# Brave lets agents pay for search without an API key Brave Search API now accepts a USDC payment on Base for each x402 request. The route removes account setup and API-key storage, but it adds wallet custody, public transaction records and a new spending boundary.[1][2][5] Brave announced x402 access to its Search API on November 12, 2026. A client can request web, news, image, video, local or LLM Context results without an account. An unpaid request returns HTTP 402 with the current price and payment terms, and the client signs a payment before retrying.[1][2] Brave currently lists each supported request at $0.005, or $5 per 1,000 requests. Brave accepts Base-native USDC through its own facilitator and says it will cover gas for a limited time. The 402 response remains the authoritative price, so software should check it instead of relying on a copied number.[1][2] The signed payment replaces an API key, but it does not remove secrets or identity signals. An agent still needs a wallet private key, and Brave says the payer address and transaction record are public and may be linked to the user.[5] ## What Brave released [Brave announced [1]](https://brave.com/blog/search-api-agentic-payments/) a separate x402 route for its Search API. The route supports web search, LLM Context, news, video, image and place endpoints. Answers, Autosuggest and Spellcheck still require an API key.[2] A request without payment receives HTTP 402 Payment Required. The response describes the price and payment options for that exact request. An x402 client prepares a signed payment, retries with the payment signature and receives the requested result after verification and settlement.[2][3] Brave runs the facilitator, accepts Base-native USDC and currently covers settlement gas. Brave says more networks and stablecoins are planned, but they are not part of the launch configuration.[1] ## What changes compared with an API key A normal paid API account establishes billing before requests and sends a reusable key with each call. The x402 route prices and authorizes each call separately, so a new agent can buy one search without creating a Brave account.[1][2] The x402 flow still has a credential. The wallet private key can authorize spending, which makes it more sensitive than a search-only API key with no payment authority. Use a dedicated wallet, a small balance and software-enforced limits.[4] Per-request settlement can help temporary workers, user-funded agents and services that cannot justify a subscription. A regular account may remain simpler for predictable volume, centralized invoices, conventional key management and environments that cannot hold cryptocurrency. ## Cost and privacy trade-offs Brave lists supported endpoints at $0.005 per call. One thousand calls therefore cost $5 before any future network fee. Gas is covered only for a limited time, and the 402 response can change, so clients need a maximum-payment check on every retry.[1][2] A failed loop can spend money repeatedly if the client retries without a total budget. Limit price per call, calls per task, cumulative spend and retry count. Log the quoted amount, endpoint and receipt without storing the wallet private key. Brave’s privacy notice says the wallet address, amount, asset, network and transaction hash are used for payment, accounting and abuse screening. On-chain transaction data is public and permanent. A fresh wallet reduces unrelated history, but it does not make a payment anonymous.[5] ## A safe first test Test the paid route with a disposable wallet and a fixed evaluation set before an agent can choose queries or retry on its own. Stripe’s Purl client supports dry runs, confirmation and a maximum amount.[2][4] - Create a wallet used only for this integration and fund it with the smallest practical amount of Base-native USDC. - Inspect Brave’s machine-readable payment guide and the 402 response before signing. Treat the response as the live price.[2] - Set a maximum amount per call, a task budget, a daily budget and a hard retry limit in code. - Run 20 to 50 fixed queries through LLM Context and ordinary web search, then compare relevance, latency and completed-task cost with the API-key route. - Test timeout, malformed payment, insufficient balance, duplicate retry and unavailable facilitator paths without allowing an unlimited retry loop. - Keep wallet signing outside model-visible context and tool output. The agent should request a bounded purchase through a policy-enforcing wrapper. - Store receipts and final results for audit, then revoke the test wallet from the worker when the trial ends. ## Limits and open questions The launch does not cover every Brave Search endpoint. Answers, Autosuggest and Spellcheck remain on the API-key route, and future networks or assets have not shipped yet.[1][2] Brave says it covers gas for a limited time but does not state the later gas policy. Teams need to include network fees and facilitator availability in a production cost model.[1] Replacing an account with a wallet changes support and accounting workflows. Teams may need a mapping from transaction receipts to tasks, users and cost centers without exposing wallet keys or sensitive search text. The launch post and documentation describe product behavior. They do not establish that agents spend wisely, that every search is necessary or that x402 is cheaper than account billing for a specific workload. ## Frequently asked questions - Does x402 remove all credentials?[2][4] No. It removes the Brave API key and account requirement from this route, but the client still protects a wallet private key that can authorize spending. - How much does one search cost?[1][2] Brave currently lists $0.005 for supported endpoints. Read the 402 response before paying because it is the authoritative price. - Can the agent use every Brave endpoint?[2] No. Answers, Autosuggest and Spellcheck still require an API key. - Is the payment private?[5] No. Brave says the wallet address and transaction details are recorded publicly and permanently on Base. - Should an agent sign payments directly? Keep signing behind a wrapper that enforces endpoint, price, cumulative budget and retry limits. The model should never receive the private key. ## Sources - [[1] Brave: Search API agentic payments launch](https://brave.com/blog/search-api-agentic-payments/) - [[2] Brave Search API: Agent payments guide](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation/guides/agent-payments) - [[3] x402 documentation: Client and server flow](https://docs.x402.org/core-concepts/client-server) - [[4] Stripe Purl repository and safety controls](https://github.com/stripe/purl) - [[5] Brave Search API privacy notice](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/privacy-policy)