What are the Best Bing Search API Alternatives in 2026
Blog post from Firecrawl
The Bing Search API was retired in August 2025, prompting developers to find replacements for applications relying on its features such as web search, real-time data retrieval, and AI pipeline integration. Microsoft recommended migrating to Azure AI Foundry, which requires a more significant platform commitment than a direct API swap. Several alternatives have emerged to fill the gap, each catering to different needs: Firecrawl offers a curated search index with full-content extraction for AI applications; Exa focuses on semantic search using embeddings for conceptually relevant results; Tavily provides AI-optimized search snippets for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications; Brave Search API offers an independent, privacy-focused index without relying on Bing or Google; and SerpAPI aggregates search engine results from multiple platforms, including Google and Bing, into structured JSON. These alternatives vary in features such as data freshness, pricing models, and output formats, providing diverse options for developers seeking to replace the functionalities of the now-defunct Bing Search API.