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CrawlForge MCP

Alternatives

A search API built for agents, or 31 MCP tools that cover what happens after the search. See the honest comparison.

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01Quick answer

Tavily is a search API for AI agents with 1,000 free credits a month, where a basic search costs 1 credit and extraction costs 1 credit per 5 URLs. CrawlForge is an MCP server with 31 tools for scraping, crawling, browser actions, structured extraction, research and monitoring, with no search index of its own. Pick Tavily when search is most of the work; pick CrawlForge for what the agent does with the pages it finds.

02Context

Overview

Tavily is a search API built for AI agents: one call returns ranked, LLM-ready results for a query, and the same credits pay for its Extract, Map, Crawl and Research endpoints. It ships Python and JavaScript SDKs, a remote MCP server, and a free tier of 1,000 API credits a month. A basic search costs 1 credit and an advanced search 2.

CrawlForge starts from the page rather than the query. Its 31 MCP tools fetch, clean, extract, crawl, render with a stealth browser, run browser actions and track changes; search_web (5 credits) and deep_research (10 credits) cover search and research. CrawlForge has no search index of its own: search_web queries an upstream search engine, so search itself is Tavily's core product, not CrawlForge's.

If search is most of your traffic, Tavily is the specialist. If search is one step in an agent that then has to read, extract from, or interact with the pages it found, CrawlForge covers more of that pipeline from one MCP server.

03Scoreboard

Feature Comparison

03

CrawlForge wins

04

Tie

03

Competitor wins

  1. Core ProductTie
    CrawlForge
    31 tools: fetch, extract, crawl, browser, research, monitor
    Tavily
    Search, plus Extract, Map, Crawl and Research
  2. Web SearchCompetitor wins
    CrawlForge
    search_web (5 credits) via an upstream engine
    Tavily
    Core product: basic 1 credit, advanced 2
  3. Bulk Page ExtractionCompetitor wins
    CrawlForge
    scrape (2), batch_scrape up to 50 URLs (5)
    Tavily
    5 successful URLs per credit (basic)
  4. Structured ExtractionCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    scrape_structured, extract_structured, extract_with_llm
    Tavily
    Check vendor for latest
  5. Browser InteractionCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    scrape_with_actions, browser_session, stealth_mode
    Tavily
    Not among its endpoints
  6. Crawling and MappingTie
    CrawlForge
    map_site (2), crawl_deep (4)
    Tavily
    Map and Crawl, priced per pages returned
  7. ResearchTie
    CrawlForge
    deep_research: fixed 10 credits
    Tavily
    Research: 4-110 credits (mini), 15-250 (pro)
  8. Change MonitoringCrawlForge wins
    CrawlForge
    track_changes
    Tavily
    Not among its endpoints
  9. MCP SupportTie
    CrawlForge
    Native MCP server with 31 tools
    Tavily
    Remote MCP server with OAuth, or local
  10. Free TierCompetitor wins
    CrawlForge
    1,000 credits (one-time)
    Tavily
    1,000 API credits every month

04The numbers

Pricing Comparison

Free

CrawlForge1,000 credits (one-time)

TavilyResearcher — 1,000 API credits/month

Hobby

CrawlForge$19/mo — 5,000 credits (roll over)

TavilyProject $30/mo — 4,000 credits

Professional

CrawlForge$99/mo — 100,000 credits (roll over)

TavilyBootstrap $100/mo — 15,000 credits

Business

CrawlForge$399/mo — 500,000 credits (roll over)

TavilyGrowth $500/mo — 100,000 credits

05Trade-offs

Why Choose CrawlForge

  • Goes past search: browser actions, stealth rendering, schema extraction and change tracking in one API
  • deep_research at a fixed 10 credits per call, so research cost is known up front
  • 31 MCP tools an agent discovers from one server
  • extract_with_llm runs on a local Ollama model by default in the MCP server
  • Credits roll over on every paid plan

Where Tavily Shines

  • Search is the core product, and a basic search costs just 1 credit
  • 1,000 free API credits every month, not once
  • Cheap bulk extraction: 5 successful URLs per credit, and failed URLs are not charged
  • Official Python and JavaScript SDKs
  • Remote MCP server with OAuth sign-in
  • Free accounts for students

06Verdict

The Verdict

Pick Tavily when search is the job. Its credits are cheapest on the work it was built for (a basic search is 1 credit and extraction is 5 URLs per credit), its free tier refills every month, and the SDKs and remote MCP server make it quick to wire into an agent.

