Provider pricing
Perplexity AI API pricing
Perplexity has 8 priced models in the public snapshot. For 1,000 input and 500 output tokens, Sonar Small Online has the lowest recorded request cost at $0.0003, with $0.2 input and $0.2 output per million tokens.
Best for
Apps needing fresh, cited answers — research assistants, news bots, fact-check tools, and AI search experiences.
Strengths
- Built-in real-time web search with citations
- Sonar Deep Research handles multi-query expert research in one call
- Reasoning models (Sonar Reasoning, Reasoning Pro) include chain-of-thought
- Domain, date, and academic-mode source filters out of the box
Tracked Perplexity models
| Model | Input $/M | Output $/M | Context | Tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonar | $1.00 | $1.00 | 127,000 | Budget | Fast grounded web search and everyday Q&A with citations |
| Sonar Pro | $3.00 | $15.00 | 200,000 | Flagship | Multi-step research with 2× more citations and deeper sources |
| Sonar Reasoning | $1.00 | $5.00 | 127,000 | Reasoning | Chain-of-thought reasoning grounded in real-time web search |
| Sonar Reasoning Pro | $2.00 | $8.00 | 127,000 | Reasoning | Advanced DeepSeek R1-based reasoning with grounded search |
| Sonar Deep Research | $2.00 | $8.00 | 127,000 | Premium | Expert multi-query research, long-form reports with citations |
| Sonar Small Online | $0.200 | $0.200 | 127,000 | Budget | Cheapest grounded search model with citations |
| Sonar Ultra | $5.00 | $20.00 | 200,000 | Premium | Largest Sonar variant — multi-step research with extensive citations |
Last updated: · Source: Perplexity pricing · Methodology
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Perplexity API cost?
Perplexity has 8 priced models in the public snapshot. For 1,000 input and 500 output tokens, Sonar Small Online has the lowest recorded request cost at $0.0003, with $0.2 input and $0.2 output per million tokens.
Which Perplexity model is cheapest?
Sonar Small Online is the lowest-cost recorded model for the 1,000-input/500-output example. Prices are $0.2 input and $0.2 output per million tokens; different workloads may change the ranking.
Does Perplexity have cached or batch prices?
Cached input: not separately recorded. Batch: not recorded in this dataset. Eligibility and cache-write charges depend on the provider; these discounts are not automatically stacked.
How often are provider prices verified?
The live pricing table synchronizes stored model records daily; public file snapshots update when the site is rebuilt. Synchronization is not independent provider verification. Snapshot updated 2026-10-31; only explicit per-model dates are verification records.