Exa vs Brave Search API for AI agents
Exa is a web search API for AI that runs its own crawl and index, with search modes from instant to deep research. Programmatic access to Brave Search, which runs its own independent web index.
The short answer
- Exa: Semantic, meaning-based discovery of pages, plus full page text, from an index built for AI.
- Brave Search API: Independent (non-Google, non-Bing) web results at a simple flat price, with fast throughput.
Side by side
| Exa | Brave Search API | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Exa's own web-scale index (it says it crawls billions of documents per day). | Brave's own independent index (Brave says 40+ billion pages); web, news, images, video. |
| Returns | JSON results with title, URL, published date and author; optional full page text, highlights and summaries; deep modes can return a synthesized structured output. | JSON web results (URLs, titles, snippets, up to five extra snippets), news, images and more, plus an LLM-context endpoint; a separate Answers plan returns AI answers. |
| Before the first call | An account and an API key (Bearer or x-api-key header). | An account, an API key, and a credit card even for the free credit (used for identity, not charged). |
| Free | $10 in credits every month, plus a $10 onboarding bonus; no payment method required. | $5 in free credits every month (about 1,000 searches at $5 per 1,000); card required. |
| Paid | Search from $4 per 1,000 requests; page contents $1 per 1,000 pages. | $5 per 1,000 requests (Search plan, 50 queries per second). |
| Acting on a result | Through the web page each result links to | Through the web page each result links to |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | Not stated on its pages | No storing, caching or building a database of results beyond transient storage unless you buy a plan that explicitly grants storage rights. |
| AI in its terms | Not stated on its pages | Results may not be used to create, train, fine-tune or benchmark AI models (storage-rights plans are separate). |
| MCP server | Official MCP server: https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp (code: https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server) | Official MCP server from Brave: https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server |
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Exa?
An account and an API key (Bearer or x-api-key header).
Is Exa free?
$10 in credits every month, plus a $10 onboarding bonus; no payment method required.
What do I need before I can use Brave Search API?
An account, an API key, and a credit card even for the free credit (used for identity, not charged).
Is Brave Search API free?
$5 in free credits every month (about 1,000 searches at $5 per 1,000); card required.
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
Exa, read on October 15, 2026:
- exa.ai/docs/reference/search: “The full content text of the search result.”
- exa.ai: “Search the largest index of public web and private information.”
- exa.ai: “crawl billions of documents per day”
- exa.ai/docs/reference/exa-mcp: “https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp”
- exa.ai/pricing: “Search From $4 /1k requests”
- exa.ai/pricing: “Contents $1 /1k pages per content type”
- exa.ai/pricing: “Starter Free $10 credits every month plus a $10 onboarding bonus”
- exa.ai/pricing: “No payment method required”
Brave Search API, read on October 15, 2026:
- brave.com/search/api: “$5 per 1,000 requests”
- brave.com/search/api: “Includes $5 in free credits every month”
- brave.com/search/api: “Brave's index includes 40+ billion pages, kept fresh by 100+ million page updates every day.”
- brave.com/search/api: “Get up to five snippets picked in real time to maximize contextual relevance to a search.”
- brave.com/search/api: “For free plans, the card is only used to confirm your identity and will not be charged.”
- brave.com/search/api: “you will need to subscribe to a plan that explicitly grants storage rights.”
- api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/resources/terms-of-service: “store, cache, or create a database of Search Results, in whole or in part, other than transient storage”
- api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/resources/terms-of-service: “use the Search Results to create, evaluate, train, re-train, fine-tune, benchmark”