Exa vs You.com 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. You.com Search API is a web and news search API for AI apps, with optional full-page content.
The short answer
- Exa: Semantic, meaning-based discovery of pages, plus full page text, from an index built for AI.
- You.com Search API: Trying web search in an agent with zero setup via the free keyless MCP, then scaling on a simple per-call price.
Side by side
| Exa | You.com Search API | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Exa's own web-scale index (it says it crawls billions of documents per day). | The web and news (the pages read do not say whose index). |
| 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 and news results with several text snippets each; optional full page content as Markdown or HTML ($1 per 1,000 pages crawled live). |
| Before the first call | An account and an API key (Bearer or x-api-key header). | An API key (X-API-Key header); the free MCP profile needs no key, account or card. |
| Free | $10 in credits every month, plus a $10 onboarding bonus; no payment method required. | 100 Web Search queries a day through the MCP with no key, account or card. |
| Paid | Search from $4 per 1,000 requests; page contents $1 per 1,000 pages. | $5 per 1,000 calls (Web Search API, Standard); Contents $1 per 1,000 pages. |
| Acting on a result | Through the web page each result links to | Through the web page each result links to |
| MCP server | Official MCP server: https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp (code: https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server) | Official MCP server: https://api.you.com/mcp (keyless free profile: https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free) |
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 You.com Search API?
An API key (X-API-Key header); the free MCP profile needs no key, account or card.
Is You.com Search API free?
100 Web Search queries a day through the MCP with no key, account or card.
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”
You.com Search API, read on October 15, 2026:
- you.com/pricing: “No API key, no account, no credit card”
- you.com/pricing: “100 Web Search API queries/day via MCP”
- you.com/docs/guides/search: “Multiple text snippets per result for context”
- you.com/docs/guides/search: “Every request sends your API key in the X-API-Key header.”
- you.com/docs/guides/search: “https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free”
- you.com/pricing: “Web Search API $5 /1k calls”