October 20, 2026

Brave Search API pricing · free to 1,000 searches, then what

An API lets code use another service. Brave's search API gives $5 of free credit a month, about 1,000 searches. Under 9,000 a month, it beats SearchApi.

An API is a way for your program to ask another service for something. The Brave Search API lets your code run web searches and get the results back as data. Brave answers from its own index, which is its own copy of the web.

Notebook page with a lion doodle beside a 5 dollar coin labelled free each month and an arrow to 1,000 searches — $5 of free credit a month, about 1,000 searches.

The short answer

Pick Brave if you run a small project under about 1,000 searches a month, because the free credit covers it and you pay nothing. Pick SearchApi if you need Google's results. Above 9,000 searches a month, the cheaper one flips each time SearchApi moves up a plan, so find your count in the ranges below. Pick Firecrawl if you search so you can read the pages behind the results.

What Brave charges

A request is one search call. Brave's pricing page prices the Search plan at $5 per 1,000 requests. The plan allows 50 requests per second and comes with $5 of free credit every month. Every plan is prepaid, which means you pay before you search. You never pay a subscription or a fixed monthly fee.

The same page lists other plans. A token is a small piece of text an AI model reads or writes, and a query is one question you send. Answers is $4 per 1,000 queries plus $5 per million input tokens and $5 per million output tokens, at 2 requests per second. Spellcheck and Autosuggest are $5 per 10,000 requests each, at 100 requests per second. Enterprise is a custom price.

The free credit is $5 a month on each plan. On the Search plan, $5 ÷ $5 per 1,000 = about 1,000 free searches a month.

Sketch of a prepaid credit jar with a 5 dollar free coin on top — Prepaid credits, with $5 added free each month.

Brave's index and Google's results are different

Brave returns what its own index finds. SearchApi returns the results Google shows for the same search. If your job depends on what Google shows, such as tracking rankings, which means checking where pages show up in Google, Brave is not a swap.

Sketch of two magnifying glasses labelled Brave index and Google results — Brave searches its own index. SearchApi returns Google's results.

What 1,000, 10,000 and 30,000 searches cost

SearchApi's Developer plan is $40 a month for 10,000 searches. Production is $100 a month for 35,000 searches, about $3 per 1,000. BigData is $250 a month for 100,000 searches, and Scale is $500 a month for 250,000. New accounts get 100 free requests once, at signup.

Searches a month	Brave, after the free credit	SearchApi
1,000	$0	$40 on Developer, the smallest paid plan
10,000	$45	$40 on Developer
30,000	$145	$100 on Production

The math: on October 20, 2026 prices, 10,000 Brave searches cost 10 × $5 = $50, minus the $5 credit, so $45 a month. SearchApi Developer covers the same 10,000 for $40 a month. At 30,000, Brave is 30 × $5 - $5 = $145 a month, and SearchApi Production is $100 a month. The two tie at 9,000 searches, where Brave is 9 × $5 - $5 = $40 a month. Above 10,000, SearchApi moves to Production at $100 a month. Brave stays under $100 a month until 21,000, where it is 21 × $5 - $5 = $100. At 15,000, Brave is 15 × $5 - $5 = $70 a month against $100 a month on SearchApi. Above 35,000, SearchApi moves to BigData at $250 a month, and Brave reaches $250 a month at 51,000 (51 × $5 - $5 = $250). Above 100,000, SearchApi moves to Scale at $500 a month, and Brave reaches $500 a month at 101,000 (101 × $5 - $5 = $500).

At small volume Brave is free and SearchApi isn't. Brave costs less until the two tie at 9,000 searches a month. SearchApi costs less from 9,001 to 10,000. Brave costs less again from 10,001 until the two tie at 21,000, because SearchApi's next plan is $100 a month. SearchApi costs less from 21,001 to 35,000. Brave costs less again from 35,001 until the two tie at 51,000. From 51,001 to 250,000, SearchApi costs less, except from 100,001 to 100,999, where Brave is up to $5 a month cheaper, and at 101,000, where the two tie again.

Hand-drawn three-row table of Brave and SearchApi costs with a margin note reading tie at 9,000 — The two tie at 9,000 searches a month.

Which one to buy

Count the searches your app ran last month. Under about 1,000, stay on Brave's free credit. Under 9,000, Brave still costs less. Above 9,000, find your count in the ranges above and pick the cheaper one. Test SearchApi if you need Google's results.

Try SearchApi · Try Firecrawl

Next · SearchApi explains its plans · Web search APIs compares search APIs by what they return · SerpApi alternatives compares Google-results APIs.