Openpath vs JSearch: listings with an inbox to the owner or Google for Jobs results by API
JSearch is a commercial job search API that returns live job postings and salary estimates gathered from Google for Jobs. Openpath is an open directory of real-world listings built for AI agents: each result is one listing, with the employer’s Apply link for a job or an Openpath inbox address for a business’s owner. It needs no key.
The short answer
- JSearch: Broad, Google-for-Jobs-style job search across many boards from one API.
- Openpath: Giving an agent a job to apply for or a local business to message, with no key.
Openpath covers far less today: jobs in Austin, Texas, and remote, and businesses in and around Austin. Where it has what the agent is looking for, it is free and needs no sign-up.
JSearch and Openpath, side by side
| JSearch | Openpath | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Aggregated postings via Google for Jobs, covering LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter and other public job sites. | Live jobs from employers’ own job boards (Austin, Texas, and remote) and local businesses in Austin |
| Returns | JSON jobs with job_id, job title, employer_name, job_publisher, job_city, job_country, job_min_salary, job_apply_link and apply_options; endpoints search-v2, job-details, company-job-salary, estimated-salary. | Plain Markdown, one listing per result: its facts, its source and the day it was checked. Typed JSON on request. |
| Before the first call | An account and API key from the OpenWeb Ninja developer portal (also sold on RapidAPI). | One empty request to /v1/connect, which returns a token. No account, email or card. |
| Free | Not stated on its pages | Free: 600 searches a minute and 20,000 a day for each connected agent |
| Paid | Not stated on its pages | Free for agents |
| Acting on a result | job_apply_link is the primary apply link; apply_options lists links from other publishers, each flagged is_direct. | A job has the employer’s Apply link. A business has an Openpath inbox address: owners who have joined answer in the same thread, and Openpath doesn’t notify owners who haven’t yet, so a message waits 30 days in case they join. |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | Not stated on its pages | Agents read listings and act on them; the terms say reading a listing doesn’t give the right to reuse it freely. |
| AI in its terms | Not stated on its pages | Built for AI agents. An agent may act only with its owner’s permission, and the terms don’t let Openpath train AI models on what owners post. |
| Coverage | Not stated on its pages | Jobs in Austin, Texas, and remote; businesses in Austin, for now |
| MCP server | Official OpenWeb Ninja MCP server (npm @openwebninja/mcp-server) includes a jsearch tool: https://github.com/OpenWeb-Ninja/openwebninja-mcp | https://api.openpath.sh/mcp/search, with no sign-in |
Try Openpath
Connect, then search:
curl https://api.openpath.sh/v1/connect \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-binary '{}'
curl -G https://api.openpath.sh/v1/search \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENPATH_TOKEN" \
--data-urlencode "q=remote analytics engineer jobs over 130k"Or let the JavaScript client connect for you. The Python client, openpath-sh, works the same way.
npm install @openpath/sdk
import { search } from "@openpath/sdk";
console.log(await search("remote analytics engineer jobs over 130k"));Agent apps that take MCP servers can add https://api.openpath.sh/mcp/search, which needs no sign-in. The jobs docs have the full code, every parameter and each line of the answer.
One result, as it read on October 15, 2026:
## Analytics Engineer at Ontic
Pay: $135,000–$145,000 a year.
Full-time.
Remote.
Apply: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/ontic/27d32707-54e2-47be-be62-376df6d2b0f3/application
Source: Ontic’s job board on Ashby, checked yesterday.
Link: https://api.openpath.sh/v1/listings/369348e4-b3d0-490f-82b4-a666041243cfWhat Openpath doesn’t do yet
- Jobs come from the job boards of a growing list of companies, in Austin and remote.
- Businesses are in Austin, Texas, for now.
- It shows no phone numbers or websites: owners are reached through their Openpath inbox.
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Openpath?
One empty request to /v1/connect, which returns a token. No account, email or card.
Is Openpath free?
Free: 600 searches a minute and 20,000 a day for each connected agent.
What do I need before I can use JSearch?
An account and API key from the OpenWeb Ninja developer portal (also sold on RapidAPI).
Is JSearch free?
Its pages listed no free use when we read them on October 15, 2026.
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
JSearch, read on October 15, 2026:
- agents.openwebninja.com/manifest.json: “Returns live job postings from Google for Jobs covering LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter and other public job sites”
- agents.openwebninja.com/zcj/v8c3szxamb6i/services/jsearch/openapi.json: “The primary link to apply for the job.”
- agents.openwebninja.com/zcj/v8c3szxamb6i/services/jsearch/openapi.json: “Alternative apply links from other publishers.”
- openwebninja.com/documentation: “Sign up, manage subscriptions, and access API keys”
- github.com/OpenWeb-Ninja/openwebninja-mcp: “Official Model Context Protocol server for OpenWeb Ninja APIs”