Kagi API Terms of Service

These Terms cover the Kagi Search API, the Kagi Translate and Summariser, and other Kagi API products (the "API"). The Kagi Privacy Policy and Data Processing Addendum are incorporated by reference. By creating an API key or calling the API, you agree to these Terms — on behalf of your organization, if you use it for one.

The deal is simple: you pay for access to our search, and we provide it. We collect as little data as we can, because user data is a liability, not an asset. These Terms exist to keep that relationship clear and to protect the search index that makes the API worth paying for.

The API key

Your key identifies your account, and you're responsible for everything done with it. Keep it secret: don't post it publicly, embed it in client-side code, or commit it to repositories. If it leaks, rotate it in the dashboard and tell us promptly at developers@kagi.com so we can help contain any abuse. We're not liable for unauthorized use of your key.

What you may do

Within your plan limits, you get a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to call the API and use the outputs it returns, including search results, translations, and summaries ("Results") in your own applications and services, including sending Results to an AI model to answer your users' queries. Integrating Results into your own applications and services as permitted above is not a prohibited transfer. Everything we don't expressly grant, we keep.

What you may not do

You may not:

• Store, cache, or build a database of Results beyond the transient caching needed to operate your application. You may not create a persistent copy of, or a derivative index from, the Kagi search index or other Results, and you may not bulk download, scrape, or archive Results.
• Use Results to train or fine-tune a search index, ranking system, translation or summarization model, or other service that competes with Kagi, or systematically harvest Results to assemble a training or evaluation dataset.
• Resell, sublicense, proxy, redistribute, or publish the API or raw Results as a standalone product, bulk feed, dataset, or substitute for direct Kagi API access, unless we agree in writing.
• Circumvent rate limits, quotas, or access controls, or attempt to access the API by any means other than the documented interface.
• Reverse engineer the API or use it to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of Kagi's systems.
• Use the API for anything unlawful, or in a way that infringes others' rights or violates these Terms.

Your application and your end users

Your app and its users are your responsibility — their conduct through the API counts as yours, and you must ensure your end users don’t do anything these Terms prohibit you from doing. Don't send us data you have no right to send, and don't send sensitive personal data (health, payment, government ID, biometrics, children's data, precise location).

Rate limits and billing

API usage is metered and billed on a pay-as-you-go basis according to the pricing published at kagi.com/api/pricing, unless we've agreed otherwise in writing. Prices are in US dollars, excluding taxes. Rate limits and quotas apply per plan and may be adjusted to protect service quality. Fees are non-refundable except where required by law. We may suspend API access for overdue or failed payments until the balance is resolved, and Kagi and its billing providers reserve the right to collect any outstanding payments to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

Service availability and changes to the API

The API is under active development. We may add, modify, or remove features, and we will provide reasonable notice of breaking changes where practicable. The API is provided "as is" and "as available," without any uptime or service-level commitment unless separately agreed in writing.

Custom terms

These Terms apply as published. If you need something different — a service level commitment, volume pricing, or an exception to a restriction above — email developers@kagi.com and we can set amended terms in a written agreement, which controls where it differs.

Privacy and your data

API traffic is handled like Kagi Search traffic — same pipeline, same restraint. We don't tie your queries to your account beyond metering usage for billing, we don't sell data, and we don't build profiles. Queries may be logged temporarily, separated from your account, for debugging and abuse prevention, then purged, as described in the Privacy Policy.

If your queries contain personal data about other people, we only process it to run, secure and support the API, on your instructions, and you're responsible for having the right to send it. We're finishing a Data Processing Addendum that covers this in full, including standard contractual clauses for international transfers. Once published it becomes part of these Terms, and we'll let API customers know. If you need signed processing terms before then, email support@kagi.com.

Ownership

The API, the Results, and the Kagi search index are Kagi's property. These Terms grant you no rights in Kagi's trademarks, logos, or brand features. You retain ownership of your own application.

Suspension and termination

You may stop using the API at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, created legal risk for Kagi, failed to pay, or where providing the API to you is no longer commercially viable. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you at the email associated with your account. On termination, your license ends and you must stop using the API and delete any cached Results (except limited records you are legally required to keep). The sections What you may not do, Rate limits and billing (for amounts owed), Privacy and your data, Ownership, Indemnification, Disclaimer; Limitation of Liability, and Miscellaneous survive.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Kagi, its contractors, contributors, licensors, and partners, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents ("Indemnified Parties") from any third-party claims and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising out of or related to your use of the API or your application (including any content or queries you or your end users submit).

Disclaimer; Limitation of Liability

THE API AND RESULTS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITH ALL FAULTS. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, KAGI AND THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR AVAILABILITY OF RESULTS. YOU BEAR THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO SELECTING AND USING THE API. EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY LAW, KAGI AND THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY. THE COLLECTIVE LIABILITY OF KAGI AND THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES UNDER THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF US $500 OR THE TOTAL FEES YOU PAID FOR THE API IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS, SO PARTS OF THIS SECTION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Modifications

We may update these Terms to address new API features or to clarify a provision. The updated Terms will be posted here with a new effective date. If the changes are substantive, we will announce them through Kagi's usual channels and, where appropriate, by email. Continued use of the API after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

Miscellaneous

Unless you have a separate written agreement with us, these Terms, your plan, the Kagi Privacy Policy, and, where applicable, the Data Processing Addendum are the entire agreement between you and Kagi concerning the API, and are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, U.S.A., excluding its conflict-of-law provisions. If any portion is held unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them to a successor, such as in a merger or acquisition. The English version controls.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the API will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Delaware, and you and Kagi consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts. Neither party is liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control.

Questions? Email developers@kagi.com.

Effective Date: 2026-09-22
Last Updated: 2026-09-22