Scraping API PricesAll products / Perplexity Search API
Perplexity Search API pricing
What Perplexity raw Search returns, how it differs from Sonar and Agent API, how buying works, and priced search alternatives.
one default result set; no fan-out
Fixed for this page; volume is the control.Every available option was priced in advance from published vendor rules. Changing a control only switches between those checked options; nothing is sent anywhere and no account is needed.
Your job
What Perplexity Search API counts
What you pay
Successes you want
100,000 standard searches
Your stated workload. Every vendor on this site is priced against this same number.
- ÷ 1
Attempts you are billed for
100,000 standard searches
Perplexity Search API bills failed fetches. This workload assumes none fail, so nothing is added here.
- × 1
What the meter counts
100,000 requests
One attempt is one billed unit for this workload.
- =
Metered cash this month
$500.00 /mo
Search API. Cheapest of every eligible purchase option, not the first plan that fits.
Bars share one linear scale across the 3 counted stages, so a multiplier shows as length. Units differ by stage and are labelled. Cash is not on that scale.
100,000 standard searches → 100,000 request → Search API $500.00/mo = $5.00 per 1,000 searches
Cheaper for this job
Same 100,000 standard search calls with one default-depth result set per call, ranked by what you would actually be billed. Unknown totals never enter the numeric order.
Every Perplexity Search API plan
| Plan | Monthly | If billed yearly | Prepaid pack | Included | Simultaneous sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search API your job | Not published | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
What consumes a unit
This is where a bill actually grows. One operation is not one billed unit, and the multiplier is published here rather than on the pricing page.
| Operation | Costs | Per | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| search.query | 1 request | request | source |
What Perplexity Search API does not publish
- Failed-request billing is not published.
- Search-specific rate limits were not obtained from the public pricing page.
- The Search addendum and generic API FAQ conflict on query-data retention.
- No Search-specific customer caching, redistribution, or attribution rule was found beyond the general API agreement.
Product scope and returned result
Perplexity Search API is the raw web-search endpoint. A request returns a ranked results[] array whose records include title, URL, snippet, and optional publication and last-updated dates. This differs from Sonar, which returns a prose chat completion with citations, and from Agent API, which combines third-party models with separately billed tools. A buyer that needs result records should compare the Search API rate, not Sonar token and context charges. (Perplexity Search reference and pricing, retrieved 2026-07-26).
Search supports filters and a max_results request field, but the current vendor record does not publish a result-count surcharge. The response shape is intended for retrieval pipelines that want URLs and snippets rather than a vendor-written answer. (Perplexity Search reference, retrieved 2026-07-26).
Every recorded meter
The sole baseline meter is one Search API request. Perplexity publishes $5 per 1,000 raw Search requests and states that no LLM token charge is added to this endpoint. The record also notes the separate Agent API web_search tool invocation meter, but that tool is not the raw Search baseline and should not be added to a direct Search call. (Perplexity pricing, retrieved 2026-07-26).
The reviewed pricing and endpoint reference do not state whether failed raw Search requests are billed. Search-specific rate limits were also not obtained from the public pricing page. Those fields remain unknown. (Perplexity pricing and Search reference, retrieved 2026-07-26).
Contract path, minimum, and trial
The standard path is self-serve through the Perplexity API platform: create an account, configure billing, issue a bearer token, and call /search. The record finds no recurring free Search API allowance, and the reviewed page does not publish a minimum purchase. Perplexity also offers API credits through AWS Marketplace for consolidated procurement. (Perplexity pricing, retrieved 2026-07-26).
Custom pricing, dedicated support, and enterprise features use an enterprise inquiry form. A buyer should be ready with monthly request volume, peak rate, result and filtering needs, support coverage, procurement route, and data-handling requirements. The data questions need explicit confirmation: the Search-specific addendum permits Perplexity to retain and use Search Data for lawful business purposes, while a generic API FAQ says API query data is not retained. The product-specific addendum is more directly scoped, but the public sources conflict and this content does not resolve that conflict. (Search addendum and API FAQ, retrieved 2026-07-26).
Price status and why there is no monthly plan price
Perplexity publishes a direct request rate rather than a monthly Search subscription. Only negotiated enterprise terms lack a public fixed price. The empty monthly field does not mean the raw endpoint is quote-only. (Perplexity pricing, retrieved 2026-07-26).
Priced alternatives
- Tavily Project starts at $30 per month. (Tavily API credits, retrieved 2026-07-26).
- Olostep Starter starts at $9 per month. (Olostep, retrieved 2026-07-26).
- Firecrawl Hobby starts at $16 per month when billed annually, or $19 month to month. (Firecrawl pricing, retrieved 2026-07-26).
Answer
Perplexity Search API costs $500.00 for 100,000 standard searches on its Search API offer. Every figure is sourced and dated.
Recorded 2026-07-26 from the vendor's own pricing page.The published price on this page matched the vendor page when it was rechecked.