Brave Search API
Independent web index search API with Search and Answers plans, SOC 2 Type II attested, and an official MCP server for AI agents.
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Brave Search API provides access to Brave's independent web index (not reliant on Google or Bing) through a Search plan ($5 per 1,000 requests) and an Answers plan ($4 per 1,000 requests plus token costs for LLM-summarized, cited answers), each with $5 in free monthly credits automatically applied. Built by Brave Software (founded 2015, headquartered in San Francisco), the API is SOC 2 Type II attested and offers a custom Enterprise tier with Zero Data Retention and bespoke agreements for regulated use cases. Brave also publishes an official, MIT-licensed MCP server exposing web, local, news, image, video, and summarizer search tools for AI agents.
Pricing
| Tier | Price | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Search | $5/usage | 50 queries per second, Complete search results with LLM context optimization, Local, image, news, video endpoints |
| Answers | $4/usage | Summarized answers grounded with citations, Streaming support, 2 queries per second |
| Enterprise | Custom | Zero Data Retention, Custom agreements & NDAs, Dedicated enterprise support |
Source: https://brave.com/search/api/
Agent-readiness
- Discoverability
- 80/100
- Machine-readable content
- 68/100
- Programmatic access
- 62/100
- MCP / agent support
- 85/100
- Self-serve transactability
- 78/100
- Transparency
- 85/100
Security & compliance
- SSO / SAML
- Not publicly documented
- Encryption at rest
- Yes
- Encryption in transit
- Yes
- Audit log
- Not publicly documented
- Pentest report
- Yes
"Not publicly documented" means Crail found no public evidence either way — not a confirmed absence. See our methodology. Trust center: https://trust.brave.app/.
FAQ
Does Brave Search API have a free tier?
Yes, Brave Search API offers a free tier or free trial.
Can you buy Brave Search API without talking to sales?
Yes, Brave Search API can be purchased self-serve without a sales call.
Does Brave Search API have an official MCP (Model Context Protocol) server?
Yes, Brave Search API publishes an official MCP server (https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server).
What compliance certifications does Brave Search API hold?
Brave Search API holds: SOC 2 Type II.
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Methodology & disclosure
Data verified via agent crawled, last checked 2026-07-27. Agent-readiness methodology version crail-ar-v0.1. No vendor payment influences these scores — see our methodology page.