FastAF vs Tavily
Short answer: choose Tavily for a RAG-oriented search + extract + crawl + research stack with a generous monthly free tier and keyless trial. Choose FastAF if you need raw Google verticals and source-specific JSON (Maps, Shopping, Amazon, Walmart, Zillow, YouTube, LinkedIn/X) and x402 on every endpoint, without a subscription.
At a glance
| FastAF | Tavily | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | One-time packs, no subscription: $10 = 20,000 credits … $799 = 3,000,000 credits; valid 12 months. Google search = 5 credits ($2.50→$1.33 per 1,000 by pack). x402 Google search: $0.003 (promo through November 9, 2026 inclusive, then $0.005) in USDC, independent of prepaid credits (llms.txt) | Free 1,000 credits/month; PAYG $0.008/credit; Project $30/month 4,000 credits … Growth $500/month 100,000. Basic search 1 credit, advanced 2 (docs, 2026-10-25) |
| Signup | Optional (not needed for x402) | Free key; also keyless free rate-limited Search/Extract (keyless docs) |
| Pay-per-call | Yes (x402 + prepaid credits) | PAYG $0.008/credit; x402 for Advanced Search |
| x402 / USDC | Yes, all 16 endpoints, USDC on Base | Yes, only POST /search advanced, $0.01/call, USDC on Base (x402 docs) |
| MCP | Hosted, 16 tools, key for tool calls | Yes, tavily-mcp (MCP docs) |
| Credits expiry | Valid 12 months, nothing renews | Monthly credits reset on the 1st (pricing FAQ) |
When to choose Tavily
- Generic web search for RAG with extract/crawl/map/research in one vendor.
- You want a free monthly allowance (1,000 credits) or keyless testing.
When to choose FastAF
- You need Google SERP/Maps/Shopping/News/Scholar/Jobs results specifically, or data from Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Zillow, YouTube, LinkedIn, X. See /apis/.
- Your agent pays per call over x402 on any endpoint: a Google search is $0.003 (promo through November 9, 2026 inclusive, then $0.005) vs Tavily x402 advanced search $0.01.
- Irregular usage: credits don’t reset monthly.
FAQ
Does Tavily support x402? Yes, for Advanced Search only ($0.01/call, Base USDC), per its docs on 2026-10-25. Free tier? Tavily 1,000 credits/month; FastAF 2 free calls after email verification. MCP? Both have one.
More on the FastAF blog.
Sources (all read 2026-10-25)
FastAF: https://fastaf.co/llms.txt, https://api.fastaf.co/.well-known/x402, https://api.fastaf.co/openapi.json, live unpaid GETs to https://api.fastaf.co/x402/v1/<endpoint> (HTTP 402, captured 2026-10-25 20:53 UTC).
SerpApi: https://serpapi.com/pricing ; https://serpapi.com/mcp
Exa: https://exa.ai/pricing ; https://exa.ai/docs/llms.txt ; https://exa.ai/docs/integrations/payments/x402/quickstart.md ; https://exa.ai/llms.txt
Tavily: https://www.tavily.com/pricing ; https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/api-credits ; https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/machine-payments/x402.md ; https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/keyless.md ; https://docs.tavily.com/documentation/mcp
Firecrawl: https://www.firecrawl.dev/pricing ; https://docs.firecrawl.dev/mcp-server ; https://www.firecrawl.dev/agents ; https://docs.firecrawl.dev/llms.txt