Brave Search API vs Scavio
Brave's February 2026 free tier removal forced thousands of developers to reevaluate their search API stack. With both Brave and Scavio now at $0.005/query at volume, the comparison shifts from pricing to platform coverage, data richness, and ecosystem integration.
50 free credits · no credit card
Brave Search API
$5 per 1,000 queries. No free tier since February 2026
Strengths
- Independent search index (not Google-reliant)
- Privacy-focused with no tracking
- Simple, clean API with fast responses
- Web and news search in one API
Weaknesses
- No free tier since February 2026
- Google web only -- no YouTube, Amazon, Reddit, TikTok, or Maps
- Smaller index than Google for niche and local queries
- No AI Overview or structured SERP feature data
Scavio
Free 250 credits/mo, $30/mo for 7,000 credits ($0.005/credit)
Strengths
- 6 platforms: Google, YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, Reddit, TikTok
- 250 free credits/month for development and testing
- Structured SERP data: AI Overview, Knowledge Graph, PAA
- MCP server (mcp.scavio.dev/mcp) for zero-code agent integration
Weaknesses
- Uses Google index (Google-dependent for web search)
- Smaller free tier than Tavily (250 vs 1,000)
- Newer provider with smaller community than Brave
- No independent search index
Feature-by-feature comparison
Verdict
At identical per-query pricing, the choice comes down to what you need beyond web search. If you only need web search and value an independent (non-Google) index, Brave remains solid. If you need YouTube, Amazon, Reddit, TikTok, or Google Maps data alongside web search, Scavio provides 6 platforms at the same cost. Scavio's free tier also makes it the better choice for development and testing since Brave no longer offers one.
Consider Scavio instead
After Brave's free tier removal, Scavio's 250 free credits/month provide a development safety net Brave no longer offers. At production scale, both cost $0.005/query for web search, but Scavio's additional YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, Reddit, and TikTok endpoints mean teams can consolidate from multiple API providers to one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brave's February 2026 free tier removal forced thousands of developers to reevaluate their search API stack. With both Brave and Scavio now at $0.005/query at volume, the comparison shifts from pricing to platform coverage, data richness, and ecosystem integration.
Brave Search API is priced at $5 per 1,000 queries. No free tier since February 2026. Scavio is priced at Free 250 credits/mo, $30/mo for 7,000 credits ($0.005/credit). The better value depends on your usage volume and feature requirements.
After Brave's free tier removal, Scavio's 250 free credits/month provide a development safety net Brave no longer offers. At production scale, both cost $0.005/query for web search, but Scavio's additional YouTube, Amazon, Walmart, Reddit, and TikTok endpoints mean teams can consolidate from multiple API providers to one.
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.