# Source: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing.md

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pricing

<Info>
  This page shows **pricing information** to help you understand API costs.

  For **billing setup**, payment methods, and usage monitoring, visit the [Admin section](/docs/getting-started/api-groups). For **rate limits**, see the [Rate Limits & Usage Tiers](/docs/admin/rate-limits-usage-tiers) page.
</Info>

## Search API Pricing

| API            | Price per 1K requests | Description                                    |
| -------------- | :-------------------: | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Search API** |         \$5.00        | Raw web search results with advanced filtering |

<Note>
  **No token costs:** Search API charges per request only, with no additional token-based pricing.
</Note>

## Agentic Research API Pricing

The Agentic Research API provides access to third-party models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI with **transparent, token-based pricing** at direct provider rates with no markup.

### Model Pricing

Agentic Research API pricing varies by provider and model, with each provider offering multiple models at different price points.

<Card title="View Complete Third-Party Model Pricing" icon="table" href="/docs/grounded-llm/responses/models">
  See the full pricing breakdown for all available models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI, including cache rates and provider documentation links on the [Agentic Research API Models page](/docs/grounded-llm/responses/models).
</Card>

### Tool Pricing

When using web search tools with the Agentic Research API:

| Tool             |          Price          | Description                                           |
| ---------------- | :---------------------: | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **`web_search`** |  \$0.005 per invocation | Performs web searches to retrieve current information |
| **`fetch_url`**  | \$0.0005 per invocation | Fetches and extracts content from specific URLs       |

<Note>
  Tool costs are separate from model token costs. If a model makes 3 web searches during a request, you pay model tokens + (3 × \$0.005) for searches.
</Note>

## Grounded LLM Pricing

<Info>
  **Total cost per query** = Token costs + Request fee (varies by search context size, applies to Sonar, Sonar Pro, and Sonar Reasoning Pro models only)
</Info>

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Token Pricing">
    ## Token Pricing

    **Token pricing** is based on the number of tokens in your request and response.

    | Model                   | Input Tokens (\$/1M) | Output Tokens (\$/1M) | Citation Tokens (\$/1M) | Search Queries (\$/1K) | Reasoning Tokens (\$/1M) |
    | ----------------------- | :------------------: | :-------------------: | :---------------------: | :--------------------: | :----------------------: |
    | **Sonar**               |          \$1         |          \$1          |            -            |            -           |             -            |
    | **Sonar Pro**           |          \$3         |          \$15         |            -            |            -           |             -            |
    | **Sonar Reasoning Pro** |          \$2         |          \$8          |            -            |            -           |             -            |
    | **Sonar Deep Research** |          \$2         |          \$8          |           \$2           |           \$5          |            \$3           |
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Request Pricing">
    ## Request Pricing by Search Context Size

    **Search context** determines how much web information is retrieved. Higher context = more comprehensive results. The following table shows the request fee for each model for every **1000 requests**.

    | Model                   | Low Context Size | Medium Context Size | High Context Size |
    | ----------------------- | :--------------: | :-----------------: | :---------------: |
    | **Sonar**               |        \$5       |         \$8         |        \$12       |
    | **Sonar Pro**           |        \$6       |         \$10        |        \$14       |
    | **Sonar Reasoning Pro** |        \$6       |         \$10        |        \$14       |

    <Note>
      * **Low**: (default) fastest, cheapest
      * **Medium**: Balanced cost/quality
      * **High**: Maximum search depth, best for research

      [Learn more about search context →](../guides/search-context-size-guide)
    </Note>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Pro Search Pricing">
    ## Pro Search Pricing (Pro Search for Sonar Pro)

    **Pro Search** enhances Sonar Pro with automated tool usage and multi-step reasoning. When enabled, the model can perform multiple web searches and fetch URL content to answer complex queries. [Learn more about Pro Search here](/docs/grounded-llm/chat-completions/pro-search/quickstart).

