SearchHive vs Exa - The Best AI Search API for Developers in 2025

<h2>Executive Summary</h2> <p><strong>Exa</strong> and <strong>SearchHive</strong> both target AI-first search, but with very different philosophies. Exa focuses on neural/embedding-based search that understands semantic meaning. SearchHive takes a broader approach — traditional keyword search plus scraping plus research in one platform.</p> <p>Here's how they stack up.</p> <h2>What is Exa?</h2> <p>Exa (formerly Metaphor) is an AI-powered search API that uses neural embeddings to understand the semantic meaning behind queries, rather than matching keywords. Founded in 2022, Exa has raised significant funding and positioned itself as the go-to search for AI agents.</p> <h3>Key Features</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Neural Search:</strong> Embedding-based search that understands intent, not just keywords — find pages about "companies building nuclear reactors" without needing those exact words</li> <li><strong>Deep Search:</strong> Multi-step agent workflows with structured outputs and web-grounded citations at $12/1K requests</li> <li><strong>Contents API:</strong> Full page content extraction with token-efficient highlights at $1/1K pages</li> <li><strong>Monitors:</strong> Track new events and updates across the web with webhook delivery at $15/1K requests</li> <li><strong>Answer:</strong> Fast web-grounded answers with streaming responses at $5/1K requests</li> <li><strong>Configurable Latency:</strong> 180ms to 1s depending on your speed/quality tradeoff</li> </ul> <h3>Exa Pricing</h3> <table> <tr><th>Product</th><th>Price</th><th>What You Get</th></tr> <tr><td>Search</td><td>$7/1K requests</td><td>Web search with page contents, 180ms-1s latency</td></tr> <tr><td>Deep Search</td><td>$12/1K requests</td><td>Multi-step research with structured outputs</td></tr> <tr><td>Contents</td><td>$1/1K pages</td><td>Full page content with highlights</td></tr> <tr><td>Monitors</td><td>$15/1K requests</td><td>Event tracking with webhooks</td></tr> <tr><td>Answer</td><td>$5/1K requests</td><td>Fast grounded answers, streaming</td></tr> </table> <h3>Where Exa Shines</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Semantic understanding:</strong> The neural search is genuinely impressive — finds conceptually relevant pages that keyword search misses</li> <li><strong>Modular API design:</strong> Five distinct products that can be composed for complex workflows</li> <li><strong>Speed/quality tradeoff:</strong> Configurable latency from 180ms (fast) to 1s (quality) is unique</li> <li><strong>Code-optimized:</strong> Great for coding agents searching repos, docs, and Stack Overflow</li> </ul> <h3>Where Exa Falls Short</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Expensive:</strong> $7/1K for basic search is pricey — that's 10x more than some competitors</li> <li><strong>No web scraping:</strong> Cannot scrape specific URLs with JS rendering or proxy rotation</li> <li><strong>No proxy infrastructure:</strong> No CAPTCHA handling, no anti-bot evasion, no global proxy network</li> <li><strong>Limited control over search results:</strong> Neural search is powerful but less predictable than keyword search — harder to debug why certain results appear</li> </ul> <h2>What is SearchHive?</h2> <p>SearchHive provides three APIs — <strong>SwiftSearch</strong> (keyword-based web search), <strong>ScrapeForge</strong> (enterprise web scraping), and <strong>DeepDive</strong> (multi-source research) — under one platform.</p> <h2>Feature Comparison: SearchHive vs Exa</h2> <table> <tr><th>Feature</th><th>SearchHive</th><th>Exa</th></tr> <tr><td>Web Search</td><td>✅ SwiftSearch (keyword)</td><td>✅ Neural/embedding-based</td></tr> <tr><td>Semantic Search</td><td>❌ Keyword-based</td><td>✅ Core feature</td></tr> <tr><td>Deep Research</td><td>✅ DeepDive API</td><td>✅ Deep Search ($12/1K)</td></tr> <tr><td>Web Scraping</td><td>✅ ScrapeForge (JS, proxies)</td><td>❌ Not available</td></tr> <tr><td>Content Extraction</td><td>✅ Via ScrapeForge</td><td>✅ Contents API ($1/1K)</td></tr> <tr><td>JS Rendering</td><td>✅ Full browser automation</td><td>❌ Not available</td></tr> <tr><td>Proxy Rotation</td><td>✅ Global infrastructure</td><td>❌ Not available</td></tr> <tr><td>CAPTCHA Handling</td><td>✅ Automatic</td><td>❌ Not available</td></tr> <tr><td>Event Monitoring</td><td>❌ Not available</td><td>✅ Monitors API</td></tr> <tr><td>Streaming Answers</td><td>❌ Not available</td><td>✅ Answer API</td></tr> <tr><td>Configurable Latency</td><td>Sub-second</td><td>✅ 180ms-1s</td></tr> <tr><td>AI Framework Integrations</td><td>LangChain, CrewAI, MCP</td><td>Various LLM tools</td></tr> </table> <h2>Pricing Comparison</h2> <p>Exa's per-product pricing adds up fast. A workflow using Search + Contents + Deep Search could cost $20/1K requests. SearchHive's unified credits cover all three APIs.</p> <p><strong>Example:</strong> For 1,000 research tasks (search + scrape + analyze):</p> <ul> <li><strong>Exa:</strong> Search ($7) + Contents ($1) + Deep Search ($12) = ~$20</li> <li><strong>SearchHive:</strong> Credits across SwiftSearch + ScrapeForge + DeepDive = potentially lower with unified pricing</li> </ul> <h2>Use Case Recommendations</h2> <h3>Choose Exa If:</h3> <ul> <li>Semantic/conceptual search is critical — you need to find pages by meaning, not keywords</li> <li>You're building coding agents that search repos, docs, and technical content</li> <li>You need event monitoring with webhooks</li> <li>You want streaming grounded answers for chatbot-like experiences</li> <li>Speed/quality tradeoff control matters for your latency-sensitive application</li> </ul> <h3>Choose SearchHive If:</h3> <ul> <li>You need traditional keyword search (more predictable results)</li> <li>You need web scraping with JS rendering and proxy rotation</li> <li>You're doing market research, price monitoring, or lead generation</li> <li>You want one platform covering search + scraping + research</li> <li>Budget matters — unified credits vs. Exa's per-product pricing</li> </ul> <h2>Final Verdict</h2> <p><strong>Exa</strong> is the best choice when semantic understanding is the priority. Its neural search engine finds conceptually relevant pages that keyword-based search simply cannot. For coding agents, semantic web search, and streaming answers, Exa is excellent — though at a premium price.</p> <p><strong>SearchHive</strong> is the better choice for comprehensive web data workflows. When your application needs to search, scrape, and research — SearchHive provides the complete toolkit. The traditional keyword search is more predictable and debuggable, and the ScrapeForge API handles the heavy lifting of web scraping that Exa doesn't even attempt.</p> <p><strong>The key question:</strong> Do you need semantic search magic? Go with Exa. Do you need to actually extract data from web pages? SearchHive is the only option that covers the full pipeline.</p> <h2>Get Started with SearchHive</h2> <p>Need search AND scraping in one platform? <a href="https://searchhive.dev">Sign up for SearchHive</a> — three APIs, one dashboard, unified credits.</p>