AI search API pricing is confusing. Some charge per query, others per 1,000 queries. Some have batch discounts, others don't. Some charge extra for content extraction, others bundle it in.
We broke down the true cost of every major AI search API so you can make an informed decision based on your actual usage patterns.
Base Pricing Comparison
| Provider | Price per 1K Queries | Free Tier | Cheapest Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keiro | $0.50 | 300 credits | $15/mo (5K credits) |
| Brave Search | $1.00 | 2K queries/mo | $3/mo |
| You.com | $2.50 | 100 queries/mo | $100/mo |
| SerpAPI | $2.50 | 100 queries/mo | $50/mo |
| Exa | $3.00 | 1K queries/mo | $20/mo |
| Tavily | $4.00 | 1K queries/mo | Free (limited) |
| Firecrawl | $5.00 | 500 credits | $19/mo |
Total Cost at Scale
Here's what you'll actually pay at different usage levels:
| Monthly Volume | Keiro | Exa | Tavily | Firecrawl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10K queries | $5 | $30 | $40 | $50 |
| 50K queries | $25 | $150 | $200 | $250 |
| 100K queries | $50 | $300 | $400 | $500 |
| 500K queries | $250 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| 1M queries | $500 | $3,000 | $4,000 | $5,000 |
At 1 million queries per month, Keiro saves $2,500–$4,500 compared to alternatives. That's the difference between a search API being a rounding error in your infrastructure budget versus a significant line item.
Hidden Costs Most People Miss
Content Extraction
If you need page content (not just snippets), some APIs charge extra. With Exa and Tavily, you typically need separate content extraction calls. Keiro bundles search + content extraction in one endpoint (/search/content) for 1.5 credits.
Batch Processing
Need to process datasets? Keiro offers async batch processing for up to 10,000 queries per job at the standard credit rate. Most competitors don't offer batch at all — you'd need to manage rate limiting and retries yourself.
Rate Limit Overages
Keiro uses a token bucket rate limiter with burst support. Other APIs hard-cut at the limit, potentially dropping requests during traffic spikes.
Feature-Adjusted Cost
Price per query only tells half the story. Here's what you get per dollar:
| Feature | Keiro | Exa | Tavily |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search endpoints | 4 speed tiers | 1 | 1 |
| Content extraction | 3 modes | Basic | Basic |
| RAG chunking | Built-in | No | No |
| Batch processing | 10K/job | No | No |
| Fastest response | 100ms | 1s | 1s |
Which API Should You Choose?
- Budget-conscious teams → Keiro. The math is simple: 6–10x cheaper with more features.
- Semantic search purists → Exa. Better neural search quality, but you pay for it.
- LangChain-only teams → Tavily for convenience, Keiro for savings.
- Heavy crawling needs → Firecrawl for known URLs, Keiro for search + extract.
For most AI applications in 2026, Keiro offers the best price-to-performance ratio in the market.