The best search APIs, according to hackers
12 search APIs were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 4 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended search APIs with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Strong general web search for agents
People recommend it as a strong semantic search API for agents, with a free tier. Its most common caveat is weak coverage of the latest news.
Generous free monthly tier
A web search API with a free monthly tier that people use to give AI models and apps search results; critics say it gets expensive at high volume.
Good search quality
People recommend it for good search quality and compelling pricing; the main caveat is slow responses and unclear terms around data logging.
All 12 search APIs, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exa | 33 | 9 | 79% | 10 | — | Approved |
| 2 | SerpApi | 16 | 10 | 62% | 8 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | Brave Search API | 15 | 3 | 83% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Tied 3 | DeepSeek search API | 15 | 7 | 68% | 1 | — | — |
| 5 | Parallel Search API | 12 | 6 | 67% | 4 | — | Approved |
| 6 | Kagi Search API | 10 | 3 | 77% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 7 | Tavily | 9 | 1 | 90% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 8 | Linkup search API | 7 | 1 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 8 | Keenable | 7 | 3 | 70% | 3 | — | — |
| 10 | Algolia | 6 | 8 | 43% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Google Custom Search API | 5 | 8 | 38% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Octen web search API | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same search API in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to search APIs that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.