Search1API vs MCP SearXNG
A side-by-side look at the Search1API and MCP SearXNG MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Search1API for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose MCP SearXNG for search & data extraction as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Search1API when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
SEARCH1API_KEY. - You want tools like
search, news, crawl.
Choose MCP SearXNG when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You have the keys it needs:
SEARXNG_URL. - You want tools like
searxng_web_search, searxng_search_suggestions, searxng_instance_info.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Search & Data Extraction |
| Quality signal | 68/100 · Great | 67/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | SEARCH1API_KEY | SEARXNG_URL |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 173 | 1,322 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 7 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Search1API | View MCP SearXNG |
Tools & capabilities
Search1API tools 7
searchSearch the live public web when the user needs current information, sources, or research. Returns citable results with id, title, URL, and text. Each result includes a URL that can be read in full.newsSearch current news when the user asks about recent events, announcements, or coverage. Returns citable article results with title, URL, snippet, and optional extracted text.crawlExtract the readable title and full text from a public URL supplied by the user or returned by search.sitemapDiscover related public links from a page or domain when the user wants to explore a site's structure or available pages.trendingList currently trending repositories or stories from GitHub or Hacker News when the user asks what is popular now.askDescribe what you are looking for in natural language when you do not know which source to search. Search1API picks up to five engines (web, Hacker News, Reddit, GitHub, X, arXiv, Wikipedia, and more), infers a time window from phrases such as "this week", and returns at most 10 relevant results ranked by relevance. Costs 5 credits; use search when you already know the engine.render_resultsPresent already retrieved source results as source cards when the host supports UI, with a complete readable text list otherwise. Use when the user wants to browse sources or a visual list helps the task. Pass existing results in the desired order; never invent source URLs or factual titles. Does not search, crawl, fetch URLs, verify sources, or consume search credits. Do not call for intermediate research results or when a text answer is sufficient.
MCP SearXNG tools 4
searxng_web_searchSearches the web using SearXNG and returns a list of results, each with a title, URL, and content snippet. CRITICAL: The required parameter name is exactly `query` (not `prompt`, `q`, or any other name). Calls an external SearXNG instance; availability depends on the `SEARXNG_URL` configuration. Use `pageno` to paginate results; combine `time_range` and `language` to narrow scope. When `engines` and `time_range` are both provided, every selected engine must explicitly advertise time-range support via SearXNG /config; otherwise the request is rejected before search. To read the full text of a result URL, follow up with `web_url_read`.searxng_search_suggestionsReturns autocomplete suggestions from the configured SearXNG instance. Use this to refine vague or partial queries before searching.searxng_instance_infoDiscovers capabilities from all reachable configured SearXNG instances via /config, including categories.common/available, engines.common/available, defaults, locales, and plugins.web_url_readFetches a URL and returns readable content as markdown. Content-type aware: HTML is converted to markdown; JSON is pretty-printed; plain text, YAML, TOML, and XML are returned as fenced readable text. PDF text extraction is supported with bounded input, output, page count, time, concurrency, and memory; OCR is not supported. Binary, media, archive, and octet-stream downloads other than PDFs are intentionally rejected instead of being returned as raw bytes. When the operator configures browser solvers, mcp-searxng attempts FlareSolverr first and then Byparr only after a busy or transient-unavailable acquisition; cache hits bypass acquisition and a final busy or unavailable provider uses one uncached direct-fetch fallback. Three modes: (1) Full content — omit filtering params; use `startChar`/`maxLength` to paginate large pages. (2) Section extraction — set `section` to return content under a specific heading. (3) Headings only — set `readHeadings: true` to list all headings (mutually exclusive with other filtering params). Returns an error string if the URL is unreachable or content cannot be extracted. Use after `searxng_web_search` to read the full content of individual result URLs.
Ready-to-paste client configs
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.
Search1API
{
"mcpServers": {
"search1api": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"search1api-mcp"
],
"env": {
"SEARCH1API_KEY": "YOUR_SEARCH1API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
MCP SearXNG
{
"mcpServers": {
"ihor-sokoliuk-mcp-searxng": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-searxng"
],
"env": {
"SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_URL_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Search1API is categorized under Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. MCP SearXNG belongs to Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Search1API for search & data extraction work and MCP SearXNG for search & data extraction.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Search1API has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. MCP SearXNG is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add search1api and ihor-sokoliuk-mcp-searxng as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Search1API has a quality signal of 68/100 (Great) with 1 views, 0 installs and 173 GitHub stars. MCP SearXNG has 67/100 (Great) with 4 views, 0 installs and 1,322 GitHub stars.