Apify Actors vs Exa Search
A side-by-side comparison of two Search & Web servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.
| Apify Actors Official Apify MCP server — search and scrape the web via thousands of ready-made Actors; local or remote. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript | Exa Search Exa's neural web search and crawling MCP server — runs locally via npx or as a hosted remote endpoint. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Web | Search & Web |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Transport | stdio (local) | stdio (local) |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| GitHub stars | 1.3k | 4.6k |
| Last commit | 4 days ago | 9 days ago |
| Verified | ||
| Actively maintained | ||
| Install | npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server | npx -y exa-mcp-server |
| Repo | Open | Open |
Verdict
Pick Apify Actors if you need the broadest set of tools.
Pick Exa Search if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.
Add Apify Actors
npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-serverPaste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify-actors": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@apify/actors-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-token>"
}
}
}
}Add Exa Search
npx -y exa-mcp-serverPaste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa-search": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"exa-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"EXA_API_KEY": "<your-exa-api-key>"
}
}
}
}FAQ
Apify Actors or Exa Search — which is better?
Pick Apify Actors if you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Exa Search if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.
Can I use both Apify Actors and Exa Search?
Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.
Do Apify Actors and Exa Search work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?
Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.