Best Web Search MCP servers

Give your assistant live web search with citations. Most search servers need an API key; a few (DuckDuckGo, SearXNG) don't. We compared 24 Web Search MCP servers — 18 updated in the last 90 days, 12 with one-click install — ranked by relevance and GitHub stars.

Official: exa-mcp-server by exa-labs, tavily-mcp by tavily-ai, brave-search-mcp-server by brave

Quick comparison

Top 12 by relevance. Status: maintained = commit in the last 90 days.

ServerStarsStatusUpdatedInstallAPI key
exa-mcp-serverexa-labs★ 5.1kMaintained6 days agoSee READMELikely
tavily-mcptavily-ai★ 2.4kMaintained8 days agoCommandLikely
duckduckgo-mcp-servernickclyde★ 1.5kMaintained1 month agoOne-clickNot mentioned
brave-search-mcp-serverbrave★ 1.5kMaintained4 days agoOne-clickLikely
mcp-searxngihor-sokoliuk★ 1.3kMaintainedtodayCommandLikely
web-search-mcpmrkrsl★ 1.2kStale1 year agoOne-clickLikely
google-searchweb-agent-master★ 622Stale1 year agoOne-clickLikely
kindly-web-search-mcp-serverShelpuk-AI-Technology-Consulting★ 399Maintained3 days agoOne-clickLikely
perplexity-mcpjsonallen★ 308Stale1 year agoOne-clickLikely
wigoloKnockOutEZ★ 5.5kMaintainedtodayOne-clickLikely
modelcontextprotocolperplexityai★ 2.6kMaintainedtodayCommandLikely
mcp-gscAminForou★ 1.9kMaintained28 days agoSee READMENot mentioned

All 24 Web Search MCP servers

Showing all 24 servers

exa-mcp-server

by exa-labs · TypeScript

Connect AI agents to Exa for web search, content fetching, and multi-step research.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote5.1k

tavily-mcp

by tavily-ai · TypeScript

Production ready MCP server with real-time search, extract, map & crawl.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote2.4k

duckduckgo-mcp-server

by nickclyde · Python

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides web search capabilities through DuckDuckGo, with additional features for content fetching and parsing.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote1.5k

brave-search-mcp-server

by brave · TypeScript

Visit https://brave.com/search/api/ for a free API key. Search the web, local businesses, images,…

Search & WebMaintainedRemote1.5k

mcp-searxng

by ihor-sokoliuk · TypeScript

Private web search for AI assistants via SearXNG — supports Claude, Cursor, and any MCP client

Search & WebMaintainedRemote1.3k

web-search-mcp

by mrkrsl · TypeScript

A simple, locally hosted Web Search MCP server for use with Local LLMs

Search & WebStaleRemote1.2k

google-search

by web-agent-master · TypeScript

A Playwright-based Node.js tool that bypasses search engine anti-scraping mechanisms to execute Google searches. Local alternative to SERP APIs with MCP server integration.

Search & WebStaleRemote622

kindly-web-search-mcp-server

by Shelpuk-AI-Technology-Consulting · Python

Kindly Web Search MCP Server: Web search + robust content retrieval for AI coding tools (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, etc.) and AI agents (Claude Desktop, OpenClaw, Hermes, etc.). Supports Serper, Tavily, and SearXNG.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote399

perplexity-mcp

by jsonallen · Python

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides web search functionality using Perplexity AI's API.

Search & WebStale308

wigolo

by KnockOutEZ · TypeScript

The go-to web for your AI coding agent — local-first search, fetch, crawl & research over MCP. No API keys, no cloud, $0/query. Public beta.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote5.5k

modelcontextprotocol

by perplexityai · TypeScript

The official MCP server implementation for the Perplexity API Platform

Search & WebMaintainedRemote2.6k

mcp-gsc

by AminForou · Python

Google Search Console Insights with Claude AI for SEOs

Marketing & CommerceMaintainedRemote1.9k

anysearch-mcp-server

by anysearch-ai · —

Unified real-time search MCP server supporting general web search, vertical domain search, parallel batch search, and full-page URL content extraction.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote1.9k

open-webSearch

by Aas-ee · TypeScript

Multi-engine MCP server, CLI, and local daemon for agent web search and content retrieval — skill-guided workflows, no API keys.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote1.9k

meta-ads-mcp

by pipeboard-co · Python

Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram) MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity & Cursor — the Meta node of Pipeboard’s 5-platform family (+ Google, TikTok, Snap, Reddit). Hosted remote MCP, badged Meta Business Partner, free plan — no self-hosting required.

