---
title: "Best Web Search API for Grounding, Independently Benchmarked (2026): Search Accuracy, Speed & Cost"
description: "Best web search API for grounding by accuracy: Exa fast, 99.3% at $7.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: Exa instant, 398ms. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits."
url: https://openbenchmarks.com/web-search/best-web-search-api-for-grounding
---

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

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

Independent comparison · 2026

# Best Web Search API for Grounding (2026): Search Accuracy, Speed & Cost

Best web search API for grounding by accuracy: Exa fast, 99.3% at $7.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: Exa instant, 398ms. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits.

Compare **11 providers**, including Exa, Tavily, Brave, Parallel and Firecrawl, across **17 configurations** on **300 questions**. Compare web search APIs for grounding, ranked by whether search results support the correct answer.

## Best by accuracy

[Exa fast](#exa-fast) 

Accuracy

99.3%

Mean search time

652ms

Search price / 1,000 queries

$7.00

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

[Exa instant](#exa-instant) 

Accuracy

97.7%

Mean search time

398ms

Search price / 1,000 queries

$7.00

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-search) 

Accuracy

92.0%

Mean search time

2.62s

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 17 configurations →](#results) · [Open benchmark code ↗](https://github.com/openbenchmarks-labs/factual-lookup-company-news-search) · [Public dataset sample ↗](https://huggingface.co/datasets/openbenchmarks/OB-News-Websearch) 

Updated 21 October 2026. Last measured 21 October 2026.

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

## Best web search API for grounding

Search accuracy on 300 company-news questions. Every API receives the same query. Accuracy is whether the results support the correct answer. Mean search time is the search request. This page orders the comparison by accuracy. Prices are the benchmark-recorded rate basis, with the same configurations used for the quality results.

__300 questions · 17 configurations · ordered by accuracy__
| Rank | Provider & configuration | Accuracy | Mean search time | Recorded $ / 1,000 queries | Mean snippet tokens | Official docs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Exa fast type=fast /search | **99.3%** | 652ms | [$7.00](https://exa.ai/pricing?tab=api) type=fast · up to 10 results | 1,987 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/search) |
| 2 | Context numResults=10 · highlights maxCharacters=1200 api.context.dev/v1/web/search | **98.0%** | 15.93s | [$4.40](https://www.context.dev/pricing) 2 credits / 10 results with Highlights · $2.20 per 1,000 credits | 1,972 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.context.dev/search/overview) |
| 3 | Exa instant type=instant /search | **97.7%** | 398ms | [$7.00](https://exa.ai/pricing?tab=api) type=instant · up to 10 results | 2,128 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/search) |
| 4 | Perplexity low search\_context\_size=low /search | **97.3%** | 1.38s | [$5.00](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing) Search API · POST /search | 476 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.perplexity.ai/api-reference/search-post) |
| 5 | Linkup fast depth=fast · outputType=searchResults /v1/search | **96.7%** | 1.57s | [$5.00](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing) depth=fast · searchResults | 3,022 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/search/overview) |
| 6 | SERP limit=10 google-search74.p.rapidapi.com | **96.0%** | 751ms | [$3.00](https://rapidapi.com/herosAPI/api/google-search74/pricing) Pro overage $0.003/request | 497 | [Official docs ↗](https://rapidapi.com/herosAPI/api/google-search74) |
| 7 | Firecrawl firecrawl-search /v2/search | **95.3%** | 510ms | [$5.00](https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing) 2 credits / 10 results | 678 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.firecrawl.dev/api-reference/endpoint/search) |
| 8 | Nimble lite search\_depth=lite · full\_content=false · focus=general /v2/search | **94.3%** | 2.46s | [$1.10](https://www.nimbleway.com/pricing) search\_depth=lite · full\_content=false | 860 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.nimbleway.com/api-reference/search/search) |
| 9 | Brave Search llm-context count=10 /res/v1/llm/context | **94.0%** | 601ms | [$5.00](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/pricing) Search plan · LLM Context | 2,064 | [Official docs ↗](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/services/llm-context) |
| 10 | Brave Search web count=10 · result\_filter=web /res/v1/web/search | **93.3%** | 630ms | [$5.00](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/pricing) Recorded search-request rate; see official terms. | 817 | [Official docs ↗](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/services/web-search) |
| 11 | Nimble standard search\_depth=standard · full\_content=false · focus=general /v2/search | **93.0%** | 861ms | [$5.00](https://www.nimbleway.com/pricing) search\_depth=standard · full\_content=false | 2,730 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.nimbleway.com/api-reference/search/search) |
| 12 | Tavily advanced search\_depth=advanced /search | **93.0%** | 4.29s | [$16.00](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits) 2 credits · $0.008 PAYG | 2,210 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search) |
| 13 | Linkup standard depth=standard · outputType=searchResults /v1/search | **92.0%** | 2.55s | [$5.00](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing) depth=standard · searchResults | 2,983 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/search/overview) |
| 14 | TinyFish free · 30 req/min cap api.search.tinyfish.ai | **92.0%** | 2.62s | [$0.00](https://www.tinyfish.ai/pricing) 30 req/min cap | 441 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.tinyfish.ai/search-api) |
| 15 | You highlights core extraction\_mode=highlights · knowledge=core /v1/search | **92.0%** | 889ms | [$5.00](https://you.com/docs/administration/billing) highlights · knowledge=core · same Web Search price assumption | 2,862 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.you.com/) |
| 16 | You highlights extraction\_mode=highlights /v1/search | **90.7%** | 628ms | [$5.00](https://you.com/docs/administration/billing) highlights included in Web Search | 2,837 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.you.com/) |
| 17 | Tavily basic search\_depth=basic /search | **87.7%** | 1.88s | [$8.00](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits) 1 credit · $0.008 PAYG | 1,639 | [Official docs ↗](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search) |

## Choose the best web search API for grounding

### Grounding starts with an answer-bearing result

Accuracy means the search results support the correct answer to a current company-news question. That is the retrieval evidence for grounding an LLM answer. The model that writes the final sentence is held out of the rank; you still need to score your own answer format.

### Keep the source with the passage

A grounded answer needs the URL, title and passage that support each claim. Pass those into the prompt as citations and check the claim against the cited passage. A high search score is the retrieval step. Chunk choice and the answer model still change the final text.

### Latency of the search versus latency of the answer

Mean search time is the API call that returns the grounding evidence. The user-visible answer also includes prompt construction and generation. Choose a configuration that clears your accuracy bar, then compare search time and price per 1,000 queries inside that set.

### Evaluate grounding on your own questions

Build a set with fresh facts, missing evidence and conflicting pages. Keep the answer model fixed and swap the search API. Score retrieval support and final-answer support separately. The company-news questions here are one public factual task, not a substitute for your domain.

## Benchmark method and source data

Search accuracy on 300 company-news questions. Every API receives the same query. Accuracy is whether the results support the correct answer. Mean search time is the search request. This page orders the comparison by accuracy. Each row is one measured configuration. Missing measurements appear as a dash.

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

[View the company-news search benchmark →](https://openbenchmarks.com/company-news) 

## Common questions

### What is the best web search API for grounding?

Best web search API for grounding by accuracy: Exa fast, 99.3% at $7.00/1,000 queries. Fastest: Exa instant, 398ms. Cheapest: TinyFish, $0.00/1,000 queries within free-tier limits.

### Which benchmark does the main ranking use?

Search accuracy on 300 company-news questions. Every API receives the same query. Accuracy is whether the results support the correct answer. Mean search time is the search request. This page orders the comparison by accuracy.

### 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 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 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)