# Linkup

Web search API with its own index that returns ranked sources and snippets, cited answers or structured JSON.

- Provider: Linkup (https://www.linkup.so)
- Category: Search the web
- Type: Hosted API
- Pricing model: Pay as you go, prepaid credit balance [1]
- Free tier: $20 credit on sign-up with a professional email, topped up to $20 monthly [1]
- Authentication: API key as Bearer token; x402 payment with USDC needs no account [2]
- Connect via: REST API, remote and local MCP server, Python and JS SDKs, CLI [3]
- Read from the provider's pages on 2026-11-04
- Page: https://supermarket.dev/tools/search-the-web/linkup

## Pricing

### Billing
- Pricing model: Pay as you go from a prepaid credit balance; each successful call deducts from it [1]
- Free tier: $20 credit on sign-up with a professional email address; eligible accounts topped up back to $20 each month [1]
- Card required for free tier: Not published
- Minimum spend: Not published
- Billing period: Monthly top-up of the free credit; otherwise prepaid, no billing period stated [1]

### Prices
Per call, so $0.005 per call = $5 per 1,000 requests; $0.05 = $50; $0.006 = $6; $0.055 = $55.
| Search depth | Output | $ per 1,000 requests |
|---|---|---|
| `flash` (alpha), `fast`, `standard` | `searchResults` | $5 |
| `flash`, `fast`, `standard` | `sourcedAnswer` or `structured` | $6 |
| `deep` | `searchResults` | $50 |
| `deep` | `sourcedAnswer` or `structured` | $55 |
Source [10]

### Other charges
- Fetch endpoint: $1 to $10 per 1,000 calls depending on `mode` and `renderJs`; `schema` adds $1 per 1,000 [1]
- Research endpoint: $0.25 to $2.50 per call by `reasoningDepth` (`S` to `XL`) [1]
- Extract endpoint (closed beta): Most completed tasks cost $2 to $10; $10 minimum balance to submit [1]
- Failed requests: No credit is subtracted on error or when nothing relevant is found [1]
- Out of credit: API responds with `429` [1]

### Pay per call
- x402 (USDC on Base): Flat $10 per 1,000 requests on `/v1/search` and `/v1/fetch`; no account needed [11]
- x402 (other page): Same per-request costs as listed for the API, with a minimum charge of $0.01 per request [1]

## Tools

### MCP server
- Official MCP server: Yes, remote and local [3]
- Address or package: `https://mcp.linkup.so/mcp` (remote); `linkup-mcp-server` (npm, local) [3]
- tools/list check: Unauthenticated `initialize` and `tools/list` returned HTTP 400, so the tool list is taken from the docs [12]

### MCP tools
| Tool | What it does | Read-only |
|---|---|---|
| `linkup-search` | Real-time web search with natural language queries; standard and deep modes, domain and date filters | Not stated |
| `linkup-research` | Starts an autonomous, long-running research task | Not stated |
| `linkup-get-research` | Retrieves the status and result of a research task | Not stated |
| `linkup-fetch` | Fetches and extracts content from a webpage | Not stated |
Source [3]

### API
| Endpoint | What it does |
|---|---|
| `GET /v1/search` | Web search: sources and snippets, sourced answer or structured JSON |
| `POST /v1/fetch` | Fetch a URL as markdown, optionally with JS rendering |
| `POST /v1/research` | Asynchronous multi-source research task |
| `GET /v1/research/{id}` | Status and result of a research task |
| `POST /v1/tasks` | Asynchronous task wrapping search, fetch, research or extract |
| `POST /v1/extract` | Crawl-based extraction (closed beta) |
| `GET /v1/credits/balance` | Current credit balance |
Source [6]

### Features
- Results per query: Capped by `maxResults` (minimum 1); no default stated [13]
- Content returned: Ranked sources with name, URL and content snippet; optional cited answer or JSON matching a schema; optional images [6]
- Search types: `flash` (alpha, under 200 ms), `fast` (about 1 s), `standard` (1 to 3 s), `deep` (5 to 30 s) [6]
- Freshness controls: `fromDate` and `toDate` ISO 8601 date range [6]
- Domain filters: `includeDomains` and `excludeDomains`, up to 100 domains [6]
- Storing results: Not published

## Authentication

### Methods
| Method | Used for | How |
|---|---|---|
| API key | REST API, SDKs, CLI | `Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_LINKUP_API_KEY>` header |
| API key | Remote MCP server | `Authorization: Bearer` header, or `?apiKey=` query parameter |
| x402 (USDC on Base) | `/v1/search` and `/v1/fetch` without an account | Send request, get `402`, resend with signed payload in `payment-signature` header |
Source [2]

### Getting access
- Who creates the account: A person creates an account to get a key; agents can instead pay per request with x402 and no account [11]
- Where to get a key: Linkup app at `https://app.linkup.so` [2]
- Other requirements: Professional email address for the sign-up credit; USDC wallet on Base for x402 [1]

## Setup

### Addresses
- REST API: `https://api.linkup.so/v1` [2]
- MCP server: `https://mcp.linkup.so/mcp` [3]
- OpenAPI spec: `https://api.linkup.so/v1/openapi.json` [12]
- Docs for agents: `https://docs.linkup.so/llms.txt` [12]
- Status page: `https://status.linkup.so` [12]

### Install
| What | Command |
|---|---|
| Claude Code (remote MCP) | `claude mcp add --transport http linkup https://mcp.linkup.so/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"` |
| Codex (local MCP) | `codex mcp add linkup -- npx -y linkup-mcp-server apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY` |
| Python SDK | `pip install linkup-sdk` |
| CLI | `npm install -g linkup-search-cli` |
| Agent skills | `npx skills add LinkupPlatform/skills` |
Source [3]

## Limits

### Rate limits
- Search and Fetch: 10 queries per second per organization; per IP address for x402 [4]
- Higher limits: Custom plans on request [4]

### Other limits
- Domain filter size: Up to 100 domains [6]
- Concurrency: `429` is returned for running out of credit or too many concurrent requests [5]

## Privacy

### Your data
- Data location: Infrastructure in the US, EU, Canada and APAC; queries may be processed in any of them by default [9]
- Retention: Not published
- Used for training: Not published
- Zero data retention: Available on request, not on by default [9]

### Compliance
- Certifications: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 [8]
- HIPAA: Stated as HIPAA compliant [8]

## Sources

1. Pricing: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/pricing.md
2. Authentication: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/authentication.md
3. Linkup MCP Server: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/integrations/mcp/mcp.md
4. Rate limits: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/rate-limits.md
5. Errors: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/errors.md
6. Search overview: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/search/overview.md
7. Quickstart: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/get-started/quickstart.md
8. Security and compliance: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/security-and-privacy/security-compliance.md
9. Data processing and privacy: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/security-and-privacy/data-processing-privacy.md
10. FAQ: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/faq/faq.md
11. x402 Payment Protocol: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/platform/x402.md
12. Checked by supermarket.dev
13. Search reference: https://docs.linkup.so/pages/documentation/endpoints/search/reference.md