Best by F1
- F1
- 46.5%
- Mean search time
- 19.77s
- Search price / 1,000 queries
- $5.00
Recorded search API price. Model and scrape costs are separate. Official docs ↗ · Pricing ↗
Independent comparison · 2026
Best Search API for Deep Research Agents (2026): Search F1, Speed & Cost
Best search API for deep research agents by F1: Parallel basic, 46.5% at $5.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: SERP (RapidAPI), 2.93s. 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 deep research agents, where one agent plans several searches and combines the evidence.
Fastest search
- F1
- 0.4%
- Mean search time
- 2.93s
- Search price / 1,000 queries
- $3.00
Recorded search API price. Model and scrape costs are separate. Official docs ↗ · Pricing ↗
Cheapest search
- F1
- 26.6%
- Mean search time
- 27.34s
- Search price / 1,000 queries
- $0.00
Free-tier limits apply. Model and scrape costs are separate. Official docs ↗ · Pricing ↗
Compare all 20 configurations → · Open benchmark code ↗ · Public dataset sample ↗
Updated 23 September 2026. Last measured 14 September 2026.
Best search API for deep research agents
Mean F1 on 45 company-discovery questions with multiple constraints. The same agent can search more than once and combine search results. F1 balances precision and recall. This board uses search results. 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.
| Rank | Provider & configuration | F1 | Mean search time | Recorded $ / 1,000 queries | Median task time | Median task cost | Official docs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parallel basicparallel-basicPOST /v1/search mode=basic | 46.5% | 19.77s | $5.00mode=basic · 10 results | 67.63s | $1.12 | Official docs ↗ |
| 2 | Exa deepexa-deepPOST /search type=deep | 45.4% | 44.68s | $12.00type=deep | 89.50s | $0.72 | Official docs ↗ |
| 3 | Parallel advancedparallel-advancedPOST /v1/search mode=advanced | 44.2% | 36.58s | $5.00mode=advanced · 10 results | 83.43s | $0.62 | Official docs ↗ |
| 4 | Exa instantexa-instantPOST /search type=instant | 43.3% | 6.21s | $7.00type=instant · up to 10 results | 49.83s | $0.65 | Official docs ↗ |
| 5 | Linkup fastlinkup-fastPOST /v1/search depth=fast | 41.1% | 17.52s | $5.00depth=fast · searchResults | 64.20s | $0.92 | Official docs ↗ |
| 6 | Tavily advancedtavily-advancedPOST /search search_depth=advanced | 41.1% | 46.58s | $16.002 credits · $0.008 PAYG | 92.17s | $1.03 | Official docs ↗ |
| 7 | Linkup standardlinkup-standardPOST /v1/search depth=standard | 40.6% | 25.10s | $5.00depth=standard · searchResults | 72.29s | $0.94 | Official docs ↗ |
| 8 | Youextraction_mode=highlightsPOST /v1/search | 38.6% | 7.72s | $5.00highlights included in Web Search | 48.16s | $0.97 | Official docs ↗ |
| 9 | Youextraction_mode=highlights · knowledge=corePOST /v1/search | 38.1% | 8.88s | $5.00highlights · knowledge=core · same Web Search price assumption | 47.64s | $0.90 | Official docs ↗ |
| 10 | Parallel fastparallel-fastPOST /v1/search mode=fast | 38.0% | 12.17s | $1.00mode=fast · 10 results | 53.93s | $0.46 | Official docs ↗ |
| 11 | Perplexitysearch_context_size=lowPOST /search | 37.8% | 14.11s | $5.00Search API · POST /search | 48.94s | $0.33 | Official docs ↗ |
| 12 | Tavily basictavily-basicPOST /search search_depth=basic | 36.5% | 20.09s | $8.001 credit · $0.008 PAYG | 63.04s | $0.61 | Official docs ↗ |
| 13 | Parallel turboparallel-turboPOST /v1/search mode=turbo | 34.7% | 5.08s | $1.00mode=turbo · 10 results | 46.40s | $0.42 | Official docs ↗ |
| 14 | Nimblesearch_depth=standard · full_content=false · focus=generalPOST /v2/search | 30.7% | 12.22s | $5.00search_depth=standard · full_content=false | 52.97s | $0.47 | Official docs ↗ |
| 15 | FirecrawlfirecrawlPOST /v2/search | 30.4% | 39.44s | $5.002 credits / 10 results | 74.98s | $0.28 | Official docs ↗ |
| 16 | Brave SearchbraveGET /res/v1/web/search | 28.0% | 7.60s | $5.00Recorded search-request rate; see official terms. | 43.52s | $0.27 | Official docs ↗ |
| 17 | TinyFishtinyfishGET api.search.tinyfish.ai | 26.6% | 27.34s | $0.0030 req/min cap | 64.24s | $0.21 | Official docs ↗ |
| 18 | Nimblesearch_depth=lite · full_content=false · focus=generalPOST /v2/search | 24.1% | 34.43s | $1.10search_depth=lite · full_content=false | 67.17s | $0.22 | Official docs ↗ |
| 19 | Seltzseltz-companiesPOST /v1/search scope=companies | 14.5% | 8.98s | $5.00Recorded search-request rate; see official terms. | 55.16s | $1.75 | Official docs ↗ |
| 20 | SERP (RapidAPI)serpGET google-search74.p.rapidapi.com | 0.4% | 2.93s | $3.00Pro overage $0.003/request | 31.38s | $0.10 | Official docs ↗ |
Choose the best search API for deep research agents
Deep research agents need more than one search
This ranking uses search results. The agent may refine the query and combine results before answering. F1 scores the company set, so a deep research search API is judged on finding the matching companies and limiting the ones that do not match.
Why a one-search winner can move
A configuration that returns one answer-bearing passage can rank differently when the task is a set of companies with several constraints. Use a single-question search comparison for one factual answer. Use this page when the agent is doing deep research across multiple searches.
Search time and full research time
Mean search time is one API call. Median task time is the research run, including follow-up searches and the model. A fast first call can still lead to a long run if the agent needs more evidence. Read both next to F1 and median task cost.
How to trial a search API for deep research
Hold the agent, tool budget and questions fixed. Swap only the search API. Inspect which searches the agent issued and whether the cited URLs came back in those results. Then rerun a sample of your own research briefs before choosing a provider.
Benchmark method and source data
Mean F1 on 45 company-discovery questions with multiple constraints. The same agent can search more than once and combine search results. F1 balances precision and recall. This board uses search results. Search latency and total task latency are shown separately. Each row is one measured configuration. Missing measurements appear as a dash.
Open benchmark code ↗ · Public dataset sample ↗ · All benchmark methods →
Common questions
What is the best search API for deep research agents?
Best search API for deep research agents by F1: Parallel basic, 46.5% at $5.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: SERP (RapidAPI), 2.93s. 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 combine search results. F1 balances precision and recall. This board uses search results. 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.
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