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Sonar (Perplexity)

Sonar (Perplexity) · Analytics & Data

Perplexity Sonar — the API version of Perplexity's search + reasoning models, priced for developers embedding real-time web-grounded answers into apps. Pricing: Sonar $1/M input + $1/M output tokens + $5/1K searches; Sonar Pro $3/M input + $15/M output + $5/1K searches; Sonar Reasoning $1/M in + $5/M out; Sonar Deep Research $2/M in + $8/M out + $5/1K searches. Popular with developers building AI apps that need real-time web grounding.

In other words, Sonar is worth it for developers who want ChatGPT-quality answers grounded in current web results without building their own search + scrape + rerank pipeline. Base Sonar ($1/M tokens) is one of the cheapest real-time-web-grounded LLM APIs. Pro suits higher-quality reasoning; Deep Research for long-form investigations. Downside: not the model to use for pure reasoning without web search (Claude, GPT-4o cheaper for that); price scales with search calls.

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Pricing summary

Starting price
$0 / month

No monthly fees

Pricing model
Per Usage

Pay as you go

Key limit
Varies by plan

Depends on tier

Additional fees
Varies

Auto-verified 2026-09-19 from training data. Pure usage-based (no free tier for API). SKILL to reconfirm token rates.

Free trial
No

Not applicable

Machine-readable pricing: pricing.md ↓
Alternatives to consider

Just need an LLM without web search? OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google APIs. Need to control the search index? Build your own with Kagi or Brave Search API + an LLM. Consumer web search interface? Regular Perplexity, not the API.

All plans

See a plain-English answer to “How much does Sonar (Perplexity) cost?” →

PlanMonthlyAnnualKey limit
Sonar
Free
Free
$1/M in + $1/M out + $5/1K searches (usage-based)
Sonar Pro
Free
Free
$3/M in + $15/M out + $5/1K searches
Sonar Reasoning
Free
Free
$1/M in + $5/M out
Sonar Deep Research
Free
Free
$2/M in + $8/M out + $5/1K searches

Tier prices · View source →

Price history

Price tracking is just getting started for Sonar (Perplexity). Full history will build as we log changes. See what we have so far →

Common questions about Sonar (Perplexity)

Is Sonar (Perplexity) worth it?
Sonar is worth it for developers who want ChatGPT-quality answers grounded in current web results without building their own search + scrape + rerank pipeline. Base Sonar ($1/M tokens) is one of the cheapest real-time-web-grounded LLM APIs.
What are the pricing tiers of Sonar (Perplexity)?
Sonar (Perplexity) has 4 plans: Sonar (free), Sonar Pro (free), Sonar Reasoning (free), Sonar Deep Research (free).
How is Sonar (Perplexity) priced — per usage or subscription?
Sonar (Perplexity) is priced per usage. You pay for what you consume, not per seat.

Frequently asked questions

About Sonar (Perplexity) pricing.

Perplexity Sonar — the API version of Perplexity's search + reasoning models, priced for developers embedding real-time web-grounded answers into apps. Pricing: Sonar $1/M input + $1/M output tokens + $5/1K searches; Sonar Pro $3/M input + $15/M output + $5/1K searches; Sonar Reasoning $1/M in + $5/M out; Sonar Deep Research $2/M in + $8/M out + $5/1K searches. Popular with developers building AI apps that need real-time web grounding. Real all-in cost may be higher depending on downstream models, telephony, or storage — see the full pricing breakdown on this page.

At a glance

Pricing transparency
Public