Why we said Watch
What it is
Search API credits for agents. See the official page. This profile describes public documentation, not a Loaded Tokens hands-on test.
Who it is for
Developers who want a small free monthly allowance. The recommendation is scoped to that job.
The evidence behind Watch
The free tier is clear. The docs, not the plan card, say how many credits a search or a crawl spends. The source page is the receipt. No speed ranking or reliability score is implied.
Pricing and the catch
Free Researcher plan: 1,000 API credits a month, no card. Paid use is pay as you go. Credit cost depends on the request type. Public pricing or license checked November 7, 2026. Amounts are as stated on that page. Tax, region, annual billing, and extra usage can change the bill.
A sensible first workflow
Spend part of the free 1,000 credits and read the usage page before you add a card. This is a suggested evaluation, not a test we ran.
Bottom line: Watch until the credit math for your request type is written down.