Exa
A web search API built for AI agents: fast, accurate retrieval with token-efficient page contents and deep research in one endpoint.
About Exa
Exa is a search engine designed for machines rather than people. Instead of returning ten blue links, its API gives AI agents and LLM apps clean, current web data: search results, full page contents, token-efficient highlights, and structured outputs with citations. Exa says more than 500,000 developers build on it.
The product is split into a few endpoints. Search offers configurable latency (Instant under roughly 180ms to 1s, Auto, and multi-step Deep search); Contents returns page text or highlights ready to drop into an LLM context window; Agent runs asynchronous deep-research jobs with structured, cited outputs; and Monitors re-run searches on a schedule and push fresh results through webhooks. Specialised verticals cover companies, people, news, research papers and code, so the same API can power a coding agent's docs lookup or a sales team's company enrichment.
Exa is aimed at developers shipping agents, chatbots, coding assistants and data-enrichment pipelines who want to own the retrieval layer instead of scraping or wrapping a consumer search engine. It ships an MCP server, a Claude connector, a ChatGPT plugin and 50+ integrations, and lists SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and CCPA coverage, with HIPAA and zero data retention on the enterprise tier. Pricing is usage-based: a free starter tier with $10 in monthly credits, pay-as-you-go billing from $4 per 1,000 Instant search requests, and custom enterprise plans.
Key features
Frequently asked questions
What is Exa?
Exa is a search API built for AI agents and LLM applications. It returns real-time web results, full page contents, highlights and structured research outputs so developers do not have to scrape or wrap a consumer search engine.
How much does Exa cost?
Exa has a free Starter tier with $10 in credits every month plus a $10 onboarding bonus. Pay-as-you-go pricing starts at $4 per 1,000 Instant search requests (Fast/Auto $7, Deep $12-$15 per 1,000), Contents is $1 per 1,000 pages, and the Agent API runs from $0.012 to $1.00 per request depending on effort. Enterprise pricing is custom.
Does Exa have a free plan?
Yes. The Starter plan is free, gives $10 in credits each month with no payment method required, and includes access to all endpoints, the MCP server and the Claude connector.
What is Exa used for?
Common uses are grounding chatbots and assistants in current web data, feeding documentation and repository search to coding agents, news monitoring, company and people search, and data enrichment.
Is Exa secure and compliant?
Exa states it holds SOC 2 Type II and supports GDPR and CCPA requirements. HIPAA with a BAA and zero data retention are listed on the enterprise plan.
How does Exa compare with Perplexity and Brave Search?
Exa publishes benchmarks (FRAMES, Tip-of-Tongue, Seal0) in which it reports higher accuracy than Perplexity and Brave. Those are vendor-run results, so test on your own queries. Unlike Perplexity's consumer product, Exa is sold primarily as an API for developers.
Can I use Exa with Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes. Exa provides an MCP server, a Claude connector and a ChatGPT plugin, plus more than 50 integrations.
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