---
title: "Best Search API for Company Research, Independently Benchmarked (2026): Search and Scrape F1, Speed & Cost"
description: "Best search API for company research by F1: Exa deep, 48.2% at $12.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: SERP, 3.50s. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits."
url: https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-company-research
---

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

[Web Search](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search) / Best search API for company research

Independent comparison · 2026

# Best Search API for Company Research (2026): Search and Scrape F1, Speed & Cost

Best search API for company research by F1: Exa deep, 48.2% at $12.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: SERP, 3.50s. 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 search APIs for company research, with search and page scrape, scored by F1 on company questions with more than one constraint.

## 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) 

## Fastest search

[SERP](#serp) 

F1

0.0%

Mean search time

3.50s

Search price / 1,000 queries

$3.00

Recorded search API price. Model and scrape costs are separate. [Official docs ↗](https://rapidapi.com/herosAPI/api/google-search74) · [Pricing ↗](https://rapidapi.com/herosAPI/api/google-search74/pricing) 

## 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 search API for company research

Mean F1 on 45 company-discovery questions with multiple constraints. The same agent can search more than once and scrape the page. F1 balances precision and recall. Search latency and total task latency are shown separately. Prices are the benchmark-recorded rate basis, with the same configurations used for the quality results.

__45 questions · 20 configurations · ordered by F1__
| Rank | Provider & configuration | F1 | Mean search time | Recorded $ / 1,000 queries | Median task time | Median task cost | Official docs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Exa deep exa-deep POST /search type=deep | **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) |
| 2 | Perplexity search\_context\_size=high POST /search | **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) |
| 3 | Exa instant exa-instant POST /search type=instant | **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) |
| 4 | Parallel basic parallel-basic POST /v1/search mode=basic | **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) |
| 5 | Parallel advanced parallel-advanced POST /v1/search mode=advanced | **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) |
| 6 | Linkup standard linkup-standard POST /v1/search depth=standard | **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) |
| 7 | Tavily advanced tavily-advanced POST /search search\_depth=advanced | **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) |
| 8 | Linkup fast linkup-fast POST /v1/search depth=fast | **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) |
| 9 | Parallel fast parallel-fast POST /v1/search mode=fast | **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) |
| 10 | You extraction\_mode=highlights POST /v1/search | **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/) |
| 11 | You extraction\_mode=highlights · knowledge=core POST /v1/search | **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/) |
| 12 | Tavily basic tavily-basic POST /search search\_depth=basic | **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) |
| 13 | Parallel turbo parallel-turbo POST /v1/search mode=turbo | **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) |
| 14 | Firecrawl firecrawl POST /v2/search | **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) |
| 15 | Nimble search\_depth=standard · full\_content=false · focus=general · extract formats=\[markdown\] POST /v2/search | **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) |
| 16 | TinyFish tinyfish GET api.search.tinyfish.ai | **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) |
| 17 | Brave Search brave GET /res/v1/web/search | **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) |
| 18 | Nimble search\_depth=lite · full\_content=false · focus=general · extract formats=\[markdown\] POST /v2/search | **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) |
| 19 | Seltz seltz-companies POST /v1/search scope=companies | **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 | **0.0%** | 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 search API for company research

### Company research in this benchmark

Questions ask for a set of companies matching more than one constraint, such as investor, geography, accelerator or funding stage. The agent can search and scrape pages. F1 is the rank. That is the measured evidence for a search API for company research on this page.

### Precision and recall for a company set

A company-research answer is a set, so an extra wrong company lowers precision and a missed company lowers recall. F1 falls when either side is weak. Use the table to see which search and scrape configuration recovers the set with fewer misses and fewer extras.

### What the cost columns include

Recorded search price is the search call per 1,000 queries. Scraping the company page can add a second charge. Median task cost includes model tokens and the vendor spend measured on the run. A cheap search call can still be an expensive research task if the agent searches many times.

### Check coverage on your own company questions

This set is held-out company discovery, public in sample form, with scoring questions kept aside. Rebuild a short list from your market, run the same agent against two configurations, and compare the companies and the URLs. Official docs in the table document the request that was measured.

## Benchmark method and source data

Mean F1 on 45 company-discovery questions with multiple constraints. The same agent can search more than once and scrape the page. F1 balances precision and recall. Search latency and total task latency are shown separately. 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 search API for company research?

Best search API for company research by F1: Exa deep, 48.2% at $12.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: SERP, 3.50s. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits.

### Which benchmark does the main ranking use?

Mean F1 on 45 company-discovery questions with multiple constraints. The same agent can search more than once and scrape the page. F1 balances precision and recall. Search latency and total task latency are shown separately.

### 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 scrape API for AI agents →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-scrape-api-for-ai-agents) [Best search API for deep research agents →](https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-search-api-for-deep-research-agents) [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)