# A Mindcase alternative an agent can buy itself.

> Compare Mindcase with API for Agents: 26 platforms on one key, a $5 start instead of a credit pack, agent self-signup, an exact quote first.

Canonical: https://apiforagents.dev/alternatives/mindcase · Updated 2026-10-22

Both sell structured web data per record to AI agents. The differences are in how you start and what your agent can do alone: the smallest purchase, whether an agent needs a person to make an account first, and whether it gets an exact price before it spends.

- Profiles from: $0.004
- To start: $5
- Free trial: $0.10
- Facts checked: October 2026

> **The short answer** Per-record LinkedIn prices are in the same range. Pick API for Agents if you want to start with $5, let an agent sign itself up without a person first, and get an exact quote before each call. Pick Mindcase if you want an MCP server today, or a source we do not sell.

## API for Agents and Mindcase, side by side

Their side is from their own pages, linked below, as seen on 16 October 2026. Prices change: check the source before you decide.

|  | API for Agents | Mindcase |
|---|---|---|
| Billing | Per record, pay as you go | Prepaid credit packs, per record |
| To start paying | $5 top-up, no plan | Smallest pack ₹3,999 (about $45) |
| Unused money | Kept, no expiry | Credits never expire |
| Agent signs itself up | Yes: one POST, a person claims it later | No: its agent guide asks the user for a key |
| Price before the call | Exact quote, free (estimateOnly) | The agent estimates rows × price |
| Your own LinkedIn account | Not needed | Not needed |
| MCP server | Not yet: REST, OpenAPI and llms.txt | Yes |

## When Mindcase is the better pick

- You need a source we do not sell: compare its platform list with our 26 before you pick.
- You want an MCP server to plug into Claude Desktop now.
- You will buy a large pack anyway and want its volume bonus.

## When API for Agents is the better pick

- You want to start with $5, not a pack.
- Your agent should register itself in one call and run on a free trial before anyone signs up.
- You want the exact charge before every call, and a hard per-call ceiling with maxUsd.
- You re-read the same records: your own answer from the same day is free.

## What you get with API for Agents, whichever you pick

- One key for 26 platforms: social, commerce, jobs, places, search and contacts, with one request shape and one response shape.
- A free quote before any spend: add "estimateOnly": true to any call and see the most it can cost.
- Pay per record in US dollars. No subscription, nothing expires, top-ups from $5.
- $0.10 free to try, no card. An AI agent can sign itself up in one request; a person claims it later.
- Measured, not estimated: every answer says when each row was measured, whether it was fresh or a recent capture, and how sure to be of each field.
- Partial success is success: anything that could not be fetched is named with a reason, and the charge settles to what came back, never above the quote.
- Typed fields that keep their names whichever source answered, and a details object last with everything else the source sent, under our own field names.
- Try any endpoint in the playground and download the answer as CSV or JSON.

## Try it before you move anything

quote a profile, free:

```bash
curl -s -X POST https://apiforagents.dev/agent/identity -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"type":"anonymous"}'
# exchange identity_assertion at /oauth2/token, then:
curl -s -X POST https://apiforagents.dev/v1/linkedin -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFA_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"op":"profiles","subjects":["satyanadella"],"estimateOnly":true}'
```

## Questions

### Is API for Agents cheaper than Mindcase?

Not per record: LinkedIn prices are in the same range. The difference is the entry point ($5 versus a pack), agent self-signup, the exact quote and free same-day repeats.

### Can my agent switch without code changes?

No. Both are JSON over HTTPS, but the field names differ. Our operation pages show the exact request for each LinkedIn operation.

## Sources

1. [Mindcase API catalogue](https://www.mindcase.co/api), seen 16 October 2026
2. [Mindcase pricing](https://www.mindcase.co/pricing), seen 16 October 2026
3. [Mindcase agent guide (skills.md)](https://mindcase.co/skills.md), seen 16 October 2026

## Why API for Agents

- One key for 26 platforms: social, commerce, jobs, places, search and contacts, with one request shape and one response shape.
- A free quote before any spend: add "estimateOnly": true to any call and see the most it can cost.
- Pay per record in US dollars. No subscription, nothing expires, top-ups from $5.
- $0.10 free to try, no card. An AI agent can sign itself up in one request; a person claims it later.
- Measured, not estimated: every answer says when each row was measured, whether it was fresh or a recent capture, and how sure to be of each field.
- Partial success is success: anything that could not be fetched is named with a reason, and the charge settles to what came back, never above the quote.
- Typed fields that keep their names whichever source answered, and a details object last with everything else the source sent, under our own field names.
- Try any endpoint in the playground and download the answer as CSV or JSON.

## Start

The playground runs any endpoint by hand: pick a platform and what you want from it, fill a short form named in plain words (or press Use sample input), see the free quote on the Run button, run it, then read the answer as a table or JSON and download it as CSV or JSON. The same call is written out as cURL, Python and Node while you type. Open it at https://apiforagents.dev/dashboard/run (sign in first).

Agents register at https://apiforagents.dev/auth.md (one POST, $0.10 free). People: https://apiforagents.dev/docs#start. Prices: https://apiforagents.dev/pricing.md