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Search and Retrieval APIs

Tavily

A web access API built for AI agents: search, extract, map, crawl, and research endpoints behind one key.

Official siteDocumentationRepository
freemiumChecked 2026-10-07Source verified

Quick decision

Best for
Agents that need current web facts with cited results Research workflows that combine search with page extraction Teams that want one vendor for search and fetching
Not ideal for
Fully offline or self-hosted stacks High-volume crawling without a credit budget
Pricing model
API credit based service with account signup and plans; current credit pricing is published by Tavily.
Deployment
cloud. API.
Authentication
api_key
Review state
Source verified. Facts checked 2026-10-07. Not locally tested by AgentsUse.

What it does

Tavily is a web search and content API built for AI agents. One API key covers search, extraction, crawling, site mapping, and a research endpoint, so an agent can find sources, read pages, and gather multi-source answers through a single vendor. The official Python and JavaScript SDKs wrap those endpoints, and Tavily publishes an official MCP server for MCP clients.

The division of labor is clear: Tavily returns web content and ranked results, while your agent runtime decides what to ask and when to stop. Search results are tuned for LLM consumption rather than human result pages, and extraction turns fetched pages into cleaner text for the context window.

Costs run on API credits, so high-volume crawling needs a budget decision up front. Teams that mostly search can keep usage small; teams that crawl whole sites should meter calls before wiring Tavily into an unattended loop.

Verified capabilities

Core capability

  • Search API Source verified

    Searches the web and returns ranked results suited to LLM and agent consumption.

  • Extract API Source verified

    Extracts readable content from webpages for agent context.

  • Crawl API Source verified

    Crawls websites with natural-language instructions for what to find.

  • Map API Source verified

    Maps a website structure so an agent can choose which pages to fetch.

  • Research API Source verified

    Runs a research task that gathers and synthesizes web sources into an answer.

  • MCP server Source verified

    The official tavily-mcp server connects MCP clients to Tavily search, extract, map, and crawl tools, locally or through the hosted remote MCP endpoint.

Quick start

Search with the Python SDK

The same key works across the search, extract, crawl, map, and research endpoints.

Search with the Python SDK
pip install tavily-python

from tavily import TavilyClient

client = TavilyClient(api_key="tvly-YOUR_API_KEY")
print(client.search("Latest EU battery policy news"))

Source: https://docs.tavily.com/welcome. Examples use placeholders only. Never paste a real key into a profile, config file you share, or a ticket.

MCP support: Official tavily-mcp package and a hosted remote MCP server authenticated with your Tavily API key, or with OAuth in supported clients.

Works with

Frameworks

LangChain, CrewAI, Any HTTP or MCP client

SDKs and packages

Python (tavily-python), JavaScript (@tavily/core), REST API

Works with

MCP clients

Only sourced support is listed. A missing framework means AgentsUse has not verified it yet, not that it cannot work.

Health and maintenance

GitHub stars

1,420

Checked 2026-10-07

GitHub forks

190

Checked 2026-10-07

License
freemium
Maintainer
Tavily

Official SDK repository tavily-ai/tavily-python metrics and MIT SDK license from the GitHub API, fetched 2026-10-07. The Tavily service itself is closed.

Pricing and license

API credit based service with account signup and plans; current credit pricing is published by Tavily.

Official pricing or docs →

Limitations and safety

  • Metered by credits, so unattended crawl loops need spending controls.
  • A managed service: no self-hosted fallback when Tavily is down or a source blocks it.
Safety

Browser and data tools can read pages, fill forms, and download files. Start with a test account or read-only access, keep credentials in environment variables, and review agent actions before connecting anything that can spend money, send messages, or delete data.

Alternatives to Tavily

Exa

Neural search API with search types tuned to different latencies and depth

Tradeoff: Its profile lists its own limits, pricing, and verification details for a side-by-side read.

Brave Search API

Independent search index with a privacy stance and its own MCP server

Tradeoff: Its profile lists its own limits, pricing, and verification details for a side-by-side read.

Firecrawl

Fetch and extraction first, with search layered on

Tradeoff: Its profile lists its own limits, pricing, and verification details for a side-by-side read.

Common questions

What does Tavily do for an AI agent?

A web access API built for AI agents: search, extract, map, crawl, and research endpoints behind one key.

Is Tavily open source?

This profile records the pricing model as freemium. See the pricing section for the sourced summary.

Does Tavily support MCP?

Official tavily-mcp package and a hosted remote MCP server authenticated with your Tavily API key, or with OAuth in supported clients.

Sources and freshness

Last checked 2026-10-07. Verification label: source verified, which means public claims trace to the sources above. It does not mean AgentsUse ran the tool. Spotted an error? Send a correction. Back to the tools directory.