Perplexity
AI answer engine focused on retrieval-assisted research.
Core record
Status: Generally available
Access: Web, desktop, mobile, enterprise plans and separately billed public APIs
API status: Public APIs available; Router API is private preview
Openness: Proprietary service; Router also hosts third-party open-source models
Modalities: Text, web search, image/file input, image/video results
Best suited for
Answer-engine and research-oriented discovery workflows.
Limitations
Exact context and output limits depend on the selected model or surface. Regional availability and benchmark evidence remain pending.
API / auth
Interface: Agent, Search, Sonar, Embeddings and private-preview Router APIs
Base URL: https://api.perplexity.ai
Authentication: API key with Bearer authentication
Compatibility: Official Python/TypeScript SDKs and documented OpenAI-compatible endpoints
Rate limits: Published by API and usage tier; rejected 429 requests are not billed
Deployment
Models / versions
| Model | Context | Max output | Modalities | License | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonar | Pending exact official limit | Pending exact official limit | Text + grounded search | Proprietary service | Current |
| Sonar Pro | Pending exact official limit | Pending exact official limit | Text and media | Proprietary service | Current |
| Sonar Reasoning Pro | Pending exact official limit | Pending exact official limit | Text + grounded reasoning | Proprietary service | Current |
| Sonar Deep Research | Pending exact official limit | Pending exact official limit | Research output with citations | Proprietary service | Current |
API pricing snapshot
| SKU / model | Unit | Input | Output | Flat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonar | USD / 1M tokens | $1 | $1 | — | Plus $5/$8/$12 per 1K requests by search context. |
| Sonar Pro | USD / 1M tokens | $3 | $15 | — | Plus $6/$10/$14 per 1K requests; Pro Search can cost more. |
| Sonar Reasoning Pro | USD / 1M tokens | $2 | $8 | — | Plus $6/$10/$14 per 1K requests. |
| Sonar Deep Research | USD / 1M tokens | $2 | $8 | — | Separate citation, search-query and reasoning charges. |
| Search API | USD / 1K requests | — | — | $5 | No additional token charge. |
Integrations
Regions
Pending authoritative regional availability list. No country coverage is inferred.
Governance / privacy
Official API documentation states zero content retention for the Chat Completions API, excludes prompt/response content from billing metadata, and lists SOC 2 Type II through the Perplexity Trust Center. These claims are scoped to the API documentation and are not generalized to every consumer surface.
Benchmarks
Pending methodology-aware benchmark audit. Vendor and independent benchmark results remain separate.