    <Info>
      Pro Search requires `stream: true` and is enabled via the `search_type` parameter in `web_search_options`.
    </Info>

    ### Search Type Options

    | Search Type | Description                                        |   Request Fee (per 1K)   |
    | ----------- | -------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------: |
    | **`fast`**  | (default) Standard Sonar Pro behavior              |     \$6 / \$10 / \$14    |
    | **`pro`**   | Multi-step tool usage for complex queries          |    \$14 / \$18 / \$22    |
    | **`auto`**  | Automatic classification based on query complexity | Varies by classification |

    <Note>
      Request fees vary by search context size (Low / Medium / High). Token pricing remains the same as standard Sonar Pro (\$3 per 1M input, \$15 pe r 1M output).
    </Note>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Token and Cost Glossary">
    ### Input Tokens

    The number of tokens in your prompt or message to the API. This includes:

    * Your question or instruction
    * Any context or examples you provide
    * System messages and formatting

    **Example:** "What is the weather in New York?" = \~8 input tokens

    ### Output Tokens

    The number of tokens in the API's response. This includes:

    * The generated answer or content
    * Any explanations or additional context
    * Search results and references

    **Example:** "The weather in New York is currently sunny with a temperature of 72°F." = \~15 output tokens

    ### Citation Tokens

    Tokens used specifically for generating search results and references in responses. Only applies to **Sonar Deep Research** model.

    **Example:** Including source links, reference numbers, and bibliographic information

    ### Search Context Size vs Context Window

    **Search context size** is *not* the same as the **context window**.

    * **Search context size**: How much web information is retrieved during search (affects request pricing)
    * **Context window**: Maximum tokens the model can process in one request (affects token limits)

    ### Search Queries

    The number of individual searches conducted by **Sonar Deep Research** during query processing. This is separate from your initial user query.

    * The model automatically determines how many searches are needed
    * You cannot control the exact number of search queries
    * The `reasoning_effort` parameter influences the number of searches performed
    * Only applies to **Sonar Deep Research** model

    ### Reasoning Tokens

    Tokens used for step-by-step logical reasoning and problem-solving. Only applies to **Sonar Deep Research** model.

    **Example:** Breaking down a complex math problem into sequential steps with explanations

    <Info>
      **Token Calculation:** 1 token ≈ 4 characters in English text. The exact count may vary based on language and content complexity.
    </Info>
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Cost Examples

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Sonar Web Search Example" icon="calculator">
    **Sonar** • 500 input + 200 output tokens

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Low">
        | Component     | Cost         |
        | ------------- | ------------ |
        | Input tokens  | \$0.0005     |
        | Output tokens | \$0.0002     |
        | Request fee   | \$0.005      |
        | **Total**     | **\$0.0057** |
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Medium">
        | Component     | Cost         |
        | ------------- | ------------ |
        | Input tokens  | \$0.0005     |
        | Output tokens | \$0.0002     |
        | Request fee   | \$0.008      |
        | **Total**     | **\$0.0087** |
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="High">
        | Component     | Cost         |
        | ------------- | ------------ |
        | Input tokens  | \$0.0005     |
        | Output tokens | \$0.0002     |
        | Request fee   | \$0.012      |
        | **Total**     | **\$0.0127** |
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>
  </Card>

  <Card title="Deep Research Example" icon="chart-line">
    **Sonar Deep Research**

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Low">
        | Component                | Cost           |
        | ------------------------ | -------------- |
        | Input tokens (33)        | \$0.000066     |
        | Output tokens (7163)     | \$0.057304     |
        | Citation tokens (20016)  | \$0.040032     |
        | Reasoning tokens (73997) | \$0.221991     |
        | Search queries (18)      | \$0.09         |
        | **Total**                | **\$0.409393** |
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Medium">
        | Component                 | Cost        |
        | ------------------------- | ----------- |
        | Input tokens (7)          | \$0.00      |
        | Output tokens (3847)      | \$0.031     |
        | Citation tokens (47293)   | \$0.095     |
        | Reasoning tokens (308156) | \$0.924     |
        | Search queries (28)       | \$0.14      |
        | **Total**                 | **\$1.190** |
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="High">
        | Component                 | Cost        |
        | ------------------------- | ----------- |
        | Input tokens (8)          | \$0.00      |
        | Output tokens (4435)      | \$0.035     |
        | Citation tokens (58196)   | \$0.116     |
        | Reasoning tokens (339594) | \$1.019     |
        | Search queries (30)       | \$0.15      |
        | **Total**                 | **\$1.320** |
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>
  </Card>
</CardGroup>