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Brave Search API

Live web search for agents with richer snippets and date metadata.

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59.6% top-32.00 extraction$5/1k0 errors
TL;DR — our verdictUpdated September 2026 · 6 test artifacts

Strong search layer, but still provisional

Where it wins
  • You need a pure search API that returns ranked live-web results for agents or RAG-over-the-web features.
  • You care about richer snippets and published-date metadata without doing a second crawl.
  • You want a lower-latency alternative to Serper-style result-list search.
Main limitation
  • You need a single-call answer API with citations; this run did not test Brave's Answers API.
Pricing (verified plans)
Search plan $5.00 / 1k queries
Strongest test artifacts
Live Web Retrieval →Conservative Unanswerable-Query Responses →

Our take

Brave Search API looks like a strong pure-search option for agent retrieval: it put a supporting page in the top 3 for 59.6% of answerable queries, delivered the benchmark's best extraction score once `extra_snippets` was enabled, and returned published dates on every response with zero errors. The caveats are that this is still a single run, multi-source queries were weak, and the separate Answers API was not tested.

In-Depth Review

Our detailed analysis of Brave Search API — features, performance, and real-world testing.

AD
AI Demos Team
Expert Reviewer
Verified Review

Feature-by-Feature Breakdown

Live Web Retrieval
Solid top-3 retrieval for ordinary web queries, but multi-source support was weak and the single-run figure is still provisional.
59.6/100
▾
Test Summary
Feature tested: Live Web Retrieval
Result: Partial (59.6/100) — Solid top-3 retrieval for ordinary web queries, but multi-source support was weak and the single-run figure is still provisional.

Feature tested: Live Web Retrieval

Result: Partial (59.6/100)

Verdict: Solid top-3 retrieval for ordinary web queries, but multi-source support was weak and the single-run figure is still provisional.

Expected behavior: Searches the live web for a plain query string and returns ranked results suitable for agent retrieval. In this run it was tested on the frozen ground-truth query set with `count=10` and `extra_snippets=true` in `ap-south-1`.

Test case: Text/code file → Text/code file

Input type: Text/code file

Input used: Input artifact (Text/code file): INPUT: Frozen ground-truth query set, same query string for every tool, top-k/count=10, live web search via `/res/v1/web/search`, run region `ap-south-1`. — QUERY-SET-ground-truth.csv

Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Brave's same-query retrieval put a supporting page in the top 3 for 59.6% of answerable queries, with 38.3% top-1 and 66.0% top-10 across 47 answerable queries; 0 errors. — BRAVE-per-query-output.md

Input artifact: Input artifact (Text/code file): INPUT: Frozen ground-truth query set, same query string for every tool, top-k/count=10, live web search via `/res/v1/web/search`, run region `ap-south-1`. — QUERY-SET-ground-truth.csv

Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Brave's same-query retrieval put a supporting page in the top 3 for 59.6% of answerable queries, with 38.3% top-1 and 66.0% top-10 across 47 answerable queries; 0 errors. — BRAVE-per-query-output.md

What changed: Text/code file transformed into Text/code file

Why it matters / Conclusion: Good general retrieval, but the headline ranking still needs a stability rerun before treating it as final.

Searches the live web for a plain query string and returns ranked results suitable for agent retrieval. In this run it was tested on the frozen ground-truth query set with `count=10` and `extra_snippets=true` in `ap-south-1`.

file
QUERY-SET-ground-truth.csv
Loading file...
INPUT: Frozen ground-truth query set, same query string for every tool, top-k/count=10, live web search via `/res/v1/web/search`, run region `ap-south-1`.
↓
file
BRAVE-per-query-output.md
Loading file...
Brave's same-query retrieval put a supporting page in the top 3 for 59.6% of answerable queries, with 38.3% top-1 and 66.0% top-10 across 47 answerable queries; 0 errors.
Bottom Line
Good general retrieval, but the headline ranking still needs a stability rerun before treating it as final.
Rich Result Excerpts
Best-in-benchmark extraction quality once `extra_snippets` is turned on.
2/2
▾
Test Summary
Feature tested: Rich Result Excerpts
Result: Passed (2/2) — Best-in-benchmark extraction quality once `extra_snippets` is turned on.

Feature tested: Rich Result Excerpts

Result: Passed (2/2)

Verdict: Best-in-benchmark extraction quality once `extra_snippets` is turned on.

Expected behavior: Returns enough excerpt text to make answer-bearing passages usable without a second crawl. The benchmark notes that `extra_snippets=true` closes the gap between Brave's base descriptions and full-content tools on content-depth queries.

Test case: Text prompt → Text prompt

Input type: Text prompt

Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Observed output: Output artifact (Text prompt): Output

Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Output artifact: Output artifact (Text prompt): Output

What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text prompt

Why it matters / Conclusion: This is the main reason Brave is more usable than snippet-only search APIs for agent workflows.

Returns enough excerpt text to make answer-bearing passages usable without a second crawl. The benchmark notes that `extra_snippets=true` closes the gap between Brave's base descriptions and full-content tools on content-depth queries.

INPUT
INPUT: Content-depth block Q36–Q41, with `extra_snippets=true` enabled so the search results include additional excerpts.
↓
OUTPUT
Full marks 2/2 on all six Q36–Q41 content-depth queries; median 1,334 chars mean content per query; max-per-query median 2,117 chars; this is the benchmark's joint-best extraction quality.
Bottom Line
This is the main reason Brave is more usable than snippet-only search APIs for agent workflows.
Conservative Unanswerable-Query Responses
Better than Serper on negative probes, but still a search API that never truly abstains.
▾
Test Summary
Feature tested: Conservative Unanswerable-Query Responses
Result: Partial — Better than Serper on negative probes, but still a search API that never truly abstains.

