Scira vs Kagi Search vs Perplexity AI vs Liner

A side-by-side look at scores, pricing and features — with RECATOOLS' ASEAN-aware verdict for each.

	Scira Open-source AI search with citations, plus paid Pro and Max plans Visit	Kagi Search Member-funded search with no ads, domain controls and a built-in AI as... Visit	Perplexity AI Answer engine that cites its sources, now with a browser and an agent Visit	Liner AI research search with line-level citations, academic search and agen... Visit
RECATOOLS Score	6.5 / 10	7.8 / 10	8.4 / 10	6.7 / 10
Capability	6	8	8	7
Value for money	8	7	8	6
Ease of use	7	8	9	8
ASEAN readiness	6	6.5	6	6
API quality	n/a	6.5	7	n/a
Pricing	Freemium	Subscription	Freemium	Freemium
Free tier	3 searches a day with basic models and 13 search modes, no card; or self-host the AGPL-3.0 repo with your own API keys	One-off trial only: 100 searches and 100 Kagi Assistant interactions	Free plan: answers with citations and basic AI models, for limited daily usage	Free plan: unlimited Advanced Search, 1 file upload a day (25MB), answers with ads, no agent credits
Paid from	Pro $15/mo ($9 students); Max $60/mo; India ₹1,390/₹5,990	$5/month (Starter, 300 searches), or $54/year; plus sales tax	$20/month or $200/year (Pro); Max $200/month or $2,000/year	Pro $14.99/mo billed annually; $17.99 billed monthly
Has API	✗	✓	✓	✗
Open source	✓	✗	✗	✗
Free to use	✓	✗	✓	✓
Users	—	—	30M+ standalone monthly active users (100M+ across all products, 2026)	—
Founded	—	2022	2022	2015
Maker	—	—	Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Andy Konwinski	Independent (Liner Corp.)
Verdict	Scira remains one of the cleanest open-source takes on cited AI search, and a useful reference for anyone studying how a Perplexity-style answer engine is built — though the public repository has not seen a code change s...	Kagi delivers what it promises: clean, ad-free results you can shape by blocking, boosting and scoping domains, plus a cited Quick Answer and an AI assistant on every paid plan. Professional at $10 a month is the plan mo...	Perplexity is still the quickest way to get a sourced answer: each reply links to the pages behind it, so verification takes seconds. Pro at $20 a month adds Deep Research, model choice and Computer credits; Max at $200...	Liner is a capable research assistant whose line-level citations and academic search make it easier to check what the AI says, and one plan now covers search, scholarship and writing. Its scale figures and benchmark are...
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Comparisons cover up to 4 tools. Scores are RECATOOLS editorial assessments; verify current pricing on each vendor's site.