go in the n8n SearXNG credential?

In API URL, as the path part: `https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<key>`. The credential has one field, so the address carries the key.

### What can I use in n8n instead of the Google Custom Search API?

The SearXNG tool on SpecStream's address, at the same $5 per 1,000 searches. Google closed its Custom Search JSON API to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027.

### What is a cheaper SerpApi alternative for n8n?

SpecStream, at $5 per 1,000 searches against SerpApi's $25 a month for 1,000 on Starter. No monthly plan is needed, and new accounts get $10 of credit, no card.

### How much does web search in n8n cost with SpecStream?

$0.005 a search of up to 10 results, $5 per 1,000. A call stopped by a `429` charges nothing, and the first $10 of credit covers 2,000 searches.

## Sources

SpecStream wrote this page. Each figure on another provider comes from that company's own page, and each n8n setting from n8n's source on GitHub.

- [n8n SearXNG credential](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/credentials/SearXngApi.credentials.ts), read Nov 10, 2026
- [n8n docs, SearXNG credentials](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/credentials/searxng/), read Nov 10, 2026
- [n8n SearXNG tool node](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/nodes/tools/ToolSearXng/ToolSearXng.node.ts), read Nov 10, 2026
- [n8n Brave Search credential](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/credentials/BraveSearchApi.credentials.ts), read Nov 10, 2026
- [n8n SerpApi credential](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/credentials/SerpApi.credentials.ts), read Nov 10, 2026
- [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Brave Search API, web search parameters](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation/web-search/get-started), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SerpApi pricing](https://serpapi.com/pricing), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Google Custom Search JSON API overview](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/overview), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Google Custom Search JSON API reference, cse.list](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/v1/reference/rest/v1/cse/list), read Nov 9, 2026
- [Google Custom Search terms of service](https://developers.google.com/custom-search/terms), read Nov 9, 2026
- [SpecStream benchmarks](https://specstream.ai/benchmarks), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream pricing](https://specstream.ai/pricing), read Nov 10, 2026
- [SpecStream for agents](https://specstream.ai/agents.md), read Nov 10, 2026