{ "data": { "similar": [ { "grade": "BB", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tavily-mcp.json", "name": "Tavily API + MCP", "score": 77.1, "shared": [ "web.search", "search.answer", "search.research" ], "slug": "tavily-mcp" }, { "grade": "BB", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api.json", "name": "You.com APIs", "score": 76.1, "shared": [ "web.search", "search.answer", "search.research" ], "slug": "you-com-api" }, { "grade": "BB", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/parallel-search-api.json", "name": "Parallel Search and Task APIs", "score": 75, "shared": [ "web.search", "search.answer", "search.research" ], "slug": "parallel-search-api" }, { "grade": "B", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/valyu.json", "name": "Valyu", "score": 69.3, "shared": [ "web.search", "search.answer", "search.research" ], "slug": "valyu" }, { "grade": "B", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.json", "name": "Linkup", "score": 68, "shared": [ "web.search", "search.answer", "search.research" ], "slug": "linkup" }, { "grade": "B", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.json", "name": "Exa API + MCP", "score": 67.8, "shared": [ "web.search", "search.answer", "search.research" ], "slug": "exa-mcp" } ], "tool": { "slug": "perplexity-search-api", "name": "Perplexity Search API", "vendor": "Perplexity", "vendorUrl": "https://www.perplexity.ai/", "kind": "http-api", "category": "search", "summary": "Perplexity's Search API returns ranked web results with extracted page text as JSON from Perplexity's own index, through `POST /search`. The same key reaches the Agent API's web_search tool for cited answers, and a hosted MCP server wraps both.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/perplexity-search-api.json", "dns": "perplexity-search-api.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol", "license": "Proprietary service under the Perplexity API Terms of Service. The MCP server is MIT and the official SDKs Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "streamable-http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "perplexityai" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Bearer Perplexity API key in the `Authorization` header. Keys belong to a project in the API console, are shown once, and can be generated and revoked through `/generate_auth_token` and `/revoke_auth_token`, with a rotation guide. No per-key scopes found. The hosted MCP server also accepts Sign in with Perplexity (OAuth), where the user picks the organisation to bill.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "$5 per 1,000 successful Search API requests, or $1 with Fast Search, with up to five queries per request billed once. Invalid, rate-limited and failed requests are not billed. Agent API web_search is $2.50 per 1,000 calls plus model tokens. Prepaid credits with a card. No free allowance found.", "priceSummary": "$5 / 1k req", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the Search API docs, the pricing page, the OpenAPI description or llms.txt (checked 2026-11-06). An empty balance returns 402 Payment Required with no payment requirements, per the FAQ.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 4, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview", "mcpTools": { "url": "https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T01:46:49.011542458Z", "status": "auth", "note": "asks for credentials before listing its tools", "changedAt": "2026-11-07T01:46:49.011542458Z" }, "llmsTxt": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json", "registryName": "ai.perplexity/mcp-server", "capabilities": [ "web.search", "search.answer", "search.research" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "usage-priced", "prepaid", "card-required", "closed-source", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "remote-mcp", "mcp-registry", "python", "typescript", "status-page", "soc2" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-23", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 70.2, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 210, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 25, "reliability": 80, "schema": 89, "security": 56, "transparency": 66 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "breakdown": [ { "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16, "effectiveWeight": 20, "score": 80, "points": 16, "reason": "Graded on the hosted lines, for `POST /search` and the hosted MCP server. status.perplexity.com, on incident.io since 10 September 2026, has an API component with an RSS feed and a JSON summary. There is no separate Search component (20). In the 90 days from 8 August the feed lists 'Investigating API issue' on 13 August, resolved with no detail, a usage-based billing issue on 3 September, and on 9 October elevated errors on the website, app and Computer, where the API 'remained operational throughout'. Minor only, with the caveat that history before the migration may be incomplete (20). The Search API is limited to 50 query units a second with a burst of 50 on every tier, and the other APIs publish QPS and token limits per tier (15). 429 carries Retry-After and an `error.type`, the SDKs retry 429 and 5xx twice honouring Retry-After, the Search best-practices page shows backoff, and failed or rate-limited searches are not billed. Searches have no side effects (15). The FAQ says Perplexity does not guarantee uptime, failure frequency or recovery time, and the terms carry no SLA (0). No beta label on the Search API, launched on 25 September 2025 (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 80.", "checked": "2026-11-06" }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "weight": 10, "effectiveWeight": 0, "pending": true, "points": 0, "reason": "Pending. Latency is measured per call by our probes, which haven't run yet, so this run doesn't score it. Its weight is shared across the assessed categories until the first probe window closes." }, { "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13, "effectiveWeight": 16.25, "score": 89, "points": 14.46, "reason": "OpenAPI 3.1.0 at docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json describes `POST /search` with typed request and response schemas, listed in llms.txt (25). llms.txt indexes every page, each with a Markdown twin (10). The overview says what a result holds, that snippets can be empty, when to use the Search API instead of the Agent API, and that it takes queries not URLs and does not re-fetch pages (19 of 20). `search_type` is an enum, `max_results`, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` carry minimum and maximum, country and language codes carry lengths, and `query` is a string or an array. The recency filter is an enum in the docs, and date filters are `MM/DD/YYYY` strings (14 of 15). Python, TypeScript and cURL examples with a recorded response. The spec documents only 200 and 422 for `/search`, and status codes are listed on the SDK error-handling page and the rate-limit page rather than for Search (11 of 15). A public changelog with several entries a month, dated by month only, and an unversioned `/search` path (10 of 15). 25 + 10 + 19 + 14 + 11 + 10 = 89.", "checked": "2026-11-06" }, { "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13, "effectiveWeight": 16.25, "score": 85, "points": 13.81, "reason": "`max_results` 1 to 20, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` cap the extracted text, and results are title, url, snippet and two dates. The MCP server has four tools (23 of 25). Domain, language, recency, publication and update date filters and `country`, with up to five queries in one request. No pagination or offset (16 of 20). 429 bodies name the limit hit, the SDKs map status codes to typed errors, and 402 marks an empty balance. Search-specific error bodies beyond 422 validation are not documented (13 of 20). Searches only read, failed and rate-limited requests are not billed, and the MCP server sets readOnlyHint true, destructiveHint false and idempotentHint false on every tool (18 of 20). Only `query` is required. Official Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and a Python Search SDK (15). 23 + 16 + 13 + 18 + 15 = 85.", "checked": "2026-11-06" }, { "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14, "effectiveWeight": 17.5, "score": 56, "points": 9.8, "reason": "Project API keys, shown once, revocable, and generated and revoked through two documented endpoints with a rotation guide. No per-key scopes or spending limits were found. The hosted MCP server also takes Sign in with Perplexity (OAuth). Keys go in the Authorization header only (22 of 30, as on the Decisions API listing). Search only reads, and MCP clients can disable tools, but any key reaches every API on the account, including the Agent API's sandbox and MCP tools (8 of 20). Snippets are third-party page text, and no guidance on treating them as untrusted was found in the docs, the MCP server or its SECURITY.md (0 of 15). Responses carry a request `id`, and the console shows usage by key. The Audit API covers enterprise organisations' web app events with its own keys, not API calls (8 of 15). security.txt valid until 31 December 2027 linking a security page, a SOC 2 Type II report, a 2025 HIPAA gap assessment and a CAIQlite listed on the trust centre, and a SECURITY.md on the MCP server that takes private reports through GitHub advisories or security@perplexity.ai. The trust centre is drawn by script and wasn't read (18 of 20). 22 + 8 + 0 + 8 + 18 = 56.", "checked": "2026-11-06" }, { "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10, "effectiveWeight": 12.5, "score": 25, "points": 3.13, "reason": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, pricing page, OpenAPI or llms.txt (0). $5 per 1,000 successful requests, $1 with Fast Search, published without a login, with failed and rate-limited requests not billed (20). Usage is prepaid with a card on the billing page, and no free allowance was found. The console playground needs no key but is a page for a person, not an API allowance (0). A person signs up in the console. The Stripe Projects route provisions a project, key and credits from a terminal, but needs a person's Stripe account with a payment method and a $10 minimum purchase (5 of 20, as on the Decisions API listing). 