# Brave Search API alternative Choose the index behind your search. Use Brave through TaskFuel or choose another search engine per request. Compare independent-index results, Google rankings and source excerpts from one balance. Brave, Tavily and Exa were each tested once with the same PostgreSQL query. Serper’s price is for the same query. Provider in the worked example: Brave via Locus. Price shown for this route: 3.5¢ per search. ## Compare Brave Search and its alternatives. TaskFuel includes Brave Search alongside the other providers below. A direct Brave plan is listed for comparison. We publish this comparison and sell access through TaskFuel. Prices dated 30 October 2026. TaskFuel rows price one search on the same PostgreSQL query, in US English for Brave. | Option | Price and billing | Strength | Good to know | Available through TaskFuel | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Brave Search (Direct provider account) | $5 / 1,000 requests. Direct provider prepaid credits. Search plan. Free monthly credits: $5. Answers has separate request and token pricing. | Use Brave’s own Search plan with a dedicated API key and direct account controls. | The Search plan and Answers product have different billing. Compare the direct credit allowance with this tool’s per-request price. | No | | Brave Search (Via Locus) | $0.035 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Five web results, US English. | Web results and snippets from an independent index. Five web results returned in our test. | The wrapper nests results under data.web.results. The official documentation link it returned points to the current docs version. | Yes | | Tavily (Via Orthogonal) | $0.01 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Basic depth, five results. | Excerpts from each source, five in our test. | Mixed community pages with the official release notes. Generated answers and raw content were off. | Yes | | Exa (Via StableEnrich) | $0.01 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Auto mode, five results, postgresql.org only. | Limits results to named domains. Ours stayed on postgresql.org. | Returned titles and URLs only. | Yes | | Serper (Via Orthogonal) | $0.002 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Five Google results requested, US English. | Google rankings to set beside Brave’s index. | Titles and snippets, not full pages. | Yes | - [Brave Search: provider reference](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/plans). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Brave Search: provider reference](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation/web-search). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Tavily: provider reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Exa: provider reference](https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Serper: provider reference](https://serper.dev/). Checked 2026-10-30. ## What it can do ### Brave Search search Web results and snippets from an independent index. Five web results returned in our test. Price: $0.035 / search. ### Tavily search Excerpts from each source. Five in our test. Price: $0.01 / search. ### Exa search Domain-limited results. Five on postgresql.org. Price: $0.01 / search. ## A real example Tested on 2026-10-30 through Brave via Locus. We searched Brave for PostgreSQL 17 incremental-backup documentation. The response contained five web results with snippets, plus separate discussion and video sections. Its official documentation link pointed to the current release. Your agent asked: Search the web for PostgreSQL 17 incremental backup documentation Returned in this test: - Web results returned: 5 results with snippets - Official reference: pg_basebackup, current documentation - Version in returned title: PostgreSQL 18 - Source: Open PostgreSQL’s current guide Charged in this test: $0.035. One US-English search. The official link was fourth, and its title said PostgreSQL 18. ## Try the API request Use your TaskFuel API key as TASKFUEL_API_KEY in your terminal or server. Keep it out of browser code. ### 1. Check the price This request checks the price without paying. These are the exact inputs of the US-English test. A different result count or country can change the price, so quote it first. ```sh curl --fail-with-body https://app.taskfuel.ai/v1/call \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $TASKFUEL_API_KEY" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ --data-binary @- <<'TASKFUEL_REQUEST' { "url": "https://brave.mpp.paywithlocus.com/brave/web-search", "method": "POST", "body": { "q": "PostgreSQL 17 incremental backup documentation", "count": 5, "country": "US", "search_lang": "en" }, "dryRun": true } TASKFUEL_REQUEST ``` ### 2. Run the request Review amount_usd in the quote. To pay and run, change dryRun to false and add maxAmountUsd with that approved amount inside the same JSON object. Keep the inputs unchanged; this limit applies to one call. ### 3. Read the result The Locus response wraps web results in data.web.results. Read title, url and description there; separate discussion and video results are not part of the five web results. Some descriptions contain HTML entities and strong tags. [Setup and API reference](https://taskfuel.ai/docs/) · [Job polling and timeout recovery](https://app.taskfuel.ai/using.md) ## Connect your agent Read the [setup guide](https://taskfuel.ai/docs/setup/) and choose the connection your agent supports. Use one TaskFuel account and prepaid balance. Inspect the provider and request quote before a paid call, then review the returned response and recorded charge. ## When to use it ### Choose the source of the rankings. Brave and Google-backed Serper return different result sets. Use the index that finds the sources your task needs rather than assuming their rankings match. ### Results can point to a newer version. Our Brave result set included a current-docs link for a query about version 17. ### See discussions and videos beside web results. Brave’s response held five web results with snippets, plus separate discussion and video sections. ## Questions ### Is Brave Search included through TaskFuel? Yes. Your agent pays from your TaskFuel balance, so there is nothing else to sign up for. Serper, Tavily and Exa are other providers it can select from the same balance. ### Is the Brave Search API free? Brave’s Search plan includes a $5 monthly credit allowance and a $5-per-1,000-request rate, checked 30 October 2026. This TaskFuel tool has separate pricing and does not use your direct Brave credits. ### Why does the TaskFuel price differ from Brave’s direct price? TaskFuel prices this tool per request, and our test search cost $0.035 on 30 October 2026. The direct provider plan is shown for context, and its lower unit rate may suit a Brave-only application. Your agent shows the price for your own request before it pays. ### Is this a Google Search API alternative? Brave uses its own index. Serper provides a Google-results tool. Different indexes can return different pages and rankings for the same words. ### How does the Brave response differ from the direct API? This tool returns results inside a data section and may add separate discussion or video sections. Your agent picks out the web titles, URLs and descriptions. ### Do snippets replace reading the source? No. In our test the query named PostgreSQL 17, but the official current-docs result’s title said PostgreSQL 18. ### Can I use Brave and the other providers in one task? Yes. One balance covers Brave, Serper, Tavily and Exa, and each call is priced separately. Their response shapes differ, so your agent reads each one on its own terms. ## Related tool guides - [Compare Brave with Tavily](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/tavily-vs-brave/) - [See every search API in one guide](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/web-search-api-for-llm/) - [Compare Tavily alternatives for research excerpts](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/tavily-alternative/) - [Compare Exa alternatives for domain-focused search](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/exa-alternative/) - [Compare SerpApi alternatives for Google results](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/serpapi-alternative/) - [Compare Google Custom Search API alternatives](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/google-custom-search-api-alternative/) ## Reference - [Read this guide on the website](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/brave-search-api-alternative/). - [Browse providers and capabilities](https://taskfuel.ai/catalog/). - [Pricing](https://taskfuel.ai/pricing/). - [Agent instructions](https://taskfuel.ai/llms.txt).