--- source_url: "https://scavio.dev/compare/brave-search-api/vs-linkup-and-tavily" title: "Brave vs Linkup vs Tavily: Search API Pricing (2026)" mirrored_at: 2026-08-04T03:38:53.459Z host: scavio.dev cited_in_42a: true mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/scavio.dev/compare/brave-search-api/vs-linkup-and-tavily" --- > **Original source:** https://scavio.dev/compare/brave-search-api/vs-linkup-and-tavily ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=27123156450609848&ev=PageView&noscript=1) Head-to-Head Comparison # Brave Search API vs Linkup and Tavily Brave, Linkup, and Tavily are the three most commonly evaluated search APIs for AI agent grounding. With Brave removing its free tier in February 2026 and Tavily introducing new tiers, the pricing landscape has shifted. This three-way comparison breaks down real costs at different volume levels. [Try Scavio Free](https://dashboard.scavio.dev/sign-up?utm_source=scavio_homepage&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=versus&utm_content=brave-search-api-vs-linkup-and-tavily)[Pricing](/pricing) 50 free credits ยท no credit card ## Brave Search API $5 per 1,000 queries. Free tier removed February 2026 ### Strengths - Independent search index (not Google-dependent) - Privacy-focused with no user tracking - Clean, fast API with good documentation - Competitive per-query pricing at scale ### Weaknesses - Free tier removed in February 2026 - Web search only -- no ecommerce, social, or video platforms - Smaller index than Google for niche queries - No AI Overview or rich SERP feature data ## Linkup and Tavily Linkup: EUR 5/1K standard, EUR 5 free monthly. Tavily: Free 1K/mo, $30/mo Researcher, $100/mo Pro ### Strengths - Tavily: 1,000 free requests/month (most generous free tier) - Linkup: EUR 5 free monthly credit for testing - Tavily: purpose-built for AI agents with extract endpoint - Both: optimized for RAG and agent grounding use cases ### Weaknesses - Tavily: subscription tiers create cost cliffs at volume boundaries - Linkup: limited to standard web search, less structured data - Tavily Pro at $100/mo for roughly 3,333 queries -- expensive per query at volume - Neither covers ecommerce or social platforms natively ## Feature-by-feature comparison Feature Brave Search API Linkup and Tavily Free tier None (removed Feb 2026) Tavily: 1K/mo, Linkup: EUR 5/mo 1K queries cost $5.00 Tavily: $30 (Researcher), Linkup: EUR 5 10K queries cost $50 Tavily: $100 (Pro), Linkup: EUR 50 50K queries cost $250 Tavily: ~$500+, Linkup: EUR 250 Search index Brave independent index Various (Google-dependent for Tavily) AI agent optimization General purpose Tavily: purpose-built for agents Platform coverage Web only Web only (both) Extract/scrape endpoint No Tavily: yes, Linkup: no Structured SERP features Basic Tavily: moderate, Linkup: basic Pricing model Pure per-query Tavily: tiered subscription, Linkup: per-query ## Verdict For development and prototyping, Tavily's 1,000 free requests/month is the best starting point. For production at 5K+ queries/month, Brave and Linkup's per-query pricing ($5/1K) is more predictable than Tavily's subscription tiers. At high volume (50K+), all three converge around $5/1K queries. The real differentiator is not pricing but coverage: all three are web-only, missing ecommerce, video, and social data. ## Consider Scavio instead Scavio matches Brave and Linkup's $0.005/query pricing while covering 6 platforms: Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, Reddit, and TikTok. The 250 free credits/month is smaller than Tavily's 1K but covers cross-platform use cases none of these three can. At $30/mo for 7,000 credits, Scavio undercuts Tavily Researcher on per-query cost while adding 5 platforms. [Try Scavio Free](/pricing)[See all comparisons](/compare) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the main difference between Brave Search API and Linkup and Tavily? Brave, Linkup, and Tavily are the three most commonly evaluated search APIs for AI agent grounding. With Brave removing its free tier in February 2026 and Tavily introducing new tiers, the pricing landscape has shifted. This three-way comparison breaks down real costs at different volume levels. ### Which is cheaper, Brave Search API or Linkup and Tavily? Brave Search API is priced at $5 per 1,000 queries. Free tier removed February 2026. Linkup and Tavily is priced at Linkup: EUR 5/1K standard, EUR 5 free monthly. Tavily: Free 1K/mo, $30/mo Researcher, $100/mo Pro. The better value depends on your usage volume and feature requirements. ### Is there a better alternative to both Brave Search API and Linkup and Tavily? Scavio matches Brave and Linkup's $0.005/query pricing while covering 6 platforms: Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, Reddit, and TikTok. The 250 free credits/month is smaller than Tavily's 1K but covers cross-platform use cases none of these three can. At $30/mo for 7,000 credits, Scavio undercuts Tavily Researcher on per-query cost while adding 5 platforms. ### Can I use Brave Search API and Linkup and Tavily together? Some teams use both tools for different parts of their pipeline. However, a unified API like Scavio can replace the need for multiple subscriptions by providing search, content extraction, YouTube, and Amazon data from a single endpoint. ## Try Scavio for free 50 free credits on signup. Structured data from Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, and Reddit. No credit card required. [Try Scavio Free](https://dashboard.scavio.dev/sign-up?utm_source=scavio_homepage&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=versus)[Read the Docs](/docs/quickstart)