0 + 20 + 0 + 5 = 25.", "checked": "2026-11-06" }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "weight": 10, "effectiveWeight": 0, "pending": true, "points": 0, "reason": "Pending. Task success needs the category task suites run through each tool, which haven't run yet, so this run doesn't score it. Its weight is shared across the assessed categories until then. A data provider's data-quality score is published on its listing now and becomes half of this category when it's scored." }, { "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7, "effectiveWeight": 8.75, "score": 82, "points": 7.18, "reason": "Read as a closed service with official SDKs and an open-source MCP server. perplexityai 0.46.1 on PyPI on 23 October 2026 and the MCP server's last commit on 21 October, with changelog entries into November 2026 (30). In the 90 days from 8 August, perplexityai 0.43.7 to 0.46.1 (six releases from 2 October), MCP server 1.2.1 (27 August) and 1.3.0 (25 September, Fast Search on perplexity_search), and Fast Search itself in September (20). A changelog with several entries a month, a community forum with a bug-report category, a GitHub discussion repository and api@perplexity.ai. MCP issue reply times weren't read (10 of 15). The MCP server is in the official registry under the domain-verified ai.perplexity namespace, and the Python and TypeScript SDKs are current (15). The MCP repository runs tests in CI and validates its plugin manifests. Its 1.4.0, prepared on 16 October, is not on npm, which still serves 1.3.0, and the registry's latest entry is 1.2.1 of 27 August (7 of 10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 15 + 7 = 82.", "checked": "2026-11-06" }, { "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7, "effectiveWeight": 8.75, "score": 66, "points": 5.78, "note": "editorial 51, provenance 80", "reason": "Closed service under terms naming Perplexity AI, Inc. and California law. The MCP server is MIT and the SDKs Apache-2.0 (18 of 30). The terms and DPA say Customer Content and personal data don't train Perplexity's models, the DPA deletes personal data within 30 days of the service ending, and the Privacy and Security page says retention varies by API and zero data retention is not the default. The DPA also says Perplexity Search may follow different data terms, which weren't found, and no retention period for search queries is stated (15 of 30). Sonar Chat Completions support ended on 27 September 2026 with a migration guide and requests reformulated rather than refused, and sonar-reasoning was removed on 15 December 2025 with a named replacement. Notices are dated by month and there is no standing notice period beyond the terms' 30 days for termination (10 of 20). A sub-processor list on the trust centre, which is drawn by script and wasn't read, ten business days' notice of new non-model subprocessors, and SCCs for EU and UK transfers. No data location is stated (8 of 20). 18 + 15 + 10 + 8 = 51.", "checked": "2026-11-06" } ], "assessment": { "date": "2026-11-06", "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "notes": { "ergonomics": "`max_results` 1 to 20, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` cap the extracted text, and results are title, url, snippet and two dates. The MCP server has four tools (23 of 25). Domain, language, recency, publication and update date filters and `country`, with up to five queries in one request. No pagination or offset (16 of 20). 429 bodies name the limit hit, the SDKs map status codes to typed errors, and 402 marks an empty balance. Search-specific error bodies beyond 422 validation are not documented (13 of 20). Searches only read, failed and rate-limited requests are not billed, and the MCP server sets readOnlyHint true, destructiveHint false and idempotentHint false on every tool (18 of 20). Only `query` is required. Official Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and a Python Search SDK (15). 23 + 16 + 13 + 18 + 15 = 85.", "maintenance": "Read as a closed service with official SDKs and an open-source MCP server. perplexityai 0.46.1 on PyPI on 23 October 2026 and the MCP server's last commit on 21 October, with changelog entries into November 2026 (30). In the 90 days from 8 August, perplexityai 0.43.7 to 0.46.1 (six releases from 2 October), MCP server 1.2.1 (27 August) and 1.3.0 (25 September, Fast Search on perplexity_search), and Fast Search itself in September (20). A changelog with several entries a month, a community forum with a bug-report category, a GitHub discussion repository and api@perplexity.ai. MCP issue reply times weren't read (10 of 15). The MCP server is in the official registry under the domain-verified ai.perplexity namespace, and the Python and TypeScript SDKs are current (15). The MCP repository runs tests in CI and validates its plugin manifests. Its 1.4.0, prepared on 16 October, is not on npm, which still serves 1.3.0, and the registry's latest entry is 1.2.1 of 27 August (7 of 10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 15 + 7 = 82.", "payments": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, pricing page, OpenAPI or llms.txt (0). $5 per 1,000 successful requests, $1 with Fast Search, published without a login, with failed and rate-limited requests not billed (20). Usage is prepaid with a card on the billing page, and no free allowance was found. The console playground needs no key but is a page for a person, not an API allowance (0). A person signs up in the console. The Stripe Projects route provisions a project, key and credits from a terminal, but needs a person's Stripe account with a payment method and a $10 minimum purchase (5 of 20, as on the Decisions API listing). 0 + 20 + 0 + 5 = 25.", "reliability": "Graded on the hosted lines, for `POST /search` and the hosted MCP server. status.perplexity.com, on incident.io since 10 September 2026, has an API component with an RSS feed and a JSON summary. There is no separate Search component (20). In the 90 days from 8 August the feed lists 'Investigating API issue' on 13 August, resolved with no detail, a usage-based billing issue on 3 September, and on 9 October elevated errors on the website, app and Computer, where the API 'remained operational throughout'. Minor only, with the caveat that history before the migration may be incomplete (20). The Search API is limited to 50 query units a second with a burst of 50 on every tier, and the other APIs publish QPS and token limits per tier (15). 429 carries Retry-After and an `error.type`, the SDKs retry 429 and 5xx twice honouring Retry-After, the Search best-practices page shows backoff, and failed or rate-limited searches are not billed. Searches have no side effects (15). The FAQ says Perplexity does not guarantee uptime, failure frequency or recovery time, and the terms carry no SLA (0). No beta label on the Search API, launched on 25 September 2025 (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 80.", "schema": "OpenAPI 3.1.0 at docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json describes `POST /search` with typed request and response schemas, listed in llms.txt (25). llms.txt indexes every page, each with a Markdown twin (10). The overview says what a result holds, that snippets can be empty, when to use the Search API instead of the Agent API, and that it takes queries not URLs and does not re-fetch pages (19 of 20). `search_type` is an enum, `max_results`, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` carry minimum and maximum, country and language codes carry lengths, and `query` is a string or an array. The recency filter is an enum in the docs, and date filters are `MM/DD/YYYY` strings (14 of 15). Python, TypeScript and cURL examples with a recorded response. The spec documents only 200 and 422 for `/search`, and status codes are listed on the SDK error-handling page and the rate-limit page rather than for Search (11 of 15). A public changelog with several entries a month, dated by month only, and an unversioned `/search` path (10 of 15). 25 + 10 + 19 + 14 + 11 + 10 = 89.", "security": "Project API keys, shown once, revocable, and generated and revoked through two documented endpoints with a rotation guide. No per-key scopes or spending limits were found. The hosted MCP server also takes Sign in with Perplexity (OAuth). Keys go in the Authorization header only (22 of 30, as on the Decisions API listing). Search only reads, and MCP clients can disable tools, but any key reaches every API on the account, including the Agent API's sandbox and MCP tools (8 of 20). Snippets are third-party page text, and no guidance on treating them as untrusted was found in the docs, the MCP server or its SECURITY.md (0 of 15). Responses carry a request `id`, and the console shows usage by key. The Audit API covers enterprise organisations' web app events with its own keys, not API calls (8 of 15). security.txt valid until 31 December 2027 linking a security page, a SOC 2 Type II report, a 2025 HIPAA gap assessment and a CAIQlite listed on the trust centre, and a SECURITY.md on the MCP server that takes private reports through GitHub advisories or security@perplexity.ai. The trust centre is drawn by script and wasn't read (18 of 20). 22 + 8 + 0 + 8 + 18 = 56.", "transparency": "Closed service under terms naming Perplexity AI, Inc. and California law. The MCP server is MIT and the SDKs Apache-2.0 (18 of 30). The terms and DPA say Customer Content and personal data don't train Perplexity's models, the DPA deletes personal data within 30 days of the service ending, and the Privacy and Security page says retention varies by API and zero data retention is not the default. The DPA also says Perplexity Search may follow different data terms, which weren't found, and no retention period for search queries is stated (15 of 30). Sonar Chat Completions support ended on 27 September 2026 with a migration guide and requests reformulated rather than refused, and sonar-reasoning was removed on 15 December 2025 with a named replacement. Notices are dated by month and there is no standing notice period beyond the terms' 30 days for termination (10 of 20). A sub-processor list on the trust centre, which is drawn by script and wasn't read, ten business days' notice of new non-model subprocessors, and SCCs for EU and UK transfers. No data location is stated (8 of 20). 18 + 15 + 10 + 8 = 51." }, "sources": [ { "what": "llms.txt", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "Search API overview", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "pricing", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "rate limits and usage tiers", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/rate-limits-usage-tiers.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "OpenAPI description", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "changelog", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/changelog.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "Sonar migration guide", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/overview.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "MCP server docs", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/integrations/mcp-server.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "privacy and security", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/privacy-security.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "FAQ", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/faq.