/api

Perplexity API pricing and alternatives

Sonar now runs through Perplexity's Agent API. What each part costs, and the alternatives.

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Perplexity API at a glance

Search API
$5 per 1,000 requests
Fast Search
$1 per 1,000
Agent API web search
$0.0025 a call + model tokens
Sonar model
$0.25 / $2.50 per 1M tokens

What the Perplexity API costs

"Sonar Chat Completions support ended on September 27, 2026." Sync and streaming requests are being moved to the Agent API, and async Sonar requests "are no longer supported".

ProductPriceNote
Search API$5.00 / 1kUp to five queries per request count as one
Fast Search$1.00 / 1k
Agent API web_search$0.0025 a callPlus model tokens
finance_search$0.005 a call
perplexity/sonar model$0.25 in / $2.50 out per 1M tokens

Billing is prepaid credits, with usage tiers by credits bought.

When to use Perplexity

Choose it for cited answers across models. Choose Finks when your agent's questions are about markets and filings, and every result needs a finance source.

  1. 01

    Cheap raw web results

    Search with batching: up to five queries per request count as one.

  2. 02

    Cited answers across models

    Cited answers across several model vendors in one API.

  3. 03

    Market data in an agent run

    finance_search pulls market data into an Agent API run.

Alternatives to the Perplexity API

  • Finks

    Best for: AI agents that search financial sources in plain English and need the sources, not a finished answer.

    Finks is a search API built for AI agents. Your agent searches in plain English and gets back the results that answer it, each linked to its source. Today that covers news, SEC filings and earnings call transcripts.

    Filing results can carry the matching passage in the filing's own words, which your agent can quote and cite. The Finks MCP server adds the same search to Claude, Cursor or any MCP-compatible client.

    Perplexity's finance search pulls market data into a model's answer. Finks returns the sources themselves, for your own model to answer from.

    What Finks does not do

    Finks does not search the open web. If your agent needs general web results, keep Perplexity or another web search API for them.

    Try Finks for free

    Get set up in minutes. Free tier, no card required. Paid plans start at $29 a month (Starter).

    Request

    POST /v1/search
{
  "query": "material cybersecurity incident disclosed in Item 1.05",
  "types": ["filing"],
  "event_types": ["cybersecurity_incident"],
  "depth": "deep",
  "limit": 3
}

    Response

    {
  "type": "filing",
  "title": "Nutex Health Inc. — 8-K Item 1.05, Material Cybersecurity Incidents",
  "published_at": "2026-08-31T20:25:25Z",
  "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1479681/000162828026059602/nutx-20260831.htm",
  "matched": "passage",
  "passage": {
    "section_id": "8-k/item-1.05",
    "text": "…Nutex Health Inc. (the “Company”) became aware of unauthorized activity involving data stored on its computer network…"
  }
}

    Live response, 26 Oct 2026, test key (fewer fields than a production key)

  • Exa

    Best for: pay-as-you-go web search with no subscription.

    Exa charges per request: search from $4 per 1,000 requests, deep search from $12. It gives $10 in free credits a month with no payment method required.

    Exa pricing and alternatives

  • Tavily

    Best for: fixed monthly credit plans and keyless trials.

    Tavily gives 1,000 free credits a month with no card. Plans run from $30 (4,000 credits) to $500 (100,000 credits) a month, and search has a "finance" topic option.

    Tavily pricing and alternatives

  • Brave Search API

    Best for: its own web index at high throughput.

    Brave charges $5 per 1,000 search requests, with $5 in free credits a month (a card is needed but not charged) and 50 requests a second. Its standard terms don't allow storing results.

    Brave Search API pricing and alternatives

Related pages

Questions about Perplexity API pricing

How much does the Perplexity API cost?

The Search API costs $5 per 1,000 requests and Fast Search $1 per 1,000. In the Agent API, web search costs $0.0025 a call plus model tokens, and the Sonar model $0.25 in and $2.50 out per million tokens. Prices checked 20 Oct 2026.

Is Perplexity Sonar being discontinued?

Sonar chat completions ended on 27 Sep 2026. Sonar now runs as a model through the Agent API.

Is the Perplexity API free?

Perplexity's pricing docs list no free tier; you buy prepaid API credits.

Does Perplexity have an MCP server?

Yes, at api.perplexity.ai/mcp.

Does Finks replace Perplexity?

Not for general web search. Finks returns the passages that answer a question, each with its source; today that covers news, SEC filings and earnings call transcripts. Use Perplexity for general web search and Finks for the finance answers behind it.

Finks makes this page. We took every price and limit from each company's own website on 20 Oct 2026 and link to each source. Prices change, so check them before you buy.

Sources

Add sourced finance results to your web search

Finks returns news, SEC filings and earnings call passages, each with its source.

Try Finks for free