# DeepSeek Search & Fetch API

DeepSeek's pay-per-request web search and page fetch endpoints for agents

**Verdict: conditional.** DeepSeek's Search and Fetch API gives agents web search and page fetch for $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests each, with empty results and failures not billed. Conditional: the guide we read states no data-retention or privacy terms and no response-length limits, and calls through DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex stop being free at 00:00 Beijing time on November 1, 2026. It suits teams already on the DeepSeek API that want metered search without another vendor. We have not tested result quality. Last verified 2026-10-18.

DeepSeek's Search & Fetch API gives developers two HTTP endpoints on the DeepSeek API: POST https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search and POST https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/fetch. Both authenticate with an Authorization: Bearer DeepSeek API key. Search takes a query of 1 to 128 characters with operators (site:, -site:, quoted phrases, lang:, after:, before:), a count from 1 to 50 (default 10), an optional original question of up to 128 characters, an optional localization IP address and a need_content flag, and returns results with a rerank score, title, URL, snippet, summary, content, site name, site icon, date and authority. Fetch takes an HTTP or HTTPS URL of up to 8,192 characters and returns the page title and its content as Markdown. DeepSeek's October 17, 2026 update opens its in-house search engine to developers, describing it as indexing hundreds of billions of web pages and filtering SEO spam, GEO manipulation and low-quality AIGC. Each endpoint costs $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests, billed per request and not by tokens; empty results and failures are not billed. Each is limited to 5 queries per second per account, and Fetch also has a per-domain limit; requests over a limit get HTTP 429. DeepSeek says server-side tool calls made through DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code or Codex on the DeepSeek API already use these endpoints and are free until 00:00 Beijing time on November 1, 2026. The guide we read does not address data privacy or retention, or response-length limits.

## Strengths

- Giving an agent live web search and page reading from the same vendor as its model: both endpoints sit on the DeepSeek API and use the same bearer key
- Predictable billing: $0.75 per 1,000 successful requests for each endpoint, not by tokens, with empty results and failures not billed
- Controlled queries: Search supports site:, -site:, lang:, after: and before: operators and a count of 1 to 50, and can return page content with need_content
- Turning pages into Markdown for a model: Fetch returns the title and content as Markdown for any HTTP or HTTPS URL up to 8,192 characters
- Teams that need published privacy or retention terms: the guide we read states none
- High-throughput crawling: each endpoint is capped at 5 queries per second per account, and Fetch also has a per-domain limit
- Assuming the Harness, Claude Code and Codex calls stay free: DeepSeek says per-request billing starts at 00:00 Beijing time on November 1, 2026
- Buyers who need independent quality evidence: the index size and spam-filtering claims are DeepSeek's own, and the pages we read include no third-party evaluation

## Pricing

- Model: paid
- Search: $0.75 / 1,000 successful requests
- Fetch: $0.75 / 1,000 successful requests
- Harness, Claude Code or Codex calls: Free until Nov 1, 2026

Website: https://api-docs.deepseek.com/guides/search/

## Sources

- [DeepSeek API docs: Search & Fetch guide](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/guides/search/)
- [DeepSeek API docs: index](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/)
- [DeepSeek API docs: updates (October 17, 2026 entry)](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/updates/)

Canonical: https://neomanex.com/directory/deepseek-search-fetch-api