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "API key management", "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/api-key-management.md", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "status feed", "url": "https://status.perplexity.com/feed.rss", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "API terms of service", "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "Data Processing Addendum", "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/dpa", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "Search API launch post", "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-the-perplexity-search-api", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "MCP server repository", "url": "https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "MCP registry entry", "url": "https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?search=ai.perplexity", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "perplexityai on PyPI", "url": "https://pypi.org/project/perplexityai/", "seen": "2026-11-06" }, { "what": "security.txt", "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "seen": "2026-11-06" } ], "openQuestions": [ "Judgement call on scope. The listing is the Search API with the hosted MCP server, and names the Agent API's web_search tool as the answer route on the same key, because the docs present them as two ways to search. The Agent API as a whole runs third-party models with many tools, closer to an inference router, and is not graded here. Sonar Chat Completions has ended and is not a separate listing. No Sonar listing exists in data/tools.", "The Decisions API (pplx-decider, pplx-decider-flash) and SPACE (perplexity-space) are separate Perplexity listings and don't overlap with search.", "unchecked: the data terms the DPA says Perplexity Search may follow, and any retention period for search queries.", "unchecked: the trust centre at trust.perplexity.ai, including the sub-processor list, which is drawn by script.", "unchecked: status history before the move to incident.io on 10 September 2026, and the detail of the 13 August 'Investigating API issue' incident.", "unchecked: reply times on the MCP repository's issues, and GitHub star counts.", "The launch post's index-size claim (hundreds of billions of webpages) is Perplexity's claim, not our measurement." ] }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Raw ranked results with token-capped page text from Perplexity's own index, $5 per 1,000 requests or $1 with Fast Search, an OpenAPI description and a hosted MCP server with read-only annotations. Uptime is not guaranteed, there is no free allowance, keys carry no scopes, and no guidance on untrusted page text was found.", "bestFor": "Agents on any model that need raw ranked sources with extracted text at a low per-request price, and teams that want cited answers from the same key through the Agent API.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 description of `POST /search` with enums and limits, llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page", "`max_tokens`, `max_tokens_per_page` and `max_results` cap what reaches the model, and up to five queries share one billed request", "Per-request prices published without login, and invalid, rate-limited and failed requests are not billed", "Hosted MCP server with OAuth or a key; the local server is in the official registry under the verified ai.perplexity namespace", "security.txt valid to 31 December 2027, a SOC 2 Type II report and a SECURITY.md that takes private reports" ], "weaknesses": [ "The FAQ says uptime and recovery time are not guaranteed, and the terms carry no SLA", "No free allowance and prepaid credits with a card; Stripe Projects still needs a $10 purchase", "Project keys have no scopes or spending limits, so any key can run every API on the account", "No guidance on treating returned snippets as untrusted text was found in the docs or the MCP server", "The DPA says Perplexity Search may follow different data terms, and no retention period for search queries is stated" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `max_tokens_per_page` and `max_tokens` before calling; extracted text otherwise fills the context, and the price does not change with size", "Skip results with an empty `snippet` and dedupe by `url` when sending a `query` array; each query costs one rate-limit unit", "Use `search_type: \"fast\"` for $1 per 1,000 when latency and cost matter more than depth", "On 429 wait for Retry-After, then back off; on 402 stop and ask the user to add credits", "Use the Search API for sources and the Agent API's web_search tool for a written answer with citations" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 70.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 25, "reliability": 80, "schema": 89, "security": 56, "transparency": 51 }, "provenanceScore": 80, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-06", "maintenance": "2026-11-06", "payments": "2026-11-06", "reliability": "2026-11-06", "schema": "2026-11-06", "security": "2026-11-06", "transparency": "2026-11-06" }, "last": "2026-11-06", "oldest": "2026-11-06", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 }, "scoreHistory": [ { "date": "2026-11-06", "grade": "BB", "kind": "listed", "method": "0.7", "score": 70.2 } ] }, "connect": { "install": "pip install perplexityai", "http": "curl -X POST https://api.perplexity.ai/search \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"query\": \"renewable energy technologies\", \"max_results\": 10, \"max_tokens\": 50000, \"max_tokens_per_page\": 4096}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http perplexity https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "perplexity": { "url": "https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/web.search", "tool": "https://letme.dev/perplexity-search-api" }, "sameCompany": [ "perplexity-space", "pplx-decider", "pplx-decider-flash" ], "notable": [ "Launched on 25 September 2025 as a standalone Search API over an index Perplexity says covers hundreds of billions of webpages (https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-the-perplexity-search-api)", "Each result carries title, url, a query-relevant snippet cut to `max_tokens_per_page`, and publication and update dates. Snippets can be empty, and there is no live page re-fetch (https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview)", "50 query units a second with a burst of 50 for every usage tier; a five-query request is one billing unit and five rate-limit units (https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/rate-limits-usage-tiers)", "Sonar Chat Completions support ended on 27 September 2026. Synchronous requests are reformulated as Agent API requests, and asynchronous Sonar requests are no longer supported (https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/overview)", "The hosted MCP server at api.perplexity.ai/mcp exposes perplexity_search, perplexity_ask, perplexity_reason and perplexity_research, with readOnlyHint true and destructiveHint false in the open-source server (https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol)", "The FAQ says Perplexity does not guarantee uptime, failure frequency or recovery time (https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/faq)" ], "area": "web-data", "details": [ { "label": "Surface listed", "value": "`POST https://api.perplexity.ai/search` and the hosted MCP server at api.perplexity.ai/mcp, with the Agent API's web_search tool as the answer route. Read from docs.perplexity.ai, its OpenAPI description, the status feed, the API terms, the DPA and the MCP server repository on 6 November 2026. No account was made and no call was sent" }, { "label": "Request controls", "value": "`query` (a string or up to five strings), `max_results` 1 to 20 (50 for people search), `search_type` web, fast or people, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` 1 to 1,000,000, up to 20 domains to include or exclude, up to 20 languages, a recency filter, publication and update date windows, and `country`" }, { "label": "Agent API", "value": "`POST /v1/agent` runs a model from Perplexity or a third party with built-in tools (web_search, fetch_url, image_search, people_search, finance_search, sandbox, MCP) and returns a typed output with a `search_results` item. Billed per token plus tool fees. It replaced Sonar Chat Completions" }, { "label": "MCP tools", "value": "perplexity_search (raw results), perplexity_ask (fast effort), perplexity_reason (medium) and perplexity_research (high). The local stdio server is `@perplexity-ai/mcp-server` 1.3.0 on npm; the repository's 1.4.0 (16 October) was not on npm on 6 November" }, { "label": "Other routes", "value": "The `pplx search web` command in the Perplexity CLI, a Python Search SDK, and a console playground that needs no API key" }, { "label": "Other Perplexity listings", "value": "The Decisions API is listed as pplx-decider and pplx-decider-flash, and SPACE as perplexity-space. The Embeddings and Orchestrator APIs are not part of this listing" }, { "label": "Terms", "value": "API Terms of Service updated 23 January 2026 under California law. Customers own Output, may display it only within their own applications, and Perplexity will not use Customer Content to train generative models" } ], "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Search API request", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5, "note": "Up to five queries in one request billed once; failed and rate-limited requests not billed" }, { "item": "Search API request with Fast Search", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 1, "note": "`search_type: \"fast\"`" }, { "item": "Agent API web_search call", "unit": "1k-calls", "usd": 2.5, "note": "Plus model tokens; $1.00 with Fast Search" }, { "item": "Agent API fetch_url call", "unit": "1k-calls", "usd": 0.5, "note": "Plus model tokens" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Perplexity AI, Inc.", "domain": "perplexity.