How to Choose a Search MCP Server

Start with the job and the client

Write down what the agent has to do. A fact check needs an answer with quotes. Competitive research needs ranked sources and page fetches. Then confirm which connection types your client accepts: a remote URL, a local command, or both.

Check which clients each vendor supports. Exa lists Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code among them. Brave's documented install is a local package. Hosted options need a public endpoint, so a server reachable only on your laptop will not work in Claude's connector screen.

Compare on evidence, not claims

Hyperresearch publishes its own benchmark runs for Answers. On BrowseComp it reports 89%, against 73% for Parallel (Pro), 58% for OpenAI web search, 43% for Perplexity Sonar Pro and 12% for Exa. On DeepSearchQA it reports 85%, against 81%, 70%, 24% and 28% for the same group in the same order. These are Hyperresearch's results, so read the method and rerun a sample of your own questions.

Score each server on the same five to ten questions. Record whether the answer is correct, whether the citation points to the right page, and how much text came back. Include two or three questions with no clear answer, since a good server should say when it cannot find support. Ask the vendor for its method page if you cannot find one.

Weigh cost, keys and risk

Free starts differ. Exa offers keyless search within a rate limit and free credits at signup. Hyperresearch Answers gives free credit to start. Firecrawl offers a keyless tier with daily caps. Brave requires an API key from its developer account.

Last, check the security posture. A server with broad scopes, very long results or no approval path adds risk. Prefer servers with scoped keys, a clear tool list and documented rate limits.

Count the hidden costs as well. A free tier with a low rate limit can stall a research run, and usage-based billing can surprise a team that has not set a budget. Write down the call limits, the public price for each call, and the owner of each key. Label any third-party price you copy as an estimate.

Checklist

• Write the job in one sentence, such as a cited fact check or a source list.
• Confirm which connection types your client supports.
• Shortlist two or three servers that match the job.
• Run the same five to ten questions through each server and score the results.
• Pick the best scorer, then record its key owner and rate limit.

Questions & answers

Sources for this entry

• Hyperresearch Answers
• Exa MCP server reference
• Brave Search MCP server (GitHub)
• Firecrawl MCP server documentation
• Model Context Protocol: What is MCP

Vendor descriptions are attributed to the vendor. Prices change; confirm with each vendor.

Continue this reading path

• Selection & fit
• Search MCP Server
• Resource directory

Cite this entry