Exa Search vs Kagi Search

A side-by-side comparison of two Search & Web servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	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	Kagi Search Official Kagi MCP server (Python/uvx) — privacy-first web search and URL/video summarization. Verified stdio (local) API key Python
Category	Search & Web	Search & Web
Language	TypeScript	Python
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	4.6k	417
Last commit	1 month ago	2 months ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y exa-mcp-server`	`uvx kagimcp`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Exa Search if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Kagi Search if you prefer its approach (official kagi mcp server (python/uvx) — privacy-first web search and url/video summarization).

Add Exa Search

Install / run

npx -y exa-mcp-server

Paste 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>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Kagi Search

Install / run

uvx kagimcp

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kagi-search": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "kagimcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "KAGI_API_KEY": "<your-kagi-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

FAQ

Exa Search or Kagi Search — which is better?

Pick Exa Search if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Kagi Search if you prefer its approach (official kagi mcp server (python/uvx) — privacy-first web search and url/video summarization).

Can I use both Exa Search and Kagi 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 Exa Search and Kagi Search work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Exa Search →View Kagi Search →More comparisons →