Cheapest Search API for Coding Agents, 2026
Cheapest Search API for Coding Agents: TinyFish leads 5 search APIs at $0.050 per task on 100 coding tickets, independently benchmarked in 2026.
What this page compares. This page ranks measured results from 2 boards: coding-agent documentation tickets (search and page fetch) and coding-agent documentation tickets (search only).
How to read the result. The ranking uses measured cost at recorded list prices. The score stays beside it. 7 configurations below 80% of the best score are left out, so nothing ranks on speed or price alone.
Coding-agent documentation tickets, search and page fetch, ranked by median cost per task
Every row ran the same 100 questions. Provider names link to the official docs for the configuration measured.
| Rank | Provider | Task completion | Mean search time | Median task time | Median cost / task | Median task tokens | Completion / 1k tokens | List price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TinyFishtinyfish-search | 79.0% | 1.3 s | 24.3 s | $0.050 | 12,844 | 6.15 | $0 / 1k queries |
| 2 | Firecrawlfirecrawl-search | 76.0% | 2.8 s | 34.4 s | $0.082 | 17,379 | 4.37 | $5.00 / 1k queries |
| 3 | Perplexitysearch_context_size=high | 77.7% | 991 ms | 21.5 s | $0.083 | 20,062 | 3.87 | $5.00 / 1k queries |
| 4 | Parallel advancedmode=advanced | 77.0% | 3.1 s | 33.4 s | $0.096 | 27,092 | 2.84 | $5.00 / 1k queries |
| 5 | Exa autotype=auto | 81.7% | 1.2 s | 22.7 s | $0.11 | 27,433 | 2.98 | $7.00 / 1k queries |
| 6 | Parallel basicmode=basic | 76.0% | 1.6 s | 30.0 s | $0.11 | 32,809 | 2.32 | $5.00 / 1k queries |
| 7 | Exa deeptype=deep | 83.0% | 4.0 s | 36.8 s | $0.13 | 23,660 | 3.51 | $12.00 / 1k queries |
Coding-agent documentation tickets, search only, ranked by median cost per task
| Rank | Provider | Task completion | Mean search time | Median task time | Median cost / task | Median task tokens | Completion / 1k tokens | List price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parallel fastmode=fast | 66.7% | 953 ms | 22.1 s | $0.054 | 12,460 | 5.35 | $1.00 / 1k queries |
| 2 | Firecrawlfirecrawl-search | 70.3% | 2.9 s | 28.0 s | $0.059 | 7,456 | 9.43 | $5.00 / 1k queries |
| 3 | Parallel turbomode=turbo | 64.7% | 333 ms | 18.7 s | $0.059 | 14,130 | 4.58 | $1.00 / 1k queries |
| 4 | Perplexitysearch_context_size=low | 77.3% | 957 ms | 18.3 s | $0.059 | 8,765 | 8.82 | $5.00 / 1k queries |
| 5 | Exa fasttype=fast | 66.3% | 626 ms | 20.0 s | $0.10 | 22,344 | 2.97 | $7.00 / 1k queries |
How the ranking was measured
- The same coding agent worked the same documentation tickets with one search API at a time, three independent runs per ticket.
- A ticket passes only when the patch checks out and cites a source the agent actually retrieved in that run.
- Search-only rows return results; search-and-fetch rows can also read the page.
- Search time, total task time, task tokens and the median cost per task (model plus API) are reported beside completion.
- The runner and published data are open in openbenchmarks-labs/web-search-for-coding-agents ↗ and openbenchmarks/OB-Code-Websearch ↗. The full methodology is on the Web Search for Coding Agents Benchmark →
Questions answered by this comparison
Which provider leads cheapest Search API for Coding Agents?
TinyFish leads this table at $0.050 per task, on 100 coding tickets.
How was this measured?
The same coding agent worked the same documentation tickets with one search API at a time, three independent runs per ticket. A ticket passes only when the patch checks out and cites a source the agent actually retrieved in that run. Search-only rows return results; search-and-fetch rows can also read the page. Search time, total task time, task tokens and the median cost per task (model plus API) are reported beside completion.
How should speed and cost be read beside the score?
TinyFish recorded 24.3 s median task time and $0.050 median cost per task. The most accurate configuration is rarely the fastest or the cheapest, so each is reported in its own column.
Do vendors pay to be ranked?
No. Inclusion and rank do not depend on vendor payments. Every API used the same questions, answering model and scoring.
What does this page not test?
This page ranks measured results from 2 boards: coding-agent documentation tickets (search and page fetch) and coding-agent documentation tickets (search only).
Related pages
- Web Search for Coding Agents Benchmark: full leaderboard and methodology →
- Fastest Web Search API for Coding Agents
- Most Accurate Web Search API for Coding Agents
- Most Token-Efficient Web Search API for Coding Agents
- Best Web Search API for Coding Agents
- Best Search API for Up-to-Date Docs
- Best Web Search MCP for Claude Code
- Every web search for coding agents comparison →