Pick CrawlForge when search is only the first step. Once an agent has URLs, it often needs to render a JavaScript page, click through to the content, return fields that match a schema, crawl the rest of the site, or watch a page for changes. Those are separate tools on CrawlForge, called the same way from one MCP server and one credit balance. Many teams use both: Tavily to find, CrawlForge to read and act.

07Decision

Which one should you pick?

Pick CrawlForge when

  • Your agent needs to interact with pages (click, type, log in) or render them with a stealth browser.
  • You need fields that match a schema, not just page text.
  • You want page monitoring with track_changes alongside scraping.
  • You want research at a fixed price per call with deep_research.
  • You prefer one MCP server with 31 tools over wiring several APIs together.

Pick Tavily when

  • Most of your calls are web searches.
  • You extract text from large batches of URLs and want the lowest per-URL price.
  • You want a free tier that refills every month.
  • You want official Python and JavaScript SDKs.
  • You are a student and qualify for a free account.

08Migration

Migration example

Swap a Tavily search for a CrawlForge search_web call, then read the top result with scrape when you need the full page. (Check Tavily docs for the latest SDK.)

Before — Tavily
# Before: Tavilyimport osfrom tavily import TavilyClienttavily_client = TavilyClient(api_key=os.environ["TAVILY_API_KEY"])response = tavily_client.search("latest MCP server releases")
After — CrawlForge
# After: CrawlForgeimport os, requestsr = requests.post(    "https://www.crawlforge.dev/api/v1/tools/search_web",    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['CRAWLFORGE_API_KEY']}"},    json={"query": "latest MCP server releases", "limit": 5},)results = r.json()["data"]

09Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

01Is Tavily or CrawlForge cheaper for web search?

For search alone, usually Tavily. A basic Tavily search is 1 credit, which is $0.0075 on the Project plan and $0.005 on Growth. A CrawlForge search_web call is 5 credits, which is about $0.005 on the Professional plan ($99 for 100,000 credits) and $0.019 on Hobby. Search is Tavily's core product; CrawlForge is priced for the work that comes after it.

02Does CrawlForge have its own search index?

No. search_web queries an upstream search engine and returns ranked results, and deep_research builds on it to fetch, compare and synthesise sources. If search quality at high volume is your main need, a search-first API such as Tavily is the better fit.

03How does deep_research compare with Tavily Research?

Both run multi-step research over several sources. CrawlForge's deep_research costs a fixed 10 credits per call and flags conflicting claims between sources. Tavily Research is priced dynamically: 4 to 110 credits per request with model=mini, and 15 to 250 with model=pro.

04Can I use Tavily and CrawlForge together?

Yes, and they fit together well: Tavily to find the right URLs, CrawlForge to render, interact with, extract from or monitor those pages. Both have MCP servers, so an agent can call either from the same client. They are billed separately.

05Where can I compare Tavily, Exa, Firecrawl and CrawlForge side by side?

Our blog post "CrawlForge vs Firecrawl vs Tavily vs Exa" (crawlforge.dev/blog/crawlforge-vs-firecrawl-tavily-exa-web-data-api) compares all four web data APIs for AI agents. This page goes deeper on Tavily alone.

10Resources

Related resources

01

Getting started

Install CrawlForge MCP and run your first scrape in under a minute.

02

Browse all 31 tools

See every scraping, extraction, and research tool with credit costs.

03

Use cases

Lead enrichment, price monitoring, RAG pipelines, and more.

04

Pricing

Free 1,000 credits, then $19/mo Starter. Compare every plan.

05

All comparisons

See how CrawlForge stacks up against every major scraping API.

06

CrawlForge vs Firecrawl vs Tavily vs Exa: Best Web Data API for AI Agents (2026)

CrawlForge, Firecrawl, Tavily, and Exa compared for AI agents -- what each web data API does, how they price, and how to pick the right one in 2026.

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