MarketCheck Cars API vs Auto.dev for AI agents
MarketCheck Cars API is a paid REST API of new, used and certified car listings collected from dealer and other source websites, plus dealer, VIN and market-statistics endpoints. Auto.dev is a REST API for active vehicle listings from US dealers, part of a wider set of automotive APIs (VIN decode, photos, specs, recalls, payments).
The short answer
- MarketCheck Cars API: Searching current US dealer inventory at scale with price, mileage, photos and a link back to the dealer's listing page.
- Auto.dev: Getting a small project or AI agent searching US dealer listings quickly, with a free tier and a ready-made MCP server.
Side by side
| MarketCheck Cars API | Auto.dev | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Active new, used and certified dealer listings in the US, recent dealer inventory (last 90 days) in the US and Canada, private-party and auction listings, and dealers by location. | Active listings from US physical and online dealers, filtered by make, model, year, price, mileage, state, CPO status and ZIP plus distance. |
| Returns | Listing records with price, miles, seller name, seller type, photo URLs and a link to the original vehicle details page, plus specs and dealer details. | Listing records with VIN, year, make, price, location and created/updated dates; the full field schema was collapsed in the public docs, so dealer contact fields could not be confirmed. |
| Before the first call | A MarketCheck developer account and API key from the Developers Portal. | An Auto.dev account and API key from the dashboard; the free plan needs only email verification, no card. |
| Free | Free plan at $0 a month with 500 calls a month and a 100-mile search radius limit. | Free plan with 1,000 API calls a month at 5 requests a second, no card required (listings capped at 20 per page). |
| Paid | Basic plan $299 a month plus per-call data fees (inventory search is $0.002 a call). | Growth plan $299 a month; Scale plan $599 a month. |
| Acting on a result | Each listing carries the seller name and a link (vdp_url) to the vehicle details page on the source site; no dealer phone field is defined in the data definitions. | Not stated on its pages |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | No caching, storing, indexing or persisting of substantial portions of the data; no independent or persistent datasets outside the service. | Data is licensed solely for internal business purposes; no reselling or redistributing to third parties and no derivative databases or competing data products. No clause specifically on caching. |
| AI in its terms | Data may not be used to train, fine-tune or improve generalized ML or AI models, but may be used inside AI applications when accessed in real time. | Not stated on its pages |
| Coverage | United States for active inventory search; US and Canada for recent dealer, private-party and auction inventory; the MCP docs also list the UK. | United States dealers. |
| MCP server | Official hosted MCP server at https://api.marketcheck.com/mcp?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY (needs an API key; covers US, Canada and UK). | Official MCP server at https://mcp.auto.dev/mcp (OAuth sign-in or API key); listing search tool available on the free plan. |
Where Openpath fits
Openpath has no car listings yet. Cars are on its roadmap, from sellers and dealers who list them themselves. Get listed.
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use MarketCheck Cars API?
A MarketCheck developer account and API key from the Developers Portal.
Is MarketCheck Cars API free?
Free plan at $0 a month with 500 calls a month and a 100-mile search radius limit.
What do I need before I can use Auto.dev?
An Auto.dev account and API key from the dashboard; the free plan needs only email verification, no card.
Is Auto.dev free?
Free plan with 1,000 API calls a month at 5 requests a second, no card required (listings capped at 20 per page).
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
MarketCheck Cars API, read on October 15, 2026:
- marketcheck.com/apis/pricing: “$0 /mo ... 500 calls per month”
- marketcheck.com/apis/pricing: “100 mile radius restriction”
- marketcheck.com/apis/pricing: “$299 /mo + data fee”
- marketcheck.com/apis/pricing: “$0.002”
- marketcheck.com/apis/cars: “Lookup New / Used / Certified cars for sale in US”
- marketcheck.com/apis/cars: “New / Used dealer cars for sale in US & Canada from last 90 days”
- docs.marketcheck.com/docs/guides/data/cars/inventory/data-definitions: “The URL of the Vehicle Details Page (VDP)”
- docs.marketcheck.com/docs/guides/data/cars/inventory/data-definitions: “The name of the dealership or seller, as displayed on the source website.”
- docs.marketcheck.com/docs/guides/data/cars/inventory/data-definitions: “The name of the source website from which the vehicle listing was scraped.”
- docs.marketcheck.com/docs/get-started/api/mcp/getting-started.md: “https://api.marketcheck.com/mcp?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY”
- marketcheck.com/terms_of_service: “Cache, store, index, or otherwise persist substantial portions of data obtained through the Service”
- marketcheck.com/terms_of_service: “Use MarketCheck data to train, fine-tune, or improve any generalized machine learning or artificial intelligence models”
- marketcheck.com/terms_of_service: “You may use MarketCheck data within applications that utilize AI models, provided the data is accessed in real time”
Auto.dev, read on October 15, 2026:
- docs.auto.dev/v2/getting-started: “1,000 API calls per month, no card required”
- docs.auto.dev/v2/getting-started: “$299/month with unlimited calls”
- docs.auto.dev/v2/getting-started: “$599/month with enterprise features”
- docs.auto.dev/v2/getting-started: “Free needs no checkout — verify your email address and your API key is ready.”
- docs.auto.dev/v2/products/vehicle-listings: “Get comprehensive vehicle listings from U.S. physical & online dealers in seconds.”
- docs.auto.dev/v2/products/vehicle-listings: “filter by make, model, year, price, mileage, and more”
- docs.auto.dev/v2/mcp-quickstart: “claude mcp add --transport http auto-dev https://mcp.auto.dev/mcp”
- auto.dev/terms: “You receive a limited, non-exclusive license to use Automotive Data solely for your internal business purposes”
- auto.dev/terms: “You may not create derivative databases or competing data products”
- auto.dev/terms: “Resell, redistribute, or sublicense our Automotive Data to third parties”
- auto.dev/pricing: “Free $0 per month Get 1,000 API calls per month for evaluation and small projects”