Same queries. Same URLs.
Two agent search APIs.
Tavily is a search and extraction API for AI agents, with a remote MCP server at mcp.tavily.com/mcp/. On 7 Nov 2026 we sent the same 5 queries and 6 URLs we used for the DeepSeek comparison to both. This is what came back, errors quoted verbatim.
Fetch
| URL | Tavily extract | Levirge fetch | Route |
|---|---|---|---|
| api-docs.deepseek.com/guides/search/ | 10.7 KB of markdown | 11.2 KB of markdown | direct |
| api.github.com/repos/denoland/deno | 6.3 KB, but markdown-escaped (node\_id) and doesn't parse as JSON | Raw JSON; select returned just full_name and stargazers_count | direct |
| reddit.com/r/rust/top/ | "Failed to fetch url" | Failed: "blocked content … Prove your humanity", [reason=blocked retryable=false], both routes named | stealth |
| realestate.com.au/rent/in-sydney… | "Failed to fetch url" | Listings page: "Showing 1 – 25 of 1624 properties" | stealth |
| medium.com/tag/programming | 29.7 KB of markdown | 12.2 KB of markdown | direct |
| feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/rss.xml | 10.4 KB with the XML tags stripped; doesn't parse as XML | Feed parsed; select returned the channel title as JSON | direct |
Tavily returned content for 4 of 6 URLs; two of those were API bodies that no longer parsed. Levirge returned 5 of 6, with JSON and XML unchanged. Reddit served both a challenge page: Tavily reported "Failed to fetch url", Levirge reported the challenge as the cause. Tavily's extract_depth: advanced also failed on Reddit and realestate.com.au.
Search
| Query | Tavily #1 | Levirge #1 |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4 release | ng.investing.com/news/…/deepseek-set-to-launch-nextgen-v4-model… (pre-launch news) | deepseek.com/en/news/deepseek-v4-1-flash/ |
| deno compile cross-platform static binary | github.com/denoland/deno/issues/8567 | docs.deno.com/runtime/reference/cli/compile/ |
| NATS JetStream KV watch example | oneuptime.com/blog/post/2026-02-02-nats-kv-store/view (docs.nats.io/learn/key-value/watching at #3) | docs.nats.io/tutorials/key-value |
| Sydney apartment rent prices 2026 | landedau.com/article/rent-prices-in-australia-2026-city-guide | urbanrenters.com.au/blog/average-rent-in-sydney-2026/ |
| tokio vs smol async runtime | medium.com/@bhesaniyavatsal/tokio-vs-smol-… | rustify.rs/articles/rust-async-runtimes-tokio-vs-async-std-2026 (async-std, not smol: off-target) |
All 5 queries returned 10 results on both sides. Tavily answered in 2.0–3.1 s per query round trip (1.1–2.0 s by its own response_time) and returns a relevance score per result. No duplicates or tracking parameters on either side. On tokio vs smol, Tavily's #1 was the better match.
Where Tavily is ahead
| Capability | Tavily | Levirge Search |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 1,000 credits a month, no card; keyless Search and Extract, rate-limited | Paid plans from $29 a month |
| Search filters | topic, time_range, date range, include/exclude domains, country, language | Query only |
| Generated answer | include_answer | Not offered: the agent reads the sources |
| More endpoints | Map, Crawl and Research | Search, fetch and queued reads |
| Failed extractions | Not charged | Recorded with the cause |
From Tavily's docs, checked 7 Nov 2026.
What Levirge Search does differently
| Capability | Tavily | Levirge Search |
|---|---|---|
| APIs and feeds | Bodies escaped or tags stripped | Raw JSON and XML, with select and schema |
| Refused sites | Failed on realestate.com.au in basic and advanced | Read it in a full browser |
| Failures | "Failed to fetch url" | The cause and each route tried |
| Pricing unit | Credits per request | Unlimited search and open fetch under fair use; full-browser reads metered |
Where Tavily fits
Agents that want search with filters, a generated answer or a crawl, from a free tier upward, and mostly read pages that answer plain requests.
Where Levirge fits
Agents that need to read the source itself: APIs and feeds kept parseable, sites that refuse plain requests, and failures that say why.
Method. Run on 7 Nov 2026 from one machine. Tavily through its HTTP API: /search with max_results: 10, /extract with default settings, one URL per request; the extract_depth: advanced retry for the two failed URLs ran earlier the same day. Levirge through its MCP search (limit: 10) and fetch tools. Tavily errors quoted from failed_results[].error; Levirge errors from the tool response. Reddit serves its challenge only some of the time, so its result can differ between runs. Results move day to day — run the same queries and URLs yourself.