Brave Search API was a popular free option for AI agents, but its attribution requirements and usage limitations have pushed many agent builders to seek alternatives. Free tiers for agent search now need to balance generous credit allowances, simple integration, and reliable results without restrictive attribution or rate-limiting constraints.
Scavio provides 250 free searches per month with no attribution requirements, hosted MCP integration, and five-platform coverage, making it the most practical free agent search after Brave API changes.
Full Ranking
Scavio
Agents needing free multi-platform search without restrictions
- 250 free/mo renewing
- No attribution requirements
- Hosted MCP (zero setup)
- Five-platform coverage
- Simple API key auth
- Smaller free tier than some alternatives
- No independent search index
- Newer service vs established players
SerpAPI
Agents needing detailed SERP feature parsing
- 250 free/mo
- Detailed SERP parsing
- Many search engines
- Mature and stable
- $25/mo jumps for basic paid
- No MCP support
- Higher cost per search at scale
- Google-focused free tier
DuckDuckGo
Agents needing basic instant answers
- Free with no API key
- No rate limit enforcement
- Privacy-focused
- Simple to call
- Instant Answers only (not real search results)
- Very limited data returned
- No structured SERP data
- Not suitable for serious agent use
Serper
Agents needing one-time free Google search
- 2,500 one-time free credits
- Fast responses
- Simple API
- Low paid rates
- Free credits do not renew
- Google only
- No MCP support
- No multi-platform
Tavily
AI agents wanting AI-summarized search results
- 1,000 free/mo
- AI-optimized results
- LangChain native
- Local MCP available
- $0.008/credit when paid
- Web-only (single platform)
- Local MCP (not hosted)
- Summarization may lose detail
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Criteria | Scavio | Runner-up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 250/mo renewing | 250/mo renewing | Unlimited (limited data) |
| Attribution Required | No | No | No |
| MCP Support | Hosted | None | None |
| Platforms | 5 | Multiple (Google main) | 1 (DDG Instant) |
| Data Quality | Full SERP data | Full SERP data | Instant answers only |
| Paid Upgrade | $0.005/credit | $25/mo Starter | N/A |
Why Scavio Wins
- 250 free renewing credits with no attribution requirements. Brave required visible attribution; Scavio requires only an API key header.
- Hosted MCP means agent integration is one config line, not a local server process. Brave had no MCP support.
- Five platforms provide richer agent grounding than single-platform alternatives. Agents can search Google, Amazon, YouTube, Reddit, and Walmart on the free tier.
- When you outgrow the free tier, $0.005/credit is cheaper than SerpAPI's paid tiers. Smooth scaling from free to production.