# Exa alternative Find the source your answer needs. Use Exa for a domain-focused search or choose another engine for broader results. Compare the controls and request prices, with Exa included through TaskFuel. Tavily, Exa and Brave were each tested once with the same PostgreSQL query. Only Exa was limited to postgresql.org. Serper’s price is for the same query. Provider in the worked example: Exa via StableEnrich. Price shown for this route: 1¢ per search. ## Compare Exa and its alternatives. TaskFuel includes Exa alongside the other providers below. A direct Exa account is listed for comparison. We publish this comparison and sell access through TaskFuel. Prices as of 30 October 2026. Every TaskFuel price is for one search on the same PostgreSQL query, with the controls named in its row. | Option | Price and billing | Strength | Good to know | Available through TaskFuel | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Exa (Direct provider account) | $7 / 1,000 searches. Direct provider pay-as-you-go credits. Auto search, up to 10 results. Lite: $4/1,000. Free: $10/month plus a $10 onboarding bonus. | Use Exa’s own account for its search modes, SDKs and direct usage controls. | Auto, Lite and Deep have different rates. Results beyond the included count and AI summaries can add cost. | No | | Exa (Via StableEnrich) | $0.01 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Auto mode, five results, postgresql.org only. | Restrict sources to a named domain. Our call found official PostgreSQL command references. | The domain filter limits coverage to postgresql.org. This request returns titles and URLs; fetch page text separately. | Yes | | Tavily (Via Orthogonal) | $0.01 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Basic depth, five results. | Excerpts from each source. Our basic-depth call returned five sources. | Without a domain filter it mixed community pages with the official release notes. | Yes | | Brave Search (Via Locus) | $0.035 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Five web results, US English. | An independent index with snippets. Five web results in our test. | Its response nests results under data.web.results. | Yes | | Serper (Via Orthogonal) | $0.002 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Five Google results requested, US English. | Google rankings. Our query had no domain restriction. | Titles and snippets only. | Yes | - [Exa: provider reference](https://exa.ai/pricing). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Exa: provider reference](https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Tavily: provider reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-reference/endpoint/search). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Brave Search: provider reference](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation/web-search). Checked 2026-10-30. - [Serper: provider reference](https://serper.dev/). Checked 2026-10-30. ## What it can do ### Exa search Restrict sources to a named domain. Our call found official PostgreSQL command references. Price: $0.01 / search. ### Tavily search Excerpts from each source. Our basic-depth call returned five. Price: $0.01 / search. ### Serper search Google rankings for the same query. Price: $0.002 / search. ## A real example Tested on 2026-10-30 through Exa via StableEnrich. We asked Exa for PostgreSQL 17 incremental-backup documentation, restricted to postgresql.org. It returned five links, led by the official pg_basebackup and pg_combinebackup references. Your agent asked: Find official PostgreSQL 17 incremental backup references on postgresql.org Returned in this test: - Results returned: 5 links on postgresql.org - First reference: PostgreSQL 17: pg_basebackup - Second reference: PostgreSQL 17: pg_combinebackup - Source URL: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/17/app-pgbasebackup.html Charged in this test: $0.01. One domain-restricted search. All five returned URLs were on postgresql.org. ## 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 domain-filtered test. A different domain list, result count or content option 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://stableenrich.dev/api/exa/search", "method": "POST", "body": { "query": "PostgreSQL 17 incremental backup documentation", "type": "auto", "numResults": 5, "includeDomains": [ "postgresql.org" ] }, "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 Read results[].title and results[].url. This request omitted contents, so it returned references rather than the full documents. resolvedSearchType was empty in the response. The provider-reported costDollars is separate from the TaskFuel charge on the receipt. [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 ### Search inside the authoritative domain. Use a domain restriction when your answer needs a specific publisher. Our example checks the returned URLs rather than treating a search score as proof. ### Compare excerpts with references. Tavily’s example includes source excerpts from a wider set of sites. Choose it when you need text to review before opening the full pages. ### Get links now, read pages later. Our request omitted contents, so Exa returned references rather than full documents: titles and URLs for an agent to open next. ## Questions ### Can I use Exa itself through TaskFuel? Yes. Your agent pays from your TaskFuel balance, so there is nothing else to sign up for. You can also choose Tavily, Brave or Serper from the same balance. ### What is the difference between Exa direct and Exa through TaskFuel? With a direct Exa account you pay Exa’s own rates and manage your own API key. Through TaskFuel your agent pays from your TaskFuel balance, and our test search cost $0.01 on 30 October 2026. Your agent shows the price for your own request before it pays. ### Can Exa restrict a search to one domain? Yes. We restricted our test search to postgresql.org and received five URLs on that domain. Your agent can check which filters a tool supports before it searches. ### Did this search retrieve the full documents? No page text was requested. The response returned titles and URLs. Fetch the selected source if the next step needs its full text. ### Is Exa always faster or more accurate than the alternatives? This example compares one result set and its charge. The providers received different controls. Choose with representative queries from your own workload. ### Can I switch from Exa to Tavily or Brave per search? Yes. The balance is shared, but the fields differ: Exa returns results[] with titles and URLs, while Brave nests results under data.web.results. Your agent adapts to each and shows the price before it pays. ## Related tool guides - [Send one question to Exa and Tavily and compare the results](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/exa-vs-tavily/) - [See every search API in one guide](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/web-search-api-for-llm/) - [Compare Tavily alternatives with source excerpts](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/tavily-alternative/) - [Compare Brave Search API alternatives for broader web results](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/brave-search-api-alternative/) - [Compare extraction routes for the pages you find](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/firecrawl-alternative/) - [Compare Google Custom Search API alternatives for one-site search](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/google-custom-search-api-alternative/) ## Reference - [Read this guide on the website](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/exa-alternative/). - [Browse providers and capabilities](https://taskfuel.ai/catalog/). - [Pricing](https://taskfuel.ai/pricing/). - [Agent instructions](https://taskfuel.ai/llms.txt).