A side-by-side look at the Brave Search MCP Server and Search1API MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Brave Search MCP Server for search & data extraction work over a hosted endpoint; choose Search1API for search & data extraction as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
BRAVE_MCP_TRANSPORT.query, country, search_lang.SEARCH1API_KEY.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Search & Data Extraction |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 49/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Freemium | Not declared |
| Required env vars | BRAVE_MCP_TRANSPORT | SEARCH1API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 1,496 | 173 |
| Directory activity | 9 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 54 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Brave Search MCP Server | View Search1API |
querycountrysearch_langui_langcountoffsetsafesearchfreshnesstext_decorationsspellcheckresult_filtergogglesNo tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
{
"mcpServers": {
"brave-brave-search-mcp-server": {
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp"
}
}
}
{
"mcpServers": {
"search1api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"search1api-mcp"
],
"env": {
"SEARCH1API_KEY": "YOUR_SEARCH1API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}