Kagi Search API
Hacker ApprovedRanked 6 of 12 search APIs by recommenders
People building agents and tools like the pay-as-you-go search API for its fairness and reliable MCP integration, though some find it pricey and its terms unclear.
People building agents and tools like the pay-as-you-go search API for its fairness and reliable MCP integration, though some find it pricey and its terms unclear.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 77%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Pay only for what you use
“Paying for only what you use for API is the most fair way to do it.”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Kagi Translate Is Back” “found its cheap enough not to matter to me at all”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “GLM 5.2 and the coming AI margin collapse” Works well in agents and MCP
“I use Kagi's search API with my agents, including their summarizer, and it has been great!”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Back to Kagi” “I built their search into my Home Assistant MCP toolbox, and couldn’t be happier.”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Web Search API” “The API via search and extract MCP works really well.”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Web Search API”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Prohibitively priced for some users
“Makes me wish the Kagi API was available and not prohibitively priced”
Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “Kagi Assistants” Unclear terms for MCP use
“MCP use is always by an LLM, so this seems to be at odds with their TOS.”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “DeepSeek search and fetch – $0.75 per 1000 successful requests” Credit balance did not reset
“it did not reset, I am still on $4.98”
Comment from 22 Aug 2026 in “Kagi added a setting for removing paywalled links from search results”
Other search APIs people recommend
The four most recommended other search APIs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exa | 33 | 9 | 79% | 10 | — | Approved |
| SerpApi | 16 | 10 | 62% | 8 | — | — |
| Brave Search API | 15 | 3 | 83% | 7 | — | Approved |
| DeepSeek search API | 15 | 7 | 68% | 1 | — | — |
| Kagi Search APIThis page | 10 | 3 | 77% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
11 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“MCP use is always by an LLM, so this seems to be at odds with their TOS.”
“The API via search and extract MCP works really well.”
“I built their search into my Home Assistant MCP toolbox, and couldn’t be happier.”
“I've been quite satisfied with Kagi”
“Paying for only what you use for API is the most fair way to do it.”
“it did not reset, I am still on $4.98”
“I use Kagi's search API with my agents, including their summarizer, and it has been great!”
“still experimental but it does work”
“found its cheap enough not to matter to me at all”
“I'm looking forward to have a more extensive Kagi API”
“Makes me wish the Kagi API was available and not prohibitively priced”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.