# Tavily vs Brave One question. Two sets of sources. We searched for PostgreSQL 18 async I/O documentation through both APIs. Tavily led with Better Stack; Brave led with PostgreSQL release notes. One question through each API. The source order and text reflect the tested request. Provider in the worked example: Tavily and Brave. Price shown for this route: 3.5¢ per search. ## Choose the search access you need. Tavily and Brave are both available through TaskFuel. Their own accounts include free monthly credits and cost less per basic request at today’s published rates. Prices checked on 5 November 2026. | Option | Price and billing | Strength | Good to know | Available through TaskFuel | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Tavily (Direct provider account) | $0.008 / basic search. Provider credits. One credit per basic search. 1,000 free credits each month. | Source excerpts and the provider’s SDKs, with 1,000 free monthly credits. | A separate account and key. Advanced search uses two credits. | No | | Brave (Direct provider account) | $0.005 / search. Prepaid provider credits. Search plan: $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in monthly free credits. A card is required. | An independent web index, with $5 in Search credits each month. | A separate account and card. This row covers Search rather than the Answers product. | No | | Tavily (Through TaskFuel) | $0.09 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. Basic depth, up to five results, without a generated answer or full page text. | Five results with query-focused excerpts and relevance scores in our test. | Basic depth only in this test. The first result was a community guide. | Yes | | Brave (Through TaskFuel) | $0.035 / search. Per request from your TaskFuel balance. US English search requesting five web results. | Five web results, plus separate discussion and video sections in our test. | Different result sections use different response fields. This request did not return full page text. | Yes | - [Tavily: provider reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits). Checked 2026-11-05. - [Brave: provider reference](https://brave.com/search/api/). Checked 2026-11-05. - [Tavily: provider reference](https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits). Checked 2026-11-05. - [Brave: provider reference](https://brave.com/search/api/). Checked 2026-11-05. ## What it can do ### Search with Tavily Return titles, URLs, source excerpts and relevance scores. Our request used basic depth and five results. Price: $0.09 / search. ### Search with Brave Return web results from Brave’s own index. Our response also contained separate discussion and video sections. Price: $0.035 / search. ## A real example Tested on 2026-11-05 through Tavily and Brave. Each returned five web results. The first source differed, while Better Stack and Neon appeared in both. Your agent asked: Find PostgreSQL 18 async I/O documentation through both APIs Returned in this test: - Tavily first: Better Stack’s PostgreSQL 18 asynchronous I/O guide - Brave first: PostgreSQL 18 release notes - In both: Better Stack and Neon - Per search: $0.09 for Tavily; $0.035 for Brave Charged in this test: $0.125. One question, one request per API. This sample does not establish general search quality or speed. ## 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. Exact Tavily request used for the comparison. Brave received the same question with count 5, country US and search_lang en. ```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://tavily.mpp.paywithlocus.com/tavily/search", "method": "POST", "body": { "query": "PostgreSQL 18 async I/O documentation", "search_depth": "basic", "max_results": 5, "include_answer": false, "include_raw_content": false }, "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 data.results for Tavily. Brave web results are in data.web.results; discussions and videos are separate. [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 ### Read the passages returned. Your agent reads Tavily’s source excerpts and scores for the question. ### Read Brave’s web results. Your agent reads Brave’s ranked web results and can inspect the separate discussion section. ### See which sources overlap. Your agent compares the sources returned by each API before opening the pages it needs. ## Questions ### Do I need Tavily or Brave accounts? No. Your agent pays from your TaskFuel balance, so there is nothing else to sign up for. ### How much did the comparison cost? The two requests cost $0.125 in total on 5 November 2026: $0.09 for Tavily and $0.035 for Brave. Your agent shows the price for your own request before it pays. ### Which returned the official documentation first? Brave returned PostgreSQL release notes first. Tavily returned a Better Stack guide first and also included a PostgreSQL feature page. That is the result of this one question. ### When is a direct provider account cheaper? At the published rates checked for this page, Tavily basic search is $0.008 after free credits and Brave Search is $0.005. Their free monthly allowances can cover a small single-provider workflow. ### Does this compare search speed? This test compares returned sources, fields and billed prices. It does not establish a latency benchmark. ## Related tool guides - [Compare Tavily alternatives](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/tavily-alternative/) - [Compare Brave Search API alternatives](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/brave-search-api-alternative/) - [Read the full page after a search](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/extract-webpage/) ## Reference - [Read this guide on the website](https://taskfuel.ai/tools/tavily-vs-brave/). - [Browse providers and capabilities](https://taskfuel.ai/catalog/). - [Pricing](https://taskfuel.ai/pricing/). - [Agent instructions](https://taskfuel.ai/llms.txt).