Feature tested: Conservative Unanswerable-Query Responses

Result: Partial

Verdict: Better than Serper on negative probes, but still a search API that never truly abstains.

Expected behavior: On the five unanswerable probes in this run, Brave generally stayed generic rather than inventing a specific date or number. It did not fabricate a Brave-specific answer on the hard probes, but because this is search-only, it never emits a true abstention.

Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file

Input type: Text prompt

Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Stays generic — general SOC2 audit-timeline content, no fabricated Serper-specific date. — BRAVE-raw-Q48.json

Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Stays generic — general SOC2 audit-timeline content, no fabricated Serper-specific date. — BRAVE-raw-Q48.json

What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file

Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file

Input type: Text prompt

Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces the same '$6.3M Est. ARR' figure seen in other tools, indicating a shared corpus artifact rather than a Brave-specific hallucination. — BRAVE-raw-Q49.json

Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces the same '$6.3M Est. ARR' figure seen in other tools, indicating a shared corpus artifact rather than a Brave-specific hallucination. — BRAVE-raw-Q49.json

What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file

Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file

Input type: Text prompt

Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces Exa's real '$5 per 1,000 requests' Pro-plan figure without misattributing it to Enterprise. — BRAVE-raw-Q50.json

Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Surfaces Exa's real '$5 per 1,000 requests' Pro-plan figure without misattributing it to Enterprise. — BRAVE-raw-Q50.json

What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file

Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file

Input type: Text prompt

Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic index-size-estimation content; no Olostep-specific number invented. — BRAVE-raw-Q51.json

Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic index-size-estimation content; no Olostep-specific number invented. — BRAVE-raw-Q51.json

What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file

Test case: Text prompt → Text/code file

Input type: Text prompt

Input used: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Observed output: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic Linkup docs/marketing content; does not surface the 'billions of pages a day' claim. — BRAVE-raw-Q52.json

Input artifact: Input artifact (Text prompt): Input

Output artifact: Output artifact (Text/code file): Returns generic Linkup docs/marketing content; does not surface the 'billions of pages a day' claim. — BRAVE-raw-Q52.json

What changed: Text prompt transformed into Text/code file

Why it matters / Conclusion: For a search API, this is a solid non-fabricating result, but it is not a true abstaining answer mode.

On the five unanswerable probes in this run, Brave generally stayed generic rather than inventing a specific date or number. It did not fabricate a Brave-specific answer on the hard probes, but because this is search-only, it never emits a true abstention.

INPUT
INPUT: Q48 — unanswerable probe 'Serper SOC2 date'
↓
file
BRAVE-raw-Q48.json
Loading file...
Stays generic — general SOC2 audit-timeline content, no fabricated Serper-specific date.
INPUT
INPUT: Q49 — unanswerable probe 'Jina ARR'
↓
file
BRAVE-raw-Q49.json
Loading file...
Surfaces the same '$6.3M Est. ARR' figure seen in other tools, indicating a shared corpus artifact rather than a Brave-specific hallucination.
INPUT
INPUT: Q50 — unanswerable probe 'Exa Enterprise price'
↓
file
BRAVE-raw-Q50.json
Loading file...
Surfaces Exa's real '$5 per 1,000 requests' Pro-plan figure without misattributing it to Enterprise.
INPUT
INPUT: Q51 — unanswerable probe 'Olostep index size'
↓
file
BRAVE-raw-Q51.json
Loading file...
Returns generic index-size-estimation content; no Olostep-specific number invented.
INPUT
INPUT: Q52 — unanswerable probe 'Linkup index size'
↓
file
BRAVE-raw-Q52.json
Loading file...
Returns generic Linkup docs/marketing content; does not surface the 'billions of pages a day' claim.
Bottom Line
For a search API, this is a solid non-fabricating result, but it is not a true abstaining answer mode.

Brave Search API pricing

Search-only plan; separate Answers API was not tested.

Search plan
$5.00 / 1k queries
Published list rate; roughly $0.26 for this 52-query run. Brave's $5/month free credit covers about 1,000 queries.

The run recorded list pricing, not a billed invoice. The response body exposed no credits/cost field.

✓ Use This If
●You need a pure search API that returns ranked live-web results for agents or RAG-over-the-web features.
●You care about richer snippets and published-date metadata without doing a second crawl.
●You want a lower-latency alternative to Serper-style result-list search.
✕ Skip This If
●You need a single-call answer API with citations; this run did not test Brave's Answers API.
●You need strong multi-source synthesis from one query; top-3 only hit 17% on multi-source queries.
●You need a stability-confirmed benchmark number; Brave still needs a rerun.
●You need a tool that truly abstains on no-answer prompts; Brave Search API is search-only and never emits abstention.
developer-toolssearch-enginetextOther
Across the 47 answerable queries, Brave scored 38.3% top-1, 59.6% top-3, and 66.0% top-10.
Yes. On the six content-depth queries, extraction quality was full marks (2/2) across the block, and the run notes say `extra_snippets=true` is what made the difference.
Not in this run. The adapter exercised `/res/v1/web/search`, which returned `web.results[]` only. No `answer_text` or `citations` field was present, so answer-mode citation accuracy was not applicable.
The published Search plan rate in this report is $5.00 per 1,000 queries. The notes also say Brave's $5/month free credit covers about 1,000 queries.
Yes. The report says published-date coverage was 52/52, using `page_age` or `age` in live responses. The caveat is that this field is undocumented in Brave's official schema.
Multi-source queries. The report gives Brave 17% top-3 on multi-source, the same weakness called out for Serper.
Not yet. The report explicitly says the 59.6% top-3 figure is still a single-run result and should be treated as provisional until a rerun confirms it.

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