Marketing & CommerceMaintainedRemote1.3k

Proxima

by Zen4-bit · JavaScript

Multi-AI MCP Server - Connect ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & Perplexity to your coding tools without any API

Gateways, Hubs & ManagersMaintained1.2k

crw

by fastcrw · Rust

Fast, lightweight Firecrawl/Tavily alternative in Rust. Web scraper, crawler & search API with MCP server for AI agents. Drop-in Firecrawl-compatible API (/scrape, /crawl, /search). 2.3x faster than Tavily, 1.5x faster than Firecrawl in 1K-URL benchmarks. 6 MB RAM, single binary. Self-host or use managed cloud.

Search & WebMaintained1.1k

llm-server-docs

by varunvasudeva1 · —

End-to-end documentation to set up your own local & fully private LLM server on Debian. Equipped with chat, web search, RAG, model management, MCP servers, image generation, and TTS.

Media & DesignAgingRemote844

desktop

by agentify-sh · JavaScript

Agentify Desktop lets Codex/Claude/OpenCode control your logged-in ChatGPT, Claude, AiStudio, Gemini, Grok, Perplexity web sessions via MCP, parallel hidden/visible tabs, file upload + image download

Media & DesignAging567

seo-monster

by avansaber · Python

SEOMonster: a local, user-credential-driven MCP server for SEO workflows over Google Search Console, GA4, PageSpeed Insights, and Cloudflare. Read-first, open source.

Marketing & CommerceMaintained541

CoexistAI

by SPThole · Jupyter Notebook

CoexistAI is a modular, developer-friendly research assistant framework . It enables you to build, search, summarize, and automate research workflows using LLMs, web search, Reddit, YouTube, and mapping tools—all with simple MCP tool calls or API calls or Python functions.

Search & WebAgingRemote528

GrokSearch-rs

by Episkey-G · Rust

Rust MCP server for Grok web search and Tavily-backed source retrieval

Search & WebMaintainedRemote458

geo-score

by jianruntech · Python

Can AI engines cite your site, and do they? Free 0–100 readiness score on an open GEO rubric, plus ask and weekly citation tracking via OpenAI, Perplexity, Gemini, Anthropic and OpenRouter with your own keys. Zero dependencies; CLI, GitHub Action and MCP server.

Marketing & CommerceMaintained416

mcp-omnisearch

by spences10 · TypeScript

🔍 A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server providing unified access to multiple search engines (Tavily, Brave, Kagi, Exa), AI tools (Kagi FastGPT, Exa, Linkup), and content extraction services (Firecrawl, Tavily, Kagi). Includes GitHub search. All through a single interface.

Search & WebMaintainedRemote356

Web Search MCP server FAQ

What is the best Web Search MCP server?

Based on GitHub stars and recent activity, exa-mcp-server by exa-labs (★ 5.1k, updated 6 days ago) is the most popular actively maintained option on HookMCP, followed by tavily-mcp and duckduckgo-mcp-server. The right choice depends on whether you need write access, a hosted (remote) endpoint, or a server that runs locally without an API key.

Is there an official Web Search MCP server?

Yes — exa-mcp-server by exa-labs, tavily-mcp by tavily-ai, brave-search-mcp-server by brave are published by the vendor or the MCP project. Official servers are usually the safest first install.

How do I install a Web Search MCP server in Claude, Cursor or VS Code?

Open the server's page on HookMCP, choose your client tab (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code or Claude Code) and copy the config — 12 of the 24 servers here have one-click install links for Cursor and VS Code. Restart your AI app and the new tools appear automatically.

Do Web Search MCP servers need an API key?

21 of 24 servers here mention API keys or tokens in their README; 3 don't mention any. Check each listing's Details panel, and pass keys as environment variables rather than pasting them into chat.

Related integrations

Or browse by category: Search & Web, Marketing & Commerce.