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/privacy-notice", "statusPage": "https://status.perplexity.com/", "changelog": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/changelog", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "The API Terms of Service (last updated 23 January 2026) name Perplexity AI, Inc. and California law. The Data Processing Addendum (last updated 13 August 2026) deletes personal data within 30 days of the service ending and notes that Perplexity Search may follow different data terms.", "www.perplexity.ai/.well-known/security.txt is valid until 31 December 2027 and links www.perplexity.ai/security.", "The status page moved to incident.io on 10 September 2026 and has Website, App, Computer and API components, with no separate Search component.", "docs.perplexity.ai/robots.txt allows the docs and carries Content-Signal ai-train=yes, search=yes, ai-input=yes. The terms have no clause on automated access to the website.", "The changelog dates entries by month only. Domain registration was not checked." ], "score": 80, "checks": [ { "check": "Legal entity named", "value": "Perplexity AI, Inc.", "points": 20, "max": 20, "state": "ok" }, { "check": "Domain age", "value": "perplexity.ai, no registry record we could read", "points": 0, "max": 15, "state": "no" }, { "check": "Endpoint on the vendor's domain", "value": "api.perplexity.ai", "points": 15, "max": 15, "state": "ok" }, { "check": "Terms of service", "value": "published, but our reader couldn't read it", "points": 7, "max": 10, "state": "part" }, { "check": "Privacy policy", "value": "published, but our reader couldn't read it", "points": 7, "max": 10, "state": "part" }, { "check": "Status page", "value": "status.perplexity.com", "points": 10, "max": 10, "state": "ok" }, { "check": "Changelog", "value": "published", "points": 10, "max": 10, "state": "ok" }, { "check": "security.txt", "value": "valid", "points": 10, "max": 10, "state": "ok" }, { "check": "People named", "value": "4 named with their role, none with a public profile", "points": 7, "max": 10, "state": "part" }, { "check": "Support route", "value": "a support address, help pages, a community", "points": 5, "max": 5, "state": "ok" } ], "policies": [ { "kind": "terms", "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service", "state": "unreadable", "reason": "the page answered HTTP 403 to our reader", "readAt": "2026-10-30", "points": 7, "max": 10 }, { "kind": "privacy", "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/privacy-notice", "state": "unreadable", "reason": "the page answered HTTP 403 to our reader", "readAt": "2026-10-09", "points": 7, "max": 10 } ] }, "humans": { "slug": "perplexity-search-api", "checked": "2026-11-06", "company": "Perplexity", "people": [ { "name": "Aravind Srinivas", "role": "Co-founder and CEO, Perplexity", "founder": true, "bio": "Aravind Srinivas co-founded Perplexity in August 2022 with Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho and Andy Konwinski, and leads it as chief executive. He earlier held research positions at OpenAI and Google DeepMind.", "bioSources": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplexity_AI" ], "page": "/people/aravind-srinivas/" }, { "name": "Denis Yarats", "role": "Co-founder and CTO, Perplexity", "founder": true, "bio": "Denis Yarats co-founded Perplexity in 2022 and is its chief technology officer. He holds a PhD in computer science from New York University, with research on reinforcement learning and natural language, and earlier worked as a software engineer at Yandex and in research at Facebook AI Research.", "bioSources": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Yarats" ], "page": "/people/denis-yarats/" }, { "name": "Johnny Ho", "role": "Co-founder, Perplexity", "founder": true, "page": "/people/johnny-ho/" }, { "name": "Andy Konwinski", "role": "Co-founder, Perplexity", "founder": true, "bio": "Andy Konwinski co-founded Databricks and made early contributions to Apache Spark. He is also a co-founder of Perplexity, of the venture firm Laude Ventures and of the Laude Institute, a nonprofit for computer science researchers.", "bioSources": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Konwinski" ], "page": "/people/andy-konwinski/" } ], "peopleNote": "Copied from the Perplexity listings' humans files (pplx-decider and perplexity-space, checked 28 October 2026) on 6 November 2026. Perplexity publishes no leadership page. Its Series B post is signed by Aravind Srinivas, Co-founder \u0026 CEO; the other co-founders and Denis Yarats's CTO role come from Wikipedia. The Search API docs and launch post name no product lead. Ownership and investors start from the other Perplexity files (checked 28 October 2026). On 6 November 2026 we added the $20 billion valuation SiliconANGLE (24 August 2026) says Perplexity finalised about a year earlier when it last raised money, IVP's lead of the $500 million round of December 2024 (SiliconANGLE, citing Bloomberg) and SoftBank Group, which the same 2026 report names as a main backer. Perplexity's own blog announces only the Seed, Series A and Series B rounds, so totalRaised stays at the $100 million it stated in January 2024. A reported $30 billion Nvidia investment was only in talks and is left out, and the September 2025 round's month and Accel's 2025 lead came only from sources we can't use, so they're left out too.", "companySocial": { "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai/", "x": "https://x.com/perplexity_ai", "github": "https://github.com/perplexityai" }, "support": { "emails": [ "api@perplexity.ai" ], "urls": [ "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/discussions", "https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol/issues" ], "community": [ { "label": "Developer forum", "url": "https://community.perplexity.ai/", "kind": "forum" }, { "label": "Discord", "url": "https://discord.com/invite/perplexity-ai", "kind": "discord" }, { "label": "Developer X", "url": "https://x.com/perplexitydevs", "kind": "x" } ] }, "sources": [ "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/status.md", "https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol", "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplexity_AI", "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Yarats", "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Konwinski", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai/", "https://x.com/perplexity_ai" ], "ownership": { "status": "private", "totalRaised": { "amount": "$100M", "asOf": "2024-01", "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round" }, "valuation": { "amount": "$20B", "basis": "stated", "round": "Latest round, 2025", "asOf": "2025", "source": "https://siliconangle.com/2026/08/24/nvidia-reportedly-eyes-another-investment-in-perplexity-ai-at-a-30b-valuation/" }, "checked": "2026-11-06", "sources": [ "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "https://siliconangle.com/2024/12/18/perplexity-ai-gets-500m-funding-immediately-spends-buy-rag-startup-carbon/", "https://siliconangle.com/2026/08/24/nvidia-reportedly-eyes-another-investment-in-perplexity-ai-at-a-30b-valuation/" ] }, "investors": [ { "name": "Elad Gil", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022", "Series A, March 2023", "Series B, January 2024" ], "lead": true, "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "our $3.1 million seed round in September 2022, led by Elad Gil and Nat Friedman", "page": "/investors/elad-gil/" }, { "name": "Nat Friedman", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022", "Series A, March 2023", "Series B, January 2024" ], "lead": true, "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "our $3.1 million seed round in September 2022, led by Elad Gil and Nat Friedman", "page": "/investors/nat-friedman/" }, { "name": "Bob Muglia", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022", "Series A, March 2023" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "with participation from our seed round investors Elad Gil (Founder, Color Health), Nat Friedman (Former CEO of GitHub) and Bob Muglia (Former President of Microsoft)", "page": "/investors/bob-muglia/" }, { "name": "Pieter Abbeel", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "with participation from Pieter Abbeel (UC Berkeley, AIX Ventures), Yann LeCun (Chief Scientist, Meta), Andrej Karpathy (Founding Member, OpenAI), Ashish Vaswani (Lead Inventor of Transformer), Amjad Masad (CEO, Replit), Clem Delangue (CEO, HuggingFace) and others.", "page": "/investors/pieter-abbeel/" }, { "name": "Yann LeCun", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "with participation from Pieter Abbeel (UC Berkeley, AIX Ventures), Yann LeCun (Chief Scientist, Meta), Andrej Karpathy (Founding Member, OpenAI), Ashish Vaswani (Lead Inventor of Transformer), Amjad Masad (CEO, Replit), Clem Delangue (CEO, HuggingFace) and others.", "page": "/investors/yann-lecun/" }, { "name": "Andrej Karpathy", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "with participation from Pieter Abbeel (UC Berkeley, AIX Ventures), Yann LeCun (Chief Scientist, Meta), Andrej Karpathy (Founding Member, OpenAI), Ashish Vaswani (Lead Inventor of Transformer), Amjad Masad (CEO, Replit), Clem Delangue (CEO, HuggingFace) and others.", "page": "/investors/andrej-karpathy/" }, { "name": "Ashish Vaswani", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "with participation from Pieter Abbeel (UC Berkeley, AIX Ventures), Yann LeCun (Chief Scientist, Meta), Andrej Karpathy (Founding Member, OpenAI), Ashish Vaswani (Lead Inventor of Transformer), Amjad Masad (CEO, Replit), Clem Delangue (CEO, HuggingFace) and others.", "page": "/investors/ashish-vaswani/" }, { "name": "Amjad Masad", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "with participation from Pieter Abbeel (UC Berkeley, AIX Ventures), Yann LeCun (Chief Scientist, Meta), Andrej Karpathy (Founding Member, OpenAI), Ashish Vaswani (Lead Inventor of Transformer), Amjad Masad (CEO, Replit), Clem Delangue (CEO, HuggingFace) and others.", "page": "/investors/amjad-masad/" }, { "name": "Clem Delangue", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Seed, September 2022" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "with participation from Pieter Abbeel (UC Berkeley, AIX Ventures), Yann LeCun (Chief Scientist, Meta), Andrej Karpathy (Founding Member, OpenAI), Ashish Vaswani (Lead Inventor of Transformer), Amjad Masad (CEO, Replit), Clem Delangue (CEO, HuggingFace) and others.", "page": "/investors/clem-delangue/" }, { "name": "New Enterprise Associates", "kind": "vc", "rounds": [ "Series A, March 2023", "Series B, January 2024" ], "lead": true, "url": "https://www.nea.com", "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "a $25.6 million series A funding round led by Peter Sonsini of New Enterprise Associates", "page": "/investors/new-enterprise-associates/" }, { "name": "Databricks Ventures", "firm": "Databricks", "kind": "corporate", "rounds": [ "Series A, March 2023", "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "as well as new investors Susan Wojcicki (Former CEO of Youtube), Paul Buchheit (Creator of Gmail), Soleio (Designer of Messenger, Dropbox), and Databricks Ventures.", "page": "/investors/databricks/" }, { "name": "Susan Wojcicki", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series A, March 2023" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "as well as new investors Susan Wojcicki (Former CEO of Youtube), Paul Buchheit (Creator of Gmail), Soleio (Designer of Messenger, Dropbox), and Databricks Ventures.", "page": "/investors/susan-wojcicki/" }, { "name": "Paul Buchheit", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series A, March 2023" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "as well as new investors Susan Wojcicki (Former CEO of Youtube), Paul Buchheit (Creator of Gmail), Soleio (Designer of Messenger, Dropbox), and Databricks Ventures.", "page": "/investors/paul-buchheit/" }, { "name": "Soleio", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series A, March 2023" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/announcing-our-series-a-funding-round-and-mobile-app-launch", "quote": "as well as new investors Susan Wojcicki (Former CEO of Youtube), Paul Buchheit (Creator of Gmail), Soleio (Designer of Messenger, Dropbox), and Databricks Ventures.", "page": "/investors/soleio/" }, { "name": "IVP", "kind": "vc", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024", "$500M round, December 2024" ], "lead": true, "url": "https://www.ivp.com", "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "IVP