Jina AI vs Linkup (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Jina AI and Linkup share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features, where Jina AI grades higher, or the free plan, where Linkup does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Jina AI
Reader, search, embeddings and reranker APIs for AI search
Which one is for you
Pick Jina AI if
- Fits if you want page text for a model with a single URL prefix
- Works for people who also need embeddings or a reranker from the same key
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want search without a key, since the search endpoint is blocked without one
- Watch out: the OCR option uses 40 times more tokens, and each search starts at 10,000
- Watch out: the free key lets you use up the 10 million tokens and then nothing renews
- Watch out: auto top-up is on offer, and the price may be charged in USD, EUR or another currency
Pick Linkup if
- Fits if an agent needs web search with sources attached
- Works for people who would rather pay per call than per month
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a fixed monthly bill, since spend follows usage
- Skip it if you have no work email, as the free credit asks for a professional one
- Watch out: zero data retention and the private environment are Enterprise only
- Watch out: the page says 4,000 free queries while the docs call it $20 of credit
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAJina AIFair | 2.4GPALinkupFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CTokens are bought in top-ups, $50 for 1 billion tokens, with no monthly plan to line up against this category's $19 to $44 range. | CPay per call from a prepaid balance at about $0.005 a search, with no flat plan to compare with this category's $19 to $44. |
| Free plan and trial | C10 million free tokens on a new key, and the Reader works without a key at 20 requests a minute. The free tokens are a one-time grant, not a monthly one. | B$20 of credit on sign-up, topped back up to $20 each month for eligible accounts, about 4,000 searches. One person could live on that. |
| Features | BReader, web search, embeddings, a reranker and an MCP server. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. | CSearch, sourced answers, fetch and research endpoints. Zero data retention is only on the Enterprise plan. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You take an API key and call it from code, or put the Reader prefix before a URL. | CNo store rating on record. It is an API with a key and code to write. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it is on AWS SageMaker, Azure and Google Cloud marketplaces and has an MCP server. | BWeb only, but it lists LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, Vercel AI SDK, Composio, Hugging Face and Agno. |
| Best for | reading web pages and search results as text for AI tools | web search with sources for AI agents |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Jina AI and Linkup. How we grade
Where they differ
- Linkup also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Jina AI | Linkup | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $50 for 1 billion tokens, one-time top-up | Not published |
| Free plan | A new API key comes with 10 million free tokens. The Reader (r.jina.ai) also works with no key at 20 requests per minute. | New accounts with a professional email get $20 of credit, topped back up to $20 each month for eligible accounts. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Jina AI | Linkup |
| Price read from | jina.ai | linkup.so |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Jina AI
- Token counts drive the bill: the jina-ocr-v1 option costs 40 times more tokens, and each search starts at 10,000 tokens.
- The search endpoint (s.jina.ai) is blocked without an API key.
- Tokens are bought as top-ups; the page notes an auto top-up, and the price may be charged in USD, EUR or other currencies.
- A new pricing model began on May 6, 2025; older auto-recharge settings keep the old price.
Linkup
- There is no monthly plan: each successful call draws down a prepaid balance, so spend follows usage.
- The pricing page says 'Run 4,000 queries for free'; the docs describe it as $20 of credit, which covers 4,000 searches at $0.005.
- Zero-data retention is offered only on the Enterprise plan; SOC 2 Type II is stated to be on all plans.
- It is a general web search API, not an SEO tool: it has no rank tracking or keyword data.
Key features
Jina AI
- Reader
- Prefix a URL with r.jina.ai to get its content as LLM-friendly text. Options include a CSS selector, a token budget and a choice of browser engine.
- Web search
- s.jina.ai searches the web and returns results as LLM-friendly text. Every request costs a fixed number of tokens, starting at 10,000.
- Embeddings and reranker
- Embeddings turn text or images into vectors and a reranker reorders results; both are on the same key and token balance.
- MCP server
- mcp.jina.ai can be added as an MCP server so an LLM can call the APIs directly.
- Cloud marketplaces
- Embeddings and reranker models can be deployed through AWS SageMaker, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, billed via those accounts.
Linkup
- Search endpoint
- Web search for agent tool calls. Flash, fast and standard depths cost $0.005 a call and deep costs $0.05 for raw results.
- Sourced answers and structured output
- The search endpoint can return a sourced answer or output shaped to a schema, at $0.001 to $0.005 more than raw results.
- Fetch endpoint
- Gets a URL's content as Markdown, from $0.001 per call without JavaScript rendering up to $0.01 with pro mode and rendering.
- Research endpoint
- Asynchronous deep research billed by reasoning depth: $0.25 for S, $0.50 for M, $1.50 for L and $2.50 for XL.
- Agent integrations
- Docs cover an MCP server and guides for LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, the Vercel AI SDK and Composio.
Plans
Jina AI
Free key$0
10 million free tokens on a new key. Free-key rate limits: 500 RPM for Reader, 100 RPM for search.
Paid top-up$50
one-time top-up, used as you go
1 billion tokens at $0.050 per 1M tokens. Paid keys have the same rate limits as free keys.
Premium top-up$500
one-time top-up, used as you go
11 billion tokens at $0.045 per 1M. Premium key: 5,000 RPM Reader, 24-hour support.
Linkup
Free credit$0
$20 of credit on sign-up with a professional email; docs say eligible accounts are topped back up to $20 monthly.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom pricing, private environment, SOC 2 Type II, zero-data retention, SLA and dedicated support.
Ways to pay less
Jina AI
No public discounts listed.
Linkup
- Startups
$5,000 in free credits for startups
The pricing page invites startups to apply for $5,000 in free credits.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Jina AI or Linkup?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Jina AI starts at $50 for 1 billion tokens, one-time top-up, and Linkup publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Jina AI or Linkup?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Jina AI and Linkup have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.