Head to head

Exa vs Firecrawl

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Exa

$7/1k searches Free tier

Web, people and company search API built for AI agents. Free plan with $10 in credits each month; paid search is $7 per 1,000 requests.

Where Exa fits

  • Builders putting web search inside coding or research agents
  • GTM teams enriching people and companies through an API
  • Teams that want search inside Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT
  • Startups living on free monthly credits before paying

Firecrawl

$19/mo Free tier

Web scrape, crawl, search and interact API with a hosted MCP server. Free plan available; Hobby is $19/mo, or $16/mo billed yearly.

Where Firecrawl fits

  • Builders who need markdown or JSON from URLs
  • Agents that call Firecrawl over MCP
  • Side projects that fit in 5,000 credits
  • Teams that will grow into Standard at $83/mo yearly

At a glance

DetailExaFirecrawl
Starting price$7/1k searches$19/mo
Free tier✓Yes✓Yes
MCP server✓Yes✓Yes
Public API✓Yes✓Yes
Listed underLead generation, SourcingLead generation, Sourcing

Where they pull apart

Exa

Stands out: Hosted MCP server on the free plan, with people and company indexes alongside the web index.

Watch out: Pay-as-you-go has no monthly floor, but Deep Search, Agent runs and phone lookups are billed separately. Free is a small monthly credit, not unlimited.

Not the right fit for

  • Recruiters who want a point-and-click sourcing UI
  • Teams that need a fixed-price annual seat license

Firecrawl

Stands out: Hosted MCP server and REST API on one credit balance, with 1,000 free credits every month and no card.

Watch out: Hobby is 5,000 credits a month. Search costs 2 credits per 10 results, and extra credits come in $5 increments.

Not the right fit for

  • Non-technical users who will not use an API
  • Crawl jobs that need millions of pages on day one

Pros and cons

Exa

  • $10 in free credits every month, no card
  • Hosted MCP server on the free plan
  • People and company indexes besides web search
  • Phone lookups cost $0.07 each on Agent
  • Free credits cover light testing only
  • SSO and zero data retention need Enterprise

Firecrawl

  • Free 1,000 credits a month, no card
  • Hobby from $19/mo or $16 yearly
  • Hosted MCP plus REST API
  • Search uses 2 credits per 10 results
  • Hobby allows 5 concurrent requests
  • Credits roll over only on Scale and up

What each one costs

Exa

$7/1k searches

Free plan: $20 in credits at signup plus $10 every month, no card. Pay-as-you-go search is $7 per 1,000 requests, contents $1 per 1,000 pages and Deep Search $12 per 1,000 requests; Agent runs are $0.012 to $1.00 each. Enterprise is custom. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Firecrawl

$19/mo

Free includes 1,000 credits a month. Hobby is $19/mo billed monthly or $16/mo billed yearly for 5,000 credits; Standard ($83/mo), Growth ($333/mo) and Scale ($599/mo) are shown at yearly rates. Paid plans can top up credits in $5 increments. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Is Exa cheaper than Firecrawl?
Exa starts lower, at $7/1k searches against $19/mo for Firecrawl. That is the entry plan on each side, so the real number depends on seats and the tier you land on.
Can you try Exa or Firecrawl for free?
Exa and Firecrawl carry a free tier on our listing.
Does Exa or Firecrawl have an MCP server?
Exa and Firecrawl ship a first party MCP server, so an AI assistant can work the product directly.

Not the pair you wanted?

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 19 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?