Exa vs Linkup: search by meaning over its own index or sourced answers under EU terms
Exa is a web search API for AI that runs its own crawl and index, with search modes from instant to deep research. Linkup is a web search API for AI that returns ranked URLs, a sourced answer, or structured JSON.
The short answer
- Exa: Semantic, meaning-based discovery of pages, plus full page text, from an index built for AI.
- Linkup: Grounding answers with sources under European (EU) legal terms, with a cheap standard tier.
Side by side
| Exa | Linkup | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Exa's own web-scale index (it says it crawls billions of documents per day). | Linkup's own index of the web (it offers to run the full index inside a customer's cloud). |
| 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. | Ranked search results, or a sourced answer, or structured JSON to a schema you supply. |
| Before the first call | An account and an API key (Bearer or x-api-key header). | A free account and API key; or pay per request in USDC via x402 with no account. |
| Free | $10 in credits every month, plus a $10 onboarding bonus; no payment method required. | $20 credit at sign-up with a professional email, topped back up to $20 each month for eligible accounts (about 4,000 standard searches). |
| Paid | Search from $4 per 1,000 requests; page contents $1 per 1,000 pages. | $0.005 a standard search; $0.05 a deep search. |
| 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 | Open web content may be kept only as long as needed for text-and-data-mining purposes (EU exception). |
| AI in its terms | Not stated on its pages | Answers are for internal use only, not for resale or acting as a wrapper of the API; Linkup may use client data, including prompts, to train its service. |
| MCP server | Official MCP server: https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp (code: https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server) | Official MCP server: https://mcp.linkup.so/mcp (code: https://github.com/LinkupPlatform/linkup-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 Linkup?
A free account and API key; or pay per request in USDC via x402 with no account.
Is Linkup free?
$20 credit at sign-up with a professional email, topped back up to $20 each month for eligible accounts (about 4,000 standard searches).
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”
Linkup, read on October 15, 2026:
- docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/development/pricing: “We will top up eligible accounts back to $20 each month.”
- docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/development/pricing: “When you first sign up with a professional email address, your account is automatically credited with $20.”
- linkup.so/pricing: “Run 4,000 queries for free.”
- docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/get-started/introduction: “Query → ranked URLs, sourced answer, or structured JSON”
- docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/get-started/introduction: “the full Linkup index runs inside your VPC and queries never leave your environment”
- docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/development/authentication: “pay per request in USDC, no account needed”
- linkup.so/terms-of-use: “retain Open Web Content for as long as is necessary for the purposes of text and data mining only”
- linkup.so/terms-of-use: “acting as a wrapper of the Linkup APIs”
- linkup.so/terms-of-use: “training and improving the Linkup Solution”
- docs.linkup.so/pages/integrations/mcp/mcp: “https://mcp.linkup.so/mcp”
- docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/development/pricing: “"flash" / "fast" / "standard" "searchResults" $0.005”
- docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/development/pricing: “"deep" "searchResults" $0.05”