# Perplexity Search API

Web search API that returns ranked results as JSON with query-relevant page text, without a generated answer.

- Provider: Perplexity AI (https://www.perplexity.ai)
- Category: Search the web
- Type: Hosted API
- Pricing model: Prepaid credits; 5.00 USD per 1,000 successful requests (1.00 USD with `fast`) [1]
- Free tier: Not published [1]
- Authentication: API key as bearer token; OAuth for the remote MCP server [4]
- Connect via: REST API, SDKs (Python, TypeScript), MCP server, CLI [2]
- Read from the provider's pages on 2026-11-04
- Page: https://supermarket.dev/tools/search-the-web/perplexity

## Pricing

### Billing
- Pricing model: Prepaid credits, charged per successful request [9]
- Free tier: Not published [1]
- Card required for free tier: Not published [1]
- Minimum spend: 10 USD minimum credit purchase when provisioned through Stripe Projects; none stated for the console [9]
- Billing period: No fixed period; credits are drawn down, with optional auto top-up [7]

### Prices
Billed per successful `POST /search`; a request with up to 5 queries is one unit. No token charges. 5.00 USD / 1,000 = 0.005 USD per request.
| Item | Price per 1,000 requests |
|---|---|
| Search API, `search_type: "web"` (default) | 5.00 USD |
| Search API, `search_type: "fast"` | 1.00 USD |
Source [1]

### Other charges
- Agent API `web_search` tool (standard): 2.50 USD per 1,000 invocations, plus model tokens [1]
- Failed or rate-limited requests: Not billed [1]
- Sonar Chat Completions: Support ended on 27 September 2026; requests are being reformulated as Agent API requests [11]

## Tools

### MCP server
- Official MCP server: Yes, remote and local [4]
- Address or package: `https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp` (remote); `@perplexity-ai/mcp-server` (local, npm) [4]

### MCP tools
| Tool | What it does | Read-only |
|---|---|---|
| `perplexity_search` | Direct web search using the Search API; returns ranked results with titles, URLs, snippets and metadata. Optional `search_type` of `web` or `fast` | Not stated |
| `perplexity_ask` | Conversational answer with web search, backed by the Agent API `fast` effort level | Not stated |
| `perplexity_research` | Deep research with citations, backed by the Agent API `high` effort level | Not stated |
| `perplexity_reason` | Reasoning and problem-solving, backed by the Agent API `medium` effort level | Not stated |
Source [4]

### API
| Endpoint | What it does |
|---|---|
| `POST https://api.perplexity.ai/search` | Ranked web results as JSON |
| `POST https://api.perplexity.ai/v1/agent` | Agent API: model answer with tools such as `web_search` and `fetch_url` |
| `POST /generate_auth_token` | Create an API key |
| `POST /revoke_auth_token` | Revoke an API key |
Source [2]

### Features
- Results per query: 1 to 20 for web search (default 10); up to 50 for people search [2]
- Content returned: `title`, `url`, `snippet` (query-relevant extracted text, not the full page), `date`, `last_updated` [2]
- Search types: `web` (default), `fast`, `people` [2]
- Freshness controls: `search_recency_filter` (`hour`, `day`, `week`, `month`, `year`) and publication and last-updated date windows [2]
- Domain filters: `search_domain_filter`: up to 20 domains, allowlist or denylist (with `-` prefix), not both; also language and country filters [2]
- Storing results: Not published [2]

## Authentication

### Methods
| Method | Used for | How |
|---|---|---|
| API key | REST API, SDKs, CLI, MCP server | `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`; SDKs read `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` |
| OAuth 2.1 with PKCE | Remote MCP server only | Add the server without credentials and sign in with a Perplexity account in the browser |
Source [4]

### Getting access
- Who creates the account: A person signs up (Google, Apple, SSO or email code) and creates a project; the Stripe Projects CLI can also create the account, project and key from a terminal or coding agent [9]
- Where to get a key: API Console, `https://console.perplexity.ai/project/keys` [10]
- Other requirements: A project must exist before a key can be generated; admin permissions and a credit card for payment setup; Stripe Projects needs a Stripe payment method [10]

## Setup

### Addresses
- REST API: `https://api.perplexity.ai/search` [2]
- MCP server: `https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp` [4]
- OpenAPI spec: `https://docs.perplexity.ai/openapi.json` [13]
- Docs for agents: `https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt` [1]
- Status page: `https://status.perplexity.com` [12]

### Install
| What | Command |
|---|---|
| MCP, Claude Code (remote) | `claude mcp add --transport http perplexity https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp` |
| MCP, Claude Code (local) | `claude mcp add perplexity --env 'PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=${PERPLEXITY_API_KEY}' -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server` |
| Python SDK | `pip install perplexityai` |
| TypeScript SDK | `npm install @perplexity-ai/perplexity_ai` |
| CLI | `curl -fsSL https://github.com/perplexityai/perplexity-cli/releases/latest/download/install.sh \| sh` |
| Stripe Projects (account, key, credits) | `stripe projects add perplexity/api` |
Source [3]

## Limits

### Rate limits
- Search API: 50 query units per second, 50 burst, same for every usage tier; each query in a multi-query request is one unit [5]
- Usage tiers: Tier 0 (0 USD) to Tier 5 (5,000 USD all-time credit purchases); tiers do not change Search API limits [5]

### Other limits
- Queries per request: Up to 5 [2]
- Extracted text: `max_tokens` and `max_tokens_per_page`: 1 to 1,000,000 tokens each [2]
- Domain and language filters: Up to 20 domains and up to 20 ISO 639-1 language codes per request [2]
- Out of credits: API keys are blocked until credits are added [7]

## Privacy

### Your data
- Data location: Not published [6]
- Retention: Varies by API, model and account configuration; no fixed period stated [6]
- Used for training: No, under the API Terms of Service [6]
- Zero data retention: Not default; available to eligible customers under a written agreement [6]

### Compliance
- Certifications: SOC 2 Type II report, CAIQlite [6]
- HIPAA: No HIPAA compliance stated; a 2025 HIPAA gap assessment is listed [6]

## Sources

1. Pricing: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/pricing.md
2. Search API overview: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/overview.md
3. Search API quickstart: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/search/quickstart.md
4. Perplexity API MCP server: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/integrations/mcp-server.md
5. Rate limits and usage tiers: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/rate-limits-usage-tiers.md
6. Privacy and security: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/privacy-security.md
7. Projects and billing: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/projects.md
8. FAQ: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/faq.md
9. Perplexity on Stripe Projects: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/integrations/stripe-projects.md
10. API key management: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/admin/api-key-management.md
11. Migrate from Sonar to the Agent API: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/agent-api/migrate-from-sonar/overview.md
12. System status: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/status.md
13. llms.txt: https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms.txt
14. Checked by supermarket.dev