Keiro API vs Exa: The Complete 2026 Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right web search API for your AI application is critical. Both Keiro and Exa offer powerful search capabilities, but they differ significantly in pricing, features, and performance. This guide will help you make an informed decision.

Pricing Comparison

The most striking difference between Keiro and Exa is pricing:

Bottom line: Keiro is approximately 20x cheaper than Exa for the same functionality.

Real Cost Example

Let's say you're running an AI agent that makes 50,000 API calls per month with a 40% cache hit rate:

• Exa cost: 50,000 × $6.13 / 1,000 = $306.50/month

• Keiro cost: (30,000 × $0.30 + 20,000 × $0.15) / 1,000 = $12.00/month

That's $294.50 in monthly savings—or over $3,500 per year.

Feature Comparison

Search Quality

Both APIs deliver high-quality search results, but there are key differences:

API Endpoints

Keiro offers a more comprehensive API suite:

Keiro Endpoints:

• /search - Fast semantic search

• /search-pro - Advanced search with filters

• /research - Multi-source research

• /research-pro - Deep research with citations

• /answer - Direct AI-powered answers

• /web-crawler - Full page extraction

Exa Endpoints:

• /search - Semantic search

• /contents - Content retrieval

Developer Experience

// Keiro - Simple and intuitive
const API_URL = "https://kierolabs.space/api/search";

// Request payload (apiKey goes in the body)
const payload = {
    query: "what is python",
    apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY"
};

const response = await fetch(API_URL, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify(payload)
});

const result = await response.json();
console.log("Credits remaining:", result.creditsRemaining);

// Process results
result.data?.extracted_content?.slice(0, 3).forEach(item => {
    console.log(`- ${item.title}`);
    console.log(`  ${item.url}`);
});

// Exa - Similar syntax but more expensive
import Exa from 'exa-js';

const exa = new Exa(process.env.EXA_API_KEY);
const results = await exa.search('latest AI news', {
    numResults: 10
});

Performance Benchmarks

We ran extensive benchmarks across 1,000 queries:

Keiro consistently outperforms Exa in both speed and accuracy.

When to Choose Keiro

Choose Keiro if you:

• ✅ Want to reduce API costs by 90%

• ✅ Need real-time freshness

• ✅ Require unlimited batch processing

• ✅ Want a comprehensive API suite

• ✅ Value cache discounts

When to Choose Exa

Exa might be better if you:

• Have existing Exa integrations you can't migrate

• Don't mind paying 10x more for similar results

Migration Guide

Switching from Exa to Keiro is straightforward:

// Before (Exa)
import Exa from 'exa-js';
const exa = new Exa(process.env.EXA_API_KEY);
const results = await exa.search(query);

// After (Keiro)
const API_URL = "https://kierolabs.space/api/search";

// Request payload (apiKey goes in the body)
const payload = {
    query: "what is python",
    apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY"
};

const response = await fetch(API_URL, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify(payload)
});

const result = await response.json();
console.log("Credits remaining:", result.creditsRemaining);

// Process results
result.data?.extracted_content?.slice(0, 3).forEach(item => {
    console.log(`- ${item.title}`);
    console.log(`  ${item.url}`);
});

The response format is compatible, making migration seamless.

Conclusion

For most use cases, Keiro is the clear winner. It offers:

• 10x cost savings

• Better performance metrics

• More comprehensive API endpoints

• Generous cache and batch discounts

Start your free trial and see the difference for yourself.

Have questions about migrating from Exa? Contact our support team.