100tasks · hard retrieval · search & fetch and search-only
Most accurate web search API for coding agents and developers
Ranked on the hard retrieval task of the web search benchmark. A pass requires a grounded source URL from that run's search or fetch.
Exa deep leads search & fetch at 83.0%. Perplexity leads search-only at 77.3%.
Most accurate for a coding-agent path. Search & fetch and search-only are separate rankings. Read Task completion on the board that matches whether the agent can open pages.
Most accurate · Fastest · Most token efficient · Full benchmark
[01]search & fetch
Ranking, sorted by task completion
Top 8 by task completion
| Rank | Vendor | Endpoint & configuration | Task completion | Median task time | Median task cost | Avg search time | Median task tokens | API list price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exa deep | POST /search type=deepPOST /contents | 83.0 ± 1.0 | 37s | $0.127$0.057 search+fetch$0.070 token cost | 3.97s | 23,660 | $0.012 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| 2 | Exa auto | POST /search type=autoPOST /contents | 81.7 ± 1.1 | 23s | $0.107$0.032 search+fetch$0.074 token cost | 1.19s | 27,433 | $0.007 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| 3 | TinyFish | GET api.search.tinyfish.aiGET api.fetch.tinyfish.ai format=markdown | 79.0 ± 2.0 | 24s | $0.050$0.000 search+fetch$0.050 token cost | 1.32s | 12,844 | $0 / search$0 / fetch |
| 4 | Perplexity | POST /search search_context_size=highPOST /search search_context_size=high | 77.7 ± 1.5 | 22s | $0.083$0.025 search+fetch$0.058 token cost | 991ms | 20,062 | $0.005 / search$0.005 / fetch |
| 5 | Parallel advanced | POST /v1/search mode=advancedPOST /v1/extract | 77.0 ± 1.0 | 33s | $0.096$0.019 search+fetch$0.077 token cost | 3.11s | 27,092 | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| 6 | Parallel basic | POST /v1/search mode=basicPOST /v1/extract | 76.0 ± 0.0 | 30s | $0.107$0.023 search+fetch$0.084 token cost | 1.59s | 32,809 | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| 7 | Firecrawl | POST /v2/searchPOST /v2/scrape | 76.0 ± 1.0 | 34s | $0.082$0.028 search+fetch$0.055 token cost | 2.81s | 17,379 | $0.005 / search$0.0025 / fetch |
| 8 | Nimble | POST /v2/search search_depth=lite · full_content=false · focus=generalPOST /v2/extract formats=[markdown] | 60.3 ± 2.5 | 40s | $0.054$0.054 token cost | 1.93s | 16,828 | $0.0011 / search |
| 9 | Tavily advanced | POST /search search_depth=advancedPOST /extract extract_depth=advanced | 60.0 ± 2.0 | 46s | $0.153$0.085 search+fetch$0.069 token cost | 3.41s | 26,269 | $0.016 / search$0.0032 / fetch |
| 10 | Tavily basic | POST /search search_depth=basicPOST /extract extract_depth=basic | 59.0 ± 1.7 | 32s | $0.113$0.043 search+fetch$0.070 token cost | 1.50s | 27,405 | $0.008 / search$0.0016 / fetch |
| 11 | You | POST /v1/search extraction_mode=highlightsPOST /v1/contents | 55.0 ± 1.7 | 27s | $0.119$0.027 search+fetch$0.092 token cost | 638ms | 42,806 | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| 12 | You | POST /v1/search extraction_mode=highlights · knowledge=corePOST /v1/contents | 54.0 ± 2.0 | 28s | $0.117$0.026 search+fetch$0.091 token cost | 678ms | 37,453 | $0.005 / search$0.001 / fetch |
| 13 | Linkup standard | POST /v1/search depth=standardPOST /v1/fetch mode=standard | 48.3 ± 4.9 | 48s | $0.147$0.038 search+fetch$0.108 token cost | 2.00s | 57,791 | $0.005 / search$0.005 / fetch |
| 14 | Nimble | POST /v2/search search_depth=standard · full_content=false · focus=generalPOST /v2/extract formats=[markdown] | 45.0 ± 1.0 | 44s | $0.078$0.078 token cost | 905ms | 28,586 | $0.005 / search |
[02] search only
Search-only, same sort
Top 8 by task completion
| Rank | Vendor | Endpoint & configuration | Task completion | Median task time | Median task cost | Avg search time | Median task tokens | API list price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perplexity | POST /search search_context_size=low | 77.3 ± 2.1 | 18s | $0.059$0.025 search$0.034 token cost | 957ms | 8,765 | $0.005 / search |
| 2 | Firecrawl | POST /v2/search | 70.3 ± 1.5 | 28s | $0.059$0.025 search$0.034 token cost | 2.87s | 7,456 | $0.005 / search |
| 3 | Parallel fast | POST /v1/search mode=fast | 66.7 ± 1.5 | 22s | $0.054$0.005 search$0.049 token cost | 953ms | 12,460 | $0.001 / search |
| 4 | Exa fast | POST /search type=fast | 66.3 ± 1.5 | 20s | $0.103$0.035 search$0.068 token cost | 626ms | 22,344 | $0.007 / search |
| 5 | Parallel turbo | POST /v1/search mode=turbo | 64.7 ± 2.1 | 19s | $0.059$0.005 search$0.054 token cost | 333ms | 14,130 | $0.001 / search |
| 6 | Exa instant | POST /search type=instant | 61.3 ± 2.9 | 21s | $0.105$0.035 search$0.070 token cost | 447ms | 22,423 | $0.007 / search |
| 7 | TinyFish | GET api.search.tinyfish.ai | 59.3 ± 1.5 | 28s | $0.035$0.000 search$0.035 token cost | 2.15s | 7,469 | $0 / search |
| 8 | Tavily basic | POST /search search_depth=basic | 51.0 ± 5.3 | 26s | $0.097$0.040 search$0.057 token cost | 1.72s | 16,299 | $0.008 / search |
| 9 | Nimble | POST /v2/search search_depth=lite · full_content=false · focus=general | 46.7 ± 3.8 | 33s | $0.043$0.005 search$0.037 token cost | 3.15s | 8,713 | $0.0011 / search |
| 10 | Linkup fast | POST /v1/search depth=fast | 43.3 ± 1.1 | 27s | $0.100$0.025 search$0.075 token cost | 1.39s | 24,057 | $0.005 / search |
| 11 | Nimble | POST /v2/search search_depth=standard · full_content=false · focus=general | 42.3 ± 2.5 | 25s | $0.079$0.025 search$0.054 token cost | 878ms | 14,859 | $0.005 / search |
| 12 | You | POST /v1/search extraction_mode=highlights | 41.3 ± 3.1 | 24s | $0.097$0.025 search$0.072 token cost | 596ms | 20,333 | $0.005 / search |
| 13 | You | POST /v1/search extraction_mode=highlights · knowledge=core | 38.3 ± 3.2 | 21s | $0.096$0.025 search$0.071 token cost | 677ms | 20,786 | $0.005 / search |
| 14 | Brave | POST /res/v1/llm/context | 38.0 ± 2.6 | 20s | $0.082$0.025 search$0.057 token cost | 523ms | 14,103 | $0.005 / search |
[03] faq
Common questions
What is the most accurate web search API for coding agents?
Exa deep leads search & fetch at 83.0%. Perplexity leads search-only at 77.3%. The two boards are separate rankings. This is hard retrieval, not a general best-search score.
What is the most accurate web search API for developers?
Same ranking. Developers and coding agents use web search APIs to find implementation details in live official docs. This page ranks that job by grounded task completion.