Brave Search API vs Perplexity API: search and web data API pricing compared
Updated 2026-11-10 · listed A to Z, not ranked
The Brave Search API gives apps and AI agents results from Brave's own web index, plus LLM-ready context and summarized answers. It uses prepaid credits, no subscription.
The Perplexity API offers a Search API (ranked web results as JSON), an Agent API with third-party models and web tools, an Orchestrator API, and embeddings.
Listed A to Z, from brave.com and docs.perplexity.ai. Every figure below is quoted from those pages.
- Main price table
- Search, Answers, Enterprise
- Free option
- Search and Answers each include $5 in free credits every month
- Published prices
- Search $5 per 1,000 requests, Answers $4 per 1,000 plus $5 per million tokens; $5 free credits monthly.
- Main price table
- Search API, Search API with Fast Search
- Free option
- None in the published plan table
- Published prices
- Search API $5 per 1,000 requests ($1 with Fast Search); Agent API tools from $0.0005 per call.
How we checked: Prices quoted from each official pricing page: Brave Search API checked Nov 10, 2026, Perplexity API checked Nov 10, 2026. Taxes, usage overages and promotions can change what you pay; confirm with each provider before you buy.
How they compare
- Main price table. Brave Search API lists 3 entries (Search, Answers, Enterprise); Perplexity API lists 2 (Search API, Search API with Fast Search).
- Free option. Brave Search API: Search and Answers each include $5 in free credits every month. Perplexity API: none in the published plan table.
- How prices are quoted. Brave Search API: “Plans”. Perplexity API: “Search API”.
Brave Search API plans and prices
| Plan | Price | Free credits | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search | $5 per 1,000 requests | $5 every month | 50 queries per second |
| Answers | $4 per 1,000 requests + $5 per million input/output tokens | $5 every month | 2 queries per second |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | - | Custom |
Search includes Goggles (custom reranking and filtering), extra alternate snippets and schema-enriched results. Answers adds citations, streaming and OpenAI SDK compatibility. Enterprise adds full-funnel Zero Data Retention, custom agreements and invoicing. The page headline says up to $20 in free calls every month.
From brave.com, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: Brave Search API pricing.
Perplexity API plans and prices
| API | Price per 1K requests | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Search API | $5.00 | Ranked web results as JSON with extracted page text; no token billing |
| Search API with Fast Search | $1.00 | Lower-latency results in the same format (search_type: "fast") |
Billed per successful POST /search request; a request with up to five queries is one billing unit. Invalid, rate-limited and failed requests are not billed.
| Tool | Price |
|---|---|
| web_search (standard) | $0.0025 per invocation ($2.50 per 1,000) |
| web_search (Fast Search) | $0.001 per invocation ($1.00 per 1,000) |
| image_search | $0.0025 per successful invocation |
| fetch_url | $0.0005 per invocation |
| people_search | $0.005 per invocation |
| finance_search | $0.005 per invocation |
| sandbox | $0.03 per session (20-minute billing window) |
Agent API and Orchestrator API model usage is billed per token at each model's published rates; tool costs are separate from model token costs.
From docs.perplexity.ai, checked Nov 10, 2026. Full breakdown: Perplexity API pricing.
FAQ
How much does Brave Search API cost?
Search $5 per 1,000 requests, Answers $4 per 1,000 plus $5 per million tokens; $5 free credits monthly. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
How much does Perplexity API cost?
Search API $5 per 1,000 requests ($1 with Fast Search); Agent API tools from $0.0005 per call. (checked Nov 10, 2026).
Do Brave Search API and Perplexity API have a free option?
Brave Search API: Search and Answers each include $5 in free credits every month. Perplexity API: none in the published plan table.
Which is better, Brave Search API or Perplexity API?
We do not pick a winner. The two price and package their products differently; the tables above quote each official pricing page so you can match a plan to your own usage.
Where do these prices come from?
Each vendor's own pricing page: brave.com (checked Nov 10, 2026) and docs.perplexity.ai (checked Nov 10, 2026). Prices change; confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.
Sources (official pages, read 2026-11-10)
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