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Brave Search vs SearXNG Search MCP Server
Brave Search exposes 8 tools and adds about 8,289 tokens to every model turn. SearXNG Search exposes 4 tools and adds about 1,480. Brave Search costs 5.6× as much context. Measured by connecting to each server and counting its tool list, not from the README.
 Brave Searchbrave |  SearXNG Searchihor-sokoliuk | |
|---|---|---|
| Context tax | ~8,289 tok/turn | ~1,480 tok/turn(leaner) |
| Tools | 8 | 4 |
| Cost per 1,000 turns (Claude Sonnet 5.5, uncached) | $16.58 | $2.96 |
| Security score | 97/100 | 100/100 |
| Cold start | 5,865 ms | 895 ms |
| Runs | Local or hosted | Local (stdio) |
| Needs keys | BRAVE_API_KEY | SEARXNG_URL, AUTH_USERNAME, AUTH_PASSWORD |
| Freshness | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 1.5k | 1.3k |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Official MCP registry | Yes | Yes |
Install in Claude Code
Brave Search
claude mcp add brave-search-brave -e BRAVE_API_KEY='<brave-api-key>' -- npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server
SearXNG Search
claude mcp add io-github-ihor-sokoliuk-mcp-searxng -e SEARXNG_URL='<searxng-url>' -e AUTH_USERNAME='<auth-username>' -e AUTH_PASSWORD='<auth-password>' -- npx -y mcp-searxng
Tools
By name, from each server's live tool list. The same name can still behave differently.
Only in Brave Search · 8
- brave_web_search
- brave_local_search
- brave_video_search
- brave_image_search
- brave_news_search
- brave_summarizer
- brave_llm_context
- brave_place_search
In both · 0
- none
Only in SearXNG Search · 4
- searxng_web_search
- searxng_search_suggestions
- searxng_instance_info
- web_url_read
Questions
- Which uses fewer tokens, Brave Search or SearXNG Search?
- SearXNG Search: its tool definitions take about 1,480 tokens per turn against 8,289 for Brave Search (5.6× more). Tool definitions are resent on every model turn.
- Do Brave Search and SearXNG Search have the same tools?
- No tool names overlap: Brave Search has 8 tools and SearXNG Search has 4.
- Are Brave Search and SearXNG Search hosted or local?
- Brave Search: local or hosted. SearXNG Search: local (stdio).
Token counts use the o200k tokenizer on each server's tool definitions as an agent receives them; clients that load tools lazily pay less. Prices are Claude Sonnet 5.5 input at $2/MTok. Want to check one yourself? Run npx mcpskillhub test <package> — how it works.