---
title: "Best Scrape API for AI Agents, Independently Benchmarked (2026): Token Efficiency, Quality & Cost"
description: "Best scrape API for AI agents by token efficiency: Firecrawl, 1.51 precision points per 1,000 tokens. Highest F1: Exa deep, 48.2%. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits."
url: https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-scrape-api-for-ai-agents
---

[Openbenchmarks](https://openbenchmarks.com/) [Web Search Benchmark →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search) 

[Web Search](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search) / Best scrape API for AI agents

Independent comparison · 2026

# Best Scrape API for AI Agents (2026): Token Efficiency, Quality & Cost

Best scrape API for AI agents by token efficiency: Firecrawl, 1.51 precision points per 1,000 tokens. Highest F1: Exa deep, 48.2%. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits.

Compare **12 providers**, including Exa, Tavily, Brave, Parallel and Firecrawl, across **20 configurations** on **45 questions**. Compare scrape APIs for AI agents ranked by token efficiency, measured as precision per 1,000 task tokens when the agent can search and scrape the page.

## Most token efficient

[Firecrawl](#firecrawl) 

Precision / 1k tokens

1.51

F1

33.2%

Search price / 1,000 queries

$5.00

Recorded search API price. Model and scrape costs are separate. [Official docs ↗](https://docs.firecrawl.dev/api-reference/endpoint/search) · [Pricing ↗](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing) 

## Best by F1

[Exa deep](#exa-deep) 

F1

48.2%

Mean search time

47.08s

Search price / 1,000 queries

$12.00

Recorded search API price. Model and scrape costs are separate. [Official docs ↗](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/search) · [Pricing ↗](https://exa.ai/pricing?tab=api) 

## Cheapest search

[TinyFish](#tinyfish) 

F1

30.2%

Mean search time

26.59s

Search price / 1,000 queries

$0.00

Free-tier limits apply. Model and scrape costs are separate. [Official docs ↗](https://docs.tinyfish.ai/search-api) · [Pricing ↗](https://www.tinyfish.ai/pricing) 

[Compare all 20 configurations →](#results) · [Open benchmark code ↗](https://github.com/openbenchmarks-labs/multi-turn-company-search) · [Public dataset sample ↗](https://huggingface.co/datasets/openbenchmarks/OB-Company-Websearch) 

Updated 2 October 2026. Last measured 2 October 2026.

[Compare results](#results) [How to choose](#choose) [Method and sources](#method) [Questions](#faq) 

## Best scrape API for AI agents, ranked by token efficiency

Token efficiency on 45 company questions. The same agent can search more than once and scrape the page. Token efficiency is precision per 1,000 task tokens, and higher is better. This page orders the comparison by that figure. F1 is shown beside it. Prices are the benchmark-recorded rate basis, with the same configurations used for the quality results.

