Test
10,000 searches
$7.50
$0.75/1K searches
- Try every engine on your real queries
- Same API as the biggest pack
- Credits never expire
Quick answer
What is a good Tavily alternative when my agent needs real Google results?
Use a SERP API. SerpCrypto returns the Google or Bing results page as JSON, with organic results, People Also Ask and the AI Overview sources, for one credit per search: 100,000 searches cost $56.25 ($0.56/1K searches). Tavily, an AI search API, charged $7.50 per 1,000 basic searches on its Project plan on 22 October 2026. SerpCrypto needs no KYC and takes crypto.
Tavily on 22 October 2026
| What it is | An AI search API for agents, branded "Tavily by Nebius" |
|---|---|
| Plans | Free 1,000 credits a month; Project $30 for 4,000; Bootstrap $100 for 15,000; Startup $220 for 38,000; Growth $500 for 100,000 |
| Pay as you go | $0.008 per credit |
| Credits per search | Basic search 1 credit, advanced search 2 |
| Price per 1,000 basic searches | $7.50 on Project, $5.00 on Growth, $8.00 pay as you go |
| Credit reset | "Your API credits reset on the first day of each month" |
| Payment | Credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers; x402 at $0.01 per call in USDC on Base, no account |
| Ownership | Nebius announced an agreement to acquire Tavily on 10 February 2026; the value was not disclosed |
What is the difference between Tavily and a SERP API?
Tavily runs its own retrieval and returns results prepared for a language model. A SERP API returns the results page of a public search engine, exactly as that engine laid it out for a query, a place and a device.
The two answer different questions. An AI search API answers "what does the web say about this?" in a form a model can read. A SERP API answers "what does Google show for this?": which pages rank, in what order, which sources the AI Overview cites, which businesses sit in the map pack. If your agent reports rankings, checks a brand's visibility or cites what a person would see on Google, it needs the second answer.
How do AI search APIs and a SERP API compare on price?
List prices per 1,000 searches, read on each provider's own page. AI search APIs use their own index or retrieval; SerpCrypto returns Google and Bing pages.
| Provider | What it returns | Price per 1,000 | Crypto |
|---|---|---|---|
| SerpCrypto | Google and Bing results pages as JSON | $0.75/1K searches down to $0.30/1K searches | BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC |
| Tavily | AI search results from its own retrieval | $7.50 (Project) to $5.00 (Growth); $8.00 pay as you go | x402 USDC, $0.01 per call |
| Exa | Results from its own index | $4 lite, $7 auto | x402 USDC, $0.004–$0.015 per request |
| Brave Search API | Results from Brave's own index | $5 | Not stated; a card is required |
| You.com Web Search | Up to 100 results per call | $5 | x402 and MPP in USDC |
| Perplexity Search API | Results from its own index | $5 ($1 in fast mode) | Not stated |
| Linkup | Standard search | $5 | x402 USDC on Base |
Prices checked on
Sources at the bottom of the page. Credits, modes and extras differ: read each provider's page before deciding.
When should I keep Tavily?
Keep Tavily, or another AI search API, when the agent only needs relevant text and does not care where Google would rank it.
- Research agents that read and summarise many pages benefit from retrieval tuned for models.
- Agents that pay per call without an account can use Tavily's x402 option at $0.01 per call in USDC.
- Speed-sensitive chat may prefer Tavily's own latency claim of 180 ms at the median; we publish no speed figure until we have measured one.
The two kinds of tool can also work together: an AI search API for reading, and a SERP API for facts about Google itself.
When do Google's own results matter for an agent?
Google's page matters whenever the answer depends on Google, not on the web in general.
- Visibility questions: "does our page rank for this?", "who ranks above us in Germany?"
- AI Overview sources: which pages Google's overview cites, from
ai_overview.references. - Local answers: the businesses in the map pack for a query in a given city, from
local_results. - What a person would see: questions in People Also Ask, top stories, the knowledge panel.
- Rank data over time: positions you can store and compare day after day.
