Exa
Embeddings-based web search designed to feed retrieval pipelines and agents.
Full Exa record →Head to head
Exa vs Perplexity
Exa (Exa) and Perplexity (Perplexity) both sit in Search & Research. Perplexity is the cheaper entry point at from $20/mo. Perplexity shipped more tracked changes in the last 30 days (4 vs 1). Every value below comes from the latest crawl of the vendors' own pages.
| Attribute | Exa Exa | Perplexity Perplexity |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Search & Research | Search & Research |
| Version | 3.0 | Teammates, fully local Computer on Mac, and Voice mode (Nov 2026) |
| Entry cost | Free tier · from $1,000/mo | from $20/mo |
| Pricing tiers | Starter free · Developer free · Enterprise $1000 | Pro free · Max free · Enterprise free |
| Model stack | agentic models · embedding · Exa 3.0 · Exa Agent API · Exa Auto · Exa Custom Search Models · Exa Deep · Exa Instant · Exa neural search models · Exa Search · Exa Search API · Exa Search Embedding Model · Exa Search Model · Exa Search Models · Exa Search Neural Model · neural search model | Claude Opus 4.5 · Claude Opus 5.5 · Frontier Models · Gemini 3 Pro · GPT-5.2 · GPT-5.6 Luna · GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-6 Astra · GPT-6.1 Sol · Grok 4.6 · Kimi K3 · MiniMax H3 · Opus 5 · Seedance 2.5 · Sonar |
| Context window | n/a | Varies by model |
| Public API | ||
| Routes models | ||
| Changes / 30d | 1 | 4 |
| Origin | Global | Global |
| Capabilities | Neural search, Contents retrieval, Websets, Answer endpoint, Research API, Web Search API, Deep Research, Structured JSON Extraction | Cited answers, Deep research, Comet browser, Spaces, Shopping, Focus modes, Gateway API, Agent API |
Perplexity
Conversational search that cites its sources and offers deep research modes.
Full Perplexity record →