Linkup search API
Shares rank 8 of 12 search APIs by recommenders
Developers recommend it as a search API with raw results, a separate markdown fetch endpoint, and zero data retention. Caveat: one critic objected to broad rights over client data.
Developers recommend it as a search API with raw results, a separate markdown fetch endpoint, and zero data retention. Caveat: one critic objected to broad rights over client data.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 3 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: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Zero data retention and GDPR compliance
“guarantees GDPR-compliance and zero data retention, easy to integrate with Agents”
Comment from 6 Oct 2026 in “Web Search API” “Linkup: no retention on request.”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “DeepSeek search and fetch – $0.75 per 1000 successful requests”
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 | — | — |
| Linkup search APIThis page | 7 | 1 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“passed through a quite strict compliance process at a few of our customers”
“Linkup: no retention on request.”
“some of our customers that prioritize quality over cost, they go with dedicated providers like LinkUp”
“guarantees GDPR-compliance and zero data retention, easy to integrate with Agents”
“search returns raw results, no summaries, and there's a separate fetch endpoint that returns the full page as markdown”
“I’ve since paid for a search API(linkup, exa, and valyu)”
“Client grants Linkup a worldwide right to use, reproduce and modify the Client Data, including prompts”
“Linkup [4], if you like Google-style results, but more about intent and less about keyword matching”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.