Perplexity Search API vs You.com Search API for AI agents
Perplexity Search API is raw ranked web results from Perplexity's own index (Search API), plus Sonar models that return cited AI answers. You.com Search API is a web and news search API for AI apps, with optional full-page content.
The short answer
- Perplexity Search API: Fresh, ranked web snippets from a large independent index, or a cited answer when you want one.
- You.com Search API: Trying web search in an agent with zero setup via the free keyless MCP, then scaling on a simple per-call price.
Side by side
| Perplexity Search API | You.com Search API | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Perplexity's own web index, which it says covers hundreds of billions of webpages. | The web and news (the pages read do not say whose index). |
| Returns | Search API: JSON results with title, URL, ranked snippet text and date. Sonar: an LLM answer with citations. | JSON web and news results with several text snippets each; optional full page content as Markdown or HTML ($1 per 1,000 pages crawled live). |
| Before the first call | An account and an API key from the API console; pay-as-you-go, no subscription. | An API key (X-API-Key header); the free MCP profile needs no key, account or card. |
| Free | Not stated on its pages | 100 Web Search queries a day through the MCP with no key, account or card. |
| Paid | Search API $5 per 1,000 requests ($1 per 1,000 with Fast Search), no token costs; Sonar models are priced per token plus a per-request fee. | $5 per 1,000 calls (Web Search API, Standard); Contents $1 per 1,000 pages. |
| Acting on a result | Through the web page each result links to | Through the web page each result links to |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | Output may be displayed only within your own applications; rights are non-sublicensable and non-transferable. | Not stated on its pages |
| AI in its terms | Perplexity says it will not use customer content to train or fine-tune generative AI models. | Not stated on its pages |
| MCP server | Official MCP server: https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol (npm @perplexity-ai/mcp-server) | Official MCP server: https://api.you.com/mcp (keyless free profile: https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free) |
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Perplexity Search API?
An account and an API key from the API console; pay-as-you-go, no subscription.
Is Perplexity Search API free?
Its pages listed no free use when we read them on October 15, 2026.
What do I need before I can use You.com Search API?
An API key (X-API-Key header); the free MCP profile needs no key, account or card.
Is You.com Search API free?
100 Web Search queries a day through the MCP with no key, account or card.
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
Perplexity Search API, read on October 15, 2026:
- docs.perplexity.ai/getting-started/pricing: “The Search API charges per successful request, including a successful request with multiple queries, with no token costs.”
- docs.perplexity.ai/getting-started/pricing: “Total cost per query = token costs + a per-request fee (Sonar, Sonar Pro, and Sonar Reasoning Pro)”
- docs.perplexity.ai/getting-started/quickstart: “Pay-as-you-go pricing for all APIs. No subscription required.”
- perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-the-perplexity-search-api: “With an index covering hundreds of billions of webpages”
- docs.perplexity.ai/guides/search-quickstart: “real-time, ranked web results as structured data”
- perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service: “display such Output, in each case, solely within the Customer Applications”
- perplexity.ai/hub/legal/perplexity-api-terms-of-service: “Perplexity shall not use (or authorize third parties to use) Customer Content to train, retrain, fine-tune”
- docs.perplexity.ai/guides/mcp-server: “https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol”
- docs.perplexity.ai/getting-started/pricing: “Search API $5.00 Raw web search results with advanced filtering”
- docs.perplexity.ai/getting-started/pricing: “Search API with Fast Search $1”
You.com Search API, read on October 15, 2026:
- you.com/pricing: “No API key, no account, no credit card”
- you.com/pricing: “100 Web Search API queries/day via MCP”
- you.com/docs/guides/search: “Multiple text snippets per result for context”
- you.com/docs/guides/search: “Every request sends your API key in the X-API-Key header.”
- you.com/docs/guides/search: “https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free”
- you.com/pricing: “Web Search API $5 /1k calls”