Back

    Open-source Deep Research

    AutoSearch vs Tavily — Open-Source Deep Research Alternative

    Pick the open-source alternative when you want 40 channels, Chinese sources, and no LLM lock-in.

    Get Started →Channels

    01

    MIT vs commercial

    Tavily is a commercial deep-research API with usage-based pricing. AutoSearch is MIT-licensed open source — self-host, fork, and inspect every retrieval rule. There is no per-request bill and no quota cap on the search side; only the channel APIs you choose to enable carry their own limits.

    02

    MCP-native vs HTTP-only

    Tavily exposes an HTTP API; integrations are written per host. AutoSearch ships an MCP server, so any MCP-aware host (Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, GPT-Researcher) connects with a one-line config and calls research tools directly inside agent loops.

    03

    40 channels + 10 Chinese sources

    Tavily focuses on web and news search. AutoSearch covers web, GitHub, Stack Overflow, arxiv, Reddit, Hacker News, dev.to, YouTube, Bilibili, plus 10+ Chinese sources (Zhihu, WeChat, Xiaohongshu, Weibo, 36Kr) — useful when research touches developer ecosystems or Chinese markets.

    How it fits

    AutoSearch is the open-source alternative for teams who outgrow Tavily's HTTP-only model or need broader source coverage. Drop AutoSearch in as the MCP retrieval tier; the host LLM stays your choice (Claude, GPT, local), every query stays inspectable, and self-hosting keeps research traffic inside your network. Use Tavily when you want a managed API and don't need Chinese sources or MCP-native tooling.

    Try this prompt

    Compare implementation patterns for AutoSearch vs Tavily across GitHub, Reddit, and Hacker News.
Return citations, install steps, and pricing notes.

    People also ask