# MCP Web Search Servers - DuckDuckGo vs Brave When using Docker MCP Gateway for web search capabilities, you have two primary options: DuckDuckGo search and Brave Search API. Each has distinct characteristics that affect cost, result quality, and available media types. ## Cost Implications ### DuckDuckGo - **Free** - No API key required - **No rate limits** for reasonable use - **Zero setup** - Works out of the box - **Best for:** Personal projects, prototyping, budget-conscious implementations ### Brave Search API - **Requires API key** from [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api/) - **Tiered pricing:** - Free tier: 2,000 queries/month - Base Data: $3/1,000 queries (after free tier) - Pro Data: Higher limits with additional features - Pro AI: Includes summarizer API access - **Best for:** Production applications, commercial use, advanced feature requirements ## Result Scope and Quality ### DuckDuckGo (`MCP_DOCKER_search`) - **General web results** with title, URL, and description snippets - **Simple, clean results** - straightforward text-based answers - **Privacy-focused** - No tracking or personalization - **Limited metadata** - Basic information only - **Good for:** Quick lookups, general information, privacy-sensitive queries ### Brave Search API - **Richer metadata** - More detailed result information - **Multiple result types** available through filtering - **Independent index** - Brave maintains its own search index (not a proxy) - **Customizable** - Supports result filtering, freshness parameters, safety filters - **Good for:** Comprehensive research, production applications, specialized queries ## Available Media Types ### DuckDuckGo - ✅ **Web search** only - ❌ Images - ❌ Videos - ❌ News - ❌ Local/maps **Tool:** `MCP_DOCKER_search` ### Brave Search API - ✅ **Web search** (`MCP_DOCKER_brave_web_search`) - ✅ **Images** (`MCP_DOCKER_brave_image_search`) - Up to 200 results with thumbnails - ✅ **Videos** (`MCP_DOCKER_brave_video_search`) - With duration, thumbnails, metadata - ✅ **News** (`MCP_DOCKER_brave_news_search`) - Recent articles with freshness filters - ✅ **Local search** (`MCP_DOCKER_brave_local_search`) - Businesses, addresses, ratings - ✅ **Summarizer** (`MCP_DOCKER_brave_summarizer`) - AI-generated summaries (Pro AI plan) ## Feature Comparison | Feature | DuckDuckGo | Brave Search API | |---------|------------|------------------| | **Cost** | Free | Free tier + paid | | **API Key** | Not required | Required | | **Web Search** | ✅ | ✅ | | **Image Search** | ❌ | ✅ | | **Video Search** | ❌ | ✅ | | **News Search** | ❌ | ✅ | | **Local/Maps** | ❌ | ✅ | | **AI Summarizer** | ❌ | ✅ (Pro AI) | | **Result Filtering** | Limited | Extensive | | **Freshness Filters** | ❌ | ✅ | | **Country/Language** | Limited | Full control | | **Goggles (Custom Ranking)** | ❌ | ✅ | ## When to Use Each ### Choose DuckDuckGo When: - Building personal projects or prototypes - Need simple web search without setup - Budget is zero - Privacy is paramount - Text-based results are sufficient - Quick integration is priority ### Choose Brave Search API When: - Building production applications - Need images, videos, or news results - Require local business search - Want AI-powered summarization - Need precise result filtering (freshness, country, language) - Can allocate budget for API calls - Need reliable service with SLA ## Implementation Examples ### DuckDuckGo Search ```javascript // Simple search - no authentication needed const results = await MCP_DOCKER_search({ query: "docker compose tutorial", max_results: 10 }); ``` ### Brave Web Search ```javascript // Requires API key configured const results = await MCP_DOCKER_brave_web_search({ query: "docker compose tutorial", count: 10, search_lang: "en", country: "US", freshness: "pw" // Past week }); ``` ### Brave Image Search ```javascript const images = await MCP_DOCKER_brave_image_search({ query: "docker architecture diagram", count: 20 }); ``` ### Brave Video Search ```javascript const videos = await MCP_DOCKER_brave_video_search({ query: "docker tutorial for beginners", count: 10, freshness: "pm" // Past month }); ``` ### Brave News Search ```javascript const news = await MCP_DOCKER_brave_news_search({ query: "docker security vulnerability", count: 20, freshness: "pd" // Past day }); ``` ## Practical Recommendation **Start with DuckDuckGo** for development and testing. If you need: - Multiple media types (images/videos) - Production reliability - Advanced filtering - AI summarization Then **upgrade to Brave Search API** and budget for API costs based on your query volume. For most educational and personal projects, DuckDuckGo's simplicity and zero cost make it the ideal choice. For commercial applications or when rich media results are essential, Brave's comprehensive feature set justifies the investment.