Exa Search vs WebSearch MCP

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	WebSearch MCP Real-time web search for MCP clients via a self-hosted crawler API over stdio. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Stale TypeScript
Category	Search & Web	Search & Web
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	None
GitHub stars	4.6k	37
Last commit	2 months ago	1 year ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y exa-mcp-server`	`npm install -g websearch-mcp`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Exa Search if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Pick WebSearch MCP if you want zero-setup with no API key.

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 WebSearch MCP

Install / run

npm install -g websearch-mcp

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "websearch-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "websearch-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "API_URL": "http://localhost:3001",
        "MAX_SEARCH_RESULT": "5"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Exa Search or WebSearch MCP — which is better?

Pick Exa Search if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option. Pick WebSearch MCP if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Can I use both Exa Search and WebSearch MCP?

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 WebSearch MCP work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

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

View Exa Search →View WebSearch MCP →More comparisons →