Best MCP servers for web search
11 working options, checked Nov 8, 2026.
Short answer: the top picks for web search right now are Exa Search, Brave Search and Desearch. We list 11 options here: 8 work without sign-in, 1 need a sign-in and 2 run on your own machine.
A web search MCP server gives an AI assistant live search results, so it can answer from today's web rather than its training data. Some wrap a classic search API, while others are built for agents and return full page content with the results.
Top picks
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Exa Search
Neural web search built for AI agents.
Tools include
web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa -
Brave Search
Web, news, and image search via the Brave Search API.
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Desearch
AI search, X search and web search for AI agents.
Tools include
ai-search,x-search,web-search,web-links-search,x-links-search -
AgentSearch MCP
Web search, page extraction and rendering for AI agents through one MCP server.
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ScrapeMole Search
Pay-per-call web search, news search and autocomplete for AI agents.
Tools include
web,news,suggest
All 11 compared
| Server | What it does | Setup | Tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exa Search | Neural web search built for AI agents. | Hosted, no sign-in | 2 |
| Brave Search | Web, news, and image search via the Brave Search API. | Runs locally | – |
| Desearch | AI search, X search and web search for AI agents. | Hosted, no sign-in | 39 |
| AgentSearch MCP | Web search, page extraction and rendering for AI agents through one MCP server. | Runs locally | – |
| ScrapeMole Search | Pay-per-call web search, news search and autocomplete for AI agents. | Hosted, no sign-in | 3 |
| switch402 | Web scraping, search, screenshots and PDF to text for agents, paid per call over x402. No signup. | Hosted, no sign-in | 9 |
| Agent Evidence API | Cited web evidence and claim verification for AI agents — send a question and up to 5 URLs, get source-cited passages with retrieval time and content hash. | Hosted, no sign-in | 4 |
| OpenAlex MCP Server | Search OpenAlex papers, authors, institutions and citations from any MCP client. Hosted on Apify. | Hosted, sign-in | – |
| ScrapeMole Arxiv | Pay-per-call arXiv paper search and metadata for AI agents. | Hosted, no sign-in | 4 |
| ScrapeMole Wiki | Pay-per-call Wikipedia summaries and search plus Wikidata facts for agents, CC BY-SA attributed (x402, USDC on Base). | Hosted, no sign-in | 3 |
| Geonode MCP Server | Web search and content collection for MCP-compatible agents. | Hosted, no sign-in | 16 |
How to choose
- Links or answers? Some servers return a list of results. Others return cleaned page content, which saves the assistant a second step.
- General web or a narrow source? For research papers or encyclopedia facts, a focused server gives cleaner results than general search.
- Do you need citations? If the output has to be checked, pick a server that returns source URLs next to each claim.
How to connect one
Here is Exa Search as an example. In Claude Code, run:
claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcpFor other apps, follow our guides for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code.
How we picked these
We read each listing's tools and put the closest fit for this job first. Hosted servers must pass a real MCP handshake in our daily check to stay on this page, and local servers are reviewed from their source or package. That shows a server responds, not how well it works for you, and we don't run every tool in production.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these MCP servers work without signing in?
Exa Search, Desearch, ScrapeMole Search, switch402 and Agent Evidence API are among the 8 that answered our latest live check with no account or key.
Why add a search server if my assistant already has web search?
A search server gives you control over the engine, the cost and the output format, and it works in clients and custom agents that have no built-in search.
Do web search MCP servers need an API key?
Most do, because they sit on a paid search API. Some are free up to a daily limit and some charge per call with no account. Each listing shows how to connect.
How often is this list updated?
Every hosted server here is re-checked daily with a real MCP handshake, and a server drops off this page while it fails that check. Last check: Nov 8, 2026.