1¢ per search

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.

One TaskFuel account and prepaid balance. Connect your agent and it shows the price before it pays.

Start for FreeCompare the options
No card required
Works with

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.
OptionPrice & billingChoose it forGood to knowAvailable through TaskFuel
ExaDirect provider accountProvider reference$7 / 1,000 searchesDirect provider pay-as-you-go creditsAuto 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
ExaVia StableEnrich$0.01 / searchPer request from your TaskFuel balanceAuto 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
TavilyVia Orthogonal$0.01 / searchPer request from your TaskFuel balanceBasic 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 SearchVia Locus$0.035 / searchPer request from your TaskFuel balanceFive web results, US English.An independent index with snippets. Five web results in our test.Its response nests results under data.web.results.Yes
SerperVia Orthogonal$0.002 / searchPer request from your TaskFuel balanceFive Google results requested, US English.Google rankings. Our query had no domain restriction.Titles and snippets only.Yes

Exa alternative: what your agent gets.

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.

  • Exa search

    Restrict sources to a named domain. Our call found official PostgreSQL command references.

    $0.01 / search
  • Tavily search

    Excerpts from each source. Our basic-depth call returned five.

    $0.01 / search
  • Serper search

    Google rankings for the same query.

    $0.002 / search

Official documentation search, tested.

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.

TaskFuel test run ·

Charged $0.01

Your agent asked

Find official PostgreSQL 17 incremental backup references on postgresql.org
Data from
Exa via StableEnrich

What came back

Results returned
5 links on postgresql.org
First reference
PostgreSQL 17: pg_basebackup
Second reference
PostgreSQL 17: pg_combinebackup

One domain-restricted search. All five returned URLs were on postgresql.org.

Try it in your next task.

Sign in to TaskFuel and connect your existing agent. Ask it to find sources on a named domain and show the price before it makes the paid request.

01

Name the task

Tell your agent what the output needs to contain.

02

See the price

Your agent shows the provider and price before spending.

03

Review the response

Check the output against your task. The call reports its cost and remaining balance.

When to use it.

Official API or product docs

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.

Broader research

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.

Handing off to a reader

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.

See it in a task.

Good 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.

Your agent can do things it couldn’t this morning.

$1 in free credit, no card required.

Start for Free