led the round with continued support from our Seed and Series A investors NEA, Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, and Databricks", "page": "/investors/ivp/" }, { "name": "NVIDIA", "kind": "corporate", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "url": "https://www.nvidia.com", "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/nvidia/" }, { "name": "Jeff Bezos", "firm": "Bezos Expeditions", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/bezos-expeditions/" }, { "name": "Bessemer Venture Partners", "kind": "vc", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "url": "https://www.bvp.com", "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/bessemer-venture-partners/" }, { "name": "Factorial Funds", "firm": "Factorial Capital", "kind": "vc", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/factorial-capital/" }, { "name": "Kindred Ventures", "kind": "vc", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "url": "https://kindredventures.com", "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/kindred-ventures/" }, { "name": "Tobi Lutke", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/tobi-lutke/" }, { "name": "Naval Ravikant", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/naval-ravikant/" }, { "name": "Balaji Srinivasan", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/balaji-srinivasan/" }, { "name": "Guillermo Rauch", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/guillermo-rauch/" }, { "name": "Austen Allred", "kind": "angel", "rounds": [ "Series B, January 2024" ], "source": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round", "quote": "as well as new investors NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions Fund), Tobi Lutke, Bessemer Venture Partners, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, Factorial Funds, and Kindred Ventures, among others.", "page": "/investors/austen-allred/" }, { "name": "SoftBank Group", "firm": "SoftBank", "kind": "corporate", "source": "https://siliconangle.com/2026/08/24/nvidia-reportedly-eyes-another-investment-in-perplexity-ai-at-a-30b-valuation/", "quote": "The chipmaker is already one of its main financial backers, alongside Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and SoftBank Group Corp.", "page": "/investors/softbank/" } ] }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api.json", "live": { "slug": "perplexity-search-api", "probe": { "target": "https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-11-07T17:49:58.331584242Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 204, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 164, "p95ms24h": 270, "samples24h": 195, "samples30d": 195, "days": [ { "date": "2026-11-06", "probes": 13, "ok": 13 }, { "date": "2026-11-07", "probes": 182, "ok": 182 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.perplexity.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T17:46:13.260086048Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server", "version": "1.3.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:55:31.394431614Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai", "version": "0.41.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:55:30.575713692Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "perplexityai", "version": "0.46.1", "released": "2026-10-23", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:55:30.34668899Z" } ], "githubStars": 2612, "npmWeekly": 97298, "pypiWeekly": 401537, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://perplexity.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-12-31T00:00:00Z", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:01:03.917430365Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:36.681222085Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:07:27.675707255Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:29:48.535494355Z", "fingerprint": "a52a171e1f1f" }, { "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/privacy-notice", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:32:54.875760985Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:53:25.792168971Z", "fingerprint": "29c9dd01613d" }, { "url": "https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:32:50.897959644Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:53:22.592031411Z", "fingerprint": "6a7e4a95f45b" } ], "mcpTools": { "url": "https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T01:46:49.011542458Z", "status": "auth", "note": "asks for credentials before listing its tools", "changedAt": "2026-11-07T01:46:49.011542458Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T17:49:58.331584242Z" } }, "verify": { "accepts": "a page on perplexity.ai or one of its subdomains, or the README at the root of github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol", "badgeUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/perplexity-search-api.svg", "body": { "slug": "perplexity-search-api", "url": "the page with the badge or the link" }, "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/builders/#verify", "effect": "none, it never changes a grade, rank or review", "endpoint": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify", "listingUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api", "mcpTool": "verify_listing", "recheck": "weekly; two failed checks in a row and it lapses, a later pass restores it", "snippets": { "html": "\u003ca href=\"https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/perplexity-search-api.svg\" alt=\"Perplexity Search API on Anchor Terminal\" height=\"20\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e", "markdown": "[![Perplexity Search API on Anchor Terminal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/perplexity-search-api.svg)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api)", "link": "\u003ca href=\"https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api\"\u003ePerplexity Search API on Anchor Terminal\u003c/a\u003e" } } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "pricing": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api#pricing", "reviews": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api#reviews", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api.min.md" }, "markdown": "## Overview\n\n**Grade BB · 70.2/100 · rank #210 of 1486 · #5 in Web search APIs · agent-ready · confidence medium**\n\n\nMore from Perplexity, listed separately because each is its own product: [SPACE](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-space.md) (Code execution sandboxes), [pplx-decider](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pplx-decider.md) (Decision models), [pplx-decider-flash](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pplx-decider-flash.md) (Decision models).\n\n## Assessment\n\nRaw ranked results with token-capped page text from Perplexity's own index, $5 per 1,000 requests or $1 with Fast Search, an OpenAPI description and a hosted MCP server with read-only annotations. Uptime is not guaranteed, there is no free allowance, keys carry no scopes, and no guidance on untrusted page text was found.\n\n## Facts\n\n| Field | Value |\n| --- | --- |\n| Vendor | Perplexity (https://www.perplexity.ai/) |\n| Kind | HTTP API |\n| Category | Web search APIs (https://www.anchorterminal.com/categories/search) |\n| Transport | Streamable HTTP, stdio |\n| Endpoint | `https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp` |\n| Auth | OAuth or key · Bearer Perplexity API key in the `Authorization` header. Keys belong to a project in the API console, are shown once, and can be generated and revoked through `/generate_auth_token` and `/revoke_auth_token`, with a rotation guide. No per-key scopes found. The hosted MCP server also accepts Sign in with Perplexity (OAuth), where the user picks the organisation to bill. |\n| Pricing | Pay per use ($5 / 1k req) · $5 per 1,000 successful Search API requests, or $1 with Fast Search, with up to five queries per request billed once. Invalid, rate-limited and failed requests are not billed. Agent API web_search is $2.50 per 1,000 calls plus model tokens. Prepaid credits with a card. No free allowance found. |\n| x402 | No · No x402, MPP or L402 in the Search API docs, the pricing page, the OpenAPI description or llms.txt (checked 2026-11-06). An empty balance returns 402 Payment Required with no payment requirements, per the FAQ. |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under the Perplexity API Terms of Service. The MCP server is MIT and the official SDKs Apache-2.0 |\n| Tools exposed | 4 |\n| Packages | pypi: `perplexityai`; npm: `@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai`; npm: `@perplexity-ai/mcp-server` |\n| MCP registry name | `ai.perplexity/mcp-server` |\n| Source | https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol |\n| Docs | https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview |\n| llms.txt | https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt |\n| Last release | 2026-10-23 |\n| Surface listed | `POST https://api.perplexity.ai/search` and the hosted MCP server at api.perplexity.ai/mcp, with the Agent API's web_search tool as the answer route. Read from docs.perplexity.ai, its OpenAPI description, the status feed, the API terms, the DPA and the MCP server repository on 6 November 2026. No account was made and no call was sent |\n| Request controls | `query` (a string or up to five strings), `max_results` 1 to 20 (50 for people search), `search_type` web, fast or people, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` 1 to 1,000,000, up to 20 domains to include or exclude, up to 20 languages, a recency filter, publication and update date windows, and `country` |\n| Agent API | `POST /v1/agent` runs a model from Perplexity or a third party with built-in tools (web_search, fetch_url, image_search, people_search, finance_search, sandbox, MCP) and returns a typed output with a `search_results` item. Billed per token plus tool fees. It replaced Sonar Chat Completions |\n| MCP tools | perplexity_search (raw results), perplexity_ask (fast effort), perplexity_reason (medium) and perplexity_research (high). The local stdio server is `@perplexity-ai/mcp-server` 1.3.0 on npm; the repository's 1.4.0 (16 October) was not on npm on 6 November |\n| Other routes | The `pplx search web` command in the Perplexity CLI, a Python Search SDK, and a console playground that needs no API key |\n| Other Perplexity listings | The Decisions API is listed as pplx-decider and pplx-decider-flash, and SPACE as perplexity-space. The Embeddings and Orchestrator APIs are not part of this listing |\n| Terms | API Terms of Service updated 23 January 2026 under California law. Customers own Output, may display it only within their own applications, and Perplexity will not use Customer Content to train generative models |\n| Capabilities | web.search, search.answer, search.research |\n| Tags | hosted, usage-priced, prepaid, card-required, closed-source, openapi, llms-txt, mcp, remote-mcp, mcp-registry, python, typescript, status-page, soc2 |\n| JSON | https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/perplexity-search-api.json |\n\n## Score breakdown (methodology v0.7, October 2026 research run)\n\nAssessed 2026-11-06 from public evidence against the published checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist). Confidence: medium. Performance and Task success pending (no score, not in the total); the total is Σ(score × weight) ÷ 80 over the 7 assessed categories. \"This run\" is each category's share of the 100 points.