Tavily vs Exa pricing
For 10,000 searches a month in each one's default search type, Tavily costs $78 (Project) and Exa $70. Tavily is cheaper at 50,000 to 100,000 searches a month, Exa at 1,000 to 10,000 and 500,000 to 1,000,000. In the cheapest search type each sells (Exa's instant): Exa is cheaper at every volume from 1,000 to 1,000,000 searches a month. Free: Tavily, 1,000 credits a month, no card needed (1,000 searches a month); Exa, $10 of credit a month, no card needed, plus a one-time $10 onboarding bonus (1,428 searches a month).
Cheapest for 10,000 searches a month: Exa at $70 ($7.00 per 1,000). Most expensive: Tavily at $78.
Each one's cheapest published way to run that many searches in a month, in its default search type, before VAT and free credits.
Which is cheaper at my volume?
| Searches a month | Tavily | Exa |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $8 $8.00 per 1,000 | $7 $7.00 per 1,000 |
| 5,000 | $38 $7.60 per 1,000 | $35 $7.00 per 1,000 |
| 10,000 | $78 $7.80 per 1,000 | $70 $7.00 per 1,000 |
| 50,000 | $316 $6.32 per 1,000 | $350 $7.00 per 1,000 |
| 100,000 | $500 $5.00 per 1,000 | $700 $7.00 per 1,000 |
| 500,000 | $3,700 $7.40 per 1,000 | $3,500 $7.00 per 1,000 |
| 1,000,000 | $7,700 $7.70 per 1,000 | $7,000 $7.00 per 1,000 |
Default search type, cheapest published option a month; bold marks the cheaper. "Custom" means more than the largest published plan.
In the cheapest search type each sells
| Searches a month | Tavily basic search, 1 credit | Exa instant |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $8 $8.00 per 1,000 | $4 $4.00 per 1,000 |
| 5,000 | $38 $7.60 per 1,000 | $20 $4.00 per 1,000 |
| 10,000 | $78 $7.80 per 1,000 | $40 $4.00 per 1,000 |
| 50,000 | $316 $6.32 per 1,000 | $200 $4.00 per 1,000 |
| 100,000 | $500 $5.00 per 1,000 | $400 $4.00 per 1,000 |
| 500,000 | $3,700 $7.40 per 1,000 | $2,000 $4.00 per 1,000 |
| 1,000,000 | $7,700 $7.70 per 1,000 | $4,000 $4.00 per 1,000 |
How do they compare?
What is one search?
- Tavily: One search request of up to 20 results: 1 credit for a basic, fast or ultra-fast search, 2 for an advanced one.
- Exa: One search request; the price covers up to 10 results, and each result above 10 adds $1 per 1,000.
Search types and prices
- Tavily: Basic, fast or ultra-fast search, 1 credit: $5.00 to $8.00 per 1,000; Advanced search, 2 credits: $10.00 to $16.00 per 1,000.
- Exa: Instant: $4.00 per 1,000; Fast or auto (the default): $7.00 per 1,000; Deep-lite or deep: $12.00 per 1,000; Deep-reasoning: $15.00 per 1,000; Each result above 10: $1 more per 1,000 searches.
What does a search return?
- Tavily: Up to 20 results, each with snippets from the page; optionally each page's cleaned content and an LLM-written answer. Cleaned page content on request (include_raw_content); Tavily prices a search by its depth alone.
- Exa: Up to 10 results by default (up to 100), with page contents such as highlights or full text. Page contents come with the search; AI page summaries cost $1 per 1,000 pages.
Free allowance
- Tavily: 1,000 credits a month, no card needed (1,000 searches a month).
- Exa: $10 of credit a month, no card needed, plus a one-time $10 onboarding bonus (1,428 searches a month).
Tavily or Exa: quick answers
Is Tavily cheaper than Exa?
Tavily is cheaper at 50,000 to 100,000 searches a month, Exa at 1,000 to 10,000 and 500,000 to 1,000,000, in each one's default search type: 1,000, $8 against $7; 5,000, $38 against $35; 10,000, $78 against $70; 50,000, $316 against $350; 100,000, $500 against $700; 500,000, $3,700 against $3,500; 1,000,000, $7,700 against $7,000.
What do 10,000 searches a month cost on Tavily and Exa?
Tavily: $78, $7.80 per 1,000 (Project: $30 a month with 4,000 searches, then $8.00 per 1,000). Exa: $70, $7.00 per 1,000 (Pay as you go (auto): $7.00 per 1,000, no monthly fee).
Which has the bigger free tier, Tavily or Exa?
Exa, counted in searches. Tavily: 1,000 credits a month, no card needed (1,000 searches a month). Exa: $10 of credit a month, no card needed, plus a one-time $10 onboarding bonus (1,428 searches a month).
Do Tavily and Exa return page content?
Tavily: Up to 20 results, each with snippets from the page; optionally each page's cleaned content and an LLM-written answer. Cleaned page content on request (include_raw_content); Tavily prices a search by its depth alone. Exa: Up to 10 results by default (up to 100), with page contents such as highlights or full text. Page contents come with the search; AI page summaries cost $1 per 1,000 pages.
One at a time: Tavily pricing and Exa pricing. Leaving one? See Tavily alternatives or Exa alternatives. Every search API at your volume: web search APIs for LLMs.
Sources: Tavily, Exa, read on the date below.
Prices checked against each platform's own pricing page on .