# Brave Search API

15 Hacker News commenters recommended Brave Search API and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** 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.

## Why people recommend it

- Generous free monthly tier (4 comments): "has a generous free search tier for their api makes me think it's possible to replace Google search" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47185659)) "I will stick with the Brave Search API which gives you $5 free every month" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49404000)) "Brave Search's API has a free tier (1000 searches per month)." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48942632))
- Works well with AI tools (3 comments): "the search they provide (similar to Exa, Tavily) is what makes an "OK LLM" become super smart" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48558363)) "It works well if you connect it the Brave Search API" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48780356)) "it works great with OpenClaw" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46967996))
- Preferred over Exa and alternatives (3 comments): "really great and imo a better experience than Exa" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49963644)) "Exa and tavily #1, brave #2, searx last" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50139972)) "the Brave one is the one I use" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50129516))

## What people warn about

- Expensive at high volume (2 comments): "it might cost you a lot of money (using the brave api)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46418169)) "The issue is that it's expensive." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50139295))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Exa](https://hackerapproved.com/p/exa.md): 33 recommend
- [SerpApi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/serpapi.md): 16 recommend
- [DeepSeek search API](https://hackerapproved.com/p/deepseek-search-and-fetch.md): 15 recommend
- [Kagi Search API](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kagi-search-api.md): 10 recommend
- [Tavily](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tavily.md): 9 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://brave.com/search/api/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Brave Search API", https://hackerapproved.com/p/brave-search-api/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).