\n\n| Category | Weight | This run | Score (0–100) | Points |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% | 20 | 80 | 16.0 |\n| Performance | 10% | pending | pending | n/a |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% | 16.2 | 89 | 14.5 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% | 16.2 | 85 | 13.8 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% | 17.5 | 56 | 9.8 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% | 12.5 | 25 | 3.1 |\n| Task success | 10% | pending | pending | n/a |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% | 8.8 | 82 | 7.2 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust (editorial 51, provenance 80) | 7% | 8.8 | 66 | 5.8 |\n| Negative events | up to −15 | up to −15 | none recorded | 0 |\n| **Total** | | | | **70.2 → BB** |\n\n### Why each score\n\n- Reliability 80 (checked 2026-11-06): Graded on the hosted lines, for `POST /search` and the hosted MCP server. status.perplexity.com, on incident.io since 10 September 2026, has an API component with an RSS feed and a JSON summary. There is no separate Search component (20). In the 90 days from 8 August the feed lists 'Investigating API issue' on 13 August, resolved with no detail, a usage-based billing issue on 3 September, and on 9 October elevated errors on the website, app and Computer, where the API 'remained operational throughout'. Minor only, with the caveat that history before the migration may be incomplete (20). The Search API is limited to 50 query units a second with a burst of 50 on every tier, and the other APIs publish QPS and token limits per tier (15). 429 carries Retry-After and an `error.type`, the SDKs retry 429 and 5xx twice honouring Retry-After, the Search best-practices page shows backoff, and failed or rate-limited searches are not billed. Searches have no side effects (15). The FAQ says Perplexity does not guarantee uptime, failure frequency or recovery time, and the terms carry no SLA (0). No beta label on the Search API, launched on 25 September 2025 (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 80.\n- Performance: Pending. Latency is measured per call by our probes, which haven't run yet, so this run doesn't score it. Its weight is shared across the assessed categories until the first probe window closes.\n- Schema \u0026 documentation 89 (checked 2026-11-06): OpenAPI 3.1.0 at docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json describes `POST /search` with typed request and response schemas, listed in llms.txt (25). llms.txt indexes every page, each with a Markdown twin (10). The overview says what a result holds, that snippets can be empty, when to use the Search API instead of the Agent API, and that it takes queries not URLs and does not re-fetch pages (19 of 20). `search_type` is an enum, `max_results`, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` carry minimum and maximum, country and language codes carry lengths, and `query` is a string or an array. The recency filter is an enum in the docs, and date filters are `MM/DD/YYYY` strings (14 of 15). Python, TypeScript and cURL examples with a recorded response. The spec documents only 200 and 422 for `/search`, and status codes are listed on the SDK error-handling page and the rate-limit page rather than for Search (11 of 15). A public changelog with several entries a month, dated by month only, and an unversioned `/search` path (10 of 15). 25 + 10 + 19 + 14 + 11 + 10 = 89.\n- Agent ergonomics 85 (checked 2026-11-06): `max_results` 1 to 20, `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page` cap the extracted text, and results are title, url, snippet and two dates. The MCP server has four tools (23 of 25). Domain, language, recency, publication and update date filters and `country`, with up to five queries in one request. No pagination or offset (16 of 20). 429 bodies name the limit hit, the SDKs map status codes to typed errors, and 402 marks an empty balance. Search-specific error bodies beyond 422 validation are not documented (13 of 20). Searches only read, failed and rate-limited requests are not billed, and the MCP server sets readOnlyHint true, destructiveHint false and idempotentHint false on every tool (18 of 20). Only `query` is required. Official Python and TypeScript SDKs, a CLI and a Python Search SDK (15). 23 + 16 + 13 + 18 + 15 = 85.\n- Security \u0026 auth 56 (checked 2026-11-06): Project API keys, shown once, revocable, and generated and revoked through two documented endpoints with a rotation guide. No per-key scopes or spending limits were found. The hosted MCP server also takes Sign in with Perplexity (OAuth). Keys go in the Authorization header only (22 of 30, as on the Decisions API listing). Search only reads, and MCP clients can disable tools, but any key reaches every API on the account, including the Agent API's sandbox and MCP tools (8 of 20). Snippets are third-party page text, and no guidance on treating them as untrusted was found in the docs, the MCP server or its SECURITY.md (0 of 15). Responses carry a request `id`, and the console shows usage by key. The Audit API covers enterprise organisations' web app events with its own keys, not API calls (8 of 15). security.txt valid until 31 December 2027 linking a security page, a SOC 2 Type II report, a 2025 HIPAA gap assessment and a CAIQlite listed on the trust centre, and a SECURITY.md on the MCP server that takes private reports through GitHub advisories or security@perplexity.ai. The trust centre is drawn by script and wasn't read (18 of 20). 22 + 8 + 0 + 8 + 18 = 56.\n- Payments \u0026 pricing 25 (checked 2026-11-06): No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, pricing page, OpenAPI or llms.txt (0). $5 per 1,000 successful requests, $1 with Fast Search, published without a login, with failed and rate-limited requests not billed (20). Usage is prepaid with a card on the billing page, and no free allowance was found. The console playground needs no key but is a page for a person, not an API allowance (0). A person signs up in the console. The Stripe Projects route provisions a project, key and credits from a terminal, but needs a person's Stripe account with a payment method and a $10 minimum purchase (5 of 20, as on the Decisions API listing). 0 + 20 + 0 + 5 = 25.\n- Task success: Pending. Task success needs the category task suites run through each tool, which haven't run yet, so this run doesn't score it. Its weight is shared across the assessed categories until then. A data provider's data-quality score is published on its listing now and becomes half of this category when it's scored.\n- Maintenance \u0026 community 82 (checked 2026-11-06): Read as a closed service with official SDKs and an open-source MCP server. perplexityai 0.46.1 on PyPI on 23 October 2026 and the MCP server's last commit on 21 October, with changelog entries into November 2026 (30). In the 90 days from 8 August, perplexityai 0.43.7 to 0.46.1 (six releases from 2 October), MCP server 1.2.1 (27 August) and 1.3.0 (25 September, Fast Search on perplexity_search), and Fast Search itself in September (20). A changelog with several entries a month, a community forum with a bug-report category, a GitHub discussion repository and api@perplexity.ai. MCP issue reply times weren't read (10 of 15). The MCP server is in the official registry under the domain-verified ai.perplexity namespace, and the Python and TypeScript SDKs are current (15). The MCP repository runs tests in CI and validates its plugin manifests. Its 1.4.0, prepared on 16 October, is not on npm, which still serves 1.3.0, and the registry's latest entry is 1.2.1 of 27 August (7 of 10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 15 + 7 = 82.\n- Transparency \u0026 trust 66 (checked 2026-11-06): Closed service under terms naming Perplexity AI, Inc. and California law. The MCP server is MIT and the SDKs Apache-2.0 (18 of 30). The terms and DPA say Customer Content and personal data don't train Perplexity's models, the DPA deletes personal data within 30 days of the service ending, and the Privacy and Security page says retention varies by API and zero data retention is not the default. The DPA also says Perplexity Search may follow different data terms, which weren't found, and no retention period for search queries is stated (15 of 30). Sonar Chat Completions support ended on 27 September 2026 with a migration guide and requests reformulated rather than refused, and sonar-reasoning was removed on 15 December 2025 with a named replacement. Notices are dated by month and there is no standing notice period beyond the terms' 30 days for termination (10 of 20). A sub-processor list on the trust centre, which is drawn by script and wasn't read, ten business days' notice of new non-model subprocessors, and SCCs for EU and UK transfers. No data location is stated (8 of 20). 18 + 15 + 10 + 8 = 51.\n\nFix list, everything this grade says the listing lacks, the biggest gain first (18 items). What it covers is at https://www.anchorterminal.com/fixes/perplexity-search-api.md (JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/fixes/perplexity-search-api.json). The whole list for a coding agent comes from `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/fix-list` with `{\"listing\": \"perplexity-search-api\", \"plan\": \"read\"}`, free while the beta runs\n\n### What we couldn't check\n\n- Judgement call on scope. The listing is the Search API with the hosted MCP server, and names the Agent API's web_search tool as the answer route on the same key, because the docs present them as two ways to search. The Agent API as a whole runs third-party models with many tools, closer to an inference router, and is not graded here. Sonar Chat Completions has ended and is not a separate listing. No Sonar listing exists in data/tools.\n- The Decisions API (pplx-decider, pplx-decider-flash) and SPACE (perplexity-space) are separate Perplexity listings and don't overlap with search.\n- unchecked: the data terms the DPA says Perplexity Search may follow, and any retention period for search queries.\n- unchecked: the trust centre at trust.perplexity.ai, including the sub-processor list, which is drawn by script.\n- unchecked: status history before the move to incident.io on 10 September 2026, and the detail of the 13 August 'Investigating API issue' incident.\n- unchecked: reply times on the MCP repository's issues, and GitHub star counts.\n- The launch post's index-size claim (hundreds of billions of webpages) is Perplexity's claim, not our measurement.