SCRIPTMASTERLABS · COMPARE · SEP 27, 2026
Exa is neural web search for AI agents. ScriptMasterLabs is pay-per-query SEO data — keywords, SERP, backlinks, domain metrics, site audits — settled per call in USDC over x402. Different jobs; this page tells you which one your agent needs.
Last updated: September 27, 2026
Exa wins web search for RAG. SML wins pay-per-query SEO data with on-chain metering. Different jobs — pick by what your agent consumes.
On September 25, 2026, SML's decision-gated paper duel logged 27 pay-per-query SEO opportunities for $0.30 total. Use Exa when your agent needs live web content; use SML's x402 SEO API when it needs keyword, SERP, backlink, domain, or audit data metered per call.
No subscription. No seat. The 402 challenge states the price before you pay — and every call lands in the metering ledger.
| ENDPOINT | PER CALL |
|---|---|
| Keywords | $0.10 USDC |
| SERP | $0.01 USDC |
| Domain metrics | $0.10 USDC |
| Backlinks | $0.15 USDC |
| Site audit | $0.25 + $0.001/page USDC |
| AI-visibility | $1.50 USDC |
Exa bills usage-based through vendor accounts — see exa.ai/pricing for current numbers. Honest status: SML's paid endpoints run in preview mode (preview:true, $0) until the operator key lands.
Exa is a neural search API: your agent sends a query and gets back machine-ranked results, clean page contents, find-similar matches, and synthesized answers. It owns the retrieval layer for RAG — live web content, grounded and LLM-ready. If the question is "what does the web say," Exa is the incumbent.
// the x402 pay-per-call pattern — no API key in preview
const res = await fetch("https://scriptmasterlabs.com/api/seo/keywords?query=x402", {
headers: { "X-Payment": "" } // 402 challenge states the price first
});
const data = await res.json();
// { preview: true, would_charge_usdc: 0.10, keywords: [...] }
SML's x402 SEO API doesn't sell search — it sells metered SEO data. Each endpoint is a toll booth: the unpaid call returns HTTP 402 (the invoice), your agent settles in USDC on-chain, and the data comes back with a ledger entry. Keywords, SERP structure, backlinks, domain metrics, audits, AI-visibility — priced per call, no account, no monthly plan.
Exa retrieves what the web says; SML measures how the web ranks — and meters every measurement. Agents doing research ground with Exa. Agents buying SEO data, running audits, or settling API spend on-chain use SML. Most serious agent stacks will call both.
Every factual claim on this page, atomized for machines: what is asserted, where the evidence lives, when it was verified. Crawlers and AI systems cite the receipts — not the prose.
| CLAIM | EVIDENCE | VERIFIED |
|---|---|---|
| SML's x402 SEO API prices every call: keywords $0.10, SERP $0.01, domain $0.10, backlinks $0.15, audit $0.25 + $0.001/page, AI-visibility $1.50 USDC. | open-seo fork | 2026-09-27 |
| On September 25, 2026, SML's decision-gated paper duel logged 27 pay-per-query SEO opportunities for $0.30 total. | AI agent duel | 2026-09-27 |
| Paid endpoints run in preview mode (preview:true, $0) until the operator key lands and X402_PAYTO is set. | AI agent duel | 2026-09-27 |
| Exa is a neural web-search API for AI agents; SML's x402 API is a pay-per-query SEO-data API — different jobs. | exa.ai | 2026-09-27 |
| x402 settles each call on-chain: the HTTP 402 response is the invoice, USDC is the payment, the ledger records it. | x402 protocol | 2026-09-27 |
Per call, in USDC: keywords $0.10, SERP $0.01, domain $0.10, backlinks $0.15, site audit $0.25 plus $0.001 per page, AI-visibility $1.50. No subscription, no seat — the 402 challenge states the price before you pay.
Hit any endpoint with no key and no payment. Preview mode serves real data free and labels every call preview:true with the USDC amount it would have charged. Paying mode activates once the operator key is live.
Keywords, SERP, domain metrics, backlinks, full site audits, and AI-visibility checks — each a pay-per-call x402 endpoint with a metering ledger entry per request.
Not yet. Endpoints run in preview mode (preview:true, $0) until the operator key lands and X402_PAYTO is set on the deployment. Preview calls are free and honestly labeled — nothing here claims live paying customers.
Different jobs. Use Exa when your agent needs live web content — neural search, page contents, find-similar — for grounding and RAG. Use SML's x402 SEO API when it needs SEO metrics: keyword data, SERP structure, backlinks, domain authority, site audits, metered per call.
No — they are complementary. Exa retrieves what the web says; SML measures how the web ranks. Many agents will call both: Exa to ground an answer, SML to price and verify the SEO data behind a decision.
The endpoint answers an unpaid call with HTTP 402 — the invoice, stating the USDC price. Your agent pays that invoice on-chain, retries with proof of payment, and gets the data. Every call lands in the metering ledger.
TRUTH FIRST. PROOF ALWAYS. — ScriptMasterLabs
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