{
 "categories": [
  "developer-tools"
 ],
 "deployment": "saas",
 "evidence": [
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "homepage",
   "note": "Exa presents a search API for AI agents, with Search, Contents, Agent, Monitors, Websets, and an MCP server.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "license",
   "note": "Pricing is pay-as-you-go. The free tier gives 10 dollars in credits at signup and resets to 10 dollars on the first of each month, with no payment method. License is freemium.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "deployment",
   "note": "Exa is a hosted API. Deployment is saas.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.rpa.ui_stack[0]",
   "note": "The dashboard and docs are browser pages. UI stack is web-dom. Drivability was not probed.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.api.exists",
   "note": "The Search reference publishes the Exa Public API at https://api.exa.ai, including POST /search.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.api.kinds[0]",
   "note": "The opened reference is OpenAPI 3.1 over HTTPS with JSON request bodies.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.api.auth[0]",
   "note": "Agent instructions on the Search reference say to authenticate with Authorization: Bearer and an Exa API key.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.api.auth[1]",
   "note": "The same page also accepts the key in the x-api-key header. The OpenAPI security list includes apiKey and bearer.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.api.coverage",
   "note": "Documented priced products include Search, Deep Search, Contents, Answer, Monitors, and Agent. Credits and enterprise gates for higher limits apply. Coverage is partial.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.api.docs",
   "note": "Opened as the current Search API reference.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.exists",
   "note": "Exa documents official Python and JavaScript SDKs that call search, contents, and answer.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/sdks/quickstart",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.official",
   "note": "The page title is SDK Quickstart and it calls exa-py and exa-js the official Exa SDKs.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/sdks/quickstart",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[0]",
   "note": "Python installs with pip install exa-py and imports exa_py.Exa. Python 3.9 or later is required.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/sdks/quickstart",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.sdk.languages[1]",
   "note": "JavaScript installs with npm install exa-js.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/sdks/quickstart",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.mcp.first_party",
   "note": "Exa documents its hosted MCP server at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp and links the open-source server.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/get-started/exa-mcp",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.mcp.verdict",
   "note": "Default tools are web_search_exa and web_fetch_exa. Advanced search is opt-in. agent_run needs OAuth or an API key. Verdict is official.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/get-started/exa-mcp",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.extensibility.webhooks",
   "note": "A monitor can POST monitor.run.completed to an HTTPS URL. Deliveries include an Exa-Signature header verified with the one-time webhook secret.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/monitors/quickstart",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "modalities.agent_docs.llms_txt",
   "note": "Opened a first-party docs index covering the API, SDKs, MCP, monitors, and pricing.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/llms.txt",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.api",
   "note": "Broad documented HTTPS API with two auth headers, official SDKs, and monitor webhooks. Credit pricing keeps the score at 8.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "verdict.scores.mcp",
   "note": "Official hosted MCP with keyless, OAuth, and API-key modes. agent_run is absent on the keyless path. Score 8.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/get-started/exa-mcp",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[0].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current Exa MCP guide.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/get-started/exa-mcp",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[1].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current Search API reference.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[2].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current pricing page.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing",
   "tier": "declared"
  },
  {
   "date": "2026-09-30",
   "fact": "freshness.watch[3].url",
   "note": "Opened and verified as the current docs index.",
   "source": "https://exa.ai/docs/llms.txt",
   "tier": "declared"
  }
 ],
 "freshness": {
  "last_verified": "2026-09-30",
  "volatility": "high",
  "watch": [
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://exa.ai/docs/get-started/exa-mcp"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://exa.ai/docs/admin/pricing"
   },
   {
    "type": "docs",
    "url": "https://exa.ai/docs/llms.txt"
   }
  ]
 },
 "homepage": "https://exa.ai/",
 "id": "exa",
 "license": "freemium",
 "modalities": {
  "agent_docs": {
   "llms_txt": true
  },
  "api": {
   "auth": [
    "bearer",
    "api-key"
   ],
   "coverage": "partial",
   "docs": "https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search",
   "exists": true,
   "kinds": [
    "rest"
   ]
  },
  "cli": {
   "exists": "unknown"
  },
  "computer_use": {
   "issues": [],
   "viability": "unknown"
  },
  "data_access": {
   "export": [],
   "import": []
  },
  "extensibility": {
   "scripting": [],
   "webhooks": true
  },
  "integrations": {
   "make": "unknown",
   "n8n": "unknown",
   "power_automate": "unknown",
   "zapier": "unknown"
  },
  "mcp": {
   "first_party": true,
   "third_party": [],
   "verdict": "official"
  },
  "rpa": {
   "drivability": "unknown",
   "notes": "No repeatable UI probe was run. Exa's REST API, official SDKs, monitors, and hosted MCP cover search and research without browser control of the Exa dashboard.\n",
   "ui_stack": [
    "web-dom"
   ],
   "vendor_support": []
  },
  "sdk": {
   "exists": true,
   "languages": [
    "python",
    "javascript"
   ],
   "official": true
  }
 },
 "name": "Exa",
 "platforms": [
  "web"
 ],
 "related": {
  "alternatives": [
   "tavily",
   "firecrawl",
   "apify"
  ],
  "our_products": []
 },
 "schema_version": 1,
 "score_version": 1,
 "status": "active",
 "vendor": "Exa",
 "verdict": {
  "best_path": "api",
  "scores": {
   "api": 8,
   "cli": null,
   "computer_use": null,
   "integrations": null,
   "mcp": 8,
   "overall": 8,
   "rpa": null
  },
  "summary": "Exa is automatable today through its REST API at https://api.exa.ai. This record is the Exa web search and research API, including the hosted MCP at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp. It is not Tavily, Firecrawl, or Apify. Callers authenticate with Authorization: Bearer or the x-api-key header. Official SDKs are exa-py and exa-js. Opened surfaces include Search, Contents, Answer, Monitors, and the Agent API. The Search reference is an OpenAPI 3.1 document for POST /search. Monitors run a saved search on a schedule and POST completed runs to an HTTPS webhook signed with Exa-Signature. The free tier gives 10 dollars in credits on signup, resets that balance to 10 dollars on the first of each month, and does not require a payment method. The hosted MCP supports keyless rate-limited use, OAuth at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login, or an API key in the x-api-key header. Default tools are web_search_exa and web_fetch_exa. web_search_advanced_exa is opt-in. agent_run requires OAuth or an API key. exa.ai/docs/llms.txt is a first-party docs index. No general official CLI was established. iPaaS catalogs were not opened. Computer-use viability is unassessed. API and MCP each score 8. API is the best path because it covers monitors and webhooks without an MCP client.\n"
 }
}