\n\n### Sources\n\n- llms.txt: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- Search API overview: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- pricing: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- rate limits and usage tiers: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/rate-limits-usage-tiers.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- OpenAPI description: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- changelog: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/changelog.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- Sonar migration guide: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/overview.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- MCP server docs: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/integrations/mcp-server.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- privacy and security: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/privacy-security.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- FAQ: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/faq.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- API key management: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/api-key-management.md\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- status feed: \u003chttps://status.perplexity.com/feed.rss\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- API terms of service: \u003chttps://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- Data Processing Addendum: \u003chttps://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/dpa\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- Search API launch post: \u003chttps://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-the-perplexity-search-api\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- MCP server repository: \u003chttps://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- MCP registry entry: \u003chttps://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?search=ai.perplexity\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- perplexityai on PyPI: \u003chttps://pypi.org/project/perplexityai/\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n- security.txt: \u003chttps://www.perplexity.ai/.well-known/security.txt\u003e (seen 2026-11-06)\n\n## Score history\n\nEvery move of a score since the listing was graded, newest first, with its cause. A score can't move without an entry here. JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/perplexity-search-api/history.json\n\n- 2026-11-06: graded 70.2 BB (methodology 0.7)\n\n## Who's behind it (provenance 80/100, checked 2026-11-06)\n\n| Check | Finding | Points |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Legal entity named | Perplexity AI, Inc. | 20/20 |\n| Domain age | perplexity.ai, no registry record we could read | 0/15 |\n| Endpoint on the vendor's domain | api.perplexity.ai | 15/15 |\n| Terms of service | published, but our reader couldn't read it | 7/10 |\n| Privacy policy | published, but our reader couldn't read it | 7/10 |\n| Status page | status.perplexity.com | 10/10 |\n| Changelog | published | 10/10 |\n| security.txt | valid | 10/10 |\n| People named | 4 named with their role, none with a public profile | 7/10 |\n| Support route | a support address, help pages, a community | 5/5 |\n\nThe API Terms of Service (last updated 23 January 2026) name Perplexity AI, Inc. and California law. The Data Processing Addendum (last updated 13 August 2026) deletes personal data within 30 days of the service ending and notes that Perplexity Search may follow different data terms.\n\nwww.perplexity.ai/.well-known/security.txt is valid until 31 December 2027 and links www.perplexity.ai/security.\n\nThe status page moved to incident.io on 10 September 2026 and has Website, App, Computer and API components, with no separate Search component.\n\ndocs.perplexity.ai/robots.txt allows the docs and carries Content-Signal ai-train=yes, search=yes, ai-input=yes. The terms have no clause on automated access to the website.\n\nThe changelog dates entries by month only. Domain registration was not checked.\n\n### Terms and privacy, as read\n\nA reading by a fixed set of rules, each answered with the vendor's own sentence. Not legal advice.\n\n**Terms of service** (https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service), read 2026-10-30. Our reader couldn't read it (the page answered HTTP 403 to our reader).\n\n\n**Privacy policy** (https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/privacy-notice), read 2026-10-09. Our reader couldn't read it (the page answered HTTP 403 to our reader).\n\n\n## Humans behind the project (researched 2026-11-06 from public pages, not part of the grade)\n\n### Key people\n\n- Aravind Srinivas, Co-founder and CEO, Perplexity\n- Denis Yarats, Co-founder and CTO, Perplexity\n- Johnny Ho, Co-founder, Perplexity\n- Andy Konwinski, Co-founder, Perplexity\n- Note: Copied from the Perplexity listings' humans files (pplx-decider and perplexity-space, checked 28 October 2026) on 6 November 2026. Perplexity publishes no leadership page. Its Series B post is signed by Aravind Srinivas, Co-founder \u0026 CEO; the other co-founders and Denis Yarats's CTO role come from Wikipedia. The Search API docs and launch post name no product lead. Ownership and investors start from the other Perplexity files (checked 28 October 2026). On 6 November 2026 we added the $20 billion valuation SiliconANGLE (24 August 2026) says Perplexity finalised about a year earlier when it last raised money, IVP's lead of the $500 million round of December 2024 (SiliconANGLE, citing Bloomberg) and SoftBank Group, which the same 2026 report names as a main backer. Perplexity's own blog announces only the Seed, Series A and Series B rounds, so totalRaised stays at the $100 million it stated in January 2024. A reported $30 billion Nvidia investment was only in talks and is left out, and the September 2025 round's month and Accel's 2025 lead came only from sources we can't use, so they're left out too.\n- Perplexity: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai/ X https://x.com/perplexity_ai GitHub https://github.com/perplexityai\n\n### Ownership and investors\n\n- Raised: $100M in total, as of January 2024 (source https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round)\n- Valuation: $20B as announced (the source doesn't say pre- or post-money), Latest round, 2025, 2025 (source https://siliconangle.com/2026/08/24/nvidia-reportedly-eyes-another-investment-in-perplexity-ai-at-a-30b-valuation/)\n- Backed by: Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, Bob Muglia, Pieter Abbeel, Yann LeCun, Andrej Karpathy, Ashish Vaswani, Amjad Masad, Clem Delangue, New Enterprise Associates, Databricks, Susan Wojcicki, Paul Buchheit, Soleio, IVP, NVIDIA, Bezos Expeditions, Bessemer Venture Partners, Factorial Capital, Kindred Ventures, Tobi Lutke, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Guillermo Rauch, Austen Allred, SoftBank\n\n### Getting support\n\n- Discord: https://discord.com/invite/perplexity-ai\n- Support email: api@perplexity.ai\n- Help: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/discussions\n- Help: https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol/issues\n- Community (Developer forum): https://community.perplexity.ai/\n- Community (Developer X): https://x.com/perplexitydevs\n- Sources: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/status.md, https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol, https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-raises-series-b-funding-round, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplexity_AI, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Yarats, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Konwinski, https://www.linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai/, https://x.com/perplexity_ai\n\n## Live (updated 2026-11-07 17:49 UTC)\n\n- Right now: up, HTTP 401, 204 ms, checked 2026-11-07 17:49 UTC (get on `https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp`, asks for auth)\n- Uptime 24h 100.0% (195 probes) · 30 days 100.0% (195 probes) · p50 164 ms · p95 270 ms\n- Vendor status page: no problems reported, All Systems Operational\n- npm `@perplexity-ai/mcp-server` 1.3.0\n- npm `@perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai` 0.41.0\n- pypi `perplexityai` 0.46.1, released 2026-10-23\n- security.txt: valid, expires 2027-12-31T00:00:00Z\n- Watching changelog \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/changelog\u003e, last changed 2026-11-06 13:29 UTC\n- Watching privacy \u003chttps://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/privacy-notice\u003e, last changed 2026-11-06 13:53 UTC\n- Watching terms \u003chttps://www.perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service\u003e, last changed 2026-11-06 13:53 UTC\n- Tools: the endpoint asks for credentials before listing them (checked 2026-11-07 01:46 UTC)\n- Always current: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/live/perplexity-search-api.json\n\n## Probe metrics\n\nNot measured yet. Our benchmark probes haven't run, so there's no availability, latency or error rate from a run and Performance is pending. Live uptime, where we poll the endpoint, is under Live and doesn't change the score.\n\n## Prices\n\n| Item | Price | Unit | Note |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Search API request | $5 | per 1,000 requests | Up to five queries in one request billed once; failed and rate-limited requests not billed |\n| Search API request with Fast Search | $1 | per 1,000 requests | `search_type: \"fast\"` |\n| Agent API web_search call | $2.50 | per 1,000 tool calls | Plus model tokens; $1.00 with Fast Search |\n| Agent API fetch_url call | $0.50 | per 1,000 tool calls | Plus model tokens |\n\nAcross all listings: https://www.anchorterminal.com/prices/index.md\n\n## Strengths\n\n- OpenAPI 3.1 description of `POST /search` with enums and limits, llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page\n- `max_tokens`, `max_tokens_per_page` and `max_results` cap what reaches the model, and up to five queries share one billed request\n- Per-request prices published without login, and invalid, rate-limited and failed requests are not billed\n- Hosted MCP server with OAuth or a key; the local server is in the official registry under the verified ai.perplexity namespace\n- security.txt valid to 31 December 2027, a SOC 2 Type II report and a SECURITY.md that takes private reports\n\n## Weaknesses\n\n- The FAQ says uptime and recovery time are not guaranteed, and the terms carry no SLA\n- No free allowance and prepaid credits with a card; Stripe Projects still needs a $10 purchase\n- Project keys have no scopes or spending limits, so any key can run every API on the account\n- No guidance on treating returned snippets as untrusted text was found in the docs or the MCP server\n- The DPA says Perplexity Search may follow different data terms, and no retention period for search queries is stated\n\n\n\n## Before you call it (notes for agents)\n\n1. Set `max_tokens_per_page` and `max_tokens` before calling; extracted text otherwise fills the context, and the price does not change with size\n2. Skip results with an empty `snippet` and dedupe by `url` when sending a `query` array; each query costs one rate-limit unit\n3. Use `search_type: \"fast\"` for $1 per 1,000 when latency and cost matter more than depth\n4. On 429 wait for Retry-After, then back off; on 402 stop and ask the user to add credits\n5. Use the Search API for sources and the Agent API's web_search tool for a written answer with citations\n\n## Connect\n\nInstall:\n\n```bash\npip install perplexityai\n```\n\nFirst request:\n\n```bash\ncurl -X POST https://api.perplexity.ai/search \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"query\": \"renewable energy technologies\", \"max_results\": 10, \"max_tokens\": 50000, \"max_tokens_per_page\": 4096}'\n```\n\nClaude Code:\n\n```bash\nclaude mcp add --transport http perplexity https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp\n```\n\nMCP client configuration:\n\n```json\n{\n \"mcpServers\": {\n \"perplexity\": {\n \"url\": \"https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp\"\n }\n }\n}\n```\n\nThrough letme: https://letme.dev/perplexity-search-api. letme answers with the pick and how to call it direct. How it works: https://www.anchorterminal.com/letme/index.md\n\n## Similar tools\n\nRanked by shared capabilities, then score. Same-category tools with no shared capability key are listed last.