Best web search API for agentic company research
What the benchmark found. Parallel basic (parallel-basic) leads F1 at 46.5% across 16 configurations on 45 multi-constraint questions; 67.6s median time per task, $0.922 model cost per run. The agent is held constant, so the ranking is the search API's contribution to agentic company research.
What this page compares. Agentic company research is the autonomous version of the job: the agent decides what to search, reads what comes back and stops when the set is complete, with no human in the loop. The board measures the search API's share of that outcome with everything else fixed.
How to read it. For autonomous use, precision matters more than usual because nobody reviews the list before it is used; exact-set accuracy on the full board is the strictest view. F1 remains the ranking metric.
Method in one paragraph. The same agent, prompt, turn budget and tool schema run against every web search API on 45 questions that each define a company set by three or four constraints. Every returned company is resolved to a canonical identity and compared with a human-reviewed gold set; precision, recall, F1 and exact-set are averaged over three runs per question. The model-only baseline is 0.
Most accurate · Fastest · Cheapest · Find companies by criteria · Search + fetch · Full benchmark
Ranked by F1, search-only
| Provider | Endpoint & configuration | F1 | Precision | Recall | Exact set | Median time | Mean turns | Median task cost | API list price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=basicparallel-basic | 46.5 ± 1.9 | 88.7 ± 0.9 | 34.4 ± 2.0 | 3.7 ± 2.6 | 67.6 s | 7.4 | $1.120$0.070 search$1.050 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Exa | POST /search type=deepexa-deep | 45.4 ± 2.0 | 83.2 ± 3.0 | 33.7 ± 1.4 | 1.5 ± 1.3 | 89.5 s | 7.4 | $0.717$0.156 search$0.556 token cost | $0.012 / search |
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=advancedparallel-advanced | 44.2 ± 1.4 | 87.6 ± 3.4 | 32.0 ± 1.6 | 2.2 ± 0.0 | 83.4 s | 7.3 | $0.625$0.070 search$0.565 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Exa | POST /search type=instantexa-instant | 43.3 ± 1.0 | 82.6 ± 3.8 | 32.2 ± 0.5 | 3.0 ± 1.3 | 49.8 s | 7.3 | $0.652$0.091 search$0.559 token cost | $0.007 / search |
| Linkup | POST /v1/search depth=fastlinkup-fast | 41.1 ± 1.7 | 82.8 ± 1.0 | 30.3 ± 1.5 | 0.7 ± 1.3 | 64.2 s | 7.4 | $0.923$0.070 search$0.853 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Tavily | POST /search search_depth=advancedtavily-advanced | 41.1 ± 2.3 | 83.7 ± 4.2 | 29.8 ± 1.7 | 2.2 ± 0.0 | 92.2 s | 7.4 | $1.029$0.224 search$0.808 token cost | $0.016 / search |
| Linkup | POST /v1/search depth=standardlinkup-standard | 40.6 ± 0.9 | 84.0 ± 7.9 | 29.7 ± 1.4 | 1.5 ± 2.6 | 72.3 s | 7.3 | $0.937$0.070 search$0.867 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=fastparallel-fast | 38.0 ± 2.0 | 79.9 ± 4.6 | 27.5 ± 1.4 | 1.5 ± 1.3 | 53.9 s | 7.6 | $0.460$0.014 search$0.447 token cost | $0.001 / search |
| Perplexity | POST /searchsearch_context_size=low | 37.8 ± 2.1 | 79.3 ± 5.7 | 26.8 ± 1.4 | 2.2 ± 2.2 | 48.9 s | 7.7 | $0.334$0.070 search$0.264 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=turboparallel-turbo | 34.7 ± 2.4 | 80.0 ± 5.2 | 24.8 ± 2.4 | 1.5 ± 1.3 | 46.4 s | 7.6 | $0.419$0.014 search$0.405 token cost | $0.001 / search |
| You | POST /v1/searchyou | 33.1 ± 2.4 | 75.7 ± 3.1 | 23.1 ± 1.9 | 1.5 ± 1.3 | 46.2 s | 7.7 | $0.477$0.070 search$0.408 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Firecrawl | POST /v2/searchfirecrawl | 30.4 ± 1.1 | 77.3 ± 4.4 | 20.7 ± 0.7 | 2.2 ± 0.0 | 75.0 s | 7.9 | $0.282$0.070 search$0.212 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Brave Search | GET /res/v1/web/searchbrave | 28.0 ± 1.7 | 66.9 ± 8.5 | 19.3 ± 0.5 | 0.7 ± 1.3 | 43.5 s | 8.0 | $0.268$0.070 search$0.200 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| TinyFish | GET api.search.tinyfish.aitinyfish | 26.6 ± 1.3 | 64.7 ± 1.5 | 17.9 ± 0.8 | 1.5 ± 1.3 | 64.2 s | 7.9 | $0.212$0.000 search$0.212 token cost | $0 / search |
| Seltz | POST /v1/search scope=companiesseltz-companies | 14.5 ± 0.9 | 40.0 ± 3.1 | 9.4 ± 0.7 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 55.2 s | 7.3 | $1.751$0.070 search$1.681 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| SERP (RapidAPI) | GET google-search74.p.rapidapi.comserp | 0.4 ± 0.6 | 0.7 ± 1.3 | 0.3 ± 0.4 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 31.4 s | 7.8 | $0.103$0.036 search$0.065 token cost | $0.003 / search |
F1, precision, recall, and exact-set accuracy are percentages reported as mean ± sample SD across three independent runs; each run aggregates all 45 questions. SD is measured in percentage points. Median time is the median end-to-end time across all runs for each vendor. Median task cost is the median of LLM $ plus search/fetch API $ per agent run. API list price is the PAYG unit rate of the search (and fetch) endpoint the harness calls.
