Brave lets AI agents buy search requests for half a cent each

Brave added pay-per-request access to its Search API on November 12. Developers can buy web searches for an AI agent without opening a Brave Search API account or obtaining an API key. The advertised rate is $0.005 per request, or $5 for 1,000. Brave accepts USDC, a dollar-linked stablecoin, on the Base blockchain through the x402 payment protocol.

The price applies to regular web search and to LLM Context, which returns material an AI system can use as evidence when drafting an answer. News, images, videos and local information are also available. At the published rate, ten completed searches for a research assignment would cost five cents. Any charges from the model that reads the material and writes the answer are separate from the search bill.

How a search becomes a purchase

An initial request without payment gets an HTTP 402 response. The response carries the binding price and payment terms for that specific request. Brave also lists prices in a public catalog that developers can read before they ask for a search. The client can submit a signed payment when it sends the search again. The signature serves as the credential on the new route, taking the place of the key Brave issues for account-based access.

Brave’s technical documentation distinguishes verification from settlement. The service verifies the payment authorization before it runs the search, then settles if the search succeeds. Brave says a failed search incurs no charge. If a search runs but settlement fails, the service withholds its result. A successful response includes both the search data and a receipt for the transaction.

Brave lists eight endpoints on the new payment route. Alongside its regular search and LLM Context, it offers separate news, image and video searches and three services for local information. The Answers API, which generates a response grounded in search results, stays on the account-based route. That service charges for requests and the volume of text the model processes and produces. Autosuggest and spellcheck also remain outside the pay-per-request offering.

Brave’s regular Search plan already lists the same $5 price per 1,000 requests and a separate $5 monthly credit applied to the customer’s account. The new option changes how the customer gets access and how the charge is collected. A team can pay out of a wallet for individual searches as they happen, while the existing plan retains its account-based billing and credit.

What a wallet payment leaves on record

Brave runs the service that verifies and settles the payment. Its Search API privacy notice says it uses the payer’s wallet address to link payments to the payer and screen for abuse. The transaction stays on Base’s public ledger, where other parties may be able to connect the wallet with its owner. A developer can skip opening a Brave account and still leave a public payment record.

Coinbase contributed x402 to a foundation under the Linux Foundation, which began formal operations in July. The protocol allows payment terms and authorizations to travel with web requests. It can accommodate multiple payment methods, but Brave’s search deployment currently accepts USDC on Base.

At launch Brave said it would cover Base network fees for a limited time. The announcement gives no end date for that arrangement or schedule for additional networks or currencies. Brave’s technical guide gives each current x402 payment offer a five-minute window.