\n\n| Tool | Grade | Score | Rank | Shared capabilities | x402 | Markdown |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Tavily API + MCP | BB | 77.1 | 36 | web.search, search.answer, search.research | no | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tavily-mcp.md |\n| You.com APIs | BB | 76.1 | 48 | web.search, search.answer, search.research | no | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/you-com-api.md |\n| Parallel Search and Task APIs | BB | 75 | 73 | web.search, search.answer, search.research | no | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/parallel-search-api.md |\n| Valyu | B | 69.3 | 254 | web.search, search.answer, search.research | no | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/valyu.md |\n| Linkup | B | 68 | 297 | web.search, search.answer, search.research | yes | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/linkup.md |\n| Exa API + MCP | B | 67.8 | 303 | web.search, search.answer, search.research | yes | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/exa-mcp.md |\n\n## Panel reviews (0)\n\nReviewed by the Anchor panel (https://www.anchorterminal.com/reviewers/index.md): .\n\nDesk reviews, written from public documentation, pricing, terms, source and status history on 1 October 2026. No calls made. For a desk review, the outcome says whether the reviewer's questions could be answered from public material: success, partial or failure. How reviews work: https://www.anchorterminal.com/reviews/how-it-works.md\n\n## Notable\n\n- Launched on 25 September 2025 as a standalone Search API over an index Perplexity says covers hundreds of billions of webpages (source: \u003chttps://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-the-perplexity-search-api\u003e)\n- Each result carries title, url, a query-relevant snippet cut to `max_tokens_per_page`, and publication and update dates. Snippets can be empty, and there is no live page re-fetch (source: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview\u003e)\n- 50 query units a second with a burst of 50 for every usage tier; a five-query request is one billing unit and five rate-limit units (source: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/rate-limits-usage-tiers\u003e)\n- Sonar Chat Completions support ended on 27 September 2026. Synchronous requests are reformulated as Agent API requests, and asynchronous Sonar requests are no longer supported (source: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/overview\u003e)\n- The hosted MCP server at api.perplexity.ai/mcp exposes perplexity_search, perplexity_ask, perplexity_reason and perplexity_research, with readOnlyHint true and destructiveHint false in the open-source server (source: \u003chttps://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol\u003e)\n- The FAQ says Perplexity does not guarantee uptime, failure frequency or recovery time (source: \u003chttps://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/faq\u003e)\n\n- #5 of 25 in Best web search APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/search/index.md\n- All 308 search comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/search/index.md\n\n## Compare\n\n- [Web Search Tool on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentcore-web-search-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): BB 75.2 vs BB 70.2\n- [Grounding with Bing Search vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bing-grounding-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 63.7 vs BB 70.2\n- [Brave Search API + MCP vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/brave-search-mcp-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 62.9 vs BB 70.2\n- [Cloudflare Web Search API vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-web-search-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 66.9 vs BB 70.2\n- [DeepSeek Search and Fetch API vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-search-api-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): C 55.5 vs BB 70.2\n- [Exa API + MCP vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/exa-mcp-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 67.8 vs BB 70.2\n- [Firecrawl MCP vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/firecrawl-mcp-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): BB 75 vs BB 70.2\n- [Kagi Search API vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kagi-search-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): C 56.1 vs BB 70.2\n- [Linkup vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/linkup-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 68 vs BB 70.2\n- [Mojeek Web Search API vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mojeek-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): F 36.4 vs BB 70.2\n- [NewsCatcher vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/newscatcher-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 67.5 vs BB 70.2\n- [Parallel Search and Task APIs vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallel-search-api-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): BB 75 vs BB 70.2\n- [Perplexity Search API vs SearchAPI.io](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-searchapi-io.md): BB 70.2 vs D 50.1\n- [Perplexity Search API vs SerpApi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-serpapi.md): BB 70.2 vs B 63.5\n- [Perplexity Search API vs Serper](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-serper.md): BB 70.2 vs F 24.2\n- [Perplexity Search API vs SERPHouse](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-serphouse.md): BB 70.2 vs E 42.4\n- [Perplexity Search API vs SerpKite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-serpkite.md): BB 70.2 vs B 67.6\n- [Perplexity Search API vs SpecStream](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-specstream.md): BB 70.2 vs B 64.4\n- [Perplexity Search API vs Tavily API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-tavily-mcp.md): BB 70.2 vs BB 77.1\n- [Perplexity Search API vs TinyFish Search](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-tinyfish-search.md): BB 70.2 vs B 66.9\n- [Perplexity Search API vs Valyu](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-valyu.md): BB 70.2 vs B 69.3\n- [Perplexity Search API vs You.com APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/perplexity-search-api-vs-you-com-api.md): BB 70.2 vs BB 76.1\n- [Arcmira vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcmira-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 64.2 vs BB 70.2\n- [Grep AI vs Perplexity Search API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grep-ai-vs-perplexity-search-api.md): B 62.9 vs BB 70.2\n\n## Verify this listing\n\nFor the vendor. The badge or a plain link to this page verifies the listing, from a page on perplexity.ai or one of its subdomains, or the README at the root of github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol. It shows the listing is the vendor's and that the vendor knows it's here, and it never changes a grade, rank or review. The vendor sends the page's address to `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` as `{\"slug\": \"perplexity-search-api\", \"url\": \"…\"}`, or calls the `verify_listing` tool at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp. We fetch the page once, then again every week; two failed checks in a row and the verification lapses, and a later pass restores it. What we check: https://www.anchorterminal.com/builders/index.md#verify\n\nHTML badge:\n\n```html\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/perplexity-search-api.svg\" alt=\"Perplexity Search API on Anchor Terminal\" height=\"20\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n```\n\nMarkdown badge, for a README:\n\n```markdown\n[![Perplexity Search API on Anchor Terminal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/perplexity-search-api.svg)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api)\n```\n\nPlain link:\n\n```html\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api\"\u003ePerplexity Search API on Anchor Terminal\u003c/a\u003e\n```\n\n## Share this listing\n\nFor the vendor. Sharing assets for social media, two PNGs of 1200 × 630 that say Perplexity Search API is listed on Anchor Terminal, with the vendor's logo and this page's address and no grade or score.\n\n- Dark: https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/share/perplexity-search-api-dark.png\n- Light: https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/share/perplexity-search-api-light.png\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-07", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Terminal", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/" }, { "name": "Web search APIs", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/categories/search" }, { "name": "Perplexity Search API", "url": "" } ], "description": "Perplexity's Search API returns ranked web results with extracted page text as JSON from Perplexity's own index, through POST /search. The same key reaches the Agent API's web_search tool for cited answers, and a hosted MCP server wraps both.", "facts": [ "rank #210 of 1486", "OAuth or key auth", "0 desk reviews" ], "h1": "Perplexity Search API", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/tools-perplexity-search-api.png", "path": "/tools/perplexity-search-api", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Perplexity Search review (2026): pricing, alternatives and grade BB", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-11-07", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/perplexity-search-api" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 8950, "slim": 1880 }, "version": 1 }