With SerpCrypto, each of these is one search and one credit, on Google or Bing.
import os
import requests
def google_context(query, gl="us", hl="en", max_results=5):
"""Search once and return a short text block a model can read."""
resp = requests.get(
"https://serpcrypto.com/api/v1/search",
headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + os.environ["SERPCRYPTO_API_KEY"]},
params={"engine": "google", "q": query, "gl": gl, "hl": hl},
timeout=60,
)
resp.raise_for_status()
data = resp.json()
lines = []
overview = data.get("ai_overview")
if overview:
cited = ", ".join(ref.get("link", "") for ref in overview.get("references", [])[:3])
lines.append("AI Overview cites: " + cited)
for r in data.get("organic_results", [])[:max_results]:
lines.append("[%d] %s | %s | %s" % (r["position"], r["title"], r["link"], r.get("snippet", "")))
for q in data.get("people_also_ask", [])[:3]:
lines.append("People also ask: " + q["question"])
return "\n".join(lines)
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(google_context("best project management tool for agencies"))
What does the Nebius deal change for Tavily users?
Nebius, an AI cloud company, announced an agreement to acquire Tavily in a press release dated 10 February 2026. The release says the transaction value was not disclosed and that Tavily will continue operating under its current brand. Tavily's pages now use the name "Tavily by Nebius".
For a user, nothing in the public pricing pages we read on 22 October 2026 points to a change of plans or terms. If supplier concentration is a concern for your agent, keeping a second search source, such as a SERP API, is a simple hedge.
How many credits does an agent need?
Count one search per tool call. An agent that searches 300 times a day needs about 9,000 searches a month, which 10,000 searches covers. Credits never expire, so quiet weeks cost nothing.
Starter
25,000 searches
$18.75
$0.75/1K searches
- A side project or an AI agent
- About 830 searches a day for a month
- Credits never expire
Build
100,000 searches
$56.25
$0.56/1K searches
- Daily rank tracking for 3,300 keywords
- One page per keyword per day for a month
- Credits never expire
Volume
1,000,000 searches
$375
$0.38/1K searches
- Large keyword sets and datasets
- Higher concurrency on request
- Credits never expire
In every plan: Every engine at 1 credit per search · Failed requests not charged · Credits never expire · Country, language, city and device targeting
Tavily alternative: common questions
Is SerpCrypto a replacement for Tavily?
For Google and Bing results, yes. For model-ready text from its own retrieval, no: that is what Tavily does. SerpCrypto returns the results page as JSON, and your code or model decides what to read next.
Can AI agents pay for Tavily in crypto?
Yes. Tavily's blog describes an x402 option at $0.01 per call in USDC on Base, with no account. SerpCrypto works differently: you top up a balance in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC from $25 and buy credits that never expire.
Do Tavily credits roll over?
No. Tavily's terms say API credits reset on the first day of each month. SerpCrypto credits never expire.
Can I use SerpCrypto with MCP like Tavily?
Yes, through a small MCP server you run yourself. The MCP page has the code for Claude Desktop, Cursor and other MCP clients, and the LangChain page has a tool definition.
Who owns Tavily?
Nebius announced an agreement to acquire Tavily on 10 February 2026, with the value not disclosed. Tavily's pages now say "Tavily by Nebius".
Sources (12)
- Tavily API credits docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits — Tavily (read 2026-10-22)
- Tavily terms of service tavily.com/terms — Tavily (read 2026-10-22)
- Tavily on x402 tavily.com/blog/tavily-on-x402 — Tavily (read 2026-10-22)
- Nebius announces agreement to acquire Tavily — Nebius (2026-02-10, read 2026-10-22)
- Exa pricing exa.ai/pricing — Exa (read 2026-10-22)
- Exa x402 guide exa.ai/docs/reference/x402-guide — Exa (read 2026-10-22)
- Brave Search API brave.com/search/api — Brave (read 2026-10-22)
- You.com pricing you.com/pricing — You.com (read 2026-10-22)
- You.com machine payments you.com/docs/administration/machine-payments — You.com (read 2026-10-22)
- Perplexity Search API overview docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview.md — Perplexity (read 2026-10-22)
- Linkup pricing docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/development/pricing — Linkup (read 2026-10-22)
- Linkup x402 docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/x402 — Linkup (read 2026-10-22)