AI Plugin IndexBrave Search MCP vs exa
Brave Search MCP and exa are both search and web MCP servers. exa scores higher (100 vs 66 out of 100). exa has more GitHub stars (5.1k), and exa was updated more recently (4 days ago). The table compares them side by side.
| Brave Search MCP | exa | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 66 / 100 | 100 / 100 |
| What it does | MCP Server that uses Brave Search API to search for images, general web search, video, news and points of interest. | Connect AI agents to Exa for web search, content fetching, and multi-step research. |
| Publisher | Verified: npm:brave-search-mcp | Verified: exa.ai |
| Grades | Maintenance C, Licence C, Quality B | Maintenance A, Licence A, Quality A |
| npm downloads a week | 120 | Not on npm |
| Runs | Local | Remote |
| Works with | Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, VS Code, Windsurf | Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, VS Code, Windsurf, ChatGPT |
| GitHub stars | 130 | 5,142 |
| Last commit | 28 May 2026 | 19 Oct 2026 |
| Licence | GPL-3.0-or-later | MIT |
| Listed since | 20 Oct 2026 | 19 Oct 2026 |
| Install Brave Search MCP | Install exa |
Questions
Is Brave Search MCP or exa more popular?
exa has more GitHub stars: 5,142.
Can I use Brave Search MCP and exa together?
Yes. AI assistants can load several MCP servers at once. Install both and the assistant picks the right one for each task.