Same sort, with a page-reading tool enabled
| Provider | Endpoint & configuration | F1 | Precision | Recall | Exact set | Median time | Mean turns | Median task cost | API list price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exa | POST /search type=deepexa-deep | 48.2 ± 2.1 | 89.4 ± 1.2 | 36.0 ± 2.2 | 2.2 ± 2.2 | 95.8 s | 7.5 | $0.683$0.156 search+fetch$0.526 token cost | $0.012 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Perplexity | POST /searchsearch_context_size=high | 46.6 ± 2.0 | 87.7 ± 5.9 | 34.7 ± 1.1 | 2.2 ± 2.2 | 53.9 s | 7.5 | $0.504$0.070 search+fetch$0.441 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Exa | POST /search type=instantexa-instant | 44.9 ± 0.9 | 85.9 ± 2.5 | 33.5 ± 0.9 | 5.2 ± 1.3 | 52.5 s | 7.5 | $0.653$0.091 search+fetch$0.557 token cost | $0.007 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=basicparallel-basic | 42.3 ± 1.1 | 81.3 ± 2.8 | 31.3 ± 1.1 | 3.0 ± 1.3 | 68.6 s | 7.5 | $1.089$0.061 search+fetch$1.033 token cost | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=advancedparallel-advanced | 42.2 ± 1.1 | 87.6 ± 0.3 | 30.1 ± 1.1 | 2.2 ± 0.0 | 80.9 s | 7.4 | $0.599$0.061 search+fetch$0.538 token cost | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Linkup | POST /v1/search depth=standardlinkup-standard | 42.0 ± 1.8 | 90.7 ± 2.0 | 30.5 ± 2.0 | 3.0 ± 3.4 | 81.0 s | 7.5 | $0.911$0.070 search+fetch$0.848 token cost | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Tavily | POST /search search_depth=advancedtavily-advanced | 41.0 ± 1.3 | 89.4 ± 6.0 | 29.1 ± 0.7 | 2.2 ± 0.0 | 92.6 s | 7.3 | $0.898$0.195 search+fetch$0.685 token cost | $0.016 / search$0.0032 / fetch |
| Linkup | POST /v1/search depth=fastlinkup-fast | 39.9 ± 1.3 | 85.3 ± 3.6 | 28.6 ± 1.3 | 0.7 ± 1.3 | 68.0 s | 7.3 | $0.903$0.061 search+fetch$0.837 token cost | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=fastparallel-fast | 39.3 ± 3.3 | 82.3 ± 6.6 | 28.2 ± 2.0 | 2.2 ± 0.0 | 55.1 s | 7.6 | $0.441$0.014 search+fetch$0.427 token cost | $0.001 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Parallel | POST /v1/search mode=turboparallel-turbo | 36.0 ± 3.5 | 83.6 ± 4.0 | 25.0 ± 2.6 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 48.1 s | 7.7 | $0.414$0.013 search+fetch$0.400 token cost | $0.001 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| You | POST /v1/searchyou | 34.0 ± 0.9 | 78.8 ± 0.6 | 23.8 ± 1.2 | 3.0 ± 1.3 | 47.4 s | 7.8 | $0.489$0.065 search+fetch$0.427 token cost | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| Firecrawl | POST /v2/searchfirecrawl | 33.2 ± 2.1 | 83.3 ± 0.8 | 22.7 ± 1.8 | 1.5 ± 1.3 | 82.1 s | 7.9 | $0.295$0.063 search+fetch$0.230 token cost | $0.005 / search$0.0025 / fetch |
| TinyFish | GET api.search.tinyfish.aitinyfish | 30.2 ± 3.5 | 70.9 ± 11.3 | 20.9 ± 2.5 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 63.4 s | 7.9 | $0.219$0.000 search+fetch$0.219 token cost | $0 / search$0 / fetch |
| Brave Search | GET /res/v1/web/searchbrave | 29.4 ± 1.6 | 73.5 ± 5.8 | 20.4 ± 0.9 | 1.5 ± 1.3 | 45.1 s | 8.0 | $0.285$0.060 search+fetch$0.222 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| Seltz | POST /v1/search scope=companiesseltz-companies | 16.3 ± 1.5 | 49.5 ± 2.4 | 10.2 ± 1.2 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 60.1 s | 7.5 | $1.741$0.070 search+fetch$1.671 token cost | $0.005 / search |
| SERP (RapidAPI) | GET google-search74.p.rapidapi.comserp | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 33.4 s | 7.8 | $0.102$0.039 search+fetch$0.066 token cost | $0.003 / search |
F1, precision, recall, and exact-set accuracy are percentages reported as mean ± sample SD across three independent runs; each run aggregates all 45 questions. SD is measured in percentage points. Median time is the median end-to-end time across all runs for each vendor. Median task cost is the median of LLM $ plus search/fetch API $ per agent run. API list price is the PAYG unit rate of the search (and fetch) endpoint the harness calls.
Common questions
What is the best web search API for agentic company research?
Parallel basic (parallel-basic) leads F1 at 46.5% across 16 configurations on 45 multi-constraint questions; 67.6s median time per task, $0.922 model cost per run. The agent is held constant, so the ranking is the search API's contribution to agentic company research.
Does the F1 leader also win on speed for agentic company research?
No. Exa instant (exa-instant) has the best time per task quality at 115.0s (median time divided by F1) against 145.4s for the F1 leader Parallel basic (parallel-basic). Pick by the constraint that binds your agent.
How is agentic company research different from one-shot lookup?
Lookup is one query, one fact, scored on answer accuracy; that board is on the web search hub. Agentic company research here means recovering a complete company set defined by three or four constraints, which takes several searches and is scored on precision, recall and F1. The model-only baseline is 0: none of these sets is in training data.