Searlo

Tavily Alternative for AI Agents & LLMs

The Best Tavily Alternative for AI Agents in 2026

Tavily charges $8 per 1,000 basic searches pay-as-you-go. Searlo returns live Google results as JSON from $0.30 per 1,000 searches today, plus full results pages with the AI Overview, page text for RAG and an MCP server for agents. 3,000 free credits to start.

Start Free — 3,000 CreditsFull Searlo vs Tavily Comparison →
Published list ratesverified

Searlo

$0.30

per 1,000 queries

Free3,000 credits
Entry$3.99 one-time

Tavily

$8.00

per 1,000 queries

Free1,000/month
EntryPay-as-you-go
26.7× the list rate per 1,000.Every provider, one table

What does Tavily cost compared with Searlo?

Tavily's pay-as-you-go rate is $0.008 a credit and a basic search is 1 credit, so $8.00 per 1,000 searches; its Project plan is $30 a month for 4,000 credits. A Searlo web search is $0.30 per 1,000 at the Scale pack rate, on one-time packs from $3.99.

Both have a free tier and an MCP server. The difference is what comes back: Tavily returns its own ranked results and can add a generated answer; Searlo returns Google's results, including the full results page with ads, People Also Ask and the AI Overview.

Tavily free plan
1,000 credits a month, no card— tavily.com/pricing
Tavily pay-as-you-go
$0.008 a credit; a basic search is 1 credit ($8.00 per 1,000)— tavily.com/pricing
Tavily Project plan
$30 a month for 4,000 credits— tavily.com/pricing
Searlo
$0.30 per 1,000 web searches (Scale pack); full results page 3 credits; 3,000 free credits once— our pricing

Third-party figures on this page last verified against the sources linked above. Prices change; if you find one of these stale, tell us and we will correct it.

Why Developers Switch from Tavily to Searlo

Tavily is built for LLMs and works well for simple grounding. If you need Google's own results, the full results page, or a lower cost per search, Searlo is the better fit.

Features

  • Up to 27x cheaper per search

    Tavily's pay-as-you-go rate is $0.008 per credit — $8.00 per 1,000 basic searches (tavily.com/pricing, 2026-10-23). Searlo is $0.30. At 100K searches/month that is $800 versus $30.

  • Google's results, not a summary layer

    Searlo returns the structured Google SERP: organic results, images, news, video and shopping, and full pages with ads, People Also Ask and the AI Overview.

  • TOON Format — 63% Fewer LLM Tokens

    Searlo's MCP tools answer in TOON, a compact notation that takes about 63% fewer tokens than the same results as JSON, which leaves more of the context window for the task.

  • MCP server

    Connect Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code or Windsurf to live Google search through Searlo's hosted MCP server: one URL and your API key.

Searlo vs Tavily — Feature Comparison

Tavily figures from tavily.com/pricing and its docs, read 2026-10-23.
FeatureSearloTavily
Free Tier3,000 credits (one-time)1,000 credits a month
Entry paid option$3.99 one-time$30/month (4,000 credits) or pay-as-you-go
Price per 1,000 searches$0.30$8.00 (basic search, pay-as-you-go)
ResultsGoogle's results as JSONTavily's ranked results, optional generated answer
Google full results page (ads, People Also Ask, AI Overview)YesNo
Page text for RAGYes (/search-and-scrape)Yes
TOON Format (63% fewer tokens)YesNo
MCP serverYesYes
LangChainAs a tool you defineOfficial package
Credit Card RequiredNoNo

Migration Examples

Replace Tavily in your AI stack in minutes. There is no Searlo package to install: a LangChain tool is a few lines over the REST API, and MCP clients connect to the hosted server.

import httpx
from langchain.tools import StructuredTool

def web_search(query: str) -> str:
    """Search Google and return the top results."""
    r = httpx.get(
        "https://api.searlo.tech/api/v1/search/web",
        params={"q": query, "limit": 5},
        headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
        timeout=10.0,
    )
    return "\n".join(
        f"{o['title']}\n{o['snippet']}\n{o['link']}"
        for o in r.json().get("organic", [])
    )

# use in place of the Tavily tool in your agent's tool list
search_tool = StructuredTool.from_function(
    func=web_search,
    name="web_search",
    description="Search Google for current information.",
)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searlo": {
      "url": "https://api.searlo.tech/api/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "sk_your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Switch from Tavily Today

Start with 3,000 free credits. No credit card required. Most teams migrate in under 30 minutes.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Searlo different from Tavily?

Tavily is a search API built for LLMs: it returns ranked results with page content and can add a generated answer. Searlo returns Google's results as structured JSON — organic results, images, news, video and shopping, and full results pages with the AI Overview — and costs $0.30 per 1,000 searches at the Scale pack rate against Tavily's $8.00 pay-as-you-go rate. Both run an MCP server.

Can I use Searlo with LangChain like Tavily?

Yes, as a tool you define. Tavily ships an official LangChain package; Searlo does not. A StructuredTool that calls GET /search/web is a few lines, as in the example above, and returns the title, snippet and link of each result.

What is TOON format and why does it matter for AI?

TOON (Token-Optimized Object Notation) is the compact format Searlo's MCP tools answer in. It uses abbreviated keys and drops repeated fields, which takes about 63% fewer tokens than the same results as JSON. That cuts inference cost and leaves more of the context window for the task.

Does Searlo return AI-generated summaries like Tavily?

Searlo doesn’t generate AI summaries internally, but it returns structured data that your LLM can summarize. This gives you full control: you can ask your LLM to summarize the top 5 results, extract key facts, compare sources, or do something Tavily’s pre-generated summary would miss. For RAG specifically, raw structured data is better for grounding.

What does Tavily cost vs Searlo?

Tavily's free plan is 1,000 credits a month; pay-as-you-go is $0.008 a credit, and a basic search is 1 credit, so $8.00 per 1,000; its Project plan is $30 a month for 4,000 credits (tavily.com/pricing, 2026-10-23). Searlo is from $0.30 per 1,000 on prepaid packs. At 10K searches/month that is about $80 on Tavily pay-as-you-go versus $4 on Searlo; at 1M, about $8,000 versus $220.

Does Searlo support Google AI Overviews?

Yes. The full-SERP endpoint (GET /serp, 3 credits per page; 8 from November 1, 2026 when the AI Overview has to be completed by rendering the page) returns Google's AI Overview by default (set aioverview=false to skip it), alongside ads, People Also Ask, related searches and the knowledge graph. The standard search endpoint (/search/web, 1 credit) returns organic results only. Google publishes no official AI Overview API; like the other vendors that sell it, Searlo reads it from the results page. Tavily does not return Google's AI Overview; its optional answer is generated by Tavily.

How do I migrate from Tavily to Searlo?

1. Sign up for a free Searlo account at dashboard.searlo.tech. 2. Get your API key. 3. Call the REST API directly, or connect your MCP client to the hosted MCP server. 4. Replace your Tavily search calls with Searlo's endpoint. 5. Test with your free 3,000 credits. Most migrations take under 30 minutes.

Related Pages