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Exa vs Perplexity AI
A side-by-side comparison of pricing, ratings, features, pros and cons.
| Overview | |||
| Description | Search API purpose-built for AI agents, returning token-efficient, structured web data instead of raw HTML — used by tools like Cursor, HubSpot, and Databricks. | AI answer engine that gives cited, sourced answers to questions by searching the web and multiple AI models in real time. | |
| Category | |||
| Developer | Exa | Perplexity | |
| Verified Status | |||
| Last Updated | Sep 2026 | Sep 2026 | |
| Pricing | |||
| Pricing Model | Pricing not yet verified | Freemium | |
| Free Plan | No | No | |
| Open Source | — | No | |
| Capabilities | |||
| Features | • Token-efficient highlights (up to 90% less token usage than full-page content) • Structured JSON outputs via custom schemas • Fast-results and deep-research search modes • Coverage of 70M+ organizations plus code and people search verticals • SOC 2 Type II, zero data retention, and SSO for enterprise use | • Cited, sourced answers with inline citations • Orchestrates multiple underlying AI models per query • Comet browser with built-in AI search • Free tier with real search capability • Deep Research for multi-step queries on paid tiers • File, image, and video upload/generation on Pro • Enterprise plans with SOC 2 and enterprise privacy controls | |
| Tags | languagemodelpoweredsearch | searchresearchcitations | |
| Trust and Engagement | |||
| Review Count | 0 | 0 | |
| Saves | 0 | 0 | |
| Views | 84 | 129 | |
| Quality Score | 41/100 | 41/100 | |
| Website Status | Online | Online | |
| Availability | |||
| Website | exa.ai | perplexity.ai | |
| Social Links | 3 linked | — | |
| Screenshots | No | No | |
| Reviews | |||
| Pros | — | • Free to use | |
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Both tools are closely matched on rating — the better fit depends on your specific needs. See the full feature and pricing comparison above.
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