# Z.ai, top-up: Web search API

> The Web Search is a specialized search engine for large language models. Building upon traditional search engine capabilities like web crawling and ranking, it enhances intent recognition to return results better suited for LLM processing (including webpage titles, URLs, summaries, site names, favicons etc.).

Z.ai's web search API on its Pay as you go plan. It costs $10.00 per 1,000 searches. It returns 1 of the 6 key fields we check: Text.
Half of the 334 plans we rank by price cost $3.125 per 1,000 searches or less. This plan is cheaper than 20% of the 334 plans.
The cheapest plan we rank by price is [LangSearch, free](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/langsearch/free/llms.txt), at $0.00 per 1,000 searches.
[Context.dev](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/context-dev/300-monthly/llms.txt), [Serpex](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/serpex/top-up-from-50/llms.txt) and [Firecrawl](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/firecrawl/top-up-from-5-pay-as-you-go-on-scale/llms.txt) are the best web search API providers in our benchmark.

- This page: https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/z-ai/top-up
- [Best web search API in 2026](https://datacircle.dev/best-web-search-api.txt)
- Get it: https://docs.z.ai/guides/overview/pricing
- Request: `POST https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4/web_search`
- API key: with the plan, on https://docs.z.ai/guides/overview/pricing
- Its API docs: https://docs.z.ai/api-reference/tools/web-search
- Sold by: Z.ai (https://z.ai)
- Checked: 2026-10-28

## In the answer

- Completeness: 17%
- Text: ✓

## Price

- $ per 1,000 searches: $10.00
- Per: call
- Billing: pay first

## Aggregators

- Aggregators: none

## Charges

- Most per search: 50
- Also pays for: from the same budget: Web Reader · Chat Completion · Generate Image · Generate Image(Async) · Generate Video(Async) · Audio Transcriptions · Layout Parsing · Agent Chat

## In their words

- Their pitch: The Web Search is a specialized search engine for large language models. Building upon traditional search engine capabilities like web crawling and ranking, it enhances intent recognition to return results better suited for LLM processing (including webpage titles, URLs, summaries, site names, favicons etc.).

## Data

- Keep data: no limit
- Use data: You and End Users must not engage in any of the following improper uses of the Z.ai during your use of our API Services, including but not limited to: i. Use the Services and End User Content (as defined in Section 3) in a way that violate applicable laws or our policies, ii. Any attempt to extract data, parameters, or code from the Z.ai, [...] vii. Any exploitation of our intellectual property through use, lease, lending, copying, modification, linking, reposting, compilation, publication, or establishment of mirror sites, [...] xii. Except for authorized integration with your specific business scenarios, any use of the Z.ai's models, prompts, or model-generated content for the development, training, labeling, fine-tuning, optimization, iteration, or similar activities related to external models is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, any utilization of platform models or exported data to develop, train, or enhance algorithms or models that compete with us, [...] xiv. Any other unauthorized actions or usage potentially detrimental to our interests. You must truthfully and accurately disclose the use of models from the Z.ai (and other models, if applicable) in accordance with relevant regulations and supervisory requirements.

## Rate limit

- Batch: 1

## Speed

- Answer: in the call

## The call

- You send: search_engine "search-prime", search_query. Optional: count, search_domain_filter, search_recency_filter, request_id, user_id
- Method: POST
- Path: /api/paas/v4/web_search

## About the plan

- Plan: Pay as you go
- Who can get it: anyone not on an export control or sanctions list and not in Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Crimea, Donetsk or Zaporizhzhia, with an account

## The 9 fields the plan's answer can hold

search ID, created at, page title, URL, snippet, site name, site icon, result index, publish date

## Z.ai's plans (1)

- [Z.ai, top-up](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/z-ai/top-up/llms.txt): $10.00 per 1,000, 17% complete

## Z.ai's calls for this API (1)

- `POST /api/paas/v4/web_search`: [Z.ai, top-up](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/z-ai/top-up/llms.txt)

## Z.ai's APIs (2)

- [Z.ai: cached web scraping API pricing, 1 plan](https://datacircle.dev/cached-web-scraping-apis/z-ai/top-up/llms.txt)
- [Z.ai: web search API pricing, 1 plan](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/z-ai/top-up/llms.txt)

## Z.ai: web search API alternatives

- [Firecrawl, top-up from $5, Pay-as-you-go on Hobby, POST /v2/search](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/firecrawl/top-up-from-5-pay-as-you-go-on-hobby/llms.txt): $10.00 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [You.com, pay as you go, MPP](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/you-com/pay-as-you-go-mpp/llms.txt): $10.00 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [Linkup, pay as you go, x402, paid per request in USDC on Base, POST /v1/search, Search, standard, sourced answer](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/linkup/pay-as-you-go-x402-paid-per-request-in-usdc-on-base-post-v1-search-search-standard-sourced-answer/llms.txt): $10.00 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [browserfoundry, $10 pack, Starter Pack, POST /api/v2/search/content](https://datacircle.dev/web-search-apis/browserfoundry/10-pack-starter-pack-post-api-v2-search-content/llms.txt): $10.00 per 1,000, 17% complete

## Sources

From each provider's own pricing page and docs, and from what providers tell us. We read this row from these pages on 2026-10-28.

- https://docs.z.ai/api-reference/tools/web-search
- https://docs.z.ai/devpack/notice/api-key-management
- https://docs.z.ai/guides/overview/pricing
- https://docs.z.ai/guides/tools/web-search
- https://docs.z.ai/help/faq
- https://docs.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-use