Comparison

exa vs Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools

exa is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by exa-labs. Marketplaces we read that list it: 5 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Official MCP Registry, Docker MCP Catalog, Claude: knowledge-work-plugins, Community GitHub marketplaces). Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools is an MCP server published by MikeyPetrillo. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-18. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.

Where each is published

Where each is published
Marketplace	exa	Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools
Claude Code: claude-plugins-official	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 410 Stars (GitHub): 5 140 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed
Official MCP Registry	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 410 Stars (GitHub): 5 140 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Listed Version: 0.13.13 Downloads/month (npm): 3 277 Downloads/week (npm): 980 Forks (GitHub): 31 Stars (GitHub): 41 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Docker MCP Catalog	Listed Version: sha256:d88edd571d98 Forks (GitHub): 410 Pulls (Docker Hub): 36 510 Stars (Docker Hub): 7 Stars (GitHub): 5 140 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed
Claude: knowledge-work-plugins	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 410 Stars (GitHub): 5 140 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed

Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.

The facts side by side

exa vs Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools
Fact	exa	Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools
Marketplaces that list it (differs)	5 (better)	1 (worse)
Stars (GitHub) (differs)	5 140 (better)	41 (worse)
Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs)	36 510	No figure on Docker Hub
Forks (GitHub) (differs)	410 (better)	31 (worse)
Last release (differs)	Not published	2026-10-15
Where it runs (differs)	Remote server or your machine	Remote server (agent402.tools/mcp)
Transport (differs)	Streamable HTTP, stdio	Streamable HTTP
Tools it declares (differs)	2	Not published
Environment variables it asks for (differs)	1, secrets among them: 1	6, secrets among them: 3
Parts of the bundle (differs)	3	Not a bundle
Licence (differs)	MIT	Not stated
Repository (differs)	github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server	github.com/mikeypetrillo/agent402
Changes in the last 7 days (differs)	0	2
First seen	2026-10-11	2026-10-11
Endpoint at the last check (differs)	Responded 38 h ago	Responded 5 h ago

Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.

What each says it does

exa

In its own words, on Claude Code: claude-plugins-official:

Exa AI web search, deep research, and content extraction. Provides MCP tools and research skills for comprehensive web search, people discovery, company research, academic papers, and more.

Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools

In its own words, on Official MCP Registry:

Agentic Finance: 500+ agent tools, multi-chain USDC over x402 or MPP, or free via proof-of-work

How to run each

exa As a Claude Code plugin

Claude Code

/plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools As a remote MCP server

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http agent402 https://agent402.tools/mcp

Requires: AGENT402_CREDITS_KEY (secret), AGENT_KEY (secret), SOLANA_AGENT_KEY (secret)

Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.

Both endpoints responded at the last daily check. How we check endpoints

Tools each declares

Only exa has

web_fetch_exa
web_search_exa

Only Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools has

audio.transcribe
browser.render
catalog.call
catalog.find
catalog.search
decide.execute
decide.feedback
decide.plan
demand.request
market.quote
memory.read
memory.write

Show the remaining 6

payment.info
sellers.list
server.describe
web.answer
web.news
web.search

Both have

None

Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools as of 2026-10-16). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.

Settings each asks for

Only exa asks for

EXA_API_KEY (secret)

Only Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools asks for

AGENT402_BUDGET
AGENT402_CREDITS_KEY (secret)
AGENT402_MAX_PER_CALL
AGENT402_NETWORKS
AGENT_KEY (secret)
SOLANA_AGENT_KEY (secret)

Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.

What it can do: exa · What it can do: Agent402.Tools: pay-per-call web tools · Compare two other plugins

Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on 2026-10-18. We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.