__45 questions · 20 configurations · ordered by token efficiency__
| Rank | Provider & configuration | Precision / 1k tokens | F1 | Mean search time | Recorded $ / 1,000 queries | Median task time | Median task cost | Official docs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Firecrawl firecrawl POST /v2/search | **1.51** | 33.2% | 40.23s | [$5.00](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing) 2 credits / 10 results Scrape $0.0025 per page. | 82.06s | $0.29 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.firecrawl.dev/api-reference/endpoint/search) |
| 2 | Brave Search brave GET /res/v1/web/search | **1.35** | 29.4% | 7.15s | [$5.00](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/pricing) Recorded search-request rate; see official terms. Scrape included in the measured task cost when the provider billed it. | 45.13s | $0.28 | [Official docs ↗](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/services/web-search) |
| 3 | TinyFish tinyfish GET api.search.tinyfish.ai | **1.32** | 30.2% | 26.59s | [$0.00](https://www.tinyfish.ai/pricing) 30 req/min cap Scrape $0.0000 per page. | 63.37s | $0.22 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.tinyfish.ai/search-api) |
| 4 | Nimble search\_depth=lite · full\_content=false · focus=general · extract formats=\[markdown\] POST /v2/search | **1.17** | 27.1% | 53.03s | [$1.10](https://www.nimbleway.com/pricing) search\_depth=lite · full\_content=false Scrape included in the measured task cost when the provider billed it. | 71.99s | — | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.nimbleway.com/api-reference/search/search) |
| 5 | Parallel turbo parallel-turbo POST /v1/search mode=turbo | **0.77** | 36.0% | 5.38s | [$1.00](https://docs.parallel.ai/getting-started/pricing) mode=turbo · 10 results Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 48.07s | $0.41 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.parallel.ai/api-reference/search/search) |
| 6 | Perplexity search\_context\_size=high POST /search | **0.72** | 46.6% | 13.98s | [$5.00](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing) Search API · POST /search Scrape included in the measured task cost when the provider billed it. | 53.89s | $0.50 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.perplexity.ai/api-reference/search-post) |
| 7 | Parallel fast parallel-fast POST /v1/search mode=fast | **0.69** | 39.3% | 12.27s | [$1.00](https://docs.parallel.ai/getting-started/pricing) mode=fast · 10 results Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 55.08s | $0.44 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.parallel.ai/api-reference/search/search) |
| 8 | Nimble search\_depth=standard · full\_content=false · focus=general · extract formats=\[markdown\] POST /v2/search | **0.62** | 31.3% | 23.00s | [$5.00](https://www.nimbleway.com/pricing) search\_depth=standard · full\_content=false Scrape included in the measured task cost when the provider billed it. | 59.23s | — | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.nimbleway.com/api-reference/search/search) |
| 9 | Exa deep exa-deep POST /search type=deep | **0.61** | 48.2% | 47.08s | [$12.00](https://exa.ai/pricing?tab=api) type=deep Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 95.80s | $0.68 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/search) |
| 10 | Parallel advanced parallel-advanced POST /v1/search mode=advanced | **0.58** | 42.2% | 36.66s | [$5.00](https://docs.parallel.ai/getting-started/pricing) mode=advanced · 10 results Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 80.87s | $0.60 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.parallel.ai/api-reference/search/search) |
| 11 | Tavily basic tavily-basic POST /search search\_depth=basic | **0.57** | 38.1% | 20.30s | [$8.00](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits) 1 credit · $0.008 PAYG Scrape $0.0032 per page. | 61.97s | $0.61 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search) |
| 12 | Exa instant exa-instant POST /search type=instant | **0.55** | 44.9% | 5.90s | [$7.00](https://exa.ai/pricing?tab=api) type=instant · up to 10 results Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 52.51s | $0.65 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/search) |
| 13 | Tavily advanced tavily-advanced POST /search search\_depth=advanced | **0.43** | 41.0% | 44.65s | [$16.00](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits) 2 credits · $0.008 PAYG Scrape $0.0032 per page. | 92.63s | $0.90 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search) |
| 14 | Linkup standard linkup-standard POST /v1/search depth=standard | **0.36** | 42.0% | 27.77s | [$5.00](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing) depth=standard · searchResults Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 81.01s | $0.91 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/search/overview) |
| 15 | You extraction\_mode=highlights POST /v1/search | **0.35** | 38.5% | 7.55s | [$5.00](https://you.com/docs/administration/billing) highlights included in Web Search Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 45.63s | $0.86 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.you.com/) |
| 16 | Linkup fast linkup-fast POST /v1/search depth=fast | **0.35** | 39.9% | 17.28s | [$5.00](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing) depth=fast · searchResults Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 68.02s | $0.90 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/search/overview) |
| 17 | You extraction\_mode=highlights · knowledge=core POST /v1/search | **0.31** | 38.5% | 9.18s | [$5.00](https://you.com/docs/administration/billing) highlights · knowledge=core · same Web Search price assumption Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 48.52s | $0.89 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.you.com/) |
| 18 | Parallel basic parallel-basic POST /v1/search mode=basic | **0.27** | 42.3% | 21.58s | [$5.00](https://docs.parallel.ai/getting-started/pricing) mode=basic · 10 results Scrape $0.0010 per page. | 68.62s | $1.09 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.parallel.ai/api-reference/search/search) |
| 19 | Seltz seltz-companies POST /v1/search scope=companies | **0.10** | 16.3% | 9.30s | [$5.00](https://seltz.ai/pricing) Recorded search-request rate; see official terms. Scrape included in the measured task cost when the provider billed it. | 60.10s | $1.74 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.seltz.ai/) |
| 20 | SERP serp GET google-search74.p.rapidapi.com | **0.00** | 0.0% | 3.50s | [$3.00](https://rapidapi.com/herosAPI/api/google-search74/pricing) Pro overage $0.003/request Scrape included in the measured task cost when the provider billed it. | 33.44s | $0.10 | [Official docs ↗](https://rapidapi.com/herosAPI/api/google-search74) |

## Choose the best scrape API for AI agents

### What this scrape API ranking measures

An agent scrape is scored here as part of search and scrape. The same agent can search, choose a URL, and scrape the page. This page ranks those runs by token efficiency: precision per 1,000 task tokens. F1 is shown beside the rank. A scrape endpoint that returns markdown is useful when the agent can cite the page it opened.

### Keep the scraped page attached to the source URL

Store the URL, title and scraped text together. Pass that bundle into the agent with a stable citation id. The benchmark counts a result when the company’s set matches the question and the run can point at its sources. A scrape with no source URL is harder to check and is outside this score.

### Token efficiency and scrape cost

Token efficiency on this page is precision per 1,000 task tokens. Higher is better. Median task tokens include the scraped page the agent reads. Search price per 1,000 queries is the recorded search rate. Page scrape often has its own rate, credit, or inclusion in the same plan. Median task cost includes the agent’s model spend and the vendor calls measured for the run.

### Match the scrape format to the agent

Markdown and extracted text are the formats these configurations return into the agent. HTML dumps raise token use. Test the same questions with the scrape format you will ship, and cap how many pages the agent may open per answer. The table’s official docs link is the place to confirm the current request fields.

## Benchmark method and source data

Token efficiency on 45 company questions. The same agent can search more than once and scrape the page. Token efficiency is precision per 1,000 task tokens, and higher is better. This page orders the comparison by that figure. F1 is shown beside it. Each row is one measured configuration. Missing measurements appear as a dash.

[Open benchmark code ↗](https://github.com/openbenchmarks-labs/multi-turn-company-search) · [Public dataset sample ↗](https://huggingface.co/datasets/openbenchmarks/OB-Company-Websearch) · [All benchmark methods →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search) 

[Compare search and search-and-scrape results →](https://openbenchmarks.com/multi-turn-company-search) 

## Common questions

### What is the best scrape API for AI agents?

Best scrape API for AI agents by token efficiency: Firecrawl, 1.51 precision points per 1,000 tokens. Highest F1: Exa deep, 48.2%. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits.

### Which benchmark does the main ranking use?

Token efficiency on 45 company questions. The same agent can search more than once and scrape the page. Token efficiency is precision per 1,000 task tokens, and higher is better. This page orders the comparison by that figure. F1 is shown beside it.

### What does the price per 1,000 queries include?

The recorded search endpoint’s request price. Model-token spend, page scrape and plan conditions are separate. Rows with a task measurement show median task cost in its own column. Check the linked provider terms for current pricing.

## Related search API comparisons

[Best fast web search API →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-fast-web-search-api) [Best search and scrape API →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-and-scrape-api) [Best search API for deep research agents →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-deep-research-agents) [Best search API for company research →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-company-research) [Best search API for sales agents →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-sales-agents) [Best search API for coding documentation →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-coding-documentation) [Best web search API for grounding →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-web-search-api-for-grounding) [Best search API for news →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-news) [Web search APIs for RAG →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-web-search-api-for-rag) [Search APIs for coding agents →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-coding-agents) [Fastest search API →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/fastest-search-api) 

[